Using a VPN but I'm logged into my Google Account...QUESTION

[dankduke]

this may sound odd...but i just wanted to confirm.

 

Part of the reason I wanted to buy a VPN was to protect my anonymity on line as well as go places on the net without Law Enforcement issues (nothing crazy people im not talking child molesting stuff here either)....

 

anywyas does it defeat the purpose if you are say using a VPN to be anon but are logged into your Gmail and Google Now account?   For a VPN to be effective wouldnt you want to use a BROWSER that you have NO ACCOUTNS tied to you logged in?

 

 

AM I missing something  Any claarification would be most appreciated.!

 

Thanks, Danks

[Intersect]

Google will have a log of your past logged in history while using your account, so using a vpn to access that account will not do much for your privacy.

 in fact your isp will also have your past browsing history.

 

vpns are only useful for getting access to content that is blocked in your country etc.

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

If you ever have an account, you probably shouldn't believe that you have security while using it. By definition, they will have records.

 

 

EDIT

 

If you are 99.9% completely anonymous, that 0.1% chance can sink you.

[Torolol]

google will ask you for cell-phone confirmation, so then google will knew that it was you and figured that you using VPN.

[dankduke]

so then i need to have a VPN connection and in one browser say CHROME i have GMail but in Firefox I'm doing VPN browsing....Is that an issue?

[Skiver Veteran]

As mentioned above, VPN's really aren't for anonymity, they are mainly used for connecting to another network not normally visible to the internet (work networks etc) or for access to content only available in a country you don't reside in (someone in the US accessing BBC Iplayer in the UK).

 

You're better off going down the route of using a proxy if you want to make your presence on the Web anonymous, but just remember, if you are doing something illegal...

 

A: This is not the place to discuss it

B: If someone wants to find you, they will. You have to be pretty clued up about this sort of thing to be truly anonymous and with respect, if you were clued up, you wouldn't be asking these questions.

[Torolol]

Other usages of VPN is to mask torrent traffic, some ISP who dislike net-neutrality will throttle your overall bandwidth capacity if they detect that you're using torrents.

Realizing there market for this, some VPN providers providing extra options for torrent-seedbox where they will do the torrenting on your behalf, and then you can download it when the torrent has been completed.

[remixedcat]

Do a speed test and see where the VPN server is located. If the actual datacenter where the VPN is hosted is in any of the following:

 

NOTE: Speedtest.net/speedof.me/etc show the actual connection provider, or NETBLOCK. they show the people that own the IP address space and not the brand of hosting you or the VPN company work with. these are datacenter providers.

 

Godaddy/Secureserver.net/Privatesystems (godaddy's) - reports to content providers and not to be trusted in general

NAVIsite owned by time warner - reports to content providers

Hostgator - dmca hell

 

If the VPN is in those you are NOT getting much privacy.

[+BudMan MVC]

VPNs do not hide your identity from your end point connection.. Ie if your logging into gmail.. They can be used to secure your traffic from your local network, or as mentioned circumvent restrictions on the local network.

[The Rev]

Think of it this way...  The best authorities could do is prove that 1.  You connected to said VPN, and 2.  Your personal gmail account was accessed by *someone* using that VPN connection.  Due to the nature of VPNs and shared IP addresses, they can't ACTUALLY draw a straight line from you to the gmail account.  If say 100 people are using the same shared IP address, one could argue that any one of 100 people could have been accessing your account, not you. 

 

So essentially, without logs, which many anonymizing VPNs don't keep, the best authorities could do is catch 100 people, ONE of which has their hand in the cookie jar, but no actual proof of whose hand it was, if that makes any sense...  While it was your details being accessed, that is merely circumstantial evidence, from a legal point of view. 

[remixedcat]

That depends on the datacenter that hosts the VPN hosts. as I indicated above. Some are more likely to give up info than others. some have more monitoring setup. The ones I indicated above have THE MOST.

[farmeunit]

I use VyprVPN because it come with my Giganews account.

https://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn/features/vyprdns

 

It uses zero-logging DNS and has some extra functionality.

[remixedcat]

what NETBLOCK they on tho? try it and post.

[+John Teacake MVC]

Why does everyone insist that a VPN is for Anonymity. Yes sure it is a side affect it can get round certain Geographical ISP blocks but that's not what it is designed for. It is designed for you to create a private network over a public one i.e The Internet. 

[n_K]

so then i need to have a VPN connection and in one browser say CHROME i have GMail but in Firefox I'm doing VPN browsing....Is that an issue?

Just one small point, if you're looking for more anonimity, I wouldn't use the browser that's got google's gunk in with it that send various reports back to google, etc.

[Joe User]

VPN's are okay for anonymity if you use them properly, but it's really not their primary purpose. There's just too much information leaking out of your average computer.

 

Now, if you create a Virtual Machine or dual boot, and only use it with the VPN (blocking all other traffic) and NEVER login to anything that identifies you, then you've created a passable anonymous setup (except to the VPN company, obviously). But that's a lot of work and it's still possible for someone to identify you if they have the right tools or if you slip up, even once.

