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VPNs on iOS are a scam

michaelhorowitz.com

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Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#221

Post by nyolfen »

mccorrinall wrote: post #209
rapind wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems targeted at Enterprise customers, not your average consumer. Kind of a big deal that likely 90%+ of iOS VPN app users assume they're private when they're not. False advertising IMO, and Apple is getting their 30%.

I use perfect privacy and they provide IPSec configs for iOS. Their guide even makes note to enable on-demand to prevent leaks. Also, just checked Mullvad, which seems to open an IPSec server on your local device and then install a vpn config on your ios device. From the local IPSec server a connection is made to mullvad via wireguard. On-demand is also enabled by default. But yea, VPN were initially targeted at ente…

what is the point of wrapping wireguard with ipsec? bet-hedging?

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#222

Post by s_ting765 »

simondotau wrote: post #211
s_ting765 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you provision a new IP address every other week/month? i.e Assuming the provider allows it and the cost is negligible

If your hosting provider makes similar privacy guarantees to a similar VPN provider, then perhaps. For bonus points, use a hosted VM and commercial VPN in serial. Again though, if the US Government is a potential adversary, there's still risk here. Intelligence services could have a 0-day on your linux distro, or an operative within the hosting company. If they get access, they can turn your hosted VM against you.

I think you just have to assume there's a possibility that the infrastracture can be compromised at any moment. For both of these two options. Guarantees from providers are valid until the day they are not.

Though a point has to be made about using a hosted VM for VPN purposes, you have some level of control about which specific software, configuration and encryption schemes etc. you want to use for your stack. Only downside is that currently there isn't sufficient hypervisor protection from the host kernel afaik.

However I do agree with you that either way, the risk threshold is too high if you are concerned about high level state actors. Neither commercial VPNs nor hosting providers can solve the "anonymity" problem for you.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#223

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

xoa wrote: post #9
kogir wrote: post #5

I think Apple is transparent about Always on VPN (blocking traffic except over the tunnel) requiring provisioning using MDM tools. Apple Configurator is free and allows anyone to set this up. Any other VPN is just best effort. https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/vpn-overview-depa...

I hope Wireguard makes it into iOS/macOS at some point. Still early days relative to other protocols of course but it's so much simpler and more reliable (even beyond the security benefits). I use it extensively on both platforms for access to my own networks and services nowadays.

Here's one of those occasions where Linux mobile is shining, Wireguard(kernel) works OOB in Mobian, Requires custom kernel in postmarketOS due to Alpine quirk.

Considering the added benefits of taking your other desktop Linux security configuration to mobile, A Linux mobile could be a viable choice for those who need reliable transparent security.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#225

Post by _8j50 »

jrm4 wrote: post #134
_8j50 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which VPNs? Nord or Azure Express route?

Nord et. al. Yes, they should have been calling themselves "anonymous proxies," but either way, that's the service they promise.

They are not proxies because they don't well... proxy your request as in make a second connection on your behalf which is what proxy means. Those VPN services are the equivalent of moving your ISP gateway to someone's datacenter somewhere . They are internet gateway VPNs.

I see no deception or nothing misleading about the service they provide. The fact that you need to trust them more than your ISP and country's network is not unclear to anyone, they even advertise "no log" because obviously they can log if they choose to.

It is preposterous that you call them snake oil when there are so many discoveries about ISPs doing mitm on their own behalf or governments and even in the US/west it is a default that they will sale your location and address along other things as a service. You have no choice in the matter because they are monopolies. It is a simple risk calculation that if I trusr some rando vpn provider over my last-mile or country/locality network I can pay to use them to move my trust boundary to their servers. Now marketers and other hostile parties can buy my metadata from a myriad of VPN providers who all risk to lose their whole business if that deal was ever exposed (unlike ISPs).

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#226

Post by thayne »

raverbashing wrote: post #146
autoexec wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All they do is let you get onto the public, untrusted, internet through a different on-ramp. There is no point to them. Not true, at all. There are several good reasons to use VPNs to get a different on-ramp to the otherwise untrusted internet. - Avoid ISP tracking: Your ISP should see only traffic to and from the VPN. - Access content intended for those in other regions: Many sites and services only show certain c…

You just replaced ISP tracking with VPN tracking And your "VPN in YouTube ads" surely does that

You can choose your VPN. Your ISP, not so much. It's also possible to run your own VPN on a public cloud or VPS. You might still need to worry about your provider then, especially if a government might request who is renting the server that is sending certain traffic.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#227

Post by Shared404 »

a1369209993 wrote: post #191
dTal wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you worried about your ISP tracking you but not the VPN company? In effect you've simply added another ISP on top.

Most people can switch VPN companies more easily than they can switch ISPs.

This is the case for me. I _know_ that my ISP is untrustworthy, I've read the ToS.It's also bundled with my apartment and I can't switch.

What I can switch however is what VPS company I use, or what commercial VPN I connect to.

Plus, the harm from being banned by a VPN is a lot lower than an ISP, as low as the chances of either are.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#228

Post by thayne »

autoexec wrote: post #76
jolux wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what makes you trust that the VPN provider wouldn’t share these records if asked?

In the end you have to trust someone or you might as well just stay offline forever. In the US, very few people have much choice in their ISP. If you are lucky you might have more than two options. Many ISPs are known to be untrustworthy. They outright state they will mine your internet history and sell it. If I have the choice between an ISP who I know will sell my browsing history and a VPN which might, but claims…

They also state they can and will shut down your service for copyright infringement.
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