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They explicitly state in their FAQ how this works and why their service is able to be free: http://hola.org/faq#in_how_is_free http://hola.org/faq#in_how_is_fre
by dchuk 11y ago
They explicitly state in their FAQ how this works and why their service is able to be free: http://hola.org/faq#in_how_is_free http://hola.org/faq#in_how_is_free
They even have a non-free option that eliminates the VPN as a proxy feature.
"Hola built a peer to peer overlay network for HTTP, which securely routes the sites you choose through other Hola users' devices and not through expensive servers. Hola never takes up valuable resources from these users, since it only uses a user as a proxy if that users' device is completely idle (meaning device is connected to electric power (not on battery), no mouse or keyboard activity is detected, and device is connected to the local network or Wifi (not on cellular)). This makes Hola the first VPN service without underlying operational costs. Although Hola doesn�t need to pay for bandwidth, we still need to pay the engineers who create, maintain and keep improving the free Hola service. Hola generates revenue by selling a commercial version of the Hola VPN service to businesses (through our Luminati brand). This is what allows us to keep Hola free for our users. Users who want to enjoy the Hola network without contributing their idle resources can do so by joining the Hola premium service for $5 per month (or $45 per year)."
- sergiotapia 11y agoAnd that somehow makes what they're doing OK?
- dchuk 11y agoI'm not sure I understand your logic here. They've come up with a clever way to create a sustainable, free vpn service, with the ability to easily opt-out for a still reasonable price. All the while clearly stating how it all works in their FAQ. What more do you want them to do?
- TylerE 11y agoWhat happens when the Feds are knocking on your door because someone routed kiddie pr0n or drug deals through your connection?
- dchuk 11y agoDoesn't that same risk exist if you're running a Tor exit node?
- nickysielicki 11y agoThat's exactly the point, people hosting tor exit nodes are very aware of the risk they're taking. Hola users aren't. Most people use Hola to watch internet shows not available in their country. Or, for example, some people use Hola to watch southparkstudios from Sweden, because it's freely available there, but in the US it requires hulu plus. I'm on a college campus, I am always peeking at people's screens in the library and I'll see the little Hola flame in their navbar. I even saw it on a CS grad student's browser once before class. No one has any idea.
- pwnna 11y agoTo play devil's advocate: isn't this kind of a good thing for privacy though? If everyone routed everyone else's stuff, it will decouple the notion that IP = person. Although the service seems shady, if everyone did this wouldn't it be for the better? (albeit at cost of slower connections)
- stefantalpalaru 11y agoYou're right, it would be good for privacy if we can convince the courts that users installing the software are not responsible for the traffic of other users. I'm afraid this argument will fall on deaf ears.
- guiambros 11y agoSure, except for the poor soul that was looking for some anonymity, and now has the FBI knocking on her door with a mandate, because a shady service that didn't disclose what it was doing to your connection. Decoupling IP from people won't happen anytime soon. It's better for law enforcement to just go, seize everything, and deal with the false positives later. See the long list of "suggestions" for people interested in running their own tor exit node [1]. This is not something you should even think about doing from your personal home, mixed with your own traffic. It's asking for trouble. [1] https://blog.torproject.org/blog/tips-running-exit-node-minimal-harassment https://blog.torproject.org/blog/tips-running-exit-node-mini...
- malka 11y agoNo one reads FAQ. Such an important information should be displayed prominently on the plugin page.
- 8chan 11y agoHello, Fredrick Brennan here (8chan owner). They changed their FAQ IN RESPONSE to my breaking the story on this. Proof: Google cache of Hola FAQ as of 26 May: https://archive.is/tgujS https://archive.is/tgujS As you can see, there is no mention of Luminati, or the underlying mechanics at all. I published hola.html and updated my global announcement just hours before the FAQ change: https://twitter.com/infinitechan/status/603178141650026498 https://twitter.com/infinitechan/status/603178141650026498 There are millions of users who installed this and do not know how it works. Please do not downplay this issue.
- sudioStudio64 11y agoIt looks like they clarified their story, not changed it? It did say that it uses idle resources collaboratively...I'm not really trying to argue, just wondering if it was really that deceptive. I had never heard of them until this post.
- 8chan 11y ago> It did say that it uses idle resources collaboratively So does Folding@Home. So does tor onion routing (relay node). Nowhere did it say outside of the EULA that they are using all their users as exit nodes. They failed to specify which "resources". It's indefensible, and people would have fallen for this cover up had Google not archived it.
- sudioStudio64 11y agoI see what you mean. That's pretty crazy.
- hiamnew 11y agoTor only relays if users explicitly configure it to. By default Tor acts as a client.
- 8chan 11y agoAlso, Luminati was falsely claiming that they were more anonymous than Tor before I did some digging. They changed that too: https://twitter.com/infinitechan/status/603512756331913216 https://twitter.com/infinitechan/status/603512756331913216 Shady business all around.
- bruce487 11y agoOut of interest: Do other vpns work the same way? Even if it's clearly stated in the FAQ, not everybody reads them.