I'll Explain Why Software filters will not work!

I recently found Covenant Eyes

Use Coupon Code paulstechtalk15 and save 15% off your order!I really wasn’t sure when I heard this service, if it would be a very useful way to keep children from seeing mature material on the internet.   After all, If a child wants to do something they will find ways to do it.   I did however want to touch base on a few observations on why this will never work with some of the kids.   It might work with your kids but probably not all kids!

At first glance!

We see that in order to use this software, as with a lot of other software base monitor services, you will need to install software on the computer(s), Tablet(s), and all Cell Phone(s) you currently have possession of all.  Which is all free as long as you have an account with them.   I do find their methods a little questionable and I understand why it would be rather difficult to uninstall some of this but it just worries me that it will either slow down my Android device(s) or break something.   It is after all another program that I have to keep running on my devices to monitor what my kids are doing on the internet.  

Ownership of the Device!

This can be a bit tricky and could cause major legal issues if you do it wrong or if you do not own the device in question.   After all, the teen may get it in his head to avoid being watched by his/her parents he can just buy a Virgin Mobile, or Straight Talk Phone and not have to install that particular software!  This is one major reason why it wouldn’t work buying this subscription. It just depends on what the law says in your area if you can force your teen who buys a phone to install this software on their phone.  

Probably Easily by passable!

You can easily prevent snooping by using a VPN like Vpn4all to prevent anyone from seeing what you do online.   I am sure like any other software based companies they are utilizing a server to grab all this stuff you are searching and surfing habits.   I am pretty sure just using a VPN on your tablet or even cell phone would prevent the logging and keep people from seeing what you do.   This hasn’t been tested but it does make a lot of sense because in order for any filtering software to report back to the main user it has to be able to see what you are typing and searching for but if it is encrypted, it shouldn’t be able to.   I do not know if they install their own Certificate Authority but it maybe a way they try to get all encrypted data.   Although if it is encrypted before it gets sent out to the CA, then it will still look unreadable.

On a laptop or desktop, it could be as easy buying a USB Drive and installing Kubuntu or Ubuntu as a live CD and Thus they can do all their exploring of the internet without being watched.   The only problem about this is that you as the main Admin would need to password locked your CMOS and prevent any loading of USB or CD drive in boot up.  You’ll have to figure that one out on your own.   Each CMOS is different and there for it is a complicated process!

Reseting a Device!

This can be the easiest way to get that monitoring software off the system in the first place.   I can easily do that with any Android device and you can do a hardware reset without any administration intervention!  You can basically do this to all Android and IOS devices with no help from the admin of the device.   So it really could be a pain to use these types of services for kids who are shall I say AT RISK to do the most exploring.  I’ve pretty much told you everything that could happen if a teen wanted to not be monitored by their guardians or parents.  

As I’ve stated in this post, it is to show how someone could do these things.   I hold no liability if someone uses this information to do what was talked about in this post.   This was a way to open people’s eyes on how it may or may not help your situation.   Each child is different and thus must be judged accordingly.

The Untold Truth about VPN's and the NSA Prism Scandal!

Truths about Virtual Private Networks!

I’ve had a few people email me and ask the ultimate question.  “How does a VPN actually protect my privacy from the NSA?” and I thought this was a good time to answer the most important question.   Most people don’t really understand what a vpn actually does.  When I reviewed VPN4ALL, I didn’t expect so many people to sign up for the service.   Here though is the some things you need to remember.

VPN’s are like condoms!

If your not using it then you are prone to get your information sniffed.  Just using VPN4ALL and sponsors this blog, you can keep some of your information from being seen.   Here is a truth that you probably don’t know but just because you use a VPN doesn’t give your protection.   You must understand that when you use a VPN you are setting up a tunnel to another server some where.   This will stop the NSA and others from seeing your data from your local ISP and any other sniffer along the way to the exit server.   When you finally get out to the internet then you have to worry about where those servers are that the NSA is using to collect your data.   See top of the article for examples.

