Technology - Liberty - Hunting and How To's

Here is a good writeup about what to look for in a VPN from C-Net - https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-pick-the-right-vpn-now-that-youre-working-from-home/

With more and more people working form home, having a VPN is going to help out a lot.

"

It's nearly complete. You've transformed a corner of your house into your new coronavirus-proof home office, you've selected the perfect ergonomic rolling chair and eyestrain-preventive lighting, and now you've decided to shore up the privacy of your home internet -- effectively now your workplace internet -- with a steadfast virtual private network. 

Whether you're searching for a VPN that will shield sensitive work activity from nosy internet service providers, help you dodge data-snooping websites, or one that'll let you watch Netflix catalogs from different countries -- there are dozens of VPNs to choose from, often with steep price tags, all of which claim to be the best. 

Here's how to find the right VPN to fit your particular workspace and avoid getting ripped off. "

The VPN client that I have the most experience with is NordVPN. There are many others and I have a few that I did a write up about - http://www.techlibertyblog.com/index.cfm/2017/4/3/Secure-your-Internet-connection-with-a-VPN

NordVPN has a special right now where you can get the VPN service for $3.29 a month when you sign up for a 2 year service ( $80.00 for 2 years of service)
Some of the features of NordVPN include:

Their pricing tier (as of 9/2019)  is

• 3-year plan: $3.49 per month, $125.64 total ( 70% discount)

• 2-year plan: $4.99 per month, $119.76 total ( 58% discount)

• 1-year plan: $6.99 per month, $83.88 total ( 41% discount)

• 1-month plan: $11.95 per month, $11.95 total ( 0% discount)

Some of their features are:

• Strict no log policy
• Custom software for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android
• Connect up to 6 Devices under one account
• P2P Friendly
• No Bandwidth Limit
• Pay using Bitcoin, PayPal, Credit Cards and more
• 4200+ servers in 62+ countries
• Double VPN for increased anonymity
• IKEv2/IPsec, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP, IPSec security protocols offered
• Free proxy list (up to 3000 free proxies)
• Multiple Device Support: iPhone, iPad, Routers, Game Consoles and More
• Multiple OS Support: Win, iOS, OS X, Android, Linux, Blackberry and More
• Shared IP (static/dynamic)
• Dedicated IPs (special price)
• Own DNS servers
• OpenVPN AES-256-SHA
• IKEv2/IPsec (AES-256-GCM / SHA2-384 / PFS 3072-bit)
• Unique SmartPlay feature for added streaming connectivity
• Customer Support (24/7) via Ticket system, Facebook, Twitter or Email
• Convenient server map & custom software
• Kill switch: NordVPN offers an automatic kill switch (it can kill individual processes or kill whole Internet connection)
• NordVPN offers encrypted proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers
• NordVPN has a CyberSec feature that blocks dangerous websites and lets users avoid annoying ads
• NordVPN will automatically initiate a VPN connection whenever a Wi-Fi network is joined. It can be set up to auto-connect to Nord on both secured and unsecured Wi-Fi networks
• Restricted countries: with the help of obfuscated servers, NordVPN works in countries (China, the Middle East countries) where Internet access is restricted and strong censorship is in place as well as in restricted local networks

NordVPN will also work with DD-WRT as I had it installed on my older router.

I use NordVPN on my computer and my cellphone, to which I have not had any issues with. I especially like to use it when connecting to unsecure WiFi

This entry was posted on March 28, 2020 at 4:39 PM and has received 2281 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Here is an article from Forbes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/03/19/coronavirus-reality-check-yes-us-and-eu-governments-will-track-our-phones-get-used-to-it

"Yesterday (March 18), the Washington Post reported that the U.S. government “is in active talks with Facebook, Google and a wide array of tech companies and health experts about how they can use location data gleaned from Americans’ phones to combat coronavirus.” Right now this would be anonymized, generic scale trends, not tracking specific individual’s “daily whereabouts.”

The idea behind this initial move would be predicting hotspots using “aggregated anonymized data.” That could include density mapping—is social distancing working or are we still seeing too many people in certain places, and where that might be, does it link to infections, how do we react?

This entry was posted on March 19, 2020 at 1:32 PM and has received 330 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/covid19-fears-earn-it-act/

Check out the link above and really take the time to read it. While you may say that you have nothing to hide, would you let any person read anything that you do or say online at any time? If the answer is no, then you do have something to hide and protect and that is your privacy. Just remember anything you say can be used against you at some time in the future, so why take that chance and protect yourself now.

Here is an article about VPN's.   I currently use 2 VPN clients (I use 2 becuase I have multiple devices to protect)

http://www.techlibertyblog.com/index.cfm/2017/4/3/Secure-your-Internet-connection-with-a-VPN

Some of the pricing in the article has changed and I need to update it.

This entry was posted on March 18, 2020 at 2:54 PM and has received 370 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.