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VPN is insanely easy today. IMO Everyone should use it by default. Too bad it causes an additional load on the internet for the encrypted tunnel traffic. Ano

VPN is insanely easy today. IMO Everyone should use it by default. Too bad it causes an additional load on the internet for the encrypted tunnel traffic. Another option is a blanket law about internet traffic that states no tracking can be made at all unless given express permission.

nl 12y ago
VPN is insanely easy today How do I install a VPN on my SmartTV exactly? How do I make it actually work, even using VPN-on-a-router, given the importance CDNs have and how they use the location of your DNS resolver to attempt to give you nearest copies? How do I explain to the hypothetical 68 yo grandmother why she has to disable the VPN to use (Australian geoblocked catch-up TV Service) iView and then reenable it to browse, but she won't be able to buy Kindle books when it is enabled unless she had it enabled when she first setup an Amazon account and her credit card also has a US address, and... How is a user supposed to move the keys from their mobile device to their PC when most users can't even get photos off their phones.
- mahyarm 12y ago
  Well since the connection is tunneled to the VPN server, the shortest hop in that topology will be the IP of the VPN server anyway for the CDN. And you would locate the VPN server inside the same country, unless those services are blocking by ISP or similar.
- FeeTinesAMady 12y ago
  Why are you even letting your SmartTV connect to the internet at all? Those things are horribly insecure and just spy on you anyway.
  - Forbo 12y ago
    Convenience vs. security. It's incredibly convenient to be able to stream Netflix on a TV without having to purchase some other device, use multiple remotes, etc. I would say privacy-conscious consumers are likely the minority. I'd imagine most consumers would rather be able to watch movies with the push of a button than worry about the implications of letting their TV connect to the Internet.
- HelloNurse 12y ago
  Your grandmother being older and wiser than you, she would stop caring about the user-hostile businesses you mention. Being able to circumvent anti-privacy measures is a good skill to have, but actually doing it is ultimately less useful than quitting.
Normati 12y ago
The recent European cookie law was close to that and got laughed at by tech people. Poor Europeans are constantly being asked for permission "Can we store a cookie on your computer?" whenever they visit a major website. Also, how do you stop people tracking you by IP? Every web server's log does this by default. How do you allow sessions even? It's not easy to define tracking so it's different from essential operation.
- JadeNB 12y ago
  > Poor Europeans are constantly being asked for permission "Can we store a cookie on your computer?" whenever they visit a major website. As a non-European who visits the BBC, my impression is that it's even less useful than that (you can get that kind of annoying prompt just by setting cookie permissions on your browser to 'always ask'!). Instead of a prompt, you get an intrusive notice that they are setting cookies, and that your remedy if you don't want them to do it is to go away.

nl 12y ago

VPN is insanely easy today How do I install a VPN on my SmartTV exactly? How do I make it actually work, even using VPN-on-a-router, given the importance CDNs have and how they use the location of your DNS resolver to attempt to give you nearest copies? How do I explain to the hypothetical 68 yo grandmother why she has to disable the VPN to use (Australian geoblocked catch-up TV Service) iView and then reenable it to browse, but she won't be able to buy Kindle books when it is enabled unless she had it enabled when she first setup an Amazon account and her credit card also has a US address, and... How is a user supposed to move the keys from their mobile device to their PC when most users can't even get photos off their phones.

mahyarm 12y ago
Well since the connection is tunneled to the VPN server, the shortest hop in that topology will be the IP of the VPN server anyway for the CDN. And you would locate the VPN server inside the same country, unless those services are blocking by ISP or similar.
FeeTinesAMady 12y ago
Why are you even letting your SmartTV connect to the internet at all? Those things are horribly insecure and just spy on you anyway.
- Forbo 12y ago
  Convenience vs. security. It's incredibly convenient to be able to stream Netflix on a TV without having to purchase some other device, use multiple remotes, etc. I would say privacy-conscious consumers are likely the minority. I'd imagine most consumers would rather be able to watch movies with the push of a button than worry about the implications of letting their TV connect to the Internet.
HelloNurse 12y ago
Your grandmother being older and wiser than you, she would stop caring about the user-hostile businesses you mention. Being able to circumvent anti-privacy measures is a good skill to have, but actually doing it is ultimately less useful than quitting.

Normati 12y ago

The recent European cookie law was close to that and got laughed at by tech people. Poor Europeans are constantly being asked for permission "Can we store a cookie on your computer?" whenever they visit a major website. Also, how do you stop people tracking you by IP? Every web server's log does this by default. How do you allow sessions even? It's not easy to define tracking so it's different from essential operation.

JadeNB 12y ago
> Poor Europeans are constantly being asked for permission "Can we store a cookie on your computer?" whenever they visit a major website. As a non-European who visits the BBC, my impression is that it's even less useful than that (you can get that kind of annoying prompt just by setting cookie permissions on your browser to 'always ask'!). Instead of a prompt, you get an intrusive notice that they are setting cookies, and that your remedy if you don't want them to do it is to go away.