The problem with a VPN is that you still need an encrypted connection to the site in question because you never know if your will bounce from the exit server into a server that the NSA is tapping.  So again, you really should use something like SSL Everywhere plugin to try to protect your from the NSA and people from seeing who and what you do.

SSL Keys and the NSA!

We’ve heard about the NSA bullying and almost intimidating companies like Lavabit!  As of The last few days they have shut down their email servers and then after that Silent Circle email encryption decides to shut down in fear of what the NSA will ask of them.  So now all we have to consider is which companies in the US are being threatened or bullied for the so call encryption keys and why should we not be looking over seas for companies like VPN4ALL who an European company and is a yearly sponsor to this blog!

We basically need to be able to encrypt and  decrypt the information ourselves and implement an TNO model for all types of encryption from email to website browsing.   The problem with this is that we have yet to come up with an alternative to that.   We’ve got a few ideas like PGP but nothing where we can setup our Secret keys and use them.  

I believe in time we will see this happen but until then we will only have a to depend on programs and software that is out of reach of the NSA and other government institution which are also open source so everyone can see the program.   This is the only way we will ever have true privacy on the internet.   It will have to a concerted effort from every individual saying to the government that you don’t want to be tracked and documented.

How to change your IP on your Android Device!

My Acer 200

Use Coupon Code “savenow15” and Save 15% off the lifetime of your account

I have been asked by one or two people how is the best way to change my IP.   The first questions that I always ask is:

“Do you mean your internal IP or external IP?”

I ask that question all the time because I know better than most that you have an internal ip that the world can’t see and is often called the Private Network IP. 

If you are just wanting to change your private IP to another IP, you can simply do that by going into your tablet.   You can see how by checking out my how to change the DNS on an Acer 200 / 500 tablet.  Instead of changing the DNS, you will want to change the IP.   Not much else you have to do to change your Private IP.

Public IP!

Now if we are talking about how other web sites see you or your geolocation data.   You will need to invest in something like VPN4ALL, which is a sponsor. You can see my review of VPN4ALL and decide for yourself..    Although, I have talked about some free alternatives.  They can do what you want but if your like me and you see the downfall of having something free.   I sometimes like to watch the show “Doctor Who”, having been a fan for many years and loving the science fiction series.  I sometimes want to watch it as it happens or as soon as I can.   So I use this little service to stream the show to my desktop or tablet and I don’t have to wait for the shows to show up on Google Play store.  Although, I will buy them from their anyways just to help pay for the show.   I sometimes just don’t have the time to wait for it to come to video on demand. 

They give you plenty of speed to stream your movies or shows from other parts of the world.  I can’t say much more than that.   It is entirely up to how you use it that will depend on how it works for you.

Reviewing VPN4ALL and why you should care!

They the people at VPN4ALL, gave me a trial service and I must say “I have been nothing but happy with the service for about the last few weeks”.  Some of the things I love about this is they actually have an app for your to use on your Android device.  So you don’t have to know any code, which goes back to to their slogan “VPN made easy”.  You know I’ve talked in the past about other VPNS, and securing your device.  It isn’t always that simple with free Wifi Hotspots.   I should know, I visit them almost constantly and that is because I am constantly on the move.  I have tried the free VPN’s and I must say this service is even better than you could get with any Free service.

Mobility!

This is the key reason I decided to use this service because I am constantly going place and using other free wifi hotspots and I know it is always going to be insecure because of connections.  I will say I always worry about who might see my password or see my personal information and try to take  my identity.  I will say with the ease of use with the VPN4ALL mobile app, I can connect to a VPN in minutes and not need to know any technical data.  You will need to buy an Mobile VPN4ALL Account to use this(minimum 5$ a month).  Great value for your buck and you don’t have to worry about all those people watching you.

Reliable Service

Speed and reliability are always going top of the security tree.  I will always need to have a service where there is no interruption and this seems to fit the bill quite nicely.  I can connect to any server I want and see if it is faster or slower.  I can also set it up to switch IP(internet Protocols) every Minute to hours, if I so desire.  Could give people headaches if they were trying to watch me!

