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As a single hop proxy, VPNs are pretty limited in terms of the OPSEC they provide. Personally I only ever use them to route traffic over hostile networks, and s
by sr2 9y ago
As a single hop proxy, VPNs are pretty limited in terms of the OPSEC they provide. Personally I only ever use them to route traffic over hostile networks, and spoof my geolocation to access geo-blocked content. That's all they should be used for[1]
They for obvious reasons should not be used for anonymity[2] although for some this is the sole reason they use a VPN. I think, since they are a single hop proxy, that chaining VPNs together and buying subscriptions anonymously with tumbled Bitcoins/Monero is the only way you might get anonymity, but the overhead and potential for things to go wrong is massive. Things like Tor already solves many of these obstacles and provides reasonable OPSEC, providing you use it correctly.
[1]: https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29 https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29
[2]: http://blog.hidemyass.com/2011/09/23/lulzsec-fiasco/ http://blog.hidemyass.com/2011/09/23/lulzsec-fiasco/
- yzz 9y agoYet even tor is fairly compromised in that the evidence presents that it has already been tapped by the NSA, and even using it puts you on a watchlist irregardless of your actions.
- throwaway47861 9y agoYet again, the charming HN audience shows their true colors by downvoting people who have no proof of what they claim, while conveniently forgetting that if anyone had a proof of what you said they'd be in a secret court, and then prison -- for a long time.
- jen_h 9y agoThat's a bit hyperbolic, methinks - Angwin & Tigas aren't in secret court or prison! https://www.propublica.org/article/heres-one-way-to-land-on-the-nsas-watch-list https://www.propublica.org/article/heres-one-way-to-land-on-...
- throwaway47861 9y agoThe tinfoil guy in me says they know nothing important then. ;) Being a bit more serious, thank you for the link, it was enlightening. Kudos.
- willstrafach 9y agoThere is no evidence for either of those claims.