WebProNews

Tag: NordVPN

  • Google Includes Free VPN Access With All Google One Accounts

    Google Includes Free VPN Access With All Google One Accounts

    Google is now giving all Google One plans free VPN access and has unveiled a tool to monitor personal data on the dark web.

    Google One is the company’s storage plans that give users several tiers to choose from, depending on their needs. The company offered its VPN by Google One for free to its top-tier plans, but is now providing it to all plans, regardless of tier.

    The company made the announcement in a blog post:

    VPN by Google One adds more protection to your internet activity no matter what apps or browsers you use, shielding it from hackers or network operators by masking your IP address. Without a VPN, the sites and apps you visit could use your IP address to track your activity or determine your location. Plus, we take several steps to make sure no one can tie your network traffic to your identity.

    Starting today, and rolling out over the next few weeks, we’re expanding VPN access to all Google One plans, including the Basic plan that starts at $1.99/mo. The VPN will be available in 22 countries across Android, iOS, Windows and Mac devices. You can also share the VPN with up to five others if they’re on your Google One plan.

    The company is also including its dark web report, giving users the ability to see if and when their data is posted on the dark web:

    Google One’s dark web report helps you scan the dark web for your personal info — like your name, address, email, phone number and Social Security number — and will notify you if it’s found. When you enable dark web report, you provide and select the information you’d like to keep an eye on within your monitoring profile. And if any matching info is found on the dark web, we’ll notify you and provide guidance on how you might protect that information. For example, if your Social Security number was found on the dark web, we might suggest you report it as stolen to the government or take steps to protect your credit.

    As we have pointed out before, there’s still the issue of trusting Google as a VPN provider. The company has a long history of privacy abuses, including ignoring users’ preferences regarding tracking and privacy.

    A VPN is only valuable if a user trusts the company providing the service. When the company providing the service primarily makes its money off of user data, it leaves one to wonder just how private their web browsing data will truly be.

    As we have said before, most users would be far better off using Mullvad or NordVPN instead.

  • VPN Providers Abandon India Amid Privacy Crackdown

    VPN Providers Abandon India Amid Privacy Crackdown

    As expected, India’s new privacy regulations are leading to a mass exodus of VPN providers.

    India introduced legislation to force VPN providers to capture and collect customer data, defeating the very purpose of why many use VPN services. Many companies threatened to leave the country if the legislation passed, and they are now following through, according to Wired.

    “As digital privacy and security advocates, we are concerned about the possible effect this regulation may have on not only our users but people’s data in general,” says a NordVPN spokesperson. “From what it seems, the amount of stored private information will be drastically increased throughout hundreds or maybe thousands of different companies.” She adds that similar regulations have been “typically introduced by authoritarian governments in order to gain more control over their citizens.”

    Despite India having the highest VPN adoption rate last year, or perhaps because of it, the government began moving to force VPN providers to collect customer data. The government has tried to reassure the industry and its citizens that it would only take advantage of that data collection on a case-by-case basis. Many are not convinced, however, given India’s history of surveilling activists, critics, and political rivals.

    “VPNs by nature can be a privacy advancing tool and can be capable of protecting information security in multiple ways, being used by individuals and companies to secure confidential information,” says Tejasi Panjiar, Internet Freedom Foundation associate policy counsel. “They also help secure digital rights under the constitution, especially for journalists and whistleblowers, because the nature of information that’s transferred over VPNs is primarily encrypted, which allows them not only to secure confidential information but also to safeguard their own identity, protecting them from surveillance and censorship.”

    NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark have all taken steps to remove their servers from India while still providing ways for Indian customers to connect to their VPN services.

  • India Blinks, Extends Deadline for VPN Rules by Three Months

    India Blinks, Extends Deadline for VPN Rules by Three Months

    India has pushed back the deadline for new rules governing VPNs by three months amid an uproar that has seen some providers leave the country.

    India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) was set to enforce new rules that would require VPN providers to maintain information and records on their customers, including full names, contact info, reason for using a VPN, dates when they used it, and much more. According to TechCrunch, India has decided to delay the implementation of the rules for three months until September 25.

    VPNs have been working to respond to the new rules. ExpressVPN and NordVPN made the decision to shut down their servers in-country, while other VPN providers threatened to do the same. Both companies would still provide services to the market, but customers in India would need to connect via servers outside the country. Other providers are still trying to determine the best path forward for them and their customers.

    Cybersecurity experts around the globe have denounced the regulation, saying it would severely weaken privacy and security for the Indian market. It remains to be seen if India will back down permanently or if this is just a temporary reprieve.

  • VPN Providers May Be Forced to Pull Out of India

    VPN Providers May Be Forced to Pull Out of India

    VPN providers may be forced to pull out of the Indian market over a new law that undermines the privacy VPNs offer.

    India passed the Cyber Security Directions, a directive that requires VPN providers to keep records of customer names, IP addresses, email address, financial transactions, and more for a period of five years. India has now signaled there will be no tolerance for companies that refuse to comply, according to TechCrunch.

    Numerous companies have expressed concern over the laws, especially VPN providers that specifically guarantee anonymity. Many, such as Mullvad, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN, and others guarantee their customers a service that doesn’t track them or keep the kind of logs the Indian government wants.

    “The new Indian VPN regulations are an assault on privacy and threaten to put citizens under a microscope of surveillance. We remain committed to our no-logs policy,” said ProtonVPN.

    Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the junior IT minister of India, told TechCrunch that VPN providers who conceal who uses their services “will have to pull out.”

    The only services exempted are corporate and enterprise VPNs. The new directive goes into effect for everyone else in June.