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Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

nytimes.com

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Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#151

Post by js2 »

Brendinooo wrote: post #99

I am a strong advocate for privacy, please understand that before you continue reading this. I don't want ISPs to sell my browsing history, and I am continually disappointed in the Republican opposition to net neutrality and online privacy. I'm even working on an open source project involving cryptography and secret protection, so I have skin in the game. However, this headline is patently false, right? Congress didn…

AT&T had a program in place ("Internet Preferences") where they offered a $29/mo discount on their gigapower FTTH offering to customers who allowed them to inspect traffic for the purpose of ad targeting, including sending you offers by e-mail related to your browsing.

They defaulted you in to the program, hid its terms in fine print, and made it difficult to sign up for service w/o accepting the program.

Now, they did away with this program late last year and started giving everyone the discounted price. It's not clear why they did so: maybe it was the upcoming FCC regulations; maybe it wasn't making enough money; maybe it was competition from Google Fiber.

With Google Fiber going away and the FCC regulations being rolled back, I'll guess we'll see whether the program comes back.

But regardless, at least one major ISP was willing to inspect its customers' browsing data and use it for ad targeting. It would be great if this were solved by the market via customer backlash, but I don't see that happening. Sadly, I think most customers just don't care. People are willing to tolerate a lot to save money.

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#152

Post by edraferi »

pragone wrote: post #100
edraferi wrote: post #68

I want a privacy first router. Does such a product exist? Key features: - I pay a subscription for maintenance (so I'm not the product) say $10/mo - Automatically routes all traffic over a VPN. - Smart VPN bypass for performance-sensitive traffic like streaming video and gaming - Provides non-logging DNS service - Automatic advertisement blocking For VPN, DNS, and adblock I want the option to use servers & block list…

Someone posted on a similar thread yesterday or the day about something that would fit the bill for you. I'll see if I can find it. Off the top of my head, I think they sold a router, mostly pre-configured with ddwrt, that you plugged in your info for PrivateInternetAccess and used them as the VPN. Could be wrong though. Edit: Here's what I was talking about: https://easyvpnrouter.com/ . May or may not meet your need…

That's great! Good find, thanks.

The website mentions an interesting solution to the streaming media problem: "Keep your existing router and run both networks simultaneously. Connect to your Easy VPN Router when you need safety"

So basically I could have the performance-sensitive devices hook up to the existing router, then use Easy VPN as the main access point for everything else. That's probably a lot more maintainable than trying to choose what goes over the VPN dynamically.

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#153

Post by secfirstmd »

edraferi wrote: post #68

I want a privacy first router. Does such a product exist? Key features: - I pay a subscription for maintenance (so I'm not the product) say $10/mo - Automatically routes all traffic over a VPN. - Smart VPN bypass for performance-sensitive traffic like streaming video and gaming - Provides non-logging DNS service - Automatic advertisement blocking For VPN, DNS, and adblock I want the option to use servers & block list…

You should try a the NetAidKit. We use them a lot for high risk human rights defenders travelling to various places. It works with VPN and Tor. Has wifi bridging, is portable etc.

https://netaidkit.net

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#154

Post by baumandm »

icebraining wrote: post #142
baumandm wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are commercially-available routers which support running all traffic through a VPN. That should handle all the devices in your house.

A VPN doesn't actually provide more privacy, it just changes who can snoop on your data.

Privacy isn't an either/or. That's like saying closing your window curtains doesn't give you more privacy, because your phone might be wiretapped.

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#155

Post by andrewSC »

PietdeVries wrote: post #126
bubblethink wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Smart VPN bypass for performance-sensitive traffic like streaming video and gaming It is highly error-prone to maintain (or expect a company to maintain) essentially a large filter list. In the end you'll end up with a product that gives you neither privacy nor performance. For a real world example, try using a smart dns. They suck at dns on its own. And they have to keep up with the cat and mouse of content sell…

For the nerds among us this shouldn't be too hard. A Virtual Private Server can be rented for a few dollars a month. I have seen examples that charge less than $4 for unlimited bandwidth. Install VPN software on the server and become your own VPN provider. On your home router you can setup a point-to-point VPN connection and you're done - all traffic encrypted and bypassing your local telco. I assume that network-pro…

Mind divulging on some VPS providers? The one I've been looking at closely is https://www.vultr.com/

Their $2.50/month plan fits me well as my monthly traffic across all my devices (and home) is roughly 100GB. Pair that with https://github.com/trailofbits/algo and it's a reasonable setup.

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#156

Post by galacticpony »

pdkl95 wrote: post #132
edraferi wrote: post #68

I want a privacy first router. Does such a product exist? Key features: - I pay a subscription for maintenance (so I'm not the product) say $10/mo - Automatically routes all traffic over a VPN. - Smart VPN bypass for performance-sensitive traffic like streaming video and gaming - Provides non-logging DNS service - Automatic advertisement blocking For VPN, DNS, and adblock I want the option to use servers & block list…

> VPN This is a political problem. Technology like a VPN or alternative DNS is little more than a placebo. With the ISP as a permanent MitM, modern deep-packet inspection, etc , you are probably still leaking a lot of information. Worse, you're only moving the problem to a different location. Even if you were able to hide your traffic from your local ISP, your VPN host or DNS service becomes your ISP de facto . Also,…

> Those of us that do understand the technology have a duty to help the people without that knowledge and experience.

No, we don't. The fact that the "common people" don't value privacy enough led to this whole situation. Those that do value privacy, can pay for it with their money (or their time to learn).

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#157

Post by state_less »

Brendinooo wrote: post #117
peregrine wrote: post #102

The Hacker News mods should comment why this post has been 'bumped' from the top spot and why it's title is no longer the original title of the article. From the https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html : > Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait. The title is the original, it wasn't misleading and it isn't 'linkbait'. Its the premise of the article and it's the truth. dan…

The headline isn't true. Congress voted to remove regulations, they didn't complete a financial transaction with ISPs.

s/regulations/privacy/

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#158

Post by snowpanda »

peregrine wrote: post #137
Brendinooo wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The headline isn't true. Congress voted to remove regulations, they didn't complete a financial transaction with ISPs.

Because none of them received donations or were lobbied?

You're reaching..

Re: Disapproval of FCC regulations a significant blow against privacy protection

#159

Post by icebraining »

baumandm wrote: post #154
icebraining wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A VPN doesn't actually provide more privacy, it just changes who can snoop on your data.

Privacy isn't an either/or. That's like saying closing your window curtains doesn't give you more privacy, because your phone might be wiretapped.

I don't agree with that analogy. The VPN takes away the ISP's snooping abilities, but gives snooping abilities to another company that wouldn't otherwise have it.
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