What are VPNs and how effective are they? Can they really guarantee privacy? Caroline Black takes a look.
In the wake of the events of the last decade, the face of online privacy and security has radically shifted. Whereas hackers used to be the primary concern of most looking to protect their information, now the majority of users looking to protect their information are seeking to do so from their own government.
With the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US came a widespread need to feel more secure. Playing on the public’s fears, the American government passed a sweeping national security bill known as the Patriot Act, which gave them – what many claim – were vague and expansive powers.
As if this wasn’t enough, about two years ago, the United States was rocked by another major threat to internet privacy when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked official documents detailing the government’s systematic monitoring and surveillance of communications. These sweeping allegations linked some of the largest tech and communication companies in the world with undisclosed surveillance programs.
Though companies such as Verizon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook vehemently denied the allegations that they were a part of these programs voluntarily, many critics have agreed that it would have been almost impossible for them to be unaware, given the far reaching demands of these surveillance programs.
Many have called Snowden a traitor for revealing this information to the public, but the majority of the US, as well as the world, feel that he did a service to the public and called him a hero. These controversial programs went on for years without public knowledge, and now that they are under some scrutiny, many hope to dial back the level of intrusiveness that the US government has created with their surveillance, in the name of national security.
Many people – even those who aren’t up to anything nefarious – have begun looking for ways to keep the NSA out of their connection and protect their privacy. If you’ve ever gone down this road before, searching for ways to keep the prying eyes of government out of your e-mails, then you’ve probably heard of a VPN.
VPNs are virtual private networks, and basically work like secret tunnels in the Internet. You’re routed through an encrypted tunnel to a secure server in a location of your choosing. During this process, your IP address is blocked, and the server you connect to gives you a new one. Not only does this process bypass geo blocks (a large portion of VPN users’ goal), but it makes it impossible to track you down.
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So the question remains, do VPNs really work at keeping the government from spying on your connection? I’m afraid the answer isn’t a simple one, and that it really depends on a lot of factors that are actually entirely up to you.
First of all, it’s important to know where your VPN provider is based, and what the laws for information sharing and ISPs are there. If the company is legally required to maintain IP address and activity logs, then they will, end of story. For this reason, I highly suggest avoiding US based VPN companies altogether.
Normally I would absolutely advocate for buying local, but if you’re in the US, you’re much better off using a VPN that’s based out of a much less invasive country. Do your research before you sign up with anyone. If the VPN is legally required to maintain starting IP addresses and activity logs, it’s also likely that they are legally required to relinquish that information to government agencies and law enforcement without a warrant, with your knowledge, and absolutely without your consent.
It’s also important to pay close attention to the sign-up process. Really examine the information that’s required to sign up for the VPN. Is it personally identifiable? Usernames mean little, and aren’t much help with tracing your activity back to you, but e-mail and PayPal accounts absolutely are. Look for VPNs that don’t require e-mail authentication, and allow for anonymous payment methods, such as gift cards or Bitcoin.
Even if the VPN meets that criteria, and isn’t keeping logs or requiring lots of information from you to sign up, there are still some online habits that you could have on your end that could make you easily trackable. For one thing, a VPN does little to anonymize your connection if you’re using it to check personal accounts.
Facebook, e-mail, and personal accounts are all linked with copious amounts of your personal information. Even if someone can’t break your encryption, if the website captures the IP address you’re using in a browsing session, they can easily link it to you just based on the information you’ve accessed during your browsing session. Creepy, right?
So really, to be truly anonymous and secure, you have to use anonymous and encrypted e-mail services, and basically do away with social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter—something most people are not comfortable with doing. Other than that, you can just be more cautious with your online activities, and use VPNs purposefully and strategically.
To truly keep government out of your connection, never access personally identifiable information on the VPN such as banks statements or social media accounts. While a VPN will certainly keep this information secure from your typical coffee shop hacker, the NSA is well suited to stealing people’s information, and there’s no guarantee that your connection won’t be compromised.
The most you can truly hope for with a VPN at least is anonymity and hiding your location. Never make Google or Bing searches when logged into your account, as these are companies that were right there on the list as informants to the NSA, and they will use your information to log your searches, VPN or no. But when used properly, a VPN’s IP address blocking will keep you anonymous, and make you untraceable.
So remember, if you want a private connection, it honestly may not be entirely possible depending on your online activities. However, if you can adjust the way you browse and be more deliberate in the content you access, a VPN can offer you anonymity and protection from IP address tracking.