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>The merger between Kape and PIA affords PIA the resources needed to bring privacy to the mainstream. You were one of the most, if not the most successful VPN

by Tenoke 7y ago

>The merger between Kape and PIA affords PIA the resources needed to bring privacy to the mainstream. You were one of the most, if not the most successful VPN provider for years. Did you really need more resources? For what? The main benefit of PIA is the expectation for extra privacy. No matter how you look at it, selling to Kape is a strong signal that's not a priority. Similar, for hiring Karpeles to do your security (like he hasnt lost us enough already).

rasengan 7y ago
> Did you really need more resources? For what? Yes, to bring freedom thru privacy to people, The coming battle against privacy and free speech is by far the strongest and worst yet; the narrative and our voices are quickly getting quashed. Without the ability to communicate privately and speak freely, at best democracy is at risk; and at worst, humanity, or what it has meant to be human until now, itself may be at risk. Divided we are not stronger. > Similar, for hiring Karpeles to do your security (like he hasnt lost us enough already). Cryptocurrency has come a long way, and without MtGox and Mark at the beginning, it may not have been able to make such strides. I prefer a battle hardened individual over a clean track record of no experience. Failure is the fastest and strongest way to learn and grow stronger. Overall, I appreciate your words and concerns, but I believe we are strategically moving in the right direction to the world's benefit. Time will tell.
- Tenoke 7y ago
  >Yes, to bring freedom thru privacy to people, The coming battle against privacy and free speech is by far the strongest and worst yet; the narrative and our voices are quickly getting quashed. >Without the ability to communicate privately and speak freely, at best democracy is at risk; and at worst, humanity, or what it has meant to be human until now, itself may be at risk. >Divided we are not stronger I was hoping for a real response, rather than the same empty marketing speak. Of course, the real response is likely 'I wanted to cash out', so I understand why you can't deliver something more convincing.
- sumedh 7y ago
  So what exactly is the gameplan, how are you going to change the world by selling your stake?
  - dd36 7y ago
    Great question.
  - rasengan 7y ago
    The company is now no longer controlled by one man alone, but instead many. I’m still a major shareholder. We are changing the world by fighting in the front lines with our PR as we always did [1], donating to organizations without pause or hesitation [2], and sticking to our decisions even when the world may not understand as they aren’t deep in the battle like us. Time will prove everything, and we will help the people (and freedom of speech and privacy) achieve victory. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/61ns2w/private_internet_access_a_vpn_provider_takes_out/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/61ns2w/private_intern... [2] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo... Edit: Unable to reply below so I wanted to clarify - our ad spend often times goes toward the benefit of people as opposed to being direct ads about our company.
    - Tenoke 7y ago
      >We are changing the world by fighting in the front lines with our PR as we always did [1] You are telling me you did it for PR reasons?? That's not even remotely believable - look at the 'PR' you are getting. This was the goal?? >donating to organizations without pause or hesitation [2] Surely, you have even less of a voice where donations go than before. >and sticking to our decisions even when the world may not understand as they aren’t deep in the battle like us. How are they helping you stick to your decisions? You are making entirely new decisions now, and corroding your previous. Are you saying they are 'deep in the battle' like you? What?
      - ta999999171 7y ago
        Even as a user that for now will not be trusting PIA, I do applaud the advertising I've seen in many corners of the mainstream net trying to educate users about issues they otherwise would have no exposure at all to, unlike us.
- fock 7y ago
  would you mind to elaborate how a centralized VPN-service is helping against suppression of the internet as a channel? Once your DNS/servers are gone, your VPN is gone, thus your users have to fall back to metadata collection by their ISP instead of you... P.S.: you are aware that you can still go into the next pub and speak freely with verified (e.g. drinking liquor) humans, which solves by far the biggest issue with "free speech" on todays internet in the "west"
- DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
  VPNs do nothing for your privacy. they just shift the trust from the carrier to the VPN. > ... bring freedom thru privacy to people, The coming battle against privacy and free speech ... the claims you make are not only misleading but outright dangerous to anyone who actually needs strong privacy.
- rimliu 7y ago
  > to bring freedom thru privacy to people "The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment" vibe is strong with this one. For the record, the part I quoted is from, I believe, most downvoted comment on reddit[0], currently on ~670 thousands of downvotes. [0]: https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b/seriously_i_paid_80_to_have_vader_locked/dppum98/ https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b...
- Erlich_Bachman 7y ago
  * a battle hardened fraudster. Failure is not the fastest way to learn when that failure is achieved through fraud. I was on the verge throughout all of these news, but now finding out about you hiring Karpeles and now reading how you defend it really made me cancel all the subscriptions and never come back again.
  - dd36 7y ago
    Agree. People that have no ethics or integrity tend to always revert to mean. People that I know that sell harmful products seem to have an uncanny ability to find ever more harmful ways of profiting.
- EpicEng 7y ago
  >Yes, to bring freedom thru privacy to people Ok, but you're a VPN provider. When I use a VPN service I am simply moving my trust from the ISP to you. This decision (as well as hiring Karpelès, convicted for fraud) lowers my trust in you. I am on a year sub with you guys. I don't buy the marketing speak you're spewing here and I doubt I'll be renewing.
jrockway 7y ago
> You were one of the most, if not the most successful VPN provider for years. Did you really need more resources? For what? I don't know if you watch Twitch or YouTube but it seems that every streamer and video is sponsored by NordVPN. I feel like with that kind of advertising budget, it's going to be harder for companies that don't advertise as much.
- fencepost 7y ago
  There's a definite plus to bringing in people who've never used a VPN service before - a lot of them may subscribe but never actually become serious users of your service, in which case they're likely highly profitable. People who find you by reading reviews on TorrentFreak on the other hand are much more likely to chew bandwidth and possibly have multiple devices connected at once.
mijoharas 7y ago
> Similar, for hiring Karpeles to do your security (like he hasnt lost us enough already). Wait... What?!! I just had to look this up[0]. How did I miss this news? Now... I'm all for second chances in general, but there need to be limits, and my understanding of the MtGox case, is that on top of being responsible for terrible security practices, Karpales lied about the intrusions. I was actually kinda on the fence before, even when my previously reliable connection stopped working yesterday (probably a coincidence) this makes me not really trust PIA's decision making, which is a real shame. I found the service very solid. [0] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2018/04/why-i-hired-mt-gox-ex-ceo-mark-karpeles-as-cto-of-london-trust-media/ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2018/04/why-i-hir...
- Tenoke 7y ago
  I actually subscribed to PIA before realising this, too. It's weird nobody else is even mentioning it in these threads - trusting a proven fraud like Karpeles for your privacy and security needs is a bit insane if you have other alternatives.
  - F147H34D 7y ago
    I didn't know that either. Here's a couple quotes from an article about how Mark ran MtGox: > Beneath it all, some say, Mt. Gox was a disaster in waiting. ... A Tokyo-based software developer [says it] didn’t use any type of version control software [and] he says there was only one person who could approve changes to the site’s source code: Mark Karpeles. ... “The source code was a complete mess,” says one insider. > The 1,719 lines of commented PHP code...include code to access individual customers’ Bitcoin wallets and to process transactions. ... Anyone who had access to the server running this code could have easily redirected transactions or pillaged the Bitcoin wallets. https://www.computerworld.com/article/2476003/the-php-that-shagged-mtgox-bitcoin-mystery-deepens.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2476003/the-php-that-s...
    - magduf 7y ago
      >didn’t use any type of version control software What kind of incompetent fool doesn't use version control in this day and age?
earenndil 7y ago
I don't have a horse in this race, but should mention that PIA was losing a ton of money.

