{ VPN services }
Today most of the brothers and sisters realize that every step we take on the web is watched and registered; the advantages of the VPN is that it prevents censorship and protects you from being tracked on the Internet, but unfortunately not all the services of the VPN are secure, in fact most of these services keep your IP address and store users’ personal information for months. First, we need to know what the VPN is and what protocols it uses.
What is the VPN?
The VPN is an acronym for Virtual Private Network; it’s a virtual connection network that encrypts your data on the Internet and prevents service providers, governments, and hackers from tracking users’ activity on the Internet which provides users with ultimate privacy and better security.
What are the VPN protocols and what is the difference between them?
RC4 : a protocol provided by Microsoft Corp. which depends on the contact between two points that encrypt the data using a maximum of 128-bit key and its algorithm depends on supporting all operating systems, but I found a few loopholes recently so I advise you not to use it under any circumstances.
A protocol developed by the Microsoft Corporation; more advanced than PPTP and encrypts data using AES-256-bit key; haven’t found any loopholes till now however it’s considered the slowest of all protocols.
An open source protocol which is considered the best amongst the previous protocols uses the AES-256-bit key and supports many algorithms like RC5 and Blowfish; haven’t found any loopholes till now and I highly recommend it for my brothers and sisters.
What are the safety standards of services the VPN?
Of course not all the services of the VPN are secure and maintain your privacy as they claim, but there are criteria for which the VPN services are evaluated.
❆ Does the VPN company keep any records of your data? If so, what information is stored and for how long?
Beware of services that retain users’ records and store them.
❆ what specialty does the company submitted to the VPN work as?
It’s better to choose the companies that operate in the field of electronic protection for their expertise in this area.
❆ Does it share user data (IP address and e-mail) with the advertising companies?
Stay away from the services that are share your data with a third party (advertising companies and perhaps government agencies).
❆ what steps will the company take if it is legally required to hand over a VPN service’s user’s?
Beware of services that submit users’ data to government agencies if they are legally required to do so.
❆ Does you support Bittorrent and other special services that share files and tools used by the company to intercept users’ connections if they abuse the use of the VPN service?
if the VPN service doesn’t clarify that, communicate with technical support and ask for the tools, and then search if these tools violate users' privacy.
❆ What is the available payment system, and do they accept Bitcoin, PayPal and CASH U?
The presence of a secure payment system is essential for any VPN service because it gives you privacy and better security, therefore, is better than buying it through bank cards, which could lead to you to getting arrested.
❆ What encryption algorithm to use?
Check that the encryption algorithm used is AES -256.
❆ Does the company use its own DNS servers? Or does it use a third-party company’s servers?
Stay away from companies that use third-party servers.
❆ Do you have full control of servers in the VPN management? Or is it managed by a third party company?
Stay away from companies that cannot fully control the management of VPN servers.
❆ what protocols are supported in the service of the VPN?
I would recommend using an OPENVPN protocol.
▣ You'll find all this information in the VPN privacy policy programs.
Can the VPN service work without TOR network ?
The virtual private networks cannot work without the Tor network as the Tor network encrypts your connection to the internet through 3 knots where even the developers of Tor do not know who you are and they don’t get the real IP address of the users unlike the VPN service.
This is a comparison between TOR and the Virtual Private Networks:
Difference between
Advantages
VPN :
-
Fast
-
Circumventing geographical
Locations (changes location with
website visited), very practical.
-
It is possible to use for
downloading from file-sharing
sites (peer to peer)
such as torrent in case the
service provider allows it.
:
-
Can’t detect your real location.
-
A large network distributed around the world, making it almost impossible to attack or prevent.
-
You can circumvent the geographical location, but it is possible for the site to know that you are using Tor.
-
Free.
Disadvantages
:
-
The VPN server can detect your real address and details that you send, and some register these information and store them for a specific time.
-
Sharing details for free is usually limited, and the speed may vary due to payment procedures.
TOR :
-
Slow, connection causes a few complications, and these complications differ in speed and may be present in areas in the world that are watched, making the connection between you and the site take a longer while due to these complications.
-
It is not suitable for downloading from file-sharing site even though it is not forbidden, however your connection will be slow and will cause all the other users to have a slow connection.
What are the best VPN services that are concerned about users’ security?
There are many services, but each service has its advantages and its disadvantages according to the criteria that we have mentioned therefore according to these criteria I recommend these services:
◉ F-SECURE FREEDOME
◉ NORD VPN
◉ TORGUARD
◉ PRQ VPN
◉ PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS
And I warn the brothers and sisters about using these common services:
◉Hotspot Shield
◉ Strong VPN
◉ Avast Secureline (registers user data for a period of 30 days and if the government authorities legally require users' data it will be submitted)
◉ WI topia VPN
◉ Psiphon
