CyberGhost VPN.

[IainB]

CyberGhost VPN Special Deal (worth a look).
In reviews of VPN providers, CyberGhost comes out with a pretty good report.
They had a FREE sort of trial option that wasn't too bad at all, despite its constraints - bandwidth caps.
Now their business model seems to have been revamped along with their network, and they have the FREE option now with no cap, but I think it must be throttled. In addition, the annual tariff plan has been reduced as a limited time special offer. The tariff plans apparently give you a faster response time.

This is a clip from: Welcome to the new CyberGhost VPN

...We changed the tariff plan, so it’s easier for you to understand and decide for one of the two types of paid subscriptions: Premium and Premium Plus. Currently, our free service covers the basic needs, making a Classic subscription unnecessary.

To celebrate the kickoff of the new CyberGhost VPN, we offer you the 12 Month subscription for a limited amount of time for $39,99 instead of $69,99 and our CyberGhost Premium Plus for $69,99 instead of $109,99...

[f0dder]

I wonder what people use these VPN services for? About the only useful thing I can think of is subverting sites that try to geo-restrict you based on IP.

For anybody thinking they get any kind of "security" from it... 

[tomos]

About the only useful thing I can think of is subverting sites that try to geo-restrict you based on IP.

I've no idea about this stuff but I just read this the other day (was looking for a solution to the 'geo-restriction')
VPNs Are Old: Better Ways to Access Region-Blocked Video
(makeuseof.com)

[f0dder]

I also wonder how those "DNS" solutions work - either the content providers has some really, really bad location detection, or the "DNS" solution actually does proxy the video stream through the "DNS" provider - which means that the stream speed will be no better(*) than through a VPN service.

(*): there's some overhead to VPN, but given the routing is decent and there's bandwidth enough, it shouldn't make much of a difference compared to a non-VPN proxying service.

[Renegade]

I wonder what people use these VPN services for? About the only useful thing I can think of is subverting sites that try to geo-restrict you based on IP.

That's one of the reasons I use a VPN. SecurityKISS lets you choose the country. There was a thread on it somewhere here at DC.

The other thing I use VPNs for is when I'm plotting "freedom fighter" events, "medical research" for "biological solutions", the downfall of humankind, and other such fun things that would seem nefarious to anyone not from the planet Xurolifpst.

For anybody thinking they get any kind of "security" from it... 

There is at least one that lets you use BitCoin:

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn/

That's one additional layer of insulation.

But I think that you really need to do your research on them and use more than 1 with virtual machines before you can realistically consider them feasible. Well, if you're doing anything that you really need to be anonymous for that is, in which case free Wi-Fi connections out on the town, or better yet another town, are a better layer - but still, adding in a VPN there is still a good idea. TOR also helps. But a VM is a must.

[f0dder]

but still, adding in a VPN there is still a good idea. TOR also helps. But a VM is a must.

Adding a VPN is an OK idea, but in and by itself it brings you pretty much nada security.

Yep, if you're doing things that might get you in trouble, you need to be on a VM, on an open public (or hacked) WiFi, through TOR, and some distance from your home. If you add a VPN to the mix, be sure you go TOR->VPN and not VPN->TOR, and be sure you pay for the the VPN with bitcoin - otherwise it's jailtime.

OPSEC for hackers

[Renegade]

OPSEC for hackers

Ah! We have a real pro in the crowd~!

[f0dder]

OPSEC for hackers

Ah! We have a real pro in the crowd~!

Not I. But grugq definitely is

[edbro]

I wonder what people use these VPN services for? About the only useful thing I can think of is subverting sites that try to geo-restrict you based on IP.

For anybody thinking they get any kind of "security" from it... 

Don't they provide anonymity for torrent downloading?

[f0dder]

I wonder what people use these VPN services for? About the only useful thing I can think of is subverting sites that try to geo-restrict you based on IP.

For anybody thinking they get any kind of "security" from it...  

Don't they provide anonymity for torrent downloading?

I wouldn't count on it. Sure, it makes it a bit harder to get hold of your IP address, but anybody remember HideMyAss? "Secure and anonymous" my ass.

[Clive]

Could someone clarify for the dumb end user aka me.
Are VPNs useful for doing banking in public hot spots?

Thanks

[f0dder]

Could someone clarify for the dumb end user aka me.
Are VPNs useful for doing banking in public hot spots?

Web banking should use SSL connections, and thus should be safe without a VPN - except that there's nastyness like DNS poisoning, so don't do it (and get hold of something like the FireFox Certificate Patrol addon, which lets you spot SSL certificate tampering).