by Tenoke 7y ago

rasengan 7y ago

> Did you really need more resources? For what? Yes, to bring freedom thru privacy to people, The coming battle against privacy and free speech is by far the strongest and worst yet; the narrative and our voices are quickly getting quashed. Without the ability to communicate privately and speak freely, at best democracy is at risk; and at worst, humanity, or what it has meant to be human until now, itself may be at risk. Divided we are not stronger. > Similar, for hiring Karpeles to do your security (like he hasnt lost us enough already). Cryptocurrency has come a long way, and without MtGox and Mark at the beginning, it may not have been able to make such strides. I prefer a battle hardened individual over a clean track record of no experience. Failure is the fastest and strongest way to learn and grow stronger. Overall, I appreciate your words and concerns, but I believe we are strategically moving in the right direction to the world's benefit. Time will tell.

Tenoke 7y ago
>Yes, to bring freedom thru privacy to people, The coming battle against privacy and free speech is by far the strongest and worst yet; the narrative and our voices are quickly getting quashed. >Without the ability to communicate privately and speak freely, at best democracy is at risk; and at worst, humanity, or what it has meant to be human until now, itself may be at risk. >Divided we are not stronger I was hoping for a real response, rather than the same empty marketing speak. Of course, the real response is likely 'I wanted to cash out', so I understand why you can't deliver something more convincing.
sumedh 7y ago
So what exactly is the gameplan, how are you going to change the world by selling your stake?
- dd36 7y ago
  Great question.
- rasengan 7y ago
  The company is now no longer controlled by one man alone, but instead many. I’m still a major shareholder. We are changing the world by fighting in the front lines with our PR as we always did [1], donating to organizations without pause or hesitation [2], and sticking to our decisions even when the world may not understand as they aren’t deep in the battle like us. Time will prove everything, and we will help the people (and freedom of speech and privacy) achieve victory. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/61ns2w/private_internet_access_a_vpn_provider_takes_out/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/61ns2w/private_intern... [2] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo... Edit: Unable to reply below so I wanted to clarify - our ad spend often times goes toward the benefit of people as opposed to being direct ads about our company.
  - Tenoke 7y ago
    >We are changing the world by fighting in the front lines with our PR as we always did [1] You are telling me you did it for PR reasons?? That's not even remotely believable - look at the 'PR' you are getting. This was the goal?? >donating to organizations without pause or hesitation [2] Surely, you have even less of a voice where donations go than before. >and sticking to our decisions even when the world may not understand as they aren’t deep in the battle like us. How are they helping you stick to your decisions? You are making entirely new decisions now, and corroding your previous. Are you saying they are 'deep in the battle' like you? What?
    - ta999999171 7y ago
      Even as a user that for now will not be trusting PIA, I do applaud the advertising I've seen in many corners of the mainstream net trying to educate users about issues they otherwise would have no exposure at all to, unlike us.
fock 7y ago
would you mind to elaborate how a centralized VPN-service is helping against suppression of the internet as a channel? Once your DNS/servers are gone, your VPN is gone, thus your users have to fall back to metadata collection by their ISP instead of you... P.S.: you are aware that you can still go into the next pub and speak freely with verified (e.g. drinking liquor) humans, which solves by far the biggest issue with "free speech" on todays internet in the "west"
DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
VPNs do nothing for your privacy. they just shift the trust from the carrier to the VPN. > ... bring freedom thru privacy to people, The coming battle against privacy and free speech ... the claims you make are not only misleading but outright dangerous to anyone who actually needs strong privacy.
rimliu 7y ago
> to bring freedom thru privacy to people "The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment" vibe is strong with this one. For the record, the part I quoted is from, I believe, most downvoted comment on reddit[0], currently on ~670 thousands of downvotes. [0]: https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b/seriously_i_paid_80_to_have_vader_locked/dppum98/ https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7cff0b...
Erlich_Bachman 7y ago
* a battle hardened fraudster. Failure is not the fastest way to learn when that failure is achieved through fraud. I was on the verge throughout all of these news, but now finding out about you hiring Karpeles and now reading how you defend it really made me cancel all the subscriptions and never come back again.
- dd36 7y ago
  Agree. People that have no ethics or integrity tend to always revert to mean. People that I know that sell harmful products seem to have an uncanny ability to find ever more harmful ways of profiting.
EpicEng 7y ago
>Yes, to bring freedom thru privacy to people Ok, but you're a VPN provider. When I use a VPN service I am simply moving my trust from the ISP to you. This decision (as well as hiring Karpelès, convicted for fraud) lowers my trust in you. I am on a year sub with you guys. I don't buy the marketing speak you're spewing here and I doubt I'll be renewing.

jrockway 7y ago

> You were one of the most, if not the most successful VPN provider for years. Did you really need more resources? For what? I don't know if you watch Twitch or YouTube but it seems that every streamer and video is sponsored by NordVPN. I feel like with that kind of advertising budget, it's going to be harder for companies that don't advertise as much.

fencepost 7y ago
There's a definite plus to bringing in people who've never used a VPN service before - a lot of them may subscribe but never actually become serious users of your service, in which case they're likely highly profitable. People who find you by reading reviews on TorrentFreak on the other hand are much more likely to chew bandwidth and possibly have multiple devices connected at once.

mijoharas 7y ago

> Similar, for hiring Karpeles to do your security (like he hasnt lost us enough already). Wait... What?!! I just had to look this up[0]. How did I miss this news? Now... I'm all for second chances in general, but there need to be limits, and my understanding of the MtGox case, is that on top of being responsible for terrible security practices, Karpales lied about the intrusions. I was actually kinda on the fence before, even when my previously reliable connection stopped working yesterday (probably a coincidence) this makes me not really trust PIA's decision making, which is a real shame. I found the service very solid. [0] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2018/04/why-i-hired-mt-gox-ex-ceo-mark-karpeles-as-cto-of-london-trust-media/ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2018/04/why-i-hir...

Tenoke 7y ago
I actually subscribed to PIA before realising this, too. It's weird nobody else is even mentioning it in these threads - trusting a proven fraud like Karpeles for your privacy and security needs is a bit insane if you have other alternatives.
- F147H34D 7y ago
  I didn't know that either. Here's a couple quotes from an article about how Mark ran MtGox: > Beneath it all, some say, Mt. Gox was a disaster in waiting. ... A Tokyo-based software developer [says it] didn’t use any type of version control software [and] he says there was only one person who could approve changes to the site’s source code: Mark Karpeles. ... “The source code was a complete mess,” says one insider. > The 1,719 lines of commented PHP code...include code to access individual customers’ Bitcoin wallets and to process transactions. ... Anyone who had access to the server running this code could have easily redirected transactions or pillaged the Bitcoin wallets. https://www.computerworld.com/article/2476003/the-php-that-shagged-mtgox-bitcoin-mystery-deepens.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2476003/the-php-that-s...
  - magduf 7y ago
    >didn’t use any type of version control software What kind of incompetent fool doesn't use version control in this day and age?

earenndil 7y ago

I don't have a horse in this race, but should mention that PIA was losing a ton of money.