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> "When anonymity is a factor, pay with an un-trackable currency," explains Andrew from PrivateInternetAccess. > "For example, signup for an anonymous e-mail a

by fl3tch 14y ago

> "When anonymity is a factor, pay with an un-trackable currency," explains Andrew from PrivateInternetAccess. > "For example, signup for an anonymous e-mail account using Tor and use a Bitcoin Mixer to send Bitcoins to a newly generated address in your local wallet. Kind of pointless to go to such lengths when the VPN provider has your IP address.

cookiecaper 14y ago
Many VPN services claim that they do not maintain connection logs. Also, it's much safer to use bitcoins and a masked email address in case of breach by a party that doesn't have the authority to subpoena your ISP for the IP info. Also, there are plenty of ways to misdirect via IP if there is any suspicion that logs are maintained, and in that case they won't be able to easily tell who you are, as they would if you had filed a real credit card (or even a real email address).
- fl3tch 14y ago
  > Many VPN services claim that they do not maintain connection logs If you're paying for the service, then you need to authenticate to it either with a password or certificate. Either way, the VPN provider knows when you're connected. Also, to prevent sharing of accounts, they will often limit the number of IP addresses you can connect from (within a certain period of time), which means that almost all of them log IP addresses and connection times. That information, combined with other evidence, could be enough to connect you to certain activities. For example, suppose you're harassing someone on a forum and they get the cops involved. They know the date and time of all of your posts, so they go to your VPN provider, and you're the only person who was connected every single time a post was made. Now, it's good to catch people like that, but if you require strong anonymity just use Tor.
  - Dylan16807 14y ago
    There is absolutely no reason they would have to to log ip addresses to prevent account sharing. They can easily limit you to one logon at a time or simply ignore sharing and limit each account's bandwidth, preferably rounded to the megabyte or coarser.
gareim 14y ago
Exactly, this. It's hard to be truly anonymous. But I have considered one day modding a satellite dish + network adapter to use the local library's WiFi instead (or the neighbors' if the library's walls are too thick). I've heard of people doing it and it seemed interesting at the time, but I can't find any cheap dishes on my local Craigslist. EDIT: Just to clarify, I agree with the use of untraceable currency and an e-mail address not linked to your identity when you're signing up for services where you want anonymity.

by fl3tch 14y ago

cookiecaper 14y ago

Many VPN services claim that they do not maintain connection logs. Also, it's much safer to use bitcoins and a masked email address in case of breach by a party that doesn't have the authority to subpoena your ISP for the IP info. Also, there are plenty of ways to misdirect via IP if there is any suspicion that logs are maintained, and in that case they won't be able to easily tell who you are, as they would if you had filed a real credit card (or even a real email address).

fl3tch 14y ago
> Many VPN services claim that they do not maintain connection logs If you're paying for the service, then you need to authenticate to it either with a password or certificate. Either way, the VPN provider knows when you're connected. Also, to prevent sharing of accounts, they will often limit the number of IP addresses you can connect from (within a certain period of time), which means that almost all of them log IP addresses and connection times. That information, combined with other evidence, could be enough to connect you to certain activities. For example, suppose you're harassing someone on a forum and they get the cops involved. They know the date and time of all of your posts, so they go to your VPN provider, and you're the only person who was connected every single time a post was made. Now, it's good to catch people like that, but if you require strong anonymity just use Tor.
- Dylan16807 14y ago
  There is absolutely no reason they would have to to log ip addresses to prevent account sharing. They can easily limit you to one logon at a time or simply ignore sharing and limit each account's bandwidth, preferably rounded to the megabyte or coarser.

gareim 14y ago

Exactly, this. It's hard to be truly anonymous. But I have considered one day modding a satellite dish + network adapter to use the local library's WiFi instead (or the neighbors' if the library's walls are too thick). I've heard of people doing it and it seemed interesting at the time, but I can't find any cheap dishes on my local Craigslist. EDIT: Just to clarify, I agree with the use of untraceable currency and an e-mail address not linked to your identity when you're signing up for services where you want anonymity.