Hacker News with Generative AI: VPNs

Switzerland plans surveillance worse than US (tuta.com)
In Switzerland, a country known for its love for secrecy, particularly when it comes to banking, the tides have turned: An update to the VÜPF surveillance law directly targets privacy and anonymity services such as VPNs as well as encrypted chat apps and email providers.

Privacy, Surveillance, Switzerland, Law, VPNs

13 points by janandonly 18 hours ago | 0 comments

VPN firm says it didn't know customers had lifetime subscriptions, cancels them (arstechnica.com)
The new owners of VPN provider VPNSecure have drawn ire after canceling lifetime subscriptions. The owners told customers that they didn’t know about the lifetime subscriptions when they bought VPNSecure, and they cannot honor the purchases.

Privacy, Business, Technology, VPNs

14 points by ajdude 10 days ago | 8 comments

VPN firm says it didn't know customers had lifetime subscriptions, cancels them (arstechnica.com)
The new owners of VPN provider VPNSecure have drawn ire after canceling lifetime subscriptions. The owners told customers that they didn’t know about the lifetime subscriptions when they bought VPNSecure, and they cannot honor the purchases.

Privacy, Business, Consumer Rights, Technology, VPNs

15 points by 01-_- 10 days ago | 2 comments

VPNSecure cancels lifetime subscriptions after changing owners (arstechnica.com)
The new owners of VPN provider VPNSecure have drawn ire after canceling lifetime subscriptions. The owners told customers that they didn’t know about the lifetime subscriptions when they bought VPNSecure, and they cannot honor the purchases.

Business, Privacy, VPNs, Consumer Rights

10 points by ndr42 10 days ago | 4 comments

Spotfiy perma bans users who use VPNs (reddit.com)
I use a VPN that is located in the same country I live in, so I don't bypass any location restrictions or abuse regional pricing. Still, today I had multiple chat agents tell me that simply using Spotify while on a VPN will get you permanently banned

Music Streaming, Spotify, VPNs

5 points by jbernardo95 19 days ago | 2 comments

Block Mirror: Dystopian Site-Blocking Triggers Circumvention Innovation (torrentfreak.com)
Site blocking and similar censorship measures are vulnerable to circumvention, helping to popularize VPNs and other encrypted solutions all over the world.

Internet Censorship, Circumvention, VPNs, Privacy

10 points by hn_acker 40 days ago | 0 comments

Can ISPs NetFlow data be used to track traffic going through VPNs? (ivpn.net)
This privacy guide will help you understand what information your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can view regarding your network activity and the implications if you are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). In fact, many ISPs utilize NetFlow, a protocol developed by Cisco, to store the data concerning the traffic they route throughout the day.

Privacy, VPNs, ISPs, Network Security

15 points by rvnx 92 days ago | 0 comments

ProtonVPN: Site Blocking Is an Attack on Users' Online Freedom (torrentfreak.com)
In France, rightsholders have taken legal action to get large VPN providers on board with their pirate site blocking program. The aim is to prevent circumvention of existing blocking measures in place to reduce widespread copyright infringement. From the VPN provider's perspective, site blocking threatens online freedom. Swiss provider ProtonVPN describes blocking as 'a dangerous attack on Internet freedom on the altar of corporate greed'.

VPNs, Internet Freedom, Copyright, France, Digital Rights

5 points by hn_acker 95 days ago | 0 comments

Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC (obscura.net)
2-Party Relays largely resolve the trust and privacy problem inherent in existing consumer VPNs QUIC-based VPN protocols blend in with HTTP/3 traffic, bypassing network filters while avoiding the TCP-over-TCP slowdown We built a new VPN named Obscura based on these two insights, partnering with Mullvad as our exit hop

Privacy, Security, VPNs, Networking, Internet

60 points by kevincox 100 days ago | 33 comments

Backdoor infecting VPNs used "magic packets" for stealth and security (arstechnica.com)
When threat actors use backdoor malware to gain access to a network, they want to make sure all their hard work can’t be leveraged by competing groups or detected by defenders.

Cybersecurity, VPNs, Malware, Security Breaches, Networking

7 points by pitwin 117 days ago | 0 comments

Pornhub pulls out of Florida, VPN demand 'surges 1150%' (theregister.com)
Florida witnessed a massive rise in VPN demand on New Year's Day after Pornhub began prohibiting people from accessing its site from within the Sunshine State, it is claimed.

Florida, VPNs, Censorship, Privacy, Pornography

49 points by jjgreen 137 days ago | 44 comments

Russian Government Orders ISPs to Hand over Names of VPN Users (cyberinsider.com)
Russia's internet regulator, Roskomnadzor (RKN), has issued a directive requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to supply information that could identify users accessing blocked content via VPNs.

Russia, Government Censorship, VPNs, Internet Regulation

18 points by quibuss 146 days ago | 0 comments

Pakistani religious body declares using VPN is against Islamic law (voanews.com)
Pakistan’s top advisory body on religious affairs on Friday declared that using virtual private networks to access blocked content on the internet is against Shariah, or Islamic law.

Pakistan, Religion, Islam, Internet Censorship, VPNs

40 points by ivewonyoung 187 days ago | 20 comments

Can't trust any VPN these days (orhun.dev)
After Turkey banned Discord, I had to jump through some hoops, fix my VPN, and learn a bit about how DNS works.

Privacy, VPNs, Turkey, DNS

89 points by orhunp_ 219 days ago | 78 comments

Exposed: How Israeli Spies Control Your VPN (mintpressnews.com)
An estimated 1.6 billion people rely on VPNs to carry out the most sensitive tasks online, from watching illegal videos to engaging in sexual or political activities. But few people know that a considerable chunk of that market—including three of the six most popular VPNs—is quietly operated by an Israeli-owned company with close connections to that country’s national security state, including the elite Unit 8200 and Duvdevan Units of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Privacy, Surveillance, Israel, VPNs, Cybersecurity

46 points by thunderbong 226 days ago | 65 comments

Apple removes nearly 100 VPNs used by Russians to bypass censorship (elpais.com)
The U.S. multinational Apple has removed almost a hundred VPN applications in Russia, dozens more than the Kremlin’s censorship body officially reported.

Apple, VPNs, Russia, Censorship, Technology

31 points by speckx 233 days ago | 3 comments

Brazil to Fine Anyone Using a VPN to Access X $8,874 per Day; Elon Musk Responds (complex.com)

Brazil, VPNs, Censorship, Elon Musk, Technology

65 points by josephcsible 263 days ago | 46 comments

Devs claim Apple is banning VPNs in Russia 'more effectively' than Putin (theregister.com)

Russia, VPNs, Apple, Censorship, Technology

14 points by beardyw 321 days ago | 10 comments

Apple bows to Kremlin pressure to remove leading VPNs from Russian AppStore (novayagazeta.eu)

Apple, Censorship, Russia, VPNs, App Store

55 points by belter 323 days ago | 20 comments

Fingerprinting VPNs with Custom Router Firmware [pdf] (nymity.ch)