Author: Dan Parker

The UK is where many geo-restricted websites or content are based. For example, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Netflix UK are only available to users in UK. Users elsewhere that attempt to access these sites can’t, not without a VPN of course. Using a VPN to unblock sites is the easiest and safest method that users all over the world can do today. Although there are several options like using proxy services and smart DNS services, using a VPN offers more advantages particularly in providing anonymity to the users. When considering a VPN service many users tend to go for…

The oil-rich nation of the United Arab Emirates is not only ideal for investment ventures, but it is also a luxurious tourist destination with marvelous attractions. If you are visiting UAE anytime soon though, know that certain conveniences aren’t available in the country. VoIP services for example are still not licensed to operate in UAE. Skype and Viber don’t work in UAE yet. In terms of censorship policy though, UAE doesn’t seem to be implementing heavy filtering and blocking practices. The UAE censoring board is focused on blocking pornographic content, alcohol-related materials, gambling, dating sites and culturally and religiously inappropriate content particularly…

VPNs are services that offer privacy and anonymity to users worldwide, which is a little ironic when some VPN companies are collecting various types of information and data from users even though they claim to have a ‘zero-logging policy’. When choosing a VPN, you need to be certain that it does not collect any user data that may compromise your anonymity. But oftentimes, a VPN service provider may collect some data when processing a subscription like an email address, payment information and sometimes the IP address of the device they are using. What is a logless VPN? Only a handful…

When the Internet was in its nascent stage, user privacy was not a big issue. Privacy in those days meant being online when there was nobody else in the room. However, now the situation is entirely different, with most websites using cookies to collect personally identifiable information from you. While they claim that this will improve your user experience, are you comfortable with the fact that your ISP keeps a record of all sites you access even if your browser is set in its private or ‘incognito’ mode? Sites like Facebook and Google get notified whenever you visit a website…

According to the OpenNet Initiative, Internet censorship in Vietnam is classified as pervasive in the areas of politics, social and national security. On the other hand, Reporters without Borders considers Vietnam as an “internet enemy”. Content like political criticisms, both from local and overseas, is blocked in Vietnam. Blocked content is usually written in the Vietnamese language and anything that has something to do with Vietnam issues are most likely censored. Bloggers are also being restricted on what they can only publish or cover on their websites or blog. An incident in mid-2008 prompted the Ministry of Information to set rules…

Hong Kong has been in the headlines since 2014 due to the pro-democracy protesters taking to the streets to voice their desire for a democratic reform. Unfortunately, the loud protest and hunger strikes seems to have fallen on deaf ears. The government’s stand and refusal to negotiate to the protesters’ demand for open elections has been unwavering. As a result, China’s great Internet firewall has been censoring information about the Hong Kong protests. Posts related to the Hong Kong protest or any kind of dissent are censored over at China’s controlled version of Twitter, Weibo. Anything that mentions of the…

It is advisable to use a VPN to secure your browsing habits wherever you may be. However, there are places wherein browsing the web is controlled and limited. Aside from countries where strict regulations of the Internet are imposed, some schools also restrict access to the Internet to anyone within campus premises. Sure, school is where we learn the things we need in order to become competent in the profession we choose. Many institutions, however, are limiting and restricting Internet access to its students. Content that isn’t scholastically challenging is blocked. Streaming videos, chatting with friends, social media and occasional…

Authentication Mechanisms Usually, the OpenVPN can be used in the two modes presented below: Peer to Peer is used to connect together two sites where one site is used as a server and the other site as a client. This is usually done when we have a central location and would like to connect a remote location together with central location by using VPN. Remote Access is used by desktop clients to connect to VPN. No matter which server mode type we choose, there are different authentication modes that we can use and are presented below: User Auth: when we…

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be used to connect multiple smaller internal networks into a bigger internal network across a public network, like the Internet, without sacrificing security. The nodes located in each of the internal networks appear as if they are part of the same private network, but in reality they can be located on different continents. Since the communication is taking over the existing public network, it needs to be properly encrypted, so the intermediary nodes won’t be able to sniff the packets off the wire and gain sensitive information. Therefore, a VPN can be used to…