A VPN connection would add safety in this situation, but you've got to have trust in the company you get the VPN through.

Personally, when I'm on public WiFi I SSH to my home server, and use that as a socks4 proxy. Ultimate trust, and no extra cost

[Clive]

Thanks Fodder

[IainB]

Useful post from CyberGhost VPN:
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Outrunning NSA’s Bullrun
Posted by CyberGhost VPN - Oana Ciobotea in News

Following the latest rumors about NSA and its connected Intelligence Services, many of you Ghosties are concerned about the decryption program called ‘Bullrun’ which is said to be able to hack SSL and VPNs – along with the equal alarming news that a lot of US companies have been forced to implement backdoors to their services.
But, and it’s a big ‘BUT’ here, we need to differentiate between an eligible concern and unfounded fears. The encryption line of battle has not been broken yet. It’s under heavy attack, no doubt about that, but good encryption still works the way it should: Protecting your data!
It’s true, that an encryption program called ‘Bullrun’ exists, and it really seems it’s able to compromise security barriers like SSL (as you use with your online banking) – but it doesn’t work as good as the NSA hoped it would. That’s why they force companies to implement backdoors and influence the programming of encryption standards (so they can easily break it). In a way that bad news is a good news, because it shows that despite all the money and the man power that goes in there, less than expected came out.

Regarding CyberGhost we’d like to ensure you that CyberGhost VPN is still a good friend:

• 1. We don’t use any of the maybe hacked or unsafe technologies, instead we began even before ‘Bullrun’ became public, to provide the VPN tunnel to and on ALL our servers (Free and Premium) with AES with 256 bit key length. There are no hints that AES-256 is even near to be hacked. In fact, at present it’s much more likely the earth will fall into the sun than the NSA will be able to decrypt 256 bit AES secured data. (This goes also for TrueCrypt, so don’t fall for any propaganda claiming TrueCrypt is a threat and guiding you to real unsafe technologies like Psyop.)
  
• 2. Our Windows client as well as the announced Mac OS X and Android client are based on OpenVPN. This protocol is Open Source and controlled by a worldwide community of programmers and therefore backdoor free.
  
• 3. We run our business under the Romanian legislation and can’t be forced by the NSA to take part in their goal for worldwide espionage. No backdoors included!
• 4. Some still in use SSL components will steadily be exchanged and updated – even though they are commonly not yet be seen as unsafe.
  ___________________________

Like said above, good cryptography is still effective and the only option against spying eyes. If you have any other questions, please write us a comment and we will be happy to answer.

(The comments section and responses are probably worth a read.)

[IainB]

CyberGhost VPN crowdfunding appeal (to implement a secure NSA-Proof datacenter).
Website: Cybergost VPN
There you can read about their:

• (a) Indiegogo Campaign (crowdfunding).
• (b) World's first No-Spy Proxy.

For info about CyberGhost VPN, there's quite a good PCMag writeup on them (Editor's Choice, alongside VPNBook), and a comparison with others: CyberGhost VPN Review & Rating | PCMag.com

There is/was also a Wikipedia entry (not sure if it was censorship, but it now seems to have been deleted): CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost VPN is an Internet anonymizer service operated by CyberGhost S.R.L, located in Bucharest, Romania. The company offers an OpenVPN based proprietary client, the service can also be used by the native VPN protocols L2TP/IPSec, PPTP or OpenVPN. Restricted features are...

The CyberGhost VPN Indiegogo crowdfunding appeal is referred to in an email I received today:

CyberGhost VPN newsletter@cyberghost.info via amazonses.com
03:47 (11 hours ago, as at 2014-09-13 1523hrs)

Help us take things to the next level!

Last week we started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. We want to build our own datacenter with NSA-Proof levels of security.

But for that, we need your help. We need you to support our cause, and we’ll offer you some fantastic perks in return: you get access to a faster, better service with a state of the art level of security plus an excellent deal.

You get a Premium Plus subscription (with instant access to our 400+ servers) in the current worth of $109.99 plus priority access to our 48 #NoSpyProxy servers in the worth of $79.99 (together $189.98) for just $97.

So join in and support us by donating or spreading the word! Post it on Facebook, Twitter, tell your mom, your neighbors and your colleagues and let’s keep the fire burning!

Check our Indiegogo campaign and help us reach our goal by donating or simply spreading the word!

You’ll get our gratitude, an improved service with enhanced levels of security and tons of amazing perks.