Discounts:

If you are like me and looking to save money, use my coupon code “paulstechtalk15” at VPN4ALL to save 15% on either or both Mobile and regular VPN service.  See what else I have said about this service on my other post, If you want to keep your privacy, look no further!  Give this service a try and you won’t regret it!

Library administrators just don't get it and that just bugs me!

Blocking Proxpm

At the Library!

You hit the road for your favorite library and you decide you want to protect yourself from all those snooping people who like to watch what you do.   The problem is you have an unprotected and unencrypted network.   You try as you might to get a VPN setup and you just can’t connect.  So you try to find other VPN’s that woul work and your instantly blocked.  They’ve installed websense into their serves to prevent people from using a VPN.  

Not all VPNS are bad!

When I found this out, I was really irked by them preventing me from visiting such website.  I suspect they are worried someone will use a VPN to visit porn sites or research something bad.  It wouldn’t be so bad if they woul allow people to use VPN or ones they trust but this is a blacket attempt to prevent people from using them.  

Ways they can help people wit h security!

If they want to prevent this an still monitor traffic.   That is also fine with me, I understan this.   I just don’t feel comfortable using a public wifi without some privacy protection.   What if somone gets my credit card while I am using their public wifi.  Would they be liable?  More than certain, they have some clause to prevent this.

All they would have to do is make all open wifi spots encrypted with a way for guest to login to.   They wouldn’t have to have a different password for every person login in.   A simple guest password would suffice and make every wifi connection secure to prevent someone from snooping over the air transmissions.   libraries probably won’t do this but I am asking they look into this problem and come up with a solution to help us security minded people.   If they do nothing, then nothing will be solved.  

Paul Sylvester 

Securing your android tablets in Free Wifi Hotspots!

My Acer A200 is Portable!

It isn’t like my Acer Tablet is hard to carry around, Unlike my laptop.   I just want be able to surf the net and what everyone else is doing.   I just worry about what people are seeing when they are at a open wifi hotspot.  So I am going to discuss some ways to protect your privacy and help you keep safe with your new tablet that you have or are getting.  Although if your like me, you have already added a new ROM to your Acer Tablet, so it isn’t like this is brain science to some of you.  

Android VPNS!

Finding the right VPN was never going to be easy but it is someone of a neccessity and I have in the past talk about some of the VPN’s that you could use for Windows, Mac OSX, and Android.   This time however we are going to show you some more apps that might help you with that and make it even easier for you to keep your privacy safe and secure.  If your curious what a VPN is, then please check out the old post about it and there is a great little video that talks about it even more.

Google Play VPN apps that you should look at:

• Hotspot Shield — FREE VPN for your Android Device!* Unlimited Bandwidth! Save money on your data plan. Access blocked sites. Privacy and Security. Most popular VPN with 100 million downloads worldwide.  
• Hideman VPN — 5 Hours / Week for FREE. Earn premium hours via in-app ad networks. Easy solution for privacy and protection via VPN. Connect to VPN in one click with Hideman VPN widget.
• VPN One Click — Vpn One Click protects your privacy online, unlocks all blocked services like Twitter,Facebook,Skype,etc., by connecting to a Virtual Private Network Server. 
• Open VPN for Android — Openvpn for Android. Uses the new VPNService API that requires neither Jailbreak nor root on your Telephone.

Now these are just a few that I could find.   I don’t like messing with these apps so I will give you some other options as to have free wifi VPNS.   I think it is time to share some other ways to get a free VPN service without giving out your information.

Some Sites to Try are:

• freevpnhosting.com — a How to for your Android Device can be found here!
• us.hotfreevpn.com — For Android Devices check out this page!
• justfreevpn.com — Instructions here!
• superfreevpn.com — For Android Devices Check this page out!

As you can see these require no special apps from the Google play store to use them but remember, I can’t say what these people are doing on their side but at least the people locally can’t see your data.   it just depends on what you will do. There are many Paid VPNS out there that support Android and thus it is up to you which one you want to use.   If your like me you are looking for the cheapest solution and that is free but that isn’t always the case.  

