Isn't it false advertising?
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I've had many an argument against "tech enthusiasts" about how useless VPN's truly are at protecting your data. People seem to think that they are a magic block everything bad technology, rather than simply redirecting a pipe through someone else's server first technology. So yes, I've certainly seen lots of "False advertising" from VPN providers. Side Note: Only twice I've seen a useful use for a VPN: 1. Get Netflix content from other countries 2. Getting internet access from the wrong side of the Great Firewall of China.
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When purveyors of VPNs claim that if you use a VPN, then big tech can't track you across the web? Browser fingerprinting is the predominant way they track you and a VPN can't hide your browser fingerprint. Look at a company like fingerprintjs.com. They have brought fingerprinting to a new level.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Seems like a good idea to use one when doing email or company business from a hotel room or starb$$ks. I use Proton if away from home office.
>64 If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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When purveyors of VPNs claim that if you use a VPN, then big tech can't track you across the web? Browser fingerprinting is the predominant way they track you and a VPN can't hide your browser fingerprint. Look at a company like fingerprintjs.com. They have brought fingerprinting to a new level.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
If you try to use VPN to stop tracking yes you are right. But using VPN to just keep some idiot from watching your connection to your bank or work email or or or VPN is perfect for what it is intended for. Securing your connection in another layer to the end connection. But then again people don't understand what they are doing in a browser half the time anyway. Joe Six pack wants to view funny cat videos or 'other' videos. And well he can't be bothered to take 30 seconds to "think" about what he is doing.
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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A possibly easier solution would be to have separate VMs, using one for general surfing, one for anything confidential, and others for any other type of surfing that you wish. Using Linux for the guest O/Ses would mean that the whole setup would cost you little or nothing. Best of all - checkpoint each VM before you start surfing, and then if you make an "oopsie" it's easy to reset the VM!
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
Yes, I have a Linux VM that is only used for paying bills.
>64 If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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When purveyors of VPNs claim that if you use a VPN, then big tech can't track you across the web? Browser fingerprinting is the predominant way they track you and a VPN can't hide your browser fingerprint. Look at a company like fingerprintjs.com. They have brought fingerprinting to a new level.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
It depends on the specific claim. If it's a blanket statement like "
big tech can't track you
" then yes, that would be false. What VPNs are good for is encrypting content so your ISP or any man-in-the-middle can't see the content of your web traffic. You're correct, that hiding your IP address has limited utility in hiding your identity from the sites you visit. There is enough unique information being sent to form that browser fingerprint. Products like Avast AntiTrack are specifically meant to scramble that fingerprint data and prevent your identification and tracking.
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Yes, I have a Linux VM that is only used for paying bills.
>64 If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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Sorry to be in the slow group, but that does not compute for me.
>64 If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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When purveyors of VPNs claim that if you use a VPN, then big tech can't track you across the web? Browser fingerprinting is the predominant way they track you and a VPN can't hide your browser fingerprint. Look at a company like fingerprintjs.com. They have brought fingerprinting to a new level.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Call me an old fart if you want. I can't say that I have ever used a VPN for anonymity purposes. Leaving my privacy in someone else's hands never seemed like a good idea. To me, a VPN is a tool for securely accessing resources inside a private network from a remote location. Beyond that, I avoid doing anything I wouldn't want someone else to know I did, and avoid doing anything involving private or sensitive information on a network I don't have high confidence in. (I do acknowledge the use for accessing otherwise blocked resources in other countries.) ---------- Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.
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Sorry to be in the slow group, but that does not compute for me.
>64 If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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When purveyors of VPNs claim that if you use a VPN, then big tech can't track you across the web? Browser fingerprinting is the predominant way they track you and a VPN can't hide your browser fingerprint. Look at a company like fingerprintjs.com. They have brought fingerprinting to a new level.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Hello Richard Andrew x64, Hmmm... if the claim is "they can't trace you" then yes "it" is false advertising but I doubt that is the whole content of the claim... better read the fine print? I am so tempted to quip "Isn't advertising false?" It sure seems to be, to me... LOL our culture accepts all manner of false claims. We or most Human Beings believe Human Beings control Earth for instance. That is not true and yet Human Beings either believe that or just choose not to look in that direction. As a society Humans conspire to stay blissfully blind? Oops Is that religion or politics? Or is it common sense that our society is not a civilization? ... that written, One could build a dedicated chip to sit in any device and pretend to be a human for the user. The straw man chip could send all manner of counterintelligence out to scramble any profiling attempts? having a dedicated chip to do that would prevent early attempts to detect the straw person while keeping overhead down? Eventually this too will fail to prevent profiling as will all measures. Every solution must adapt with the threat? Perfection is not a destination rather it is always a journey? Sorry for the non-solutions and gravitas. I have a dark perspective from down here in my tomb or government issued comfort zone. Thanks, Richard , for asking such an open question; open to all manner of rants on my darkest pedantic pet peeves. Blessings chuck A blind Harper, harping on Human Sovereignty and Earth.
