Well, let’s first see the details of this Google offer.

In fact, it’s an opt-in program that Google has “silently” launched where they invite some testers to opt-in to the program called Screenwise. At optin, Google will credit you with a $5 Amazon gift card. Then Google will keep paying you $5 every three months you keep enrolled in the program – the maximum amount they’ll pay you (in Amazon Gift card currency) is capped to $25 though.

I don’t know about you but I think it’s not enough paid for such a long period of voyeurism from Google (combined with whatever they already know about you). But at least, I have to reckon that it’s quite a great move from Google to be able to put a price directly to the end-user: now, it’s like Google is asking to buy whatever remaining private thing you haven’t sold out yet.

This is how Google present this initiative:

” Google is building a new panel to learn more about how everyday people use the Internet.

The new project is called Screenwise. As a panelist, you’ll add a browser extension that will share with Google the sites you visit and how you use them. What we learn from you, and others like you, will help us improve Google products and services and make a better online experience for everyone.   “ 

Frankly speaking, there’s nothing wrong with Google’s move: they say upfront that the goal is to get a better understanding of your internet behaviour. The Screenwise program dare to say that it’ll be sharing those informations with Google (but hey, do you actually know how many other programs are running on your computer as of now that also share some of your informations with other online assets?). So, Screenwise just shout it out loud that not only will it track, but Google would even buy those data from you. Now the question is, for $25 are you willing to openly share whatever you do on the internet to an internet giant that is Google? I can see a lot of people who wouldn’t even consider that question: they would just say no.

But I can also imagine some other people who are willing to give it a try (because there’s a great book on Amazon they want to buy, for example?). If I were interested in such program (which I am not), I would be concerned about the details that Screenwise will share with Google. For example, how can I make sure that it doesn’t record and share my login credentials on the websites I check. Moreover, when it’s time to terminate the panelist, how can I make sure that there’s nothing left on my computer that will still track my internet behavior.

In fact, as I initially said, although I am not interested with the program, I’m surprised how Google dared put a price on its user’s privacy. Now what about you? Would you optin to that program? Why, or why not?

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Screenwise: Google Is Putting a Price on Your Privacy

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What is a Kindle Fire?

Kindle Fire is Amazon’s tablets who has an agressive lower price (around $199) compared to an iPad2 or a Samsung Galaxy Tab. It is running Android Gingerbread-based Honeycomb variant of 2.3.

Although people tend to compare the Kindle Fire to iPad, it definitley can’t be compared head-to-head. Amazon’s vice-president clearly stated that the Kindle Fire is mainly for media consumption. By the way, he estimates that if you’re planning to watch a movie on it while you are in a plane (though no Wi-Fi yet), the Kindle Fire will last 7 hours.

Despite this initial warning about comparing, the Kindle actually has the nice features of tablets: it comes with  two-finger multitouch, has a “desktop-class” PDF reader.

On the “lighter” options (they had to accept some tradeoffs so as to get into that $199 price: the Kindle Fire has no camera, only comes with USB connection and its browser comes without plugins.

While the Kindle Fire has mail applications, and even it applications like twitter, facebook or netflix are expected to land on this device, the Kindle is mainly geared for media consumption.

Why would you need a VPN on a Kindle Fire?

This is a legitimate question since media consumption can be done with files stored on the Kindle Fire. But in fact, that device has been conceived to tap into Amazon’s large database of media and publications. Moreover, it is a common trend nowadays to host his media on the cloud so as to be able to stream them from multiple devices. Well, this sounds like a gadget technology rather than a must-have device, you may think.

Well, not necessarily. Think about the following scenario: if you are a US customer and you plan to travel outside the US – unless you have loaded your Kindle Fire with all the media and books you want to read BEFORE leaving the country, you’d be in trouble. Chances are that you just can’t connect with your Kindle Fire and download the latest fiction that is available on Amazon Store once you’re away: geolocation limitation, are you there?

No built-in VPN client for Kindle Fire

If you are a regular reader of How-To-Hide-Ip, you know that under such challenge, the usual solution is to fire a VPN to override the geolocation limitation, then you’re set. But the truth is: a Kindle Fire doesn’t come with a VPN client- or at least, it takes some headaches before setting this up.

