VPN provider with block accounts

Donkeyfumbler

Donkeyfumbler

Donkeyfumbler

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308
Can anyone recommend a VPN provider that does block accounts, similar to some usenet providers? I only very rarely have the need for it, so paying a monthly fee would be a massive waste of money, but one where I can just pay for the bandwidth I use would be ideal.

Needless to say, it would need to be one that has a strict no-logging privacy policy and that can be trusted.

Cheers.
 
SSL simply encrypts the payload in transit but the source is still identifiable.
VPN will make it appear that the source is somewhere/someone it's not.
 
KIA said:
https://www.privatetunnel.com/

http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. The payment scheme is definitely what I am after, but I'm not sure about their policies. I can't see them listed on the Torrentfreak article and their policies state that they keep logs:

"Log files stored on our servers are only used for monitoring server performance, identifying software bugs, identifying any potential security breaches, and for the purpose of identifying abusive users. The log files are not used for monitoring or censoring your internet activities. We respect your privacy. We are not interested in what you do on the internet."

which kind of rules them out for me unfortunately.
 
PistolPete said:
SSL simply encrypts the payload in transit but the source is still identifiable.
VPN will make it appear that the source is somewhere/someone it's not.
Click to expand...

If your downloading from Usenet for example it comes from proper servers registered to there company. So I doubt anyone cares that its coming from there. (Dunno if that made sence) They might only care what it is, which they wont know with SSL.
 
Danny091 said:
If your downloading from Usenet for example it comes from proper servers registered to there company. So I doubt anyone cares that its coming from there. (Dunno if that made sence) They might only care what it is, which they wont know with SSL.
Click to expand...

That's true, which is why I use SSL with usenet, but I'm not too worried about using a VPN for that traffic. The VPN would be for non-usenet stuff.
 
Donkeyfumbler said:
Because the main point of a VPN is so that you're activity isn't tracked and can't be traced back to you - if the VPN provider logs what you do it rather defeats the whole object of the exercise.
Click to expand...

You understand that they said they keep logs for diagnostic purposes, e.g not your activity.

Most VPN providers don't log, do you realise how much space it would take up?
 
They may not use it to monitor the traffic themselves but the fact that they keep anything at all means that they could potentially be asked for the logs by a third party, just like your ISP could be for a non-vpn connection, thus making the VPN worthless.

I realise that most VPN providers don't log but some definitely do. I'd rather go for one that has a very clear 'We don't log anything at all' policy like Mullvad or CybgerGhost but unfortunately they only do a monthly payment plan and not the block account I'm after.
 
Danny091 said:
If your downloading from Usenet for example it comes from proper servers registered to there company. So I doubt anyone cares that its coming from there. (Dunno if that made sence) They might only care what it is, which they wont know with SSL.
Click to expand...

VPNs cover you both ways. Your end (ie your ISP) can't see where you are connecting to and the other end can't see where you have really come from.
 
Donkeyfumbler said:
Because the main point of a VPN is so that you're activity isn't tracked and can't be traced back to you - if the VPN provider logs what you do it rather defeats the whole object of the exercise.
Click to expand...

VPN wasn't invented to hide illegal activity. Most of the time it is used as a secure tunnel to protect legitimate traffic or to provide an entry point to a corporate network. It sounds like you're doing something pretty dodgy. VPN isn't for you. You have no idea if host X is logging, since you have zero access to their servers and configs.
 
KIA said:
VPN wasn't invented to hide illegal activity. Most of the time it is used as a secure tunnel to protect legitimate traffic or to provide an entry point to a corporate network. It sounds like you're doing something pretty dodgy. VPN isn't for you. You have no idea if host X is logging, since you have zero access to their servers and configs.
Click to expand...

I agree. VPNs were originally intended as secure tunnels to protect traffic from eavesdropping and you're right, we don't have any idea whether the company providing a VPN service is logging or not - we only have their word for it. The question then is - who do you trust most and how far do you trust them?

When people are being arrested for posting pictures of burning poppies:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/12/arrested-poppy-burning-beware-tyranny-decency

(stupid, yes - illegal, no (or shouldn't be in a free society) then I don't think it's all that paranoid to be looking at ways of increasing your anonymity on the internet.

Illegal does not always mean morally wrong.
 
Not sure I agree here 100%. We don't live in a free society, we are bound by laws.

Now whilst there is no defence in the ignorance of any given law and you can't be expected to know all laws, if I post pictures you know would be seen as offensive by a proportion of society then surely you'd expect consequences of some kind.
Same as these people that have been put on Youtube and similar recently having racist rants on public transport.

Anyway.....As KIA states, VPN was not designed to hide illegal activity so if you are using it for something other than the purposes of which it was originally conceived then you must think that you are doing something wrong somewhere to need it......

unless of course you are the very small minority of people that will use VPNs, systems like TOR and PGP to encrypt everything on the basis that "they don't want the government/big brother/anyone to be able to intercept their private communications" even though it's completely innocent and do it just because they can.

I'm not here to say if what you are doing is morally or legally wrong, just expressing my opinion.
 
I'm glad you're able to express your opinion - let's hope no-one finds it offensive!

Let's face it, what is offensive to you may not be offensive to me - I find it offensive that someone is arrested for posting that picture for instance. How many people do you have to offend for it to be worthy of punishment? 1? 10? 1,000? What colour, religion or political affiliation do they need to be? The article I linked to says it all much more eloquently than I can manage.

Also, the whole 'If you're not doing anything wrong, why do you care if they do X' would be fine, unless you happen to be someone like Richard O'Dwyer, who hasn't broken any laws in this country but finds himself looking at a lengthy jail term somewhere else simply because it is politically expedient.

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

Voltaire
 
Donkeyfumbler said:
Let's face it, what is offensive to you may not be offensive to me - I find it offensive that someone is arrested for posting that picture for instance. How many people do you have to offend for it to be worthy of punishment? 1? 10? 1,000? What colour, religion or political affiliation do they need to be? The article I linked to says it all much more eloquently than I can manage.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know - it's a very difficult state of affairs and these days a lot more people get upset by a lot less. Going back to the early 80's and you'd find most comedian's routines would get them locked up today!

Best thing to do these days is err on the side of caution and hope it's enough.
 
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