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Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

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Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#61

Post by chimeracoder »

fredley wrote: post #6

> “VPNhub is free and unlimited, anonymous and easy to use, [...] a good number of [people] use [VPNs] to circumvent and bypass restrictions to access adult content. It only makes sense that they use Pornhub’s.” So wait, as a UK citizen I can use Pornhub's VPN to circumvent the UK Government's "Porn Filter", a system that's run by..... Pornhub.

> a system that's run by..... Pornhub.

The system was mandated by UK law. Mindgeek isn't the only provider that makes an age verification service, though they are the largest (since they own most of the largest pornographic brands on the web).

David Cameron was the one who pushed for the law that put all of this into effect; Pornhub isn't remotely responsible. They're just creating a verification service that they're now legally required to run to comply with the law.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#62

Post by chipperyman573 »

xrisk wrote: post #49
gruez wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but is it possible for ISPs to block particular VPNs ? yes, at both the network level (by blocking IP ranges belonging to VPN services) and protocol level (ie. known handshake sequences for VPN software). but both can be easily bypassed with a few google searches.

According to the OpenVPN docs, running it in static key mode makes the traffic indistinguishable from ordinary HTTPS. Regardless, my university network still manages to block it even though I use TCP mode + port 443. What gives?

Does it block it right away? If it works for a minute or two (or ten) then cuts off they might be doing more deep heuristics, but that's usually something only governments do (ex, great firewall). They also might have just blocked the IP range of your VPN because you connected to it in a different mode before and the network just remembers that.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#63

Post by jstanley »

herge wrote: post #7
zulln wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using a VPN for everything they have right to care though. All job-related traffic goes through it as well, hence potentially leaking sensitive stuff?

The VPN has as much a view in your traffic as your ISP or mobile carrier, for what it's worth.

But the employer doesn't get to see the VPN traffic.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#64

Post by gexla »

fencepost wrote: post #45

The pricing on this seems out of line with other VPN providers unless I'm missing something. $12-14/month = $144/year give or take. Even if they do a "2 months free if you pay annually" it's still $120/year while something like privateinternetaccess is $7/mo, $40/year or $70/2 years. Unfortunately the vpnhub site appears to have been hammered into the ground as of time of posting.

Well, consider that it's enabling you to watch porn, that has to be worth some of the premium. ;)

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#65

Post by travmatt »

monkeynotes wrote: post #53
stuaxo wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A scheme, where other porn companies can pay them - and if they can't afford it, go out of business.

I don't really understand how a country can ask a website to comply with its laws if the content is not hosted in that country. I guess it could be asked to comply under threat of being blocked in response to non-compliance. It's such a weird area.

If you change ‘website’ to ‘business’ and ‘hosted’ to ‘headquartered’ it’s straightforward and just as accurate.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#66

Post by cgh »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #35

Assuming that people were using a VPN to browse pornography, doesn't the ownership of this VPN by a Porn hosting company kind of eliminate the anonymity benefits of using it? I'm also confused by why the gentleman in the ad was going to browse PornHub in a crowded coffee shop while waiting on his coffee.

I imagine this service would appeal to people who want to remain anonymous to local law enforcement. Pornhub realises there is a huge untapped market in eg Islamic countries, for example.

Regarding the coffee shop thing: I was walking past a place some time back and I saw a woman staring thoughtfully at her laptop. She was sitting with her back to the wall. Behind her was a glass-covered painting, allowing me to see a reflection of her laptop screen. She was browsing porn. I guess it's not that uncommon.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#67

Post by NickLamp »

admax88q wrote: post #24
NickLamp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can think of many things one might do on a VPN that an employer might and probably should care about

I can also think of many things a bad employee might do that the employer should probably care about. But if you hired someone you've given them a tremendous amount of responsibility and power, if you can't trust them to do their job without monitoring everything they do then you should just fire them and hire someone more trustworthy.

To bring up just one thing that doesn't have to do with trustworthiness: If you let an employee onto a 3rd party VPN you open yourself up to a whole new vector of attacks that you can't prevent.

And then there's the problem with allowing unrestricted, unmonitored Internet access with regards to auditing and establishing a timeline of events if you ever need to do so.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#68

Post by gruez »

xrisk wrote: post #49
gruez wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but is it possible for ISPs to block particular VPNs ? yes, at both the network level (by blocking IP ranges belonging to VPN services) and protocol level (ie. known handshake sequences for VPN software). but both can be easily bypassed with a few google searches.

According to the OpenVPN docs, running it in static key mode makes the traffic indistinguishable from ordinary HTTPS. Regardless, my university network still manages to block it even though I use TCP mode + port 443. What gives?

AFAIK even in static key mode + TCP, it doesn't perfectly resemble a "normal" TLS connection. I think openvpn adds some custom headers to each packet or something. Something like stunnel + openvpn in TCP mode should look more similar to https.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#69

Post by thomasahle »

travmatt wrote: post #65
monkeynotes wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand how a country can ask a website to comply with its laws if the content is not hosted in that country. I guess it could be asked to comply under threat of being blocked in response to non-compliance. It's such a weird area.

If you change ‘website’ to ‘business’ and ‘hosted’ to ‘headquartered’ it’s straightforward and just as accurate.

You could also argue it's like a shoe company based in the US, where UK people are ordering from them and asking them to ship it to the UK, while UK government threats to set up import restrictions.

Re: Pornhub launches VPNhub, its own virtual private network app

#70

Post by merinowool »

nailer wrote: post #32
brettz wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mindgeek has an age verification product to comply with the UK law but by no means is in charge of age verification in the UK, there are several competitors with their own age verification products.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/porn-age-verificati... > AgeID, has been developed by MindGeek, a company that also owns several pornographic websites including Pornhub, RedTube and YouPorn. > AgeID currently uses official documents such as driver's licences and passports to verify a person's age - but submitting a mobile number tied to a contract phone could be another option. > The tool is due to be implem…

Such site should be illegal. I find it extraordinary that government lets private company record such sensitive information.
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