- 28/06/2018
- Posted by: Alistair Ewing
- Category: Security Online
Whether you are an anti-government blogger in Myanmar, a traveller who wants to watch your native TV stations by spoofing your location or just simply someone who wants to protect their anonymity online then you should consider using a consumer VPN.
You can trace your current IP address here. The trace will tell you your location, internet service provider and even which browser you are using. This means if you are a major our corporation you risk a data breach. Your data can be logged and monitored by your ISP, marketers can then target your computer with area-specific adverts. Onlookers cannot see your information should you use a VPN. If you are not using one now you may be only one transaction away from online banking fraud thus giving your details to the hacker. You can also purchase full protection for up to 5 devices for only £40 a year.
What is a VPN?
In a nutshell, a VPN is a secure encrypted connection between your computer and the VPN server. While connected all your data passes through an encrypted tunnel. This way no one can eavesdrop or sniff the data being transferred. Also, you have a different public IP address (Your internal IP will remain the usual 198.168.1.xxx or of that range).
Many corporate environments have a VPN. You could be using one already. Consumer versions of VPN technology are vast. A personal favourite of mine for many reasons Private Internet Access. This company offers a super fast VPN service for Windows, Mac, iOS and Linux for around £24 a year. They have on their hardware list a plethora of servers from around the world as the closest server to you will be the fastest, this is a must. There is no use of watching online videos browsing from a slow server in Mumbai when sat in a cafe in London.
Benefits of a VPN
Free WIFI Security Concerns
One of the main advantages of a VPN is if you connect to a free WIFI hotspot such as an airport anyone related to that service can see your browsing stream and use a tool like Wireshark to sniff your credit card details and passwords. Recently it is now possible to do this on a mobile phone. An android tool called ZAnti automatically filters out the noise and leaves users with a report detailing sniffed passwords and activities. The culprit would start reconnaissance by using a tool to scan IP addresses and discover devices on that network then target a particular device to sniff the data. Had you been using VPN your activity would be invisible. I once conducted a pen test for a bluechip firm. I couldn’t find any holes in their network; It was pretty tight. I went to the canteen ran by a dreadful favourite coffee chain style clone. They had free WIFI and an open connection. This connection infiltrated the business, and some employees were unwittingly using this to connect to the internet. From this, I was able to sniff confidential company data while supping a terrible faux Italian coffee looking trendy utilising a ‘man in the middle’ attack. I reported that this occurred and the director of compliance was shocked. Heads rolled, and changes were made. I collected my bonus pay for finding the weakness and their brands reputation was saved.
Being Naughty
If your family has been doing the unthinkable and downloading that latest release through BitTorrent then you probably won’t be receiving that court summons as the IP address won’t be trackable. Your IP address will also be anonymous. Most VPN companies don’t leave logs so will have nothing to hand over when they receive the knock from that ‘Paramount Fox’. I do not condone this and if you download copyrighted material then expect strange things to happen.
Watching Online TV
More innocently, If you are in a foreign country and wish to watch your local online TV stations then you can fool them into thinking that you are based in that country. Just recently though Netflix have grown wise to this so there is no guarantee how long this bubble will last.
Tin Foil Hat Wearers
If you are worried about the reptilian government NSA spying agency intercepting your plans at organizing a David Icke appreciation tea party then a VPN is for you. Instead of your outside IP address being traceable and your data stream being unencrypted using a VPN will make your activity much harder to track and decipher. This article suggests that the US government are silently deciphering up to two-thirds of VPN connections. Right or wrong, this article is simply informational and remains agnostic but it is happening. This may aid spooks to catch those who wish to harm but who’s to say that someone doesn’t come knocking at your door at 3 am in 10 years time when a fascist government takes control and they got hold of information you voted Green for Ralph Nader back in 2000.
What to Look for in a VPN Firm
A google search will reveal ‘free’ VPN services. They are OK for short-term use but on the whole, I find them slower and unreliable; see Tunnelbear, Windscribe and Cyberghost.
You want something fast, that doesn’t hand over logs, one-click activation, one-click connection, advanced features, fast performance, multiple payment options with Multi-platform support and a VPN kill switch. Again I tested many and find Private Internet Access has the best speed, the most servers, and countries in which to choose to browse from.
I Have an Anti-Virus and Firewall so Why Bother?
Fine then! But think about it; for the price of a Spotify subscription, you can evade from network attacks which are becoming increasingly common. A VPN provides another level of security that anti-virus and firewalls don’t. With NSA, hackers, and IP hungry advertisers all vying for our information, VPN is going to be something that will become more common in coming years. Think about using a VPN as a daily habit for you anonymity and protection.
Written by Alistair Ewing Director at Compute Forensics