Use a US-based router

The good thing, though, is that full-color 7″ tablet comes with a Wi-Fi connection. And this means that, if you don’t want to worry about how to root your Android-based Kindle Fire, then you can always configure an internet router to do the VPN setting for you: get it connecting to a US-based VPN router, then have . Once that internet router is setup (make sure it can act as a Wi-Fi access point), then all you have to do is connect via Wi-Fi to that internet gateway, then yit work as a Wi-Fi AP.

Now, all you have to do is connect to that Wi-Fi zone from your Kindle Fire – it will inherit from the internet router’s IP address (US-based), so you should be able to download your favorite book from Amazon via your Kindle Fire.

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How to Run a VPN from a Kindle Fire?

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• You can either use some proxy gateways that will mask your actual IP address and use it own address. This is the most challenging solution to find as the list of proxies change so often.
• You can also use VPN servers. With such solution, you can chose the country where you want to land. Those solutions are especially very efficient for overcoming geolocation-limited services like Hulu, BBC iPlayer, …
• Then, for those who actually wants some “random/parallel” network that will hide them: ToR is one solution.
• For those who are more into browser-based solutions, you can find out addons that will allow you to achieve some kind of anonymity too

Except for ToR, most of those solutions expect you to connect you to one gateway, then this gateway will “mask” your connection before forwarding your request to any internet server that you want to see.

As I browsed the internet, I stumbled on one concept that seemed interesting (at least at first approach), it is called RiccoVPN and it is published by PrivacyProtector.

So I checked on their website and found out that they provide a privacy solution that requires you to install their proprietary client. What popped to my eyes is that it comes with a FREE solution that is called RiccoVPN FREE: while it is expected to be  a “bait” so that a potential user jumps into the paid version, the features can be of use for standard things like: connecting from a public Wi-Fi, from hotels or Airport. The caveat is that the bandwidth is limited to 512kbps and you can’t pretend to be somewhere else: though the free version isn’t a solution for bypassing geolocation-limited services.

As one would expect, most of the argument is stated in a way that you are pushed to opt for the RiccoVPN Plus solution instead of staying with the free solution. So I checked the Plus option and found out that RiccoVPN is implementing an encrypted P2P network instead of relying on a VPN gateway.

The idea is innovative, but yet has to prove how efficient it is. By leveraging on P2P network, internet connections are harder to track indeed (there’s no VPN gateway in the scheme). But since every user in the network is expected to run the RiccoVPN client, I would suspect that if I run the RiccoVPN client on my computer, then it would mean that my computer would also be used for encrypting other people’s traffic.

While this article isn’t a recommendation, I think there’s some potential in that no-gateway concept. With SOPA-like bills, there’s a tendancy to find some technical solutions that won’t allow you to be tracked from your ISP or VPN provider. From the “commercial ad”, RiccoVPN claims that “we do not need to know you“.  What do you think of that approach? Do you think it is something that you would try?

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RiccoVPN, a VPN Solution Without a Gateway

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As you can expect from a service with a large number of users, not everybody is happy. The HMA reviews are mostly positive, but not all. Some of users complain about support, others about the service itself. But, the main concern about HMA, especially after the Lulzsec issue, is related to the anonymity provided to the users and the logging policy.

If you are looking for HideMyAss alternatives, I have selected several VPN services that have an extended number of servers, offer good support and the price is acceptable.

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7 Good HideMyAss Alternatives

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Most of the time free VPNs require registration and offer limited service.  Some offer a limited number of MB, others a single server location, limited speed or restrictive usage.

Here, at how-to-hide-ip.info, we have listed several such services (7 Free Online VPN Services, VPN Raptor, VPN Reactor, UltraVPN, etc.), but as they are rapidly changing (some switch to paid version, other simply go away), an update is necessary.

Thus, here are the best VPN services that are available at this time:

ProXPN

ProXPN has the advantage to offering no limitation of data transfer but only one USA IP is available. You need to register and account using an email address and install the OpenVPN of ProXPN to access either the package fee (more IP addresses) or free access.

