Beginner Despeartely Needs Help

[BeGone]

Hi,

I am very new to the VPN concept and as a beginner I am in desperate need of help. I unfortunately reside in a country where spying is at its worse and would like my privacy back. That being said I did take the liberty of viewing the recommendation(s) for posting topics as follows and will respond to the best of my ability:

1. Operating system name and the type of CPU-bits
(e.g. CentOS 6.4 x64)

Intel(R)Core (TM)2DUO CPU 32-bit

2. The result of "ifconfig –a" (UNIX) or "ipconfig /all" (Windows)

Windows Operating System

3. The result of "uname –a" (UNIX) or "systeminfo" (Windows)

I have no idea, I think its Windows.

4. The build number of SoftEther VPN

Haven't installed VPN yet because I don't know which to install

5. Which SoftEther VPN component are you using?

6. Whether or not there is a NAT or Firewall between your VPN server and the Internet.
(If there is a NAT or Firewall, you should open a TCP port for the VPN listener.)

I don't know what NAT is and looking for this question to be answered among others.

7. Are you using SecureNAT?
(If so, why don't you use the Local Bridge function instead?
The performance of SecureNAT is lower than Local Bridge, and it consumes
much of CPU time. You should not use SecureNAT except very limited situation.)
Please see http://www.softether.org/index.php?titl ... T_Function

This is a question I can't answer and need assistance with

8. Your current vpn_server.config or vpn_bridge.config file should be attached on the post.
(You may hide your confidential information on these config files if included)

N/A.

As you can see from the start I have no idea of what I'm doing and need a tutorial on what my current ISP's configurations are. Because of my beginner status I have no idea of what an NAT is, or what software version of SoftEther I need to install and what I need to do in way of configuration and how to do it.

As embarrassed as I am I'm sure there are many more novices such as myself who are in the same predicament but too embarrassed to admit it. So I'm hopeful someone with in depth knowledge and patience is willing to help me. Finally, if I may respectfully make a recommendation for SoftEther to implement a section specifically for beginners with nomenclature on what all of these acronyms are and mean in addition to a step-by-step installation of the software and how to determine if the user's ISP has an NAT or firewall etc.. in order to successfully complete the install and configuration process.

Finally I have one very important question so please bear with me. In light of VPN's providing privacy does this software utilize the installer's ISP's servers, or does it provide a more secure VPN by using servers outside the US or globally? This is a very important question because any server(s) used in the US is subject to American courts and subpeonas.


Thanks you.

[qupfer]

If you just want internet acces with a other-country ip-adress to avoid goverment cencorship go to
http://www.vpngate.net/ and Download their Client (http://www.vpngate.net/en/download.aspx) and then follow the tutorials ((http://www.vpngate.net/en/howto.aspx)

[BeGone]

Hi Qupfer,

Thanks for the response,but your recommendation did not address my question(s) and what I'm not looking for. I'm not looking for a server to circumvent censorship. What I'm ultimately looking for is a VPN that will not be on any server in the US which is subject to US courts thus reclaiming one's right to privacy, completely. Furthermore, as I've indicated in my post, I am a new user/beginner and need the basics explained to me on what an NAT is and how I can determine if I'm behind or before a firewall for proper configurations etc... Unfortunately, tutorials are written where it's assumed the reader is beyond the beginner/novice phase and understands how to install programs after having a fundamental of their ISP's configurations etc..

Nevertheless, I am grateful and thank you for taking the time to at least respond to my post.

Many blessings,

BeGone.

[mstenz]

Hi BeGone,

qupfer is right and VPNGate is exactly what you are looking for. This is the right choice for Beginners.

So for now you shouln't try to setup a server by your own as in 99% it will fail.

If you want to learn more about networking in general I found this page with different "Understanding ....." posts and It may help you to learn.

http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.c ... nd-PAT.htm

rgds.
Michael

[BeGone]

mstenz wrote:
> Hi BeGone,
>
> qupfer is right and VPNGate is exactly what you are looking for. This is
> the right choice for Beginners.
>
> So for now you shouln't try to setup a server by your own as in 99% it will
> fail.
>
> If you want to learn more about networking in general I found this page
> with different "Understanding ....." posts and It may help you to
> learn.
>
>
> http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.c ... nd-PAT.htm
>
> rgds.
> Michael


Hi Michael,

Thank you very much for the response and input. I will certainly take yours and Qfer's advice and follow the link you've included. I sincerely hope that it has a tutorial that will teach me all of the acronyms and nomenclature knowledge I'm currently lacking so that I can successfully create a VPN that's not subject to American organization's prying eyes.

I will keep you posted, and thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Be Regards,

BeGone.

[mladmin]

@BeGone you might also want to look into VPN providers that respect your right to privacy. the link below is a good place to start. I would recommend VPN Gate as well.

http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-provi ... ly-111007/

[BeGone]

Hi Qupfer and Mstens,

Thank you very much for the advice and input. I successfully downloaded and installed the software and I'm quite content.

Mladmin, thank you also for the recommendation and link which I will try also because I'm a big proponent of privacy. Once I take a look at the link I will come back and provide a response or feedback.