One that I recommend 100%

VPN4ALL — This is the one that I am currently using and you only pay 5 dollars a month for 5 gigabyte a month plan.  Cheaper when and if you combine it with other plans.  I strongly recommend VPN4ALL to anyone who uses Android devices!  (Use coupon code paulstechtalk15 and save 15% on your order!)

Know any Good VPN Services?

Let me know by commenting and telling the world, I might even try them out myself!

Paul Sylvester

 

How to Get a Free VPN for Ubuntu/Kubuntu!

Is there a Free VPN for Linux?

Use Coupon Code “savenow15” AND SAVE 15% on the lifetime of your account!I had to search both high and low.   It took me several hours and searching to find a viable option for me.   I wanted to share this so others wouldn’t have to work as hard to surf safer on the web.   If your like me, I like to go to free wifi spots to blog or even just surf the web.   I don’t want anyone getting my personal information so I would always have to use Windows.   I really got fustrated having to always load Windows when It was just easier to load up Kubuntu.   I know in the past this was something that was never really an option because you’d have to be a real geek to do anything like this.   Thanks to the open community of Linux, we have a viable option now for those who aren’t technically geeks but would still like to keep their web surfing secret from prying computers on an open wifi spots.

How to setup your free VPN for Kubuntu!

• If you haven’t updated to Kubuntu 11.04  or later then you will need to make sure you have that version or later for this tutorial to work.  You can also use Ubuntu 11.04 or later but the screenshots will be for Kubuntu, so there may be some difference in looks and names but should be relatively the same.


• Book Mark the FREE US PPTP VPN site — This is essential because the problem with this free VPN service is that changes every 12 hours.   This however isn’t a big problem because if your using a VPN for Wifi Hotspots.   It just means everytime you go to a wifi spot you will be unsecure until you go to the bookmark and change the password.  To Bookmark the site you can easily just press CLT-D.

If you have done those two steps then you are ready to setup your VPN.

Setting up the VPN

This is going to be relilitivly simple, because if your using the Linux you will know some of this already.

• Go to your Network Manager —  There are 2 ways to do this.   You can find it on your toolbar either being a Ethernet or Wireless icon, just right click it and choice “Network Manager Settings” or you can click the “Start > Applications > Settings > System Settings > Network Settings”.


• Once there you will want to click VPN

Click to see larger picture

• Click the Add Button

• As you can see if you have booked mark that page I told you earlier to go to.  You will need to add the Gateway, username and password(remember this password is only good for a few hours, so remember this step). Then click “Advanced”

• You will only need to do this once.   Uncheck all in the Authentaction area but the MSCHAPv2 and Check “Use MPPE Encryption” but do not check the “Use Stateful Encryption”, if it is checked uncheck it.   Then click OK!


• Hit Ok or Apply and exit out of the manager.   You may have to reboot to get the new settings to activate.   I had to with my current system but that was only when creating the new VPN, after that it work fine.

You will need to edit the password everytime you want to use the VPN but if you have made it this far than you should be all set to use the VPN to safely surf the web.   In order to change the password just remember the first 2 steps and instead of adding a new VPN just edit the one you created and change the password and hit Apply when done.   I hope this has helped other Linux users to surf the web safely on free wifi spots.   Enjoy!

*Update*

There seems to be a kde4d Bug and ntrack bug that causes the menu bar and toolbar to freeze.   Just thought you’d like to know!!

*Update #2*

There are another site that you should also check out for a Free VPN Service:

• us.hotfreevpn.com (Doesn’t require a new password)

If I find more sites that you can use to get a free VPN with PPTP then I’ll update this as soon as I find them!

Paul Sylvester

Related articles

• Kubuntu: Kubuntu 11.04 Released (kubuntu.org)


• David Wonderly: Kubuntu Council (wonderly.com)


• Harald Sitter: Kubuntu Council? What is this? (apachelog.wordpress.com)


• Harald Sitter: Kubuntu 11.10 Sneak Peak (apachelog.wordpress.com)


• With Linux, All you Really need is Google! (paulstechtalk.com)