Google VPN

[misam 9]

Included for free in their storage plan of 2TB/y.

Description:
https://one.google.com/about/vpn

Whitepaper (PDF):
https://www.gstatic.com/subscriptions/marketing_page/vpn/white_paper_4f995ab5d7c7edc3d3f14f2e0593f790.pdf

not sure if I trust it lol

 

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

Just like with Google Public DNS data will be used to fine-tune profiles.

[RaineyPass 12]

When I first heard of it, I immediately dismissed it.  Google has a "private" subscription version of Gmail, too.

No idea how many services Google offers, thousands, I'd imagine.  They don't seem to advertize very thoroughly, rather they bombard you browsing.  I began blocking all things Google long ago.  On the occasions when I set up a new computer or whatever and am forced to use Google Search without an ad blocker I remember how awful it is (getting worse) and wonder why users put up with an ad server that provides a few search results thrown in for fun.  The Android version defines infinite scrolling.

Sorry for the diversion but I can't imagine their VPN being any more than an annoying client that sends you ads, forwards stupid notifications and collects data.  Avoiding Google is one of the top reasons I use VPN's.

[Rajep 0]

Would you tell me how to use the ad blocking extensions in Chrome? If I have to be in Chrome to do this I dont think it will be possible because I get totally bombarded with ads when in Chrome.

Any help will be appreciated. It seems like I did use ad blocking extensions once a few years ago but I cant remember how I did it.

[Flx 76]

On 12/16/2020 at 5:12 PM, RaineyPass said:

Sorry for the diversion but I can't imagine their VPN being any more than an annoying client that sends you ads, forwards stupid notifications and collects data.

And on top of all giggles they expect you to pay for it.

On 12/16/2020 at 5:12 PM, RaineyPass said:

Avoiding Google is one of the top reasons I use VPN's.

Avoiding Google is like avoiding the pandemic
I don't know who told you Get a VPN and you will be safe from Google. You can't.

[Daniel15 14]

On 2/28/2021 at 11:59 AM, Flx said:

Avoiding Google is like avoiding the pandemic

Yeah it's pretty much impossible these days. Even if you do somehow avoid all Google services, lots of other sites and apps are using Google Analytics (including server-side analytics, which you can't block client-side), and lots of companies use Google Cloud Platform for hosting.

[RaineyPass 12]

On 2/28/2021 at 7:36 AM, Rajep said:

Would you tell me how to use the ad blocking extensions in Chrome? If I have to be in Chrome to do this I dont think it will be possible because I get totally bombarded with ads when in Chrome.

Any help will be appreciated. It seems like I did use ad blocking extensions once a few years ago but I cant remember how I did it.

Go to the Chrome Store or whatever it's called and install AdGuard or whatever you want.  A better solution is use the AdGuard system level version.  It's cheap, is browser independent, doesn't slow browsing like extensions do and can be used to keep any program installed from going out, although your firewall can do the same.

[RaineyPass 12]

On 2/28/2021 at 1:59 PM, Flx said:

And on top of all giggles they expect you to pay for it. Avoiding Google is like avoiding the pandemic
I don't know who told you Get a VPN and you will be safe from Google. You can't.

It's actually easier to avoid the pandemic than Google.  Amazon seems to be running neck and neck with them.  No one told me a VPN will avoid Google, whether the online world knows who I am or not doesn't have any affect on whether services exist or whether I run into Google, but I don't have to volunteer whatever information they want by, e.g., keeping my phone or browsers in their OOB configurations. Our schools use Google services for distance learning, no way out of that.  I use VPN's mainly to reduce tracking, annoyances and regain some privacy; one tool of many.  Fortunately, VPN's are not a safety shield for us.

[SurprisedItWorks 49]

See https://decloudus.com/ for a paid DNS service that offers two levels of de-Googling your life.  I haven't tried it but came across it while researching something else.

[calcu007 5]

They are hosted in German. There is better options like Nextdns


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

Quote

Privacy is a right that we willingly surrender for the sake of convenience.

