18 replies to this topic

[Cheery]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. And to wi-fi surfing, too

At home I use my desktop computer for work and school. But now I want to start using my laptop at a public hot spot or two: coffee shops, the library, the airport, McDonald's, etc. That means I'll be going on the Internet via wi-fi on a regular basis...and exposing myself to hackers. You know that wi-fi is super unsecure, very unsecure. Figuratively speaking, a round of Russian Roulette is a safer sport than surfing wirelessly. I understand that when it comes to safe surfing a VPN (virtual private network) is the first thing a security minded person should have on their laptop.
1) Is that true?
2) If so, can you recommend the name of a good VPN?
3) will the VPN slow down my surf sessions compared to the hard wired connection I use at home?
4) one person said that a VPN is NOT the way to go. Check this out: he said that all I need is a good firewall and a good anti-virus protection program when I go wireless in public. That sounds a little nuts. Does that sound crazy? That sounds like a prescription for a virtual suicide. Of course I have both already in place, but is that to say that that's all you need to guard against packet sniffers when you're wireless in public - a firewall and an anti-virus progam? Sounds kinda incomplete to me. Do you agree or disagree with his statement?

[srtools1980y]

Welcome Cheery

This link may be useful/clear your doubts I hope: http://www.witopia.net/welcome.php

Regards.

[Cheery]

^^^^'Wow' on that. Just took a quick look at it (about 5 seconds). Like the price. Did not like the fact that they're customer support team does not have a phone number to call. I have zero exerience with VPN's. Maybe they're seamless and run on their own??? (Hard to fathom anything digital's not problematic.) I will definitely scrutinize their offering when I have more time. Thanks

[srtools1980y]

Quote

^^^^'Wow' on that. Just took a quick look at it (about 5 seconds).

Please go through their FAQ's section, when you are free.

Reg. phone # send them a mail.

[Cheery]

IPREDATOR vs. HotSpot quickie shootout:
Hi I'm back with a question, other than the fact that HotSpot Shield is free and IPREDATOR costs some money, can anyone see a big difference between the two?
Might one be stronger or weaker than the other?
I see that IPREDATOR is an actual tunnel or VPN. I wonder, is HotSpot Shield a tunnel / VPN, too?
If you were to compare them side-by-side, which one, in your opinion, would win in a safe surfing shootout?

»hotspotshield.com/
»https://www.ipredator.se/?lang=en

[Cheery]

There's no edit button here? Evidently, so I'll post links that are click-friendly:
http://hotspotshield.com/
https://www.ipredator.se/?lang=en

[Buttons]

Just took a look at that myself. On the left side of the page, it had my ip address, isp provider, country,state, connection hookup(DSL,Cabel whatever), time zone and city. . Quite creepy. Plus the fact wot had an unknown rating. Not sure if I trust them.

[YoKenny1]

See:
http://hosts-file.ne...ld.com&x=18&y=8 <== • FSA - sites engaged in the selling or distribution of bogus or fraudulent applications

As long as you do not mind doing business with a Swedish company and spending 149,00 kr ($21US) every 3 months then Ipredator would be OK.

[Buttons]

@YoKenny1-

Thanks for the clarification on the hotspotshield.com. Saw it blocked, but didn't know much about it.

[hotspot shield]

Cheery, on Apr 18 2010, 12:16 AM, said:

IPREDATOR vs. HotSpot quickie shootout:
Hi I'm back with a question, other than the fact that HotSpot Shield is free and IPREDATOR costs some money, can anyone see a big difference between the two?
Might one be stronger or weaker than the other?
I see that IPREDATOR is an actual tunnel or VPN. I wonder, is HotSpot Shield a tunnel / VPN, too?
If you were to compare them side-by-side, which one, in your opinion, would win in a safe surfing shootout?

»hotspotshield.com/
»https://www.ipredator.se/?lang=en

Hi Cheery,

This is Art from Hotspot Shield. To answer your question: Yes, Hotspot Shield is the world's only 100% free VPN. In fact, when you install the application, all the data sent from your computer is encrypted by our software so that no one can hack your personal information. We are ad-supported, and trusted by over 7 million users in over 100 countries. You can check out our facebook fan page which has about 10k fans - www.Facebook.com/anchorfree. This page also has ratings from our users from all over the world.

Be cautious when you choose a VPN provider. You are trusting the company with all your data. We are located in the heart of silicon valley, and have raised over $11m from investors. We have also been written about by most of the leading news media - wall street journal, ny times, la times, etc.

Cheers,
Art

[unoriginal]

There is a 100% free alternative to Hotspot Shield VPN that has no ads: http://itshidden.com


Disregard that, they used to have unrestricted free VPN service, now they disconnect every 20 minutes.

[goldhound]

Norton tells me the HotSpot site is unsafe, citing a computer threat.

[hotspot shield]

goldhound, on May 4 2010, 04:49 AM, said:

Norton tells me the HotSpot site is unsafe, citing a computer threat.

Which version of hotspot shield and norton antivirus are you using? If you can, please email me at art at anchorfree.com and I will look into it.

thanks much!

art

[goldhound]

hotspot shield, on May 4 2010, 05:09 PM, said:

Which version of hotspot shield and norton antivirus are you using? If you can, please email me at art at anchorfree.com and I will look into it.

thanks much!

art

NIS 2010, fully up to date with safe search, flagged the site when i clicked on it. I do not use your software but was curious.
You may wish to access the Norton forums to query them.
MBAM pro did not block the site.

Norton forums

[MysteryFCM]

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/wh...e-dont-you.html

[goldhound]

MysteryFCM, on May 14 2010, 03:16 AM, said:

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/wh...e-dont-you.html

Good find!
I noted that he has not been back here.

[MysteryFCM]

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/an...pot-shield.html

[ShyWriter]

I don't visit any site with the the languages shown on either side of the ENGLISH button are supported.. Those are Arabic and Persian languages, no?? See below.

[attachment=27167:FireShot...you_html.jpg]

Not bigoted ; just careful..

Shy

[Cheery]

It appears that VPN services like HotSpotShield, Witopia, IPREDATOR and all the others are no good for those seeking air-tight WiFi security. Apparently there is a potential leak that comes built into them.

With those type of services, I was told, a percentage of security is compromised. Remember, the premise of this thread is that I and others like me want a security 'device' that that will instill peace of mind whenever we use the Internet at a public hot spot. And we certainly would not want any compromises, no matter how small that compromise might be. We're talking WiFi security here, so it's zero-tolerance when it comes to compromises! Based on what a network specialist that I'm acquainted with said, none of the devices mentioned thus far are any good. In so many words he said they should not be used for what I'm seeking. He said when it comes to air-tight security they aren't any good and thus a person shouldn't spend their money on them. He essentially said:
"NO, NO, NO....be it Witopia, IPREDATOR, HotSpotShield or any commercial VPN, the issue would be - do you trust any of those guys? No, of course not, you can't trust your data to a person you don't know personally. And of course some will argue, rightfully so, that you can't trust your data with those you know personally. You can't trust any of the VPN's because all your data is going to be routed through them - they will be your proxy. How do you know they aren't the bad guys? Or if someone in their data center isn't a bad guy? You don't know, it's impossible to know if they're good guys or bad guys, if they're ethical or unethical people. That constitutes a potential compromise in security. Look, any VPN service be it a free service or a paid subscription service is designed to route your traffic through them, and that's a fact."

Me I'm caught in the middle learning as I go along.