by Jean Luc Picard

VPN #Free for #Activists

 

A VPN (virtual private network) encrypts and tunnels all Internet traffic between yourself and another computer. This computer might belong to a commercial VPN service, your organization, or a trusted contact.

Because VPN services tunnel all Internet traffic, they can be used for e-mail, instant messaging, Voice over IP (VoIP) and any other Internet service in addition to Web browsing, making everything that travels through the tunnel unreadable to anyone along the way.

If the tunnel ends outside the area where the Internet is being restricted, this can be an effective method of circumvention, since the filtering entity/server sees only encrypted data, and has no way of knowing what data is passing through the tunnel. It has the additional effect of making all your different kinds of traffic look similar to an eavesdropper.

Since many international companies use VPN technology to allow employees who need access to sensitive financial or other information to access the companies’ computer systems from home or other remote locations over the Internet, VPN technology is less likely to be blocked than the technologies used only for circumvention purposes.

It is important to note that the data is only encrypted as far as the end of the tunnel, and then travels unencrypted to its final destination. If, for example, you set up a tunnel to a commercial VPN provider, and then request the Web page http://news.bbc.co.uk through the tunnel, the data will be encrypted from your computer to the VPN provider’s computer at the other end, but from there it will be unencrypted to the servers run by the BBC, just like normal Internet traffic. This means that the VPN provider, the BBC and anyone with control over a system between these two servers, will, in theory, be able to see what data you sent or have requested.

Using VPN services

VPN services might or might not require installation of client-side software (many rely on existing VPN support in Windows, Mac OS or GNU/Linux and so need no extra client software).

Using a VPN service requires you to trust the owners of the service, but provides a simple and convenient method of bypassing Internet filtering, for free or for a monthly fee generally between 5 and 10 US dollars, depending on the service. Free services are often either ad-supported, or limit the bandwidth and/or the maximum traffic allowed over a given period.

Popular free VPN services:

  • Hotspot Shield, https://hotspotshield.com
    According to a 2010 report from the Berkman Center, Hotspot Shield is overwhelmingly the most popular VPN service. For more details on how to get and use Hotspot Shield, read the “Hotspot Shield” chapter of this manual.

Examples of paid VPN services include Anonymizer, GhostSurf, XeroBank, HotSpotVPN, WiTopia, VPN Swiss, Steganos, Hamachi LogMeIn, Relakks, Skydur, iPig, iVPN.net, FindNot, Dold, UnblockVPN and SecureIX.

You can find a list of free and paid VPN providers, with their monthly fee and technical characteristics at http://en.cship.org/wiki/VPN.

We suggest to read this article about VPN anonymity and this article about mandatory data retention.

VPN standards and encryption

There are a number of different standards for setting up VPN networks, including IPSec, SSL/TLS and PPTP, that vary in terms of complexity, the level of security they provide, and which operating systems they are available for. Naturally, there are also many different implementations of each standard within software that have various other features.

  • While PPTP is known to use weaker encryption than either IPSec or SSL/TLS, it may still be useful for bypassing Internet blocking, and the client software is conveniently built into most versions of Microsoft Windows.
  • SSL/TLS-based VPN systems are relatively simple to configure, and provide a solid level of security.
  • IPSec runs at the Internet level, responsible for packet transfer in the Internet architecture, while the others run at the Application level. This makes IPsec more flexible, as it can be used for protecting all the higher level protocols, but also difficult to set up.

Set up your own VPN service

As an alternative to paying for commercial VPN services, users with contacts in unrestricted locations may have these contacts download and install software that sets up a private VPN service. This requires a much higher level of technical knowledge, but it will be free. Also the private nature of such a setup means it is less likely to be blocked than a commercial service that has been available for a long time. One of the most widely used free and open source programs available for setting up this kind of private VPN is OpenVPN (http://openvpn.net), which can be installed on Linux, MacOS, Windows and many other operating systems.

To understand how to set up an OpenVPN system, read the “Using OpenVPN” chapter in this manual.

Advantages

A VPN provides encrypted transfer of your data, so it is one of the safest ways to bypass Internet censorship. Once configured, it is easy and transparent to use.

VPNs are best suited for technically capable users who require secure circumvention services for more than just web traffic and who access the Internet from their own computer where they can install additional software. VPNs are an excellent resource for users in censored locations who do not have trusted contacts in non-filtered locations. VPN technology is a common business application that is not likely to be blocked.

Disadvantages and Risks

Some commercial VPNs (especially the free ones) are publicly known and may be filtered. They normally cannot be used in public access locations where users cannot install software, such as Internet cafés or libraries. Use of VPNs may require a higher level of technical expertise than other circumvention methods.

A network operator can detect that a VPN is being used and determine who the VPN provider is. The network operator should not be able to view the communications sent over the VPN unless the VPN is set up incorrectly.

The VPN operator (much like a proxy operator) can see what you’re doing unless you use some additional encryption for your communications, like HTTPS for Web traffic; without additional encryption, you have to trust the VPN or tunnel operator not to abuse this access.

from here

If you want a VPN read this and contact us, we'll send you a paid VPN access of the duration of 1 month or more. Free. But only for activists!
by Jean Luc Picard

JonDonym Premium Services #Free for #Activists

 

The proxy program JonDo is an ip changer. It hides your IP address and encrypt your data traffic. This means that neither the contacted server, nor any eavesdropper on your connections, nor the operators of the JonDonym service themselves can realize which webservice you use.

Basically all programs for which you can configure a HTTP proxy can used together with JonDo.

Please note: free services can only contact destination ports 80 and 443, which are used for the HTTP and HTTPS protocol. You can use these services only for web browsing and ftp downloads. All other web services you can use only with premium services.

  • For web browsing we recommend JonDoFox.