Ain't that a sweet irony: Conveniently pay DeCloudUs for adblocking DNS servers you don't control so you don't have to set up something you fully control yourself, like Pi-Hole…

Convenience is inversely proportional to your own control over things. What you don't control will hurt your goal.

[misam 9]

Public Report – VPN by Google One: Technical Security & Privacy Assessment

https://research.nccgroup.com/2021/04/08/public-report-vpn-by-google-one-technical-security-privacy-assessment/

[Staff 9972]

1 hour ago, misam said:

Public Report – VPN by Google One: Technical Security & Privacy Assessment

https://research.nccgroup.com/2021/04/08/public-report-vpn-by-google-one-technical-security-privacy-assessment/

We don't see how any assessment of any kind would make any difference when NSA has inner access to Google infrastructure, as we all know since 2013 when the PRISM program, revealed by the documents leaked by Snowden, provided proof of that. On top, of course, of all the ties between Google, the CIA and the State Department disclosed by Wikileaks (check also Julian Assange's "When Google met Wikileaks" and the excerpt https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/).

Kind regards
 

[flat4 79]

just got the email that i can use this Pffff!

[fsy 34]

A VPN by Google is for me the pinnacle of grim irony. In my mind Google VPN users are the same kind of people who trusted to keep their BTC in custody on FTX. Sooner or later shall a rude awakening come.

[nexsteppe 24]

Putting the general safety of any Google service aside, is there any compelling reason why they rolled their own variation of IPsec for Google One rather than build on OpenVPN?
I doubt anyone was seriously considering WireGuard when they first rolled this out for Fi users back in 2019, so I get that much.
But why IPsec?  Particularly for mobile devices?
 

[Staff 9972]

2 hours ago, nexsteppe said:

Putting the general safety of any Google service aside, is there any compelling reason why they rolled their own variation of IPsec for Google One rather than build on OpenVPN?
I doubt anyone was seriously considering WireGuard when they first rolled this out for Fi users back in 2019, so I get that much.
But why IPsec?  Particularly for mobile devices?
 

It's difficult to know the whole story because Google is a major participant of the PRISM programs. NSA CIA and other analysts can anytime access all Google relevant database without court orders, so some technical solution might be picked to make life easier to let NSA, CIA analysts access Google based db and keep data consistency and veracity for each person regardless of Google VPN usage.

Kind regards
 

[nexsteppe 24]

2 hours ago, Staff said:

It's difficult to know the whole story because Google is a major participant of the PRISM programs. NSA CIA and other analysts can anytime access all Google relevant database without court orders, so some technical solution might be picked to make life easier to let NSA, CIA analysts access Google based db and keep data consistency and veracity for each person regardless of Google VPN usage.

So IPsec is basically obsolete today, correct?  Making that difficult leap of imagination in assuming a competent, good faith implementation (which I'm not suggesting in the slightest Google's is), does IPsec have any potential merits at all over OpenVPN or WireGuard?

[Staff 9972]

39 minutes ago, nexsteppe said:

So IPsec is basically obsolete today, correct?  Making that difficult leap of imagination in assuming a competent, good faith implementation (which I'm not suggesting in the slightest Google's is), does IPsec have any potential merits at all over OpenVPN or WireGuard?

Hello!

We did not want to imply that. IPsec is widespread and remains a protocol suite of paramount importance. Together with some tunneling protocol such as L2TP it also provides a variety of VPN solutions both in a host-to-host transport mode and in a network tunneling mode. Under many aspects, IPsec offers a variety of solutions which OpenVPN does not offer (WireGuard can not even be mentioned as it is too rudimentary). AirVPN does not need them, but they are very important for so many companies.

Unfortunately, even nowadays, legitimate suspicions that IPsec was targeted by the Bullrun program suggest a very cautious approach to IPsec. AirVPN discarded IPsec in 2010 for legitimate suspicions which became more and more substantiated after Snowden's "revelations" (AirVPN predicting the risks of IPsec three years in advance was a mixture of careful inside considerations and luck/ability to select the correct rumors among the background noise in 2009 and 2010). See for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec#Alleged_NSA_interference

Kind regards