 

Use a VPN if you don't like your ISP data mining for advertising or if you're on an open hotspot, they're great for that.  

[+John Teacake MVC]

N/M

 

N/M

[Joe User]

snuh

 

Did I miss something?

[+John Teacake MVC]

Did I miss something?

 

I didnt say snuh!! How weird. I just changed it to Never Mind (N/M)

[+BudMan MVC]

Again who are you trying to hide what from exactly?  If you don't want your isp knowing your logging into your gmail, then a vpn can do that - they just see traffic going from your IP to some vpn IP.  Where you go after you leave the vpn IP they have no idea.

 

But your sure not hiding that from google, your logged.  If lets say the police asked if you accessed your email at 3 pm on sat..  Google would know, could might not know where you were located when you accessed it, etc.  But your isp could show if there was traffic between you and the vpn at 3pm, etc.

[Beyond Godlike]

Pick a VPN provider that doesnt save logs.  Privateinternetaccess.com doesnt, and theresa bunch of others.  Theres a torrent freak article where vpn providers respond to specific questions regarding privacy and security. 

 

Despite the misinformation is this thread:

 

VPN can be used for anonymity and privacy provided logging isnt used.  Some take bitcoin payments also. 

Proxy is BAD.  No security/encryption build into proxy protocols. 

[B2bcookies]

KUDOS 2 the original asker of this question! And, I was wondering if any could help me, in asking Google a question it led me here where although I felt it was the land of misinformation i believe a closer answer would NOT be correcting just that "If you log onto a site using your Google acct. Then "no", your not completely incognito. (but I felt his question could be solved by simply ADDING "create a fake Google account") but then I realized that's incorrect! With my VERY limited knowledge I believe a VPN actually encrypts the persons user name and password so it couldn't be seen while in a site your hidden from hackers. Isn't that one of the actual purposes of a VPN? I believed that a VPN did a type of encrypting as well as help you avoid tracking cookies and a major overload of cache and junk on your device. Am I correct in this? NOW,  I'm even more confused than when I started because I'm unsure if this was all just misinformation or also misguided misinformation. i'm going to post my question separately I hope someone helps me by correcting anything I'm incorrect about, I'd truly hate to wake up a 5yr old question just to misguide yet ANOTHER PERSON! LOl!...please answer all you can we the answer will be new to me and others who ask! Thank you in advance!

[+BudMan MVC]

31 minutes ago, Riva said:

hotspot shield

HAHAHAHAHA - yeah ok

https://www.cyberscoop.com/hotspot-shield-accused-of-snooping-on-vpn-users-and-selling-data-to-advertisers/

 

I wouldn't touch that company with you "_____" lets use data vs the typical word used in that phrase.

[PGHammer]

On 9/23/2019 at 7:45 PM, Riva said:

Some VPN services protect your privacy, like hotspot shield

And they don't have to cost an arm - or a leg; ProtonVPN has low costs - and a no-cost (as in nothing) option - which I am kicking myself for forgetting; I just reinstalled/re-enabled it (and will soon do the same on my Android phone (my desktop is already set up); as a former SEAL of my acquaintance once said (about himself); sometimes I have a Senior Moment).

 

One other thing (about VPNs - even free ones) - the better ones are easy to deploy, support multiple OSes, and have tons of bandwidth.  The nice thing about ProtonVPN is that all of them are true of it.  (I actually have MORE bandwidth than I do on a local (non-VPN) connection - and I'm doing wireless within the US. Talk about quirky.)

Edited May 18, 2020 by PGHammer
Additional data

[PGHammer]

On 2/1/2015 at 11:27 AM, Joe User said:

VPN's are okay for anonymity if you use them properly, but it's really not their primary purpose. There's just too much information leaking out of your average computer.

 

Now, if you create a Virtual Machine or dual boot, and only use it with the VPN (blocking all other traffic) and NEVER login to anything that identifies you, then you've created a passable anonymous setup (except to the VPN company, obviously). But that's a lot of work and it's still possible for someone to identify you if they have the right tools or if you slip up, even once.

 

Use a VPN if you don't like your ISP data mining for advertising or if you're on an open hotspot, they're great for that.  

And there ARE free VPNs that are also QUALITY VPNs; for once, it's NOT a contradiction in terms, even for US users.  One that I came back to (because I forgot about their free - as in zero cost - options; as I said earlier, sometimes, I have a Senior Moment) is ProtonVPN.  It's not that I'm unfamiliar with it; I used it on a trial basis earlier this year simultaneously on Windows and Android; the Senior Moment is that I forgot about the free option.  Even the Free (as in no cost whatever) option supports simultaneous deployment on multiple platforms (including multiple OSes - in my case, Windows and Android).  I've also found a rather interesting (and unexpected) side benefit to VPNs (including ProtonVPN); they ADD stability to wireless connections (at least as far as Windows goes); I have absolutely zero idea if it's the software or the bandwidth (ProtonVPN uses gigabit - at minimum - connectivity to their PoPs - even those for Free users in the US); and better wireless stability is never (as in ever) a bad thing - and especially not if it costs you (as a user) diddly.