Again, thanks to everyone for your patience, time and guidance.

Respectfully,

BeGone


UPDATE: March 31st

Hi MlAdmin,

I just visited the TorrentFreak link you provided with the different VPN's and found the information extremely useful.

The 2 poignant and straight forward questions asked were ones that I've been looking for to better understand my options pertaining to the utmost privacy, not that I'm doing or desire to do anything illegal.

That being said, because I'm still new to this whole concept and on a learning-curve how does SoftEther compare to the other providers that were surveyed on the site? As such, here are my questions specific to SoftEther.

1) Is SE the same in terms of function as the VPN's surveyed on the site?

2) If SE is one in the same as the other VPN's, does soft ether keep a log on its users?

3) When using SE's various servers outside of the US, does this mean they aren't subject to US laws and courts?

4) Does SE share its user's information?

In essence what I'm trying to learn and ascertain is whether or not using SE would be like using any of the other VPN's on the survey and if I have the utmost privacy using it.

Thanks again for your help and input.

BeGone

[qupfer]

My english isn't the best, so I hope I have understood you questions correctly and you will understand my answers ;)

Firt: SoftEther is just a software, not a service. The service behind SoftEther is VPNgate, so my answer is related to vpngate (as a vpn-service)

1) In the "technically way" yes. I will give you some very basic examples.
If you visit a (http) webseite without any VPN, its like this:
Your PC ---unencrypt--> your ISP ---unencrypt--> Website (like cnn.com)
(you, your ISP, the website and all spies know what you do)

With VPN:
Your PC ---vpn_encrypt--> your ISP ---vpn_encrypt--> VPN Server ---unencrypt--> Website
(You and the vpn-server-owner know what you do, the website and all spies between vpn-server and website will know what a vpn-user do anything (as long as the payload will not be analyzed or doesn't contain any identification features like cookies, username....)

With VPN and https
Your PC ---https_encrypt vpn_encrypt--> your ISP ---https_encrypt vpn_encrypt--> VPN Server ---https_encrypt--> Website
(You and the website will know, what you do. Nobody else. And the website think you are the vpn-server.
Okay ;) , your ISP (and spies) will know, what you have a connection to the vpn-server. They can ask the server-owner to log your connection. If he does (hopefully not, because your question 3), they will know that you have a connection to the website. Then they can ask the website, to get information about you.)

2) Yes, because everybody can "donate" a server for vpngate. Because you don't have any informations about the owner, you MUST assume he will log everything. The commercial vpn-providers (exactly only some) says, they don't log. But of course, you can't be sure. (national security letters or just liars). And if you look here:
http://www.vpngate.net/en/ you will find the Information: "Logging policy:
2 Weeks"

3) Theoreticly yes, as long as no agreement between the countires exists. But remeber "Kim Dotcom" in New Zealand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaupload_legal_case). So, theoretically means theoretically.

4) Its depend of the server-owner. I hope not, but because its possible, you must assume they do. (you havn't any information)

In conclusion: A VPN "move" your internet acces to location of the vpn-server and the vpn-server owner can log everything!

To be anonymous, you must find a way to buy a server in a other country without giving any personal information. So you can host your own vpn server and because its yours, you can trust the owner. Then you must be sure, that the "enviroment" (the provider) can't acces your server. --> encrypt the server.

Because it's realy hard (and expensive) a good alternative is "TOR". It's like a chain of multiple vpn-servers. But the last node will get the unencrypt traffic and can log....(and many tor-nodes owned by the NSA *g ). (see Silk Road http://07q.de/wikiSilk )

In conclusion (yes again): A VPN (and TOR) will make a focused monitoring difficult but not a "save all" surveillance, because the traffic between vpn-server (or last tor-node) and website are unencryptet except for secure connections like https, ssh...


Edit: A bit exaggerated: What's not yours, it's public. You can't trust anybody ;-)

[BeGone]

Hello Qupfer,

First, I'd like to say despite any concerns you might have regarding your English, I must compliment you on your prowess, particularly if English is a 2nd language for you.

Next I'd like to thank you deeply for the detailed explanation which certainly is starting to bring things more into focus for me; and I'm sure a lot more people who may be too embarrassed to ask the same questions.

As such, It's so disheartening when you shared the truth about there being no one on the internet you can completely trust, particularly with VPN's/servers. I've been doing some reading on my own at EFF and was amazed at how many so-called anonymous VPN's log user's use, or have back doors for their encryptions which makes the whole notion moot.

I found your step-by-step explanation of how the encryption/unencrypted process works to be very helpful in understanding what options may or may not be available to me. That being said, I think I will look further into the "Tor" option you mentioned with caution as I've read on the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) site that even it may not or any longer be a secure, viable option.

As a privacy advocate it's infuriating to me that I can't have a private conversation or communique' (nothing illegal of course) without prying eyes which subsequently keeps a dossier on any and everyone they (governments) can.

In essence, I truly appreciate your time, effort and input to help me better understand how this all works and wish you the best.

Many blessings,

BeGone