Why I’ll be Taking VPN Sponsorships Again… and Why I Stopped
Summary
TLDRThe video script addresses the concerns around VPNs sparked by misinformation and highlights the real capabilities and limitations of VPNs. It explains that while VPNs can obscure IP addresses and encrypt traffic, they're not a complete solution for online safety. The script promotes 'Private Internet Access' for its no-logs policy, court-tested privacy, and independent audits. It also emphasizes the importance of additional privacy measures and introduces 'Delete Me', a service that helps protect against identity theft by removing personal data from data broker websites.
Takeaways
- 🚫 The speaker's organization will no longer promote VPNs, but acknowledges that concerns about the VPN industry were valid.
- 🔍 Tom Scott's video highlighted some of the inaccuracies and fear-mongering in VPN marketing, which contributed to distrust.
- 💼 The speaker differentiates between the actual service provided by a VPN and the additional features offered by commercial VPN providers.
- 🔒 A VPN's primary function is to establish an encrypted connection, obscuring the user's IP address and encrypting internet traffic.
- 🌐 VPNs are not a complete solution for online safety, security, and privacy; they do not prevent risky online behaviors or data breaches.
- 🎮 Historically, VPNs were used for legitimate purposes such as remote work and gaming, long before they became mainstream.
- 🏠 The speaker emphasizes that a VPN does not protect against all online threats and should be part of a broader privacy toolkit.
- 👀 The video mentions that using a VPN for accessing geo-restricted content can be detected by services like Netflix.
- 🔑 The speaker discusses the importance of choosing a VPN provider with a strong track record of protecting user privacy.
- 📝 The endorsement of Private Internet Access (PIA) is based on its no-logs policy, court-tested privacy, and independent audits.
- 🛡️ The video concludes by reminding viewers that a VPN is just one tool and should be used responsibly alongside other privacy measures.
Q & A
Why did the speaker initially decide not to promote VPNs?
-The speaker initially decided not to promote VPNs due to the wave of distrust ignited by inaccurate fear-mongering VPN talking points and the misunderstanding of these points by popular podcasters.
What does a VPN do in terms of network traffic?
-A VPN establishes an encrypted tunnel between your computer and a remote server, allowing some or all of your network traffic to be routed through that server before it goes to its destination.
How has virtual private networking been used traditionally?
-Traditionally, virtual private networking has been used to connect to shared drives and internal servers as though one were physically in the office, and for gaming purposes to play LAN games over the internet with friends who are geographically distant.
What are the common misconceptions about what a VPN can do?
-Common misconceptions include that a VPN is an all-in-one solution for online safety, security, and privacy, and that it can prevent personal data leaks and make illegal activities legal, which is not true.
What are some add-ons offered by commercial VPN providers?
-Commercial VPN providers often offer add-ons like ad blocking, antivirus software, password managers, remote access, and dark web monitoring to entice users away from the competition.
How does a VPN help with online privacy?
-A VPN helps with online privacy by obscuring the user's IP address, hiding the physical location from sites and services used online, and encrypting internet traffic to conceal browsing habits from the internet service provider and other entities.
Why might using a VPN for media acquisition not be foolproof?
-Using a VPN for media acquisition is not foolproof because while the IP address may be obscured, the VPN's IP address is visible to the service being used, and services like Netflix know what the user is watching due to account information attached.
What should one consider when choosing a VPN provider?
-When choosing a VPN provider, one should consider the provider's no-logs policy, their track record in court, independent audits of their services, open-source clients, and their commitment to privacy as demonstrated by actions such as server removals in response to anti-privacy laws.
What is the role of 'delete me' in the context of this script?
-'Delete me' is the sponsor of the video and helps protect against identity theft, phishing, and scams by removing personal data from hundreds of data broker websites.
Why did the speaker choose to continue partnering with Private Internet Access (PIA)?
-The speaker chose to continue partnering with PIA because of their proven no-logs policy tested in court, independent audits, open-source clients, and their commitment to privacy as demonstrated by their actions and policies.
What are some additional layers of protection one should consider when using a VPN for sensitive activities?
-Additional layers of protection include using a throwaway email from a provider with strong privacy protections, using fake names, making payments with cryptocurrencies, and choosing a VPN with a history of refusing to provide data logs.
Outlines
🛡️ Understanding VPNs and Their Purposes
This paragraph begins with an acknowledgment of the public's concerns regarding VPNs, referencing a video by Tom Scott that highlighted the issue of fear-mongering about VPNs. The speaker clarifies that the concerns were valid and that the discussion will address the true nature and uses of VPNs. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is explained as a tool that creates an encrypted tunnel between a user's computer and a remote server, allowing network traffic to be routed through the server before reaching its destination. The paragraph emphasizes that while VPNs are simple in concept, they can be powerful and versatile, with historical uses including accessing shared drives, gaming, and protecting privacy. It also mentions that the primary purpose of a VPN is to obscure IP addresses and encrypt internet traffic, protecting users' physical location and browsing habits from being tracked by third parties.
🔍 VPNs and Online Security
This paragraph delves into the nuances of using VPNs for online security. It explains that while a VPN can be a powerful tool for accessing media and other services, it is not a silver bullet and should be used in conjunction with other protective measures. The speaker advises using throwaway email, a fake name, and payment methods that cannot be traced back to the user. The paragraph also discusses the importance of choosing a VPN with a strong privacy policy, such as Private Internet Access, and highlights the company's history of not providing data logs to entities demanding them. It emphasizes the need for additional layers of protection, like torrent protocol encryption, and the challenges of verifying a VPN provider's trustworthiness. The speaker concludes by sharing personal experiences and the reasons for choosing Private Internet Access, a company with a strong track record of privacy and security.
🛒 Choosing a VPN and Privacy Tools
This paragraph focuses on the selection process for a VPN and other privacy tools. It acknowledges the sketchy characters and potential conflicts of interest in the online security and privacy industry, leading to skepticism about the credibility of reviews and information. The speaker emphasizes the importance of personal experiences and a proven track record when choosing a VPN provider. They share their preference for Private Internet Access, despite the lack of direct sponsorship, due to its strong privacy policies and independent audits. The paragraph also discusses the importance of using throwaway email, fake names, and payment methods that are untraceable, and the potential benefits of using a VPN with torrent protocol encryption. The speaker concludes by discussing the importance of using a VPN as part of a broader digital privacy toolkit and highlights the sponsor, Delete Me, which helps protect against identity theft and data breaches by removing data from data broker websites.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡VPN
💡Tom Scott
💡Private Internet Access
💡DeleteMe
💡Encrypted Tunnel
💡No-logs Policy
💡Data Brokers
💡RAM-only Servers
💡Internet Service Provider (ISP)
💡Identity Theft
Highlights
The speaker announces they will no longer promote VPNs and addresses concerns about the VPN industry.
Tom Scott's video is mentioned for covering nuanced points about VPNs and the wave of distrust they ignited.
The speaker clarifies that their deal with Private Internet Access (PIA) was not affected by the general distrust of VPNs.
A VPN is defined as establishing an encrypted tunnel for network traffic, with built-in functionality in Windows for nearly 30 years.
Early uses of VPNs included remote work access and gaming with friends over long distances.
Commercial VPN providers are differentiated from the core VPN functionality by offering additional features like ad blocking and antivirus.
The primary