SecurityKiss

SecurityKiss offers more countries, but data transfer is limited daily.  No registration is needed. You can switch between five addresses (US – UK – DE – PL – FR) and TCP or UDP ports.  Just download the OpenVPN client, to start to enjoy free VPN (no mail, no info required).  Some protocols such as the Usenet are blocked.

ShieldExchange

The creators of famous OpenVPN offer a free VPN that is limited to 100 MB per user. The speed is very good and the one US IP is exposed. Very useful for one-time or infrequent usage.

HotSpot Shield

Hotspot Shield is still widely used all over the world. The ad-based, free VPN service provides one US IP address and does not require registration. There are no bandwidth limitation and the speed is good for general use. Downsides: the ads and the reduced number of locations and IPs. Hotspot Shield is also avaialable in paid flavor as HSS Elite.

Expat Shield

Expat Shield offers the same service as Hotspot Shield with the only difference that it assigns a UK IP address. It is also ad-based and there are no bandwidth limitations.

Conclusion

There are also other free VPN services that can be easily found on forums and different sites, but the ones listed above seem more trustworthy than others. If you are looking for a free VPN, try them all and find out what is the most suitable for you.

It is important to understand that free VPN services can not fully replace paid, premium, VPNs like HideMyAss, HideIpVPN, StrongVPN, ibVPN or IAPS Security Services. A premium VPN service offers unlimited speed and traffic, various server locations, many IP addresses, good support.

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List of Free VPN Services – Updated

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However, there are certain geographical locations that are banned from accessing Skype due to the country ban imposed upon it. Countries ranging from Panama, Belize, Ethiopia, Mexico, Brazil, UAE, and China to name a few are banned from making pc to pc calls with Skype. How can I unblock Skype in these locations?  Easy, use a VPN service!

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is one of the best and secure ways to unblock Skype even in countries where they are banned and have a private network setup for personal communications to anywhere in the world! It is exactly the same as your regular network, only that it mainly utilizes the World Wide Web to make a connection. Moreover, it is one of the best ways to get in touch with your loved ones while having secured private communications wherever in the world.

Skype is by far the most popular VOIP service of all time, with millions of users worldwide and growing. The Skype ban has left a lot of perplexed users in the dark labyrinth searching for the right answers. Until recently, tech-savvy users in banned countries have found refuge with reliable VPN service providers on the web.

Skype VPN

Why pay for expensive telecom service to contact friends and family overseas when you can do it free on Skype with VPN?

A great way to ensure your online security is to frequently change your IP (Internet Protocol) address thru the aid of a secure VPN connection. One amazing feature about VPNs is the fact that along with their highly customizable features, they nevertheless remain cost effective and they can cut communication expenditures immensely. The many benefits that come from using a quality VPN service are just infinite!

Every time you use a Virtual Private Network to unblock access to Skype, the VPN will hide your real IP address and provide you a brand new one. The VPN in turn acts as a tunnel between your pc (where you are making the calls) and the actual server. Consequently, all data passing through it is securely encrypted so VPN hides your internet traffic from your ISP so you may now have conversations in complete privacy.

By using VPN on Skype you can make inexpensive calls anywhere in the world, anytime you want it. No reason to worry about any blocks or bans!

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Access Skype Anywhere With VPN Services

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So let’s highlight few items that are worth mentioning. You’ll probably skip this article, as you’ve surely skipped Google’s e-mail announcing the update on the privacy policy: indeed, why would you spend three minutes reading a too “bureaucratic” writing?

- Well, it’ll only be effective on March 1st 2012 so you may say you still have time. But you can’t say you haven’t been warned should you have any concerns about this move, so it’s your call. Oh, and in case you think you have enough power to get Google reconsidering this move, well, there’s no way top opt-out from a privacy policy except not using Google services anymore.

- Users can customize their privacy settings. This reminds me of one article I once read where one big guy (I can’t remember who it was, was it Steve Jobs?) who said that Google is becoming the next Microsoft (and facebook IMHO). Leaving to the user the choice to configure his own privacy settings is like asking someone who’s never been to a kitchen to cook the diner for tonight while leaving all the ingredients on the table: it just doesn’t work. Have you seen how people react to the multiple Facebook privacy updates? People had enough, and a lot (including me) is considering that facebook just can’t secure any private informations.

