Wonder how Private Relay fairs, they use some of the bigger companies like Cloudflare and Fastly so surely they own a lot of their own infrastructure?
Can somebody explain to a five year old how this affects privacy guides recommended VPNs?
ProtonVPN, for example, is obsessed with virtual server locations using the M247 provider; it also uses Datacamp… Recently, it released an update for Android with a “Proton” protocol based on “WireGuard,” which was in experimental mode. Then, it released another update and removed the protocol—what were they doing?
My trust in this ProtonVPN provider has really taken a hit.
Does anyone know if using Mullvad servers that are “owned" vs. rented impacts this as well? Like, is it better to use the few servers they “own”?
I liked this report and might do a followup on this exact topic.
The report reveals basic data so far.
However, the current situation requires great caution and a state of active alert, because no one knows what will happen tomorrow—something can change, no matter how small, with or without notification.
If you are strict about privacy and security and are suffering harassment for legitimate, fundamental reasons, the answer to your question is: YES.
This answer is superficial; to delve deeper:
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It’s up to you whether you trust (I recommend not trusting absolutely; use your deep cognitive reasoning to avoid being deceived) or not a given VPN provider, even if it’s recommended in the VPN section of Privacy Guides. Deep reasoning gives you autonomy and allows you to make a decision of your own volition, being proactive.
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Neither you nor I know what we can’t verify. Therefore, be aware of this. Companies are very defensive when you ask them fundamental questions.
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If the company claims to keep no records or only partial records, and you, as an individual, are being harassed, will the company itself be able to defend you in these types of situations?
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…
Think about it carefully. Here is some further help regarding this topic: 7 cognitive questions
Regards.
Data center infrastructure is very expensive to build and maintain. That’s why we have few large public clouds like AWS, Azure and GCP. As Signal’s president subtly put it:
The problem is the concentration of power in the infrastructure space that means there isn’t really another choice: the entire stack, practically speaking, is owned by 3–4 players.
So I’m not surprised VPN companies also share the same data center providers. Some VPN companies like Proton own some of their network and rent servers from third parties. IVPN uses dedicated servers (rented hardware) and co-located servers (owns hardware but housed in third-party data centers).
Back in 2019, one of NordVPN’s rented servers was hacked because of an insecure remote management system left by the data center provider (Creanova) they didn’t know about. So VPN companies should thoroughly vet third-party data centers before they use them.