Privacy/Security internet usage question

[retiredpilot 6]

I have wondered about this question for awhile now so I thought I would ask those here what they thought.  I am especially hoping to read some input from management.  Air makes it very easy to jump among the 40 + servers in only a few seconds.  For the sake of this thread lets assume I participate in 3-4 forums (https) where I am a regular member that posts frequently.

 

Question:  In such a situation would it add to or detract from security/privacy to use a separate server and therefore a different IP while connecting to these sites.  So, in the example situation described I would use 4 different Air servers.  This would isolate my connecting IP uniquely to each forum when I connect.  There are countries where Air servers are located that I would still avoid, but lets not make that part of the issue I am trying to discuss.

 

As it is I regularly rotate which Air servers I connect to.  In a way I actually think isolating an IP always to one server when logged in as "member X" at a site might detract from anonymity compared to moving around among 10-15 of the servers.

 

I always close my browser between sites, which completely wipes the sandbox clean before opening the browser at the next site. At least this way I approach the site with no internet usage record displayed.

 

Please fire back some input.  The group here is so much more privacy aware than John Q Public.  I value any thoughts.

[winslow 0]

I've done quite a bit of thinking on this topic myself recently. Keep in mind that I could be completely wrong, but I'll share what I believe to be correct. 

 

As far as using different Air servers for each different forum (I'm assuming you essentially designated a specific server for a particular site (i.e. no overlap)), I don't think it would make much of a difference. The reason is that they are all AirVPN servers, and could be identified as such without too much trouble. As you know, your browsing information is encrypted, but there is still some information at 2 ends to consider. The first is that Air knows your IP. They claim to not log, and I trust them in that. The other end is the site you are accessing, who sees the IP of the server that you use. So if the webmasters of those sites wanted to, they could find out you're using an Air server. That in itself is not terribly valuable though, because it doesn't mean that they can know your browsing activity, so long as you don't leave accounts logged in, and you try not to use cookies and clear them immediately if you do. What you would want to avoid, however, is EVER using non-tunneled internet to access any site with a log in, that you do not want to be linked to. If you even do that once, your real IP (in addition to the Air server IP) will likely be associated with the account. So you'll still have your information encrypted to the outside world when you use a VPN again with that site, but they will have access to your true identity anyway. So if an adversary has authority over the site holders, they hack in, or the site sells your information, then you could be linked to your account. Just assume all sites that you login to will log your current IP. Anyway, my point is that if you strictly used Air VPN servers for all of these accounts, even the sites would not know who you are, whether you use one or several Air servers because you are not linked to one server any more than you are to the others. But I'm not sure if you just want the accounts not linked to your identity, or also not linked to each other. As far as them not being linked to each other, you could use different servers, but it would not make a significant difference, considering many different people can and do access the same server IPs anyway.

 

One more thing, your ISP knows that you are using Air VPN, but that doesn't mean that you are identified because they cannot track your browsing history while you are tunneling, and, as I said, you share IPs with many others when using Air. 

 

You may already know a lot of the more basic points I mentioned, but with security it is always best to err on the side of caution. So maybe this helps, but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can either confirm my statements or rectify any discrepancies.

[Staff 9899]

Hello!

 

Yes, you are right, and your exposition is correct. This is related to the identity-mixing issue (discussed in the forum about since 2-3 years ago).

 

Identity mixing must be avoided. Remember that a VPN protects your line, not your behavior, and can't prevent the information that you willingly send out to be actually sent out.

 

Kind regards