So, yes, there doesn’t seem to be an emergency in this Google privacy update, what it actually does is that Google is informing you that they will integrate a lot of the informations he has about you in order to improve your experience.

By the way, in case you are still wondering, one report have evaluated that our private informations that Google holds is worth between $50 to $5000 per year to all kind of marketers. So yes, most of Google services we use are free but there’s a price to pay. Remember what I told about the new “SSL feature” on Google searches? Stats about incoming searches to your sites would be invisible to you as a website owner, but they will be available to Google Adwords advertisers.

Given that users behaviour are the main assets of sites like Google and Facebook, I expect a drastic revamping of this “internet privacy” issue in the coming months (especially since there’s also a very active lobbying for/against bills and acts like SOPA, PIPA and ACTA on the way).

So get back to reading that Google privacy , do yourself a favor and check it in order to identify things that matter to you. Quoting the policy:

“ Tailored for you

If you’re signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you’ve expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We’ll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you’re searching for and get you those results faster. “ 

But then, there’s that little note that is worth mentioning:

“And we’ll never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).”

Hmmm, what’s your view? Do you think there’s any kind of threat in this change? Or do you think that Google already has a lot informations about you and that this move is just “publicly confirming” that they’ll be using it in a condensed way?

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Google’s Plan with Their New Privacy Policy

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Apart from hacking paid online catalogs and making it available for free download via torrent, the #OpMegaupload is also targeting strategic corporate and government websites in different countries of the world. Most of the times, they target the department of Justice. But one attack that is worth mentioning is the recent one the geared toward the FTC-related corporate wabsite called OnGuarOnline.gov. According to it definition,

"OnGuardOnline.gov, a partnership of fourteen federal agencies managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)"

As of today, if we browse that website, it shows a clear sign that it has been tampered by the Anonymous

Having your own website tampered and showing something else is one big issue (especially when your core job is related to internet). But more importantly, when those hackers publish the list of users/e-mail address as well as the hashed password on the same page – that’s horrifying.

In fact, anyone with some knowledge of Unix and that has some interest in cracking password would surely be playing with those passwords as of now trying to figure out the actual password, just for the sake of being able to say “I did it”.

When you see from the list some nickname like “FTC admin”, I can guess that the hunt for cracking passwords would become even more interesting. And since there’s a lot of tools available online for cracking password (even if most of them are doing some “brute-force” cracking), it’s  more than sure that those passwords are going to be cracked in the next few hours. I guess those guys would have changed their passwords as well as put in place some more security measures.

Interestingly, the attacks are getting more and more subtle: first it was about attacking via DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) where the goal was to flood one server so that it can’t handle requests anymore. Then, they cracked online catalog and put all the content available for free – well, it’s similar as being the modern Robin Hood. Now, not only do the attackers replace the website’s content, but they also publish private information of the users on this server.

So far, it has been reported that websites has been attacked. But if we want to be paranoid, what do actually prevent hackers from cracking bank informations as well as other private data? As it is with most movements, it is expected that some guys would want to branch out from the original goals and try to turn it to their own profit. And bank accounts are a very promising targets. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

Now the question is, as a regular user of technology: how safe do you feel as of now? Do you think your private data is at risk? While most of the attacks has targeted public websites, do you think that this would get more trickier and attack some more corporate applications?

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How Would You Feel If Your Passwords Were Published Online?

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I would say those are genuine files (if it weren’t then you know how to scour the internet looking for feedbacks from people who actually downloaded them). From the time of writing this article, the torrent files were still alive. And due to the conception of torrents, I would expect that this breach has already given the opportunity to hackers and pirates to download whatever they could then share it to the whole internet in a distributed peer-to-peer manner. Which means that even if Sony can technically recover the security breach and close its catalog (or at least bring it back to the normal situation where people would have to buy first before being able to download legal files).

I know you are expecting me to share with you the links for doing so: to be frank with you, I won’t do that. But since it’s very easy to find this out via some search on the internet, I guess you can do it by yourself. For the purpose of writing this article, I just took a sneak peak on what was made available on one of the torrent files so that I can give a more fact-checked information to how-to-hide-ip.info readers.

