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Filed Under: crystall ball, techdirt
Companies: private internet access
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I love techdirt's articles but really you should stop promoting PIA which does not live up to its name AT ALL, as it it does not provide the privacy it claims.
Amongst other things PrivateInternetAccess
- Sets 9 cookies, 5 of them associated with various tracking services
- Contains 6 external trackers
- Utilizes 5 external analytical services
- 3rd party hosted email
for details:
https://medium.com/@yegor/hypocrisy-plaguing-major-vpn-providers-b4613b82f795#.nhn70f1wm
chee rs.
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Hmm. Reading through that article, the complaint seems to be that they use tracking services on their own website, which has nothing whatsoever to do with how safe or good the VPN service is. And if tracking services are a problem (1) we use some too and (2) there are easy ways to block them totally unrelated to VPN service.
So, yeah, it seems like a weird, misplaced complaint.
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Great VPN service!
I've had zero issues with their service and always get good speeds and have a large list of exit points to choose from throughout the US and abroad.
Can't recommend them enough!
In response to the guy above me who mentioned PIA sucks because of cookies, dude, if you're going to use a VPN you need to at least turn on private browsing too, isn't that the whole point? I'm not sure of all these trackers and analytics you're talking about (are you saying they insert stuff into your html streams? Even if they did, shame on you for not using https!) As far as the 3rd party email, can't speak to that, I dont use it.
PIA has been recommended to me by multiple places and people online and I love their "do not log" policy, zero complaints!
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While it might be a little disconcerting to some to learn that a VPN service runs their own web site like any business, their web site doesn't have much to do with the VPN service itself.
But I will agree with the author that a privacy-related business should set the standard even with their public facing web sites. My problem with the article is trying to conflate privacy issues of a provider's web site with the service you are actually paying for.
Unless you purchased a VPN account just to visit the VPN provider's web site haha...
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VPN Question
But not only can I see devices on the office network from home, devices at home can be seen from the office. Even devices blocked at the firewall from communicating over the internet, can be reached via the VPN.
Is that PIA VPN also going to be two-way? If I connect to a PIA VPN tunnel from my home firewall appliance, is PIA (or the internet) then able to scan my home network?
Or to put it another way, should I connect to the VPN ONLY from one specific PC?
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But yeah, you could run just one home PC with a VPN using something like PIA's handy app and tinker with the firewall settings on that PC.
Either way it's a firewall issue...
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I signed up three posts ago
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160712/23114534953/private-internet-access-leaves-russia-follo wing-encryption-ban-seized-servers.shtml
-30 Heifers agree. Techdirt is a good place to buy T-shirts.
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Does it exist with this service?
I'd write them, but don't want to risk a sales pitch while purposely eluding the question.
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The Last Word
“Great VPN service!
I've been using PIA for over a year now (after researching a bunch of various VPNs and reading lots of info both here and on the /r/vpn subreddit).I've had zero issues with their service and always get good speeds and have a large list of exit points to choose from throughout the US and abroad.
Can't recommend them enough!
In response to the guy above me who mentioned PIA sucks because of cookies, dude, if you're going to use a VPN you need to at least turn on private browsing too, isn't that the whole point? I'm not sure of all these trackers and analytics you're talking about (are you saying they insert stuff into your html streams? Even if they did, shame on you for not using https!) As far as the 3rd party email, can't speak to that, I dont use it.
PIA has been recommended to me by multiple places and people online and I love their "do not log" policy, zero complaints!