By now most Internet users are well aware of the fact that pretty much every step they take on the Internet is logged or monitored.
To prevent their IP-addresses from being visible to the rest of the Internet, millions of people have signed up to a VPN service. Using a VPN allows users to use the Internet anonymously and prevent snooping.
Unfortunately, not all VPN services are as anonymous as they claim.
Following a high-profile case of an individual using an ‘anonymous’ VPN service that turned out to be not so private, TorrentFreak decided to ask a selection of VPN services some tough questions.
- Do you keep ANY logs which would allow you to match an IP-address and a time stamp to a user of your service? If so, exactly what information do you hold and for how long?
- Under what jurisdictions does your company operate and under what exact circumstances will you share the information you hold with a 3rd party?
- What tools are used to monitor and mitigate abuse of your service?
- In the event you receive a DMCA takedown notice or European equivalent, how are these handled?
- What steps are taken when a valid court order requires your company to identify an active user of your service?
- Is BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic allowed on all servers? If not, why?
- Which payment systems do you use and how are these linked to individual user accounts?
- What is the most secure VPN connection and encryption algorithm you would recommend to your users?