Protect Your Privacy with Private Internet Access™

[LucyGoGo1]

Private Internet Access™ is the world’s most trusted and recommended VPN service. We were recently named PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice for our outstanding service. Our service protects your privacy and identity by allowing you to browse online anonymously with a hidden IP. Anyone concerned with online safety, internet privacy, and internet security should hide their IP address.

Private Internet Access would like to extend to you an invitation to join our Affiliate Program. Our payments are recurring, meaning that as long as a referral remains a customer, the affiliate (you) would be paid upon every payment. We offer a competitive commission rate, by far the best in our industry!

Please let me know if you are interested, and we can get started right away.  There are a lot of people we can protect and, simultaneously, earn great revenue together.

Please view our video to gain a better understanding of who we are:


https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

Best regards,
Private Internet Access™
affiliates@privateinternetaccess.com

 

[Sevrin]

I'd feel really uncomfortable trusting my privacy to a bunch that can't figure out how to PM a website's adminstrators.

 

[AmberCutie]

I'd feel really uncomfortable trusting my privacy to a bunch that can't figure out how to PM a website's adminstrators.

What?

 

[Sevrin]

I'd feel really uncomfortable trusting my privacy to a bunch that can't figure out how to PM a website's adminstrators.

What?

I'm under the impression that they are looking for popular websites to be affiliates, and not random forum visitors.

 

[AmberCutie]

I'd feel really uncomfortable trusting my privacy to a bunch that can't figure out how to PM a website's adminstrators.

What?

I'm under the impression that they are looking for popular websites to be affiliates, and not random forum visitors.

I have already spoken to this very friendly representative (via PM on this forum, mind you) and while I declined to be part of their program, encouraged them to post here in case anyone else would like to be part of it.

You know what they say about what happens when one "assumes".

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Actually they are pretty good. I've mentioned them in several other posts. I use them myself. And they have pretty good prices as well as easy enough to use software. Whenever I've been asked which VPN service I use, by models or members on mfc, I send them there.

Before I chose which VPN to go with I researched about 15 of them, they were one of the very few that don't keep records of your activity so they can't turn anything over if the government decides they need to have their records too (verizon, google, facebook...). And they have multiple users on on IP address at the same time so even if there were records they don't keep track which of those users did what.

Hell, if I'd have known I could have been making money off them I would have been posting an affiliate link the times before.

 

[Zoomer]

Thanks, this just reminded me that when I finally get a new flat (again) I'll set up my own VPN server so I can connect whenever I am away (again) on un-secure hotel networks.
Then again, most hotel networks are fucking shit... and my last flat had a shit internet connection too :lol:

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Thanks, this just reminded me that when I finally get a new flat (again) I'll set up my own VPN server so I can connect whenever I am away (again) on un-secure hotel networks.
Then again, most hotel networks are fucking shit... and my last flat had a shit internet connection too :lol:

Just for reference this VPN also works on android devices. I have their servers set up on both my tablets, laptop and netbook so when I'm on the colleges wifi I can connect and they no longer see what i'm doing.

For added security, unrelated to privateinternetaccess.com, look into buying a router that will support Tomato or DD-WRT firmware. Once you flash that into the router you can connect to your home ip address with an encrypted SSH tunnel. So everything you do anywhere in the world is encrypted to your home router and it sends you information. Very secure.

Then if you do get a good VPN like in this thread you can also set up your router to use it automatically so every device connected to your router from home or abroad is using a VPN. No other software or settings required on each computer. Very secure.

http://www.howtogeek.com/68061/setup-ss ... -anywhere/

http://www.serverwatch.com/tutorials/ar ... Part-1.htm

 

[Sevrin]

So, I've been looking into VPN subscriptions for the past little while, mostly because of public wi-fi access, and this one seems to have a good reputation. One immediate benefit was that Youtube videos, which, on my home connection, have been taking several seconds to load for me recently (ISP throttling?) now start pretty much immediately. :thumbleft:

And here I was, thinking the OP was some run-of-the-mill scam-spammer, just because of how they posted...

 

[LilyEvans]

For any curious models, I've been using this service and I am extremely happy with them. Affordable, dependable, secure.

There is even a "kill switch" option which will immediately sever your internet connection should your VPN fail (to protect your true IP address.) Not that the VPN has ever failed on me, so far!

Any models using Skype ABSOLUTELY SHOULD get a service like this, and I would recommend this one.

 

[LilyEvans]

For any curious models, I've been using this service and I am extremely happy with them. Affordable, dependable, secure.

There is even a "kill switch" option which will immediately sever your internet connection should your VPN fail (to protect your true IP address.) Not that the VPN has ever failed on me, so far!

Any models using Skype ABSOLUTELY SHOULD get a service like this, and I would recommend this one.

REMOVED

Luckily I have never had to talk to customer service, since I have never had issues with my service. Everything has been perfect for me so far.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

For any curious models, I've been using this service and I am extremely happy with them. Affordable, dependable, secure.

There is even a "kill switch" option which will immediately sever your internet connection should your VPN fail (to protect your true IP address.) Not that the VPN has ever failed on me, so far!

Any models using Skype ABSOLUTELY SHOULD get a service like this, and I would recommend this one.

REMOVED

Luckily I have never had to talk to customer service, since I have never had issues with my service. Everything has been perfect for me so far.

I did have to talk to support this weekend. It was only to ask when my recurring yearly bill will be due. They have an online chat box on their webpage. Took about a minute for kevin to pop in chat and answer it. Seemed good enough to me.

I do wish they had a better login page for customers. It would be nice to see the renewal date on our own. Also have a way to pay there by other cards and methods without having to ask customer support. If i want to use a different credit card it would be good to be able to do so without contacting support.

 

[Kradek]

Took about a minute for kevin to pop in chat and answer it. Seemed good enough to me.

"Kevin." Lol.

 

[Sevrin]

I do wish they had a better login page for customers. It would be nice to see the renewal date on our own. Also have a way to pay there by other cards and methods without having to ask customer support. If i want to use a different credit card it would be good to be able to do so without contacting support.

The site is a little bare-bones, but they are also pretty inexpensive, so I don't mind so much.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Took about a minute for kevin to pop in chat and answer it. Seemed good enough to me.

"Kevin." Lol.

When you type in your question into the support box it notifies you of the persons name who is online to help. Since it was just a few days ago I remembered seeing 'Kevin.' Oh, and after you're done it automatically emails a transcript so you can remember what was said if needed later.

 

[Sevrin]

Word of warning:
I just had my Streamate account closed because it has been deemed a security risk, and my CC has also been blocked. The only explanation I can come up with is that I have PIA turned on occasionally. I didn't use the account much at all, but it's still a nuisance. I sent another email to Streamate, just to see if that was really a possible issue, and am waiting to hear back.

Download speed can get hit pretty hard, too. On Youtube, I occasionally got redirected to a Captcha verification screen because of excess traffic from the network I connect from.

While I'd like to use PIA for all my connections, I hardly ever use it anymore. I'm signed up for a year, so I'll keep it using it on my phone, but otherwise, I won't use it much at all. I don't want to lose my MFC access, as well.

 

[bjsruy]

I have an account with them also, and I only use them when I connect to a wireless network that is not my own. So far the server has been very reliable.

 

[inkydoo]

Word of warning:
I just had my Streamate account closed because it has been deemed a security risk, and my CC has also been blocked. The only explanation I can come up with is that I have PIA turned on occasionally. I didn't use the account much at all, but it's still a nuisance. I sent another email to Streamate, just to see if that was really a possible issue, and am waiting to hear back.

If it does turn out to be related to PIA, please report back.
It's interesting that this thread just popped up again, because I've been looking more into subscribing for a VPN service and PIA seems to be pretty highly regarded.

 

[AmberCutie]

Word of warning:
I just had my Streamate account closed because it has been deemed a security risk, and my CC has also been blocked. The only explanation I can come up with is that I have PIA turned on occasionally. I didn't use the account much at all, but it's still a nuisance. I sent another email to Streamate, just to see if that was really a possible issue, and am waiting to hear back.

If it does turn out to be related to PIA, please report back.
It's interesting that this thread just popped up again, because I've been looking more into subscribing for a VPN service and PIA seems to be pretty highly regarded.

I would assume in this case it doesn't have anything to do with PIA directly, but the fact that you *occasionally* access their site via VPN and sometimes don't.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Word of warning:
I just had my Streamate account closed because it has been deemed a security risk, and my CC has also been blocked. The only explanation I can come up with is that I have PIA turned on occasionally. I didn't use the account much at all, but it's still a nuisance. I sent another email to Streamate, just to see if that was really a possible issue, and am waiting to hear back.

If it does turn out to be related to PIA, please report back.
It's interesting that this thread just popped up again, because I've been looking more into subscribing for a VPN service and PIA seems to be pretty highly regarded.

I would assume in this case it doesn't have anything to do with PIA directly, but the fact that you *occasionally* access their site via VPN and sometimes don't.

Precisely. And I know mfc did give me a little bit of a problem for doing the same thing while trying to buy tokens. I finally got tired of them lowering my limit and emailed them explaining the use of VPN for security reasons and it would not be stopping. So make a note in their system to stop lowering my limit already. They haven't done it since.

The VPN has been performing flawlessly for me for over a year now. Yes there is a bit of a speed slow down but that is to be understood since you're routing your traffic through a server in a different part of the world AND it's an encrypted connection. Seems like a good trade-off to me for peace of mind knowing what i do on the internet isn't being cataloged somewhere.

 

[Sevrin]

Word of warning:
I just had my Streamate account closed because it has been deemed a security risk, and my CC has also been blocked. The only explanation I can come up with is that I have PIA turned on occasionally. I didn't use the account much at all, but it's still a nuisance. I sent another email to Streamate, just to see if that was really a possible issue, and am waiting to hear back.

If it does turn out to be related to PIA, please report back.
It's interesting that this thread just popped up again, because I've been looking more into subscribing for a VPN service and PIA seems to be pretty highly regarded.

I sent another email to Streamate, and they didn't reply. I got pretty cold treatment on the phone, too. I never spent any money there, so they probably figure it's no great loss to them.

 

[Zoomer]

Depends where their server is for VPN with regards to access. If it's a different country, maybe that's why. My account was blocked when I went to Canada from the UK. I had to email support to get it unblocked.

However, I am still unsure if most of the people really know what VPN even is. It's only really useful for unsecured networks (i.e. you are using unsecured wifi or public access hotspots).

After that, you're having a very false idea of "security" if you're booting up that VPN from your home, to then go browse either MFC or take a Skype show.

Unless you think that somehow your VPN connection is magically directly connected to MFC or Skype when you fire it up? For a hint, it isn't. You're connected to the provider of the VPN's servers, which then transmits data in the normal way as your own home internet to Skype or MFC. At which point I can only assume it is used due to paranoia about people finding out where you are based upon IP address "geographical location" (which isn't an exact science by any stretch). At that point, fair enough I suppose.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Depends where their server is for VPN with regards to access. If it's a different country, maybe that's why. My account was blocked when I went to Canada from the UK. I had to email support to get it unblocked.

However, I am still unsure if most of the people really know what VPN even is. It's only really useful for unsecured networks (i.e. you are using unsecured wifi or public access hotspots).

Not true. Every one should have one for their home use and be using it regularly.

After that, you're having a very false idea of "security" if you're booting up that VPN from your home, to then go browse either MFC or take a Skype show.

No feeling of false security whatsoever. Websites where you log in and they have real information about you, such as mfc where you have given a credit card, are going to know who you are of course. But most websites that don't have real information (and unless you are talking about banking, taxes, credit cards and so on, you should NEVER give out real information to a site) those majority of websites won't know who you are. They will simply 'know' you by the isp the VPN assigns. And that definitely includes skype. Why the hell would you ever give skype a real name, ever? That's just silly and no need for that.

Unless you think that somehow your VPN connection is magically directly connected to MFC or Skype when you fire it up? For a hint, it isn't. You're connected to the provider of the VPN's servers, which then transmits data in the normal way as your own home internet to Skype or MFC. At which point I can only assume it is used due to paranoia about people finding out where you are based upon IP address "geographical location" (which isn't an exact science by any stretch). At that point, fair enough I suppose.

Yes, the vpn transmits information the normal way, from THEIR server. So it looks like it comes from their ip address, not yours. Everything thing that comes from the vpn server to your home computer is encrypted. That's the entire point of a vpn. Your ISP no longer has the ability to snoop on anything you do on the internet. Which is exactly the way it is supposed to be but no longer is the case thanks to stupid freaking Obama backing a shitty bill that the people didn't want. But he got lots of money for it from the recording industry so fuck the people.

A vpn negates that stupid fucking bill. But only if the vpn itself does not keep records, therefore there is nothing to turn over to the government when the NSA comes knocking at their door saying they want more illegal information on citizens.

Seriously, you've missed the point of a good reliable and trustworthy vpn entirely.

And this has nothing to do with illegal downloading of files. It has everything to do with the government being in cahoots with all the major ISP's and automatically tracking what you are doing on the internet now. There's supposed to be due process before police can invade your home. They have to prove reasonable cause to a judge before they can get a search warrant. This bypasses that completely and assumes everyone in the entire country is now guilty so they will monitor everyone to find those that are. That is utter bullshit. And quite honestly it makes me sick this totalitarian government has been swinging that way. The only thing worse is pathetic people who see nothing wrong with it. [that's not directed at you, just a general statement]

 

[Just Me]

I think you missed Zoomer's point. They are unnecessary unless you are worried/paranoid about the government, your isp or websites spying on you. You will take a performance hit when visiting, downloading, game playing, or streaming from most sites if you use a VPN. Notice I said most, there are certain exceptions where a VPN might give you better performance, but that is usually if your ISP sucks or has bad routes to where you are trying to get to.

It is a feeling a false security as the VPN provider could be doing exactly what you think the government and isp's are doing, you have no way to know if they are keeping records or whether they would comply with a subpoena from law enforcement. I have seen many say they keep no records but it is a rare company that will take the time and effort required to erase everything their servers have to collect just to work.

A vpn does not negate any bill, the NSA/government was doing this before the bill and they are doing it after the bill. A vpn will add a bit of security if the vpn can be trusted to do what they say, not just keeping no records but actively getting rid of the traces that show you were there. Why would you trust them anymore than your obvious distrust of the government? For the record, I am not defending the warrant less collection of data on anyone, it is despicable and should be illegal. What I blame is the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and peoples irrational fears of terrorism.

 

[Zoomer]

Seriously, you've missed the point of a good reliable and trustworthy vpn entirely.

No, I really have not. I don't want to patronise you, but... the point of a VPN is to give you a guaranteed encrypted tunnel between yourself and the end server.

That is it. End of. No further discussion. Period.

You may use the VPN to mask your IP address from servers in the fear that the Government may access those servers and therefore find out where you've been browsing (with or without a warrant). But those "websites" you are accessing do not know you from your IP address any more than I do.

The VPN does indeed add a layer for them to get past in tracking back from a site to who visited. If the VPN's servers keep any form of record whatsoever (which they will) then it's irrelevant and a triviality.

However, in all honesty, if your government wanted to know what you were up to (specifically, not "you" meaning the collective population!), no VPN is going to save your ass. They'll be inside your computer and your phone without you ever knowing. You can continue to use the VPN, but they'd be literally reading your screen.

And lastly, VPN's aren't secure either - well, not to your Government anyway - not according to the papers if you have kept up with the revelations.

So, "Every one should have one for their home use and be using it regularly". If it's to hide from websites you visit, they won't know from an IP who the hell you are. If its to hide from your Government, then it may help prevent them tracking back from the target websites server logs - but if it's for you specifically, it doesn't do shit.

So I would say again, it's a false sense of security for most. I encourage the use of VPN's when you are in a public or unsecured wifi for the specific reason of keeping whatever you are transmitting secure (which is why they were created).

Otherwise, unless you're visiting sites that are likely to be busted for being illegal, it is fairly pointless.
Of course if you're just trying to "make it difficult for them" then I think you're seriously assuming they give a monkeys what you are up to Have they ever come a knocking so far?

 

[Jupiter551]

Would it not be simpler to just use a Tor browser bundle if you just want basic anonymity? Presumably the people aren't trying to hide from the NSA.

Zoomer, I didn't get to read all you said but saw a bit about vpns being unreliable etc...I'm presuming the main idea here is either hide models locations from members or something... not sure I see the point of VPNs with general (legal) browsing either, but again presumably it's not aimed specifically at 'us', but to people who use the internet in general.

Part of the reassurance here is undeniably psychological. That said if you really wanted to be as low-profile as possible for some reason wouldn't you run vpns sandboxed, through virtual machines, bootable tails OS etc...

Another thing to consider, if you're really that paranoid - are authorities or whoever paying special attention to connections that run through popular VPNs? If I was law enforcement and I had an interest in people trying to mask their online activities that's pretty much the first thing I'd look for. Unless you're a terrorist or somesuch you really have nothing to worry about with MFC etc.

 

[inkydoo]

Would it not be simpler to just use a Tor browser bundle if you just want basic anonymity? Presumably the people aren't trying to hide from the NSA.

Unless Tor has improved greatly in the last six months, it doesn't have a lot of spare bandwidth. In my experience with it, trying to stream anything of reasonable quality over it is pointless. It also doesn't have a support staff ready to help me if I can't get it working or it's being unusually slow.

Part of the reassurance here is undeniably psychological. That said if you really wanted to be as low-profile as possible for some reason wouldn't you run vpns sandboxed, through virtual machines, bootable tails OS etc...
Another thing to consider, if you're really that paranoid - are authorities or whoever paying special attention to connections that run through popular VPNs? If I was law enforcement and I had an interest in people trying to mask their online activities that's pretty much the first thing I'd look for. Unless you're a terrorist or somesuch you really have nothing to worry about with MFC etc.

Ugh, I'm tired of people saying this about encryption generally. "If you don't have anything to hide, why would you need to encrypt your information?" First, its hidden statement that people who are "hiding" things are more likely to be doing something wrong is a false equivalency. We all "hide" stuff from the people around us every single day, it's part of how we manage how other people see us. To put it in information flow terms, so that it more closely resembles internet traffic, we make decisions about which channels we use to share certain information, while deciding to hold back other types of information in those same channels. For instance, I don't share information about MFC in the "work" channel, or on the flip side, I don't share my real name across the MFC (or ACF) channels. I'm not hiding either piece of information because I'm doing something wrong, but because it's not appropriate traffic for the channel (in the former case) or because some people might perceive it as doing something wrong and act (or react) punitively toward me (in the second case) if they knew who I was.

Second, sometimes I am more deliberately hiding information from people who might be inspecting the channel of communication, but those people are necessarily sophisticated spying agencies (like the NSA) or other well-funded government agencies (local or foreign). If I travel a lot, especially world-wide, the chances that my information may be intercepted and used in ways of which I do not approve potentially increase. Whether I'm in a third-world "hotel" or a quaint country B&B, there may be information I don't want my hosts (or perhaps the people who manage their ISP) to potentially access, whether it's my credit card information, or the fact that I check in daily at an AIDS support forum (or ACF). In these instances, I want a VPN to, yes, hide my activities from someone who could potentially see what goes across those communication channels. It doesn't mean it's fully encrypted from point to point, but it provides additional protection on the "local" leg of the route, which may be all I need. The NSA may even still be able to crack that encryption on the local leg, but that's not necessarily who I'm hiding from.