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VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

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Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#101

Post by rplnt »

varenc wrote: post #54

Interesting to learn you can identify the real country/area of origin using probe latency. Though could this be simulated? Like what if the VPN IP just added 100ms-300ms of latency to all of its outgoing traffic? Ideally vary the latency based on the requesting IP's location. And also just ignore typical probe requests like ICMP (ping). And ideally all the IPs near the end of the traceroute would do all this too. To…

It's possible to deduce password hashes by timing responses over the internet if the server isn't using constant time comparison. Noise is just that, a noise.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#102

Post by bgbntty2 »

rynn wrote: post #64
bgbntty2 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better metaphor would be that Tor and VPNs are like wearing a mask in public. It's obvious that you're trying to be anonymous, but you're still wearing a mask, so no one knows who you are. You may be denied entry to certain establishments, but some of the bouncers don't block all masks and if you're persistent with changing your mask (Tor or VPN exit node), there's a good chance you'll get in. CTRL+SHIFT+L works on…

Do you use Tor for everything? How do you deal with the latency?

Pretty much for everything, except for things that are already tied to my real world identity like email and a few sites that know who I am.

It accomplishes 2 things:

* I'm not tracked as much. Less data points for the companies to gobble up.

* More Tor users lead to better anonymity for everyone as it's easier to blend in - you won't be the only one wearing a mask at the club every weekend.

I got used to the latency. It's not that bad. Some sites load instantly, others take 1-2 seconds. A few take a while.

Sites from one regional hosting provider in my country just don't load at all. I get "Server not found". I'm not sure how that works - are they blackholing an ASN or using something else with BGP?

The main issue for me is not the latency, though, but the CAPTCHAs and 403's (HTTP Forbidden). If I were to search for a recipe, for example, I'd open 5-10 of the results in new tabs (with the middle mouse button; idk why people use CTRL+click), then close the ones with "Attention Required" or "Forbidden" so I'm left with 3-5 usable sites. That way I always have something to read. When I open a few sites one after the other, at least one will usually load instantly.

I haven't used Tor without Whonix on Qubes OS for a while, so I'm not sure if the latency is different on a standard OS with just Tor Browser installed. My workflow is that I use disposable VMs for different things I do. Right now I have a VM with HN and a few links I've opened from it and another VM with other research I started earlier today that I plan on finishing a bit later. When I'm done with my HN session, I'll close this VM, which will destroy it. For me this compartmentalization is good not only for security and privacy, but for productivity, as well.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#103

Post by jijijijij »

simonklitj wrote: post #50
dansmith1919 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only one I have issues with is Ticketmaster, other than that I forget that it’s even on all the time

I can’t access Reddit on Mullvad via Tailscale

There are working end-points and they tend to be stable. If you find a Mullvad server which works with Reddit, you can configure a socks5 proxy for a Firefox container assigned to Reddit (or any domain). This way, Reddit will always use the connection of the working route and your general internet experience isn't affected otherwise. Eg. you can still switch around connections to find a working one for Youtube... Don't forget about this setting, since sometimes a Mullvad server is down temporarily and the container's assigned domains won't resolve (usually enough to count up/down the Mullvad proxy id). This will also prevent you from accessing Reddit without a Mullvad VPN connection.

Socks5 proxy addresses can be found here: https://mullvad.net/en/servers

You need to prefix them with 'socks://'.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#104

Post by someNameIG »

drnick1 wrote: post #28
illusive4080 wrote: post #8

Mullvad is the only VPN I will ever trust. Yet again they ace the test.

The best thing is that they accept crypto. I wouldn't want to pay for a VPN with a credit card in my name.

What actual extra privacy does that add though? You still need to connect to them from your IP address, which can be traced back to you.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#105

Post by ghxst »

ramity wrote: post #69
seszett wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't have to assume that traffic is efficiently routed, on the contrary if they can have a It just can't be outside England, just one 0.4ms RTT as seen here is enough to be certain that the server is less then 120 km away from London (or wherever their probe was, they don't actually say, just the UK). RTT from a known vantage point gives an absolute maximum distance, and if that maximum distance is too short th…

I see I was mistaken, but I'm tempted to continue poking holes. Trying a different angle, though it may be a stretch, but could a caching layer within the VPN provider cause these sort of "too fast" RTTs? Let's say you're a global VPN provider and you want to reduce as much traffic as possible. A user accesses the entry point of your service to access a website that's blocked in their country. For the benefit of this…

Assuming a secure connection this isn't possible without terminating TLS and re-negotiating.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#107

Post by ruuda »

cyanydeez wrote: post #97
citizenpaul wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At risk of sounding sale pitch'y. Mullvad is the only VPN the longer I use the more I like it. I've tried MANY competitors first and all the other ones so far seem to only get worse over time. I love that I can pay directly with a crypto wallet and have true anonymity.

crypto is a public ledger. If someone wanted to find you, that's pretty easy target.

They accept Monero too

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#108

Post by jijijijij »

systemtest wrote: post #37
why-o-why wrote: post #11

I tried to use ProtonVPN when I switched over to ProtonMail a year ago. But so much of the web does not work when you're on a VPN. For example even HackerNews has VPN restrictions. More and more sites know where VPN endpoints originate. How will VPNs prevent this in the future without them just become easy to block?

Even worse is the Reddit approach, where leaving your VPN on will get your account shadow banned permanently. But you are not notified of that, so if you are wondering why nobody is replying to your comments, check in a private session if you can visit your profile page.

Check reddit.com/appeals some time after creating an account. If you are auto shadow banned, you can appeal.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#109

Post by AndroTux »

crazygringo wrote: post #66
AndroTux wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Let’s take an extreme example: you think you exit in Japan, but you’re actually exiting in China. This means your traffic will be analyzed and censored by China. The routers don’t care about where the provider says the IP comes from. If the packet travels through the router, it gets processed. So it very much matters if you do things that are legal in one country, but might not be in another. You know, one of th…

Are any VPN's getting China wrong? It would be pretty obvious. In fact, common VPN's I'm looking at don't even support China as an option. Obviously no VPN's are mixing countries up where it becomes clear from what you're allowed to browse. But so "if you do things that are legal in one country, but might not be in another" is what I'm specifically asking about. Ultimately, legality is determined by the laws that app…

China was just an example. Try to extrapolate on your own.

Take someone from Russia, Iran, wherever, trying to access information they aren't allowed to access, or sharing information they aren't allowed to share. They think they're connected to a neighboring country, but in reality are exiting from their own country. Therefore, the traffic gets analyzed and they fall out a window.

Imagine Snowden sharing information about the NSA while using a VPN that actually exited from the US. Things might have developed differently.

Yes, it won't matter for most services. But as soon as states or ISPs are involved, you're fucked if you get it wrong.

Re: VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits

#110

Post by neoromantique »

cyanydeez wrote: post #97
citizenpaul wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At risk of sounding sale pitch'y. Mullvad is the only VPN the longer I use the more I like it. I've tried MANY competitors first and all the other ones so far seem to only get worse over time. I love that I can pay directly with a crypto wallet and have true anonymity.

crypto is a public ledger. If someone wanted to find you, that's pretty easy target.

Depending on crypto, and even on public ledger ones, there are ways to on-ramp cash to a new cold wallet.
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