CG features into AIRVPN

[Phx 0]

I have been useing them for a while. Unfortunately they have poor support and they closed FORUM but some features are very interesting and could be implemented into AIRVPN:

 

Ads Blocked - right now I have to use many different addons for my browsers
MALICIOUS WEBSITES BLOCKED - AV not always correct block website

Data compression for mobile - very good for Android to save your data transfer limits

Tracking Attempts Blocked

 

Any chance for some of them ?

[zhang888 1066]

Hello.

Not sure what is your meaning.

Seems that most of your requests, for 3d party blocks can be achieved by using a great extension like uBlock Origin:

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/releases

 

Data compression is available, you can use the comp_lzo directive and all servers will respect it, however this option

is not on by default since it is usually causing more problems other than it is expected to solve.

 

Any VPN provider that will block any part of the internet should be considered not neutral and thus hostile.

Your request is valid, however you can, and should perhaps, enforce it on your local network, without forcing all users

to this kind of censorship.

[go558a83nk 362]

any VPN provider that inspects data should be avoided.  not only will they likely modify data when you don't want them to they are also surely logging.

[ravenheart 6]

I was curious about this as well, and reached out to CG Customer service, after asking is this a client specified implementation or server implemented and this is their exact word for word answer....  Just for anyone curious about it or for future reference.

 

"That happens server side. However, there is no tracking involved or needed for such situation. It's simply a parser that has a public database of malware. When something that is seen to look like a malware is identified, it's simply blocked. There is no need for storing logs here for it to work. If there would be such need, we would not implement a feature in the first point. Of course, if you do not want to use the features, simply do not use them. Privacy and security is a first priority here."

[zhang888 1066]

What a bullshit response, from a person who is clearly far from both security and privacy.

A tracker that has a database of "malware"? such things belong to the 90s. Today you cannot

simply "track" malware hosts/IPs, since they are changing rapidly, and no reputable company

is even able to track such changes with meaningful results. This is why the security products

evolved, around 10 years ago, to actual detection, other than blacklisting random IPs.

 

This should warn you, however:

Of course, if you do not want to use the features, simply do not use them. Privacy and security is a first priority here.

 

At the same sentence above, they claim not to log and not to store or discriminate any user.

However, if they claim you can just "opt-out" of this mechanism, should be a red light for you.

This means they are actively profiling users based on their feature preferences, I will not be much

surprised if this provider also uses usernames/passwords to identify subscribers, that should be

a warning by itself, but we might want to leave this for another thread.

 

Bottom line, any provider that promises to keep your "online security" based on some outdated

blacklists with IP addresses, definitely keeps logs. There is no other technical way to achieve such

discrimination without it. Especially if you are "allowed" to opt-out from this.

[lordbeau 8]

CG make it clear that they don't log. They have a warrant canary and a large section devoted to the technical aspect of their operation, making it plain that they don't log. They moved from Germany to Romania to avoid German anti-privacy legislation. I trust them as much as I trust AirVPN. I also "trust" Mullvad but wonder how robust their security is when it comes to servers. Those are the only three companies I trust: AirVPN, CG, and Mullvad.

[zhang888 1066]

CG make it clear that they don't log. They have a warrant canary and a large section devoted to the technical aspect of their operation, making it plain that they don't log. They moved from Germany to Romania to avoid German anti-privacy legislation. I trust them as much as I trust AirVPN. I also "trust" Mullvad but wonder how robust their security is when it comes to servers. Those are the only three companies I trust: AirVPN, CG, and Mullvad.

 

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/exposed-cyberghost-vpn-keep-logs.385903/

 

Not only they kept logs, they also kept it in a /public_html directory with mod_index

Well, at least they made sure to wipe off that thread from their forums and Google's cache.

[LZ1 672]

CG make it clear that they don't log. They have a warrant canary and a large section devoted to the technical aspect of their operation, making it plain that they don't log. They moved from Germany to Romania to avoid German anti-privacy legislation. I trust them as much as I trust AirVPN. I also "trust" Mullvad but wonder how robust their security is when it comes to servers. Those are the only three companies I trust: AirVPN, CG, and Mullvad.

Hello !

 

It requires trust. So in that sense, claims by VPN providers can be pretty worthless. Also, I don't think warrant canaries have ever been tested in court, so while I like the idea of them, I don't think it's guaranteed that they work . I'm a little bummed that you trust them to the same degree as AirVPN though.

[ravenheart 6]

As far as Mullvad goes I found the service good but with so few server locations available connecting was sometimes frustrating.  Dunno about their actual security practices. CG of course has been discussed  several times before, also worth noting was I believe that one of their servers was either handed over to / seized by, authorities.  Personally with all the unknowns and knowns concerning their services and adding that into the mix def should be a cause for concern. I don't know the facts or anything but just saying.....