Comments on: Defending against insecure hotel networks with a VPN

Use a virtual private network to protect yourself when connecting to the Internet from your hotel room.

[jg0097]

I spend a lot of time in hotels and airports and wouldn't be without a VPN. A good Google search will reveal all anyone needs to know regarding how to tap into the wireless or sniff the network. It doesn't take a "hacker" to hack these days. I prefer a SSL based VPN as being more compatible with all applications. I've tried a few of the offerings out there but have settled on Surfbouncer as my VPN of choice.

SurfBouncer

[mhinnewyork]

I have used both HotspotVPN and Witopia and would be wary of SurfBouncer.

For one, a Google search shows the few pages of hits are all at eBay. This appears to be an attempt to rig the Google search. I didn't find any reviews of the service in the first few pages of Google results. Their own web site has no links to independent reviews of the service.

They are using the domain hotspotvpn.org which seems shady since they compete with hotspotvpn.com.

Finally, nowhere on their website does it say anything about the company or the people behind it. There is no About Us page. Not even a mailing address. I know nothing about the people or company behind HotSpotVPN either. I have spoken to people at Witopia though and got good vibes.

Michael Horowitz

[bbelnap]

I like the idea of using a VPN service, especially since WiFi is provided with my apartment and I don't want my landlord virtually snooping around. But which of the two is a better service? I like Witopia's price because I could afford to buy an account for each of my computers. How does HotspotVPN justify the higher price.

Also, I can't find any information on either as to the information they keep about my surfing habits, marketing data, etc. Why should I trust either of these companies more than my landlord, a hotel, or Starbucks?

[anonymous surfing]

Surfing the Web Anonymously ? Questions to Ask

When you surf the web it is possible to learn information about you even when you don't want to advertise who you are. This is true even if your system contains no virus or malware software. Specifically information that is easily available online includes your IP address, your country (and often more location information based on IP address), what computer system you are on, what browser you use, your browser history, and other information. It gets worse. People can get your computer's name and even find out your name if your machine supports programs like finger or identd. Also, cookies can track your habits as you move from machine to machine.

How do people get this basic information about you?

When you visit another web site, information about you can be retrieved. Basically, information is intercepted and used by others to track your Internet activities.

How do you stop this from happening?

First of all, it is possible to surf the web anonymously and thereby stop leaving a trail for others to find. Note that this is not fool-proof, but it makes it much harder for people to know who you are. There are products called anonymous vpn service that help protect you. The anonymous vpn replaces your Internet address for its own. This has the effect of change your IP address and making it much harder for people to track you.


How do I get an anonymous vpn?

There are many vendors who sell anonymous vpn service. There are also free proxy servers available to you. Two such products are vpnprivacy.com and Vpn Privacy. VPN Privacy (http://vpnprivacy.com) offers pptp vpn service for anonymous and secure access to the web. It provide anonymous surfing at their site for low cost price. There are many others, but here are two that are frequently used.

Another interesting product, given the recent news about the Google search engine filtering its findings for the Chinese government, is Anonymizer (http://www.anonymizer.com). This company, among others, recently (Feb 1st, 2006) pressed that it "is developing a new anti-censorship solution that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter-free" (http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/media/press_releases/02012006.html).

Does an anonymous vpn make you 100% safe?

No. Still, you are much better off if you use such technology.

What other things should I be concerned about when trying to keep my private information private?

Three other items come to mind when trying to keep your information private. First, you can use an encrypted connection to hide your surfing. This article does not go into detail on this, but search the web and you will find a lot of information on this. Secondly, delete cookies after each session. Third, you can configure your browser to remove JavaScript, Java, and active content. This actually leads to limitations, so you need to think about the cost/benefit of this course of action.


Anything else?

Wishing you happy and safe surfing!

[blacklogic1]

You can also use VPN service from Blacklogic VPN
http://blacklogic.com/anonymous-surfing.php

I use www.thenetgate.org from yousab ltd great service!

[velbon]

I use <a href="http://world-secure-channel.com/">vpn service</a>. It's a great service!

[reliablehosting.com]

http://www.strongvpn.com Accounts in USA, UK and NL
Easily switch from one country to another.

[borg_tribble]

I open a SSH connection (using PuTTY) to my home Linux server, and tunnel everything over it. It's the same setup I use at work to keep my personal Internet activity segregated from my work.

Depending on how the hotel has their service set up, you can do this and surf, check email, use your IM clients, or whatever, without ever seeing their Terms of Service web page.

[motd2k]

Personally, i've found that openvpn provides the fastest and most widely functional VPN experience. Not all VPN providers allow it, but i've found that http://www.overplay.net do, and seem to be really very fast and reliable. Many hotels will block PPTP for example, but with Overplay they offer an OpenVPN connection over the https port, so it will work virtually anywhere.