The usage of premium services with SOCKS proxies moreover allows for an additional anonymization of the following applications:

  • Messengers, like Pidgin, with the Jabber protocol and the OTR plugin.
  • IRC Chat Clients (e.g. Chatzilla).
  • Privacy friendly email clients like Mozilla Thunderbird.
  • WinSCP is a Windows program for the secure data transfer from and to a server.
  • Other programs for which you can configure a SOCKS proxy.

It is possible, with the help of “proxifier” tools (e.g. proxychains for Linux, ProxyCap for Windows and MacOS or Widecap for Windows), to use applications via JonDonym which are not capable of proxy support by themselves. E.g:

  • Unobserved administration of servers via SSH
  • Messenger application Kopete (KDE)

What is JonDo?

  • JonDo is an application that spoofs your own IP address for Internet access using certain applications (e.g. by the web browser).
  • JonDo multiply encrypts the data sent over JonDonym. Neither your access provider nor JonDonym operators (except for the last mix one in each cascade) can see your plaintext data.
  • JonDo is an Anti-Censorship-Application that allows access to otherwise blocked Internet sites. Users may configure their JonDo as aforwarding server in order to allow others access to the JonDonym service.
  • JonDo is open source and free. The program offers access to both free and paid (premium) services.
  • JonDo filters and anonymizes HTTP headers – but only for unencrypted connections (not HTTPS). You should additionally use JonDoFox in order to also filter encrypted connections.
  • JonDo is available on all major systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux).
  • JonDo was and is developed by the JonDos GmbH in cooperation with German universities (TU Dresden, Universität Regensburg) and privacy organizations (Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein).

What is JonDo not?

  • JonDo does NOT make your PC’s or router’s IP address invisible. Your IP address is assigned to you by your ISP, and it is inalterable by third parties. You need the IP so that the JonDo client may successfully connect to JonDonym services on the Internet. When using JonDo, you are surfing with servers (mixes) on the Internet that all have their own separate IP address. The websites accessed by you will only see this respective outgoing address and not yours.
  • JonDo does NOT regularly change the outgoing IP address, but retains the same outgoing IP as long as it stays connected to the same mix cascade. This could be minutes, hours or even days. The IPs of JonDonym mixes are public anyways. Changing the outgoing IP would therefore not achieve additional security.
  • JonDo does NOT hide the MAC address of your PC or router. The MAC address is used by your ISP to assign you your IP address in the first place, and it is not visible on the Internet besides that anyhow.
  • JonDo is NOT a filesharing anonymization tool. You may run certain P2P applications with JonDo, but you will not be able to upload data yourself.
  • JonDo can NOT anonymize emails. This would require special, additional data filtering in the email client itself.
  • JonDo does NOT integrate with your operating system, i.e. every application has to be configured separately for it.
  • JonDo does NOT accelerate Internet access. When surfing with premium services you probably won’t notice any big loss in speed though.
  • JonDo is NOT JonDonym. JonDonym summarizes all the accessible services in JonDo in one term and describes the technology itself.
  • JonDo is NOT JonDos. JonDos is the company that develops most of JonDo.
  • JonDo can NOT use random “anonymous” proxies (e.g. those on lists of open proxies) to create an anonymous connection. This would be a totally unsafe method that does not lead to anonymization.
  • JonDo does NOT filter plugins, scripts or HTTPS websites. To secure your browser as a whole you best use JonDoFox.
  • JonDo is NO One-Click-Anonymization-Tool – something like that can and will not really ever exist! Prudence is and remains maxim for Internet security.

Technological comparison with other services

Trust gained through indepence, responsibility and knowlegde

JonDonym servers are operated by independent entities commited to protecting your data. Because these operators are independent from each other, no single organization has complete information about you. Your anonymity is fully protected, unlike alternatives like (Web-)Proxies and VPNs, which are often controlled by a single party and can be easily exploited thereby. In many cases, these parties, their background and their intent are unknown.

Global distribution across countries and oceans

When you surf the web your requests travel across different relay points before serving the web page. Like an Internet provider, each of these relay points can monitor your entire data traffic on its way towards its destination, e.g. a website or an e-mail service. By analyzing this data, the relay points may completely deanonymize VPN services and (web-) proxies which only have only one single server location. But with JonDonym, you are protected! Each of JonDonym’s premium services consists of several servers in several different countries as well as their operators. It would require international cooperation between countries or operator organizations for your information to be revealed.

High speed surfing

JonDonym’s premium services are as fast as VPN services and as the fastest (Web-) proxies, and up to 100x faster than comparable services like Tor. JonDonym – Surf, no lag, guaranteed!

Secure browsing

Your browser can become a gateway for malicious software, spyware, and viruses designed to harm your PC and your privacy. (Web-) proxies and VPN- services offer no protection against bad software and can be easily exploited. The JonDoFox browser profile is JonDonym’s solution to protect your anonymity and your PC.

Browse, Chat, E-Mail… Anonymously

Other anonymization services like web proxies often restrict your Internet access to web surfing. JonDonym introduces new possibilities making you invisible on the internet like anonymous chats or e-mail.

Protect against web profiling

JonDonym strengthens your anonymity by applying a special technique. Every request is anonymized separately so tracking your web habits is impossible. JonDonym does not create a constant link between you and the JonDonym network exit point. This technique proves JonDonym is in a league of its own.

Anonymity, the vision..

Most other anonymity services deploy standard technologies. These technologies were not designed to defend your anonymity and fail to fully protect you. For this reason, an experienced research team stands behind JonDonym technologies which cooperates with universities and searches tirelessly for new solutions to provide you the best in anonymity.

Download and Configure it Step-by-Step, try the Free Trial for Premium Services and if you like it read this and contact us, we'll send you a Premium coupon code of the duration of 1 year. Free. But only for activists!