4 ms·

There's also the side-channel leak that occurs when you connect to an authenticated service on your regular connection (e.g. Skype), and then again through your

There's also the side-channel leak that occurs when you connect to an authenticated service on your regular connection (e.g. Skype), and then again through your VPN. It identifies you as a user of the VPN and can provide patterns that hint at which VPN traffic is yours. Multiply this by the number of services (including ones you don't know you use, e.g. Windows background services). WebRTC leaks your real IP as well, and cannot be disabled on Chromium based browsers. It's becoming an increasingly popular technology. I'd like to see mainstream operating systems support isolation for connections.

arkadiyt 10y ago
There is an official (from Google) chrome extension to route WebRTC traffic through your VPN ip address: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webrtc-network-limiter/npeicpdbkakmehahjeeohfdhnlpdklia https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webrtc-network-lim...
- theprotocol 10y ago
  I thought the consensus on such plugins was that they didn't work reliably. It's been a while since I looked into it, but back when I tested this plugin, my browser failed an online WebRTC leak test.
  - arkadiyt 10y ago
    I just tried the following and they all had no IP or my VPN ip: - https://www.perfect-privacy.com/webrtc-leaktest/ https://www.perfect-privacy.com/webrtc-leaktest/ - https://browserleaks.com/webrtc https://browserleaks.com/webrtc - http://whatismyipaddress.com/webrtc-test http://whatismyipaddress.com/webrtc-test - https://zpn.im/webrtc https://zpn.im/webrtc - https://www.vpnmentor.com/tools/ip-leak-test-vpns-tor/ https://www.vpnmentor.com/tools/ip-leak-test-vpns-tor/
    - mirimir 10y ago
      It's pretty easy to block WebRTC, with plugins and/or firewall rules. But I'm guessing that getting WebRTC to work through the VPN tunnel is not so easy. I've never tried it.
mirimir 10y ago
If firewall rules block everything except for connections to the VPN server, no connection to anything "on your regular connection" is possible. One can use the built-in Windows firewall. That also prevents WebRTC leaks. It's a lot harder to secure smartphones, where firewalls are entirely nontrivial.
vader1 10y ago
Use a VPN client on your router, it'll protect you against WebRTC leaks and it'll automatically work for your phone and other devices. Asus routers have VPN support out of the box, for other routers you can use OpenWrt/DD-WRT etc.
- theprotocol 10y ago
  The issue is I also need to access certain sites/services without a VPN. Some services think you're trying to game them if you connect through a VPN (Netflix, Steam...) and there's a risk of being penalized.
  - Insanity 10y ago
    Steam? I am currently using Steam with AIRVPN and have not experienced any problems at all.
    - theprotocol 10y ago
      As I understand it, while in practice you'll easily be able to fly under the radar, if you purchase something that happens to be priced differently in the VPN region vs. your real region, you can get banned. https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/2ugf53/so_how_does_the_steam_vpn_ban_work/?st=j10rq9f0&sh=a6389600 https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/2ugf53/so_how_does_t... So, you can generally get away with it as long as you don't buy things that happen to use regional pricing / region locking. Not a great compromise. In general, using VPNs is against their policy. But more importantly, Steam support is non-existent. If you get banned, it's a complete dice roll whether you can reach anyone at Valve, let alone restore your account. I can't imagine losing thousands of dollars worth of games, and even if the risk is minute, I'm not prepared to take it.
      - kefka 10y ago
        > I can't imagine losing thousands of dollars worth of games, and even if the risk is minute, I'm not prepared to take it. Yep, another case where piracy is strictly better. Unless you enjoy being a serf who can be told "Fuck off and die" at any time. When will people learn?

arkadiyt 10y ago

There is an official (from Google) chrome extension to route WebRTC traffic through your VPN ip address: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webrtc-network-limiter/npeicpdbkakmehahjeeohfdhnlpdklia https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webrtc-network-lim...

theprotocol 10y ago
I thought the consensus on such plugins was that they didn't work reliably. It's been a while since I looked into it, but back when I tested this plugin, my browser failed an online WebRTC leak test.
- arkadiyt 10y ago
  I just tried the following and they all had no IP or my VPN ip: - https://www.perfect-privacy.com/webrtc-leaktest/ https://www.perfect-privacy.com/webrtc-leaktest/ - https://browserleaks.com/webrtc https://browserleaks.com/webrtc - http://whatismyipaddress.com/webrtc-test http://whatismyipaddress.com/webrtc-test - https://zpn.im/webrtc https://zpn.im/webrtc - https://www.vpnmentor.com/tools/ip-leak-test-vpns-tor/ https://www.vpnmentor.com/tools/ip-leak-test-vpns-tor/
  - mirimir 10y ago
    It's pretty easy to block WebRTC, with plugins and/or firewall rules. But I'm guessing that getting WebRTC to work through the VPN tunnel is not so easy. I've never tried it.

mirimir 10y ago

If firewall rules block everything except for connections to the VPN server, no connection to anything "on your regular connection" is possible. One can use the built-in Windows firewall. That also prevents WebRTC leaks. It's a lot harder to secure smartphones, where firewalls are entirely nontrivial.

vader1 10y ago

Use a VPN client on your router, it'll protect you against WebRTC leaks and it'll automatically work for your phone and other devices. Asus routers have VPN support out of the box, for other routers you can use OpenWrt/DD-WRT etc.

theprotocol 10y ago
The issue is I also need to access certain sites/services without a VPN. Some services think you're trying to game them if you connect through a VPN (Netflix, Steam...) and there's a risk of being penalized.
- Insanity 10y ago
  Steam? I am currently using Steam with AIRVPN and have not experienced any problems at all.
  - theprotocol 10y ago
    As I understand it, while in practice you'll easily be able to fly under the radar, if you purchase something that happens to be priced differently in the VPN region vs. your real region, you can get banned. https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/2ugf53/so_how_does_the_steam_vpn_ban_work/?st=j10rq9f0&sh=a6389600 https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/2ugf53/so_how_does_t... So, you can generally get away with it as long as you don't buy things that happen to use regional pricing / region locking. Not a great compromise. In general, using VPNs is against their policy. But more importantly, Steam support is non-existent. If you get banned, it's a complete dice roll whether you can reach anyone at Valve, let alone restore your account. I can't imagine losing thousands of dollars worth of games, and even if the risk is minute, I'm not prepared to take it.
    - kefka 10y ago
      > I can't imagine losing thousands of dollars worth of games, and even if the risk is minute, I'm not prepared to take it. Yep, another case where piracy is strictly better. Unless you enjoy being a serf who can be told "Fuck off and die" at any time. When will people learn?