Would you download Sony Music for free?

But back to the question I raised as the title of this article which is “Would you download Sony Music for Free?” – my answer is straight simple: I won’t, and I didn’t in fact. Now you may be curious why I won’t?

Well let’s take a step back first.

As of today, I’m taking for granted that there’s a high number of servers that has been hacked. And if we consider that there’s also a lot of computers from the internet that has been infected so as to contribute to making those attack a “success”, then there’s a high risk that this issue is going to get worse for the next days. This will also mean that hundred of millions of dollars (if not billions) would account for lost sales from big companies and they would want to recover it in one way or another. Can you evaluate how much is the Sony’s music catalog worth? Since the nature of the distribution of the hacked music catalog relies on peer-to-peer (torrent) system, then I can see the legal  unit of Sony trying to sue every internet user who would have downloaded those files. Remember, whatever you do on the internet can be tracked in one way or another (especially if you are not as good as the hackers who can create a lot of “untraceable” links from where they can harm whatever system they want).

I can imagine guys from iTunes and AmazonMP3 (as well as other online platforms that allow legal download of music) that can’t sleep anymore since this Sony “open” catalog issue has its way to making part of history, they would think that they can be the next target. On the other hand, I can also imagine a lot of internet users and pirates who are always following the #OpMegaupload hashtag waiting for the next attack where they could profit from it.

Now you know my stand: I truly am amazed how good Anonymous guys can be. They have shown o the world how fragile internet systems can be. And so as to ironically demonstrate it: they have put online for free download Sony’s artist creations. They’ve made a point.

But now, for us internet users, it’s another question to ask if we want to download those files. I’ve made my choice, what’s yours?

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Would You Download Sony Music for Free?

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We all have heard it : the popular file-sharing platform megaupload.com has been brought down, a ripost from a group called The Anonymous meant to attack major French websites as a follow-up to their #OpMegaupload campaign.

In fact, while I coined (well I think so) the word “World Web War” as I imagined the scenario of the next Hollywood movie that will deal with SOPA, it is now certain that reality goes far beyond my imagination.

Now the collateral damages (or is it more than that) has also landed in France (while SOPA and PIPA actually happens in the USA). The anonymous group has claimed an attack that led to the issues with the Vivendi online resources.  As if it weren’t enough, they also claimed to be the guys between the downtime of the French ministry of Justice website.

In fact, that website has been brought down via a DDoS attack (DDoD stands for Distributed Denial of Service). Simply said, the hackers are sending a lot of requests to the webserver to flood it so that it can’t handle the charge anymore, thereby making it unavailable to the internet users.

Ironically, while SOPA and PIPA, as well as the closing of Megaupload, was meant to end (or at least limit) the free sharing of copyrighted materials over the internet, the Anonymous hackers made a point of making Sony’s music and movie catalog available for free last Sunday. I guess Sony would have to work hard gaining again the trust of the artists that they are distributing.

On the Vivendi side, which website is still down, Anonymous guys could even show on the homepage of Vivendi.fr the slogan and message of Anonymous instead of the actual content.

In fact, the examples and illustration of Anonymous attack are legion. Interestingly, while PIPA and SOPA would allow the US attorney to shutdown any website (even if they aren’t in the US), the Anonymous has demonstrated that they could harm any website that publicly supports those bills. The Vivendi case (replacing the homepage), as well as the Sony’s case (making the whole catalog available for free) are strong messages showing that there’s no such thing as secure thing on the internet  as of today.

I guess security experts’ hourly prices have decupled since last week. But I’m just wondering how they can limit the damages, especially knowing that the attacks either use DDoS or even some specific software that leverages any internet user’s computer via the LOIC software

As a regular internet user, do you still think you’re not concerned about how things quickly evolve now? I’m hesitating to ask you to comment here as you may be afraid to be tracked since it is now obvious that both sides of the “game” can do any damage to whatever you do. But anyway, for those that are most courageous, feel free to voice your feelings in the comment section. 

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Sony’s Music and Movie Catalog Made Available for Free

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