Respect My Privacy

In today's world it's getting harder and harder to keep ones privacy.  Every app wants to report your where abouts.  Facebook wants you to check-in.  Google wants to share your location.  There's a target on your back and every one is gunning for you.  Identity thief is at an all time high.  Your WiFi is getting hacked right now as we speak.  The government just the other day was scanning your computer to see if you have a virus that's going to keep you off the Internet.  Or maybe they were really looking at your mp3 downloads.  Your Internet provider just sent you a letter saying you have more data downloads than the average person and they will be force to report this activity to the "proper authorities".  Whether it's on-line banking, or movie torrents downloads from Kickass Torrents.  Your private business is just that, YOUR private business. So lets talk about something that I know a little bit about.  How to keep some on-line activities private.  What do you know about VPNs?

What is a Virtual Private Network or VPN?  A VPN allows you to connect your machine to a virtual network which in turns encrypts the data you send, hiding everything from the public domain.  A good VPN will keep no records of your browsing history, meaning you're essentially an anonymous user.  Many VPNs are established for office use, to allow uses to log into their workplace network and gain access to services therein.

Let's talk about some VPNs.

ProXPN - A free VPN service designed for use with Windows and Mac computers.  This provides you safety and privacy while using the Internet.  Your IP is anonymous, and your data is highly encrypted, providing protection form snoops on your network.  It also unblocks access to county IP blocked sites.  Like you can not watch Hulu.com in Mexico, but you can if your using this.  If you are using wifi or a public network, you should be using proXPN to protect yourself.  I do find that the paid account works better than the free account cause they cap the speed and you have to go through advertisement before you can go to the web page your surfing.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONpttV7o9Oc

Gpass - free VPN access as well as an impressive fast web proxy to use directly in your browser.  The service seems really great, and even goes as far as to recommend an integrity check after you've downloaded the software (before installing).

CyberGhost - Offering 1GB of encrypted traffic per month on their free package.

AnchorFree Hotspot Shield - Offering a free solution for Windows, Mac, and iPhone.  They boasts unlimited bandwidth to those who need it.  You can't go wrong with unlimited I always say.

Its Hidden - Originally established as a safeguard for file sharers, this offers a competitive free service as well as paid solutions offering better contention ( less users per server).

SecurityKiss - The free Package provided by this one brings you 300mb of data transfer per day, but provides an uncapped line with plenty of speed.

PeerBlock - This is not a VPN but I use this along with a few other programs to provide additional protection.  PeerBlock lets you control who your computer "talks to" on the Internet.  By selecting appropriate lists of "known bad" computers, you can block communication with advertising or spyware oriented servers, computers monitoring your P2P (peer to peer) activities, computers which have been "hacked", even entire countries!  They can't get into your computer, and your computer won't try to send them anything either.

I also use network programs like Network Magic Pro to give me more protection with my wireless network to keep people form hacking my router.  Better safe then sorry I always say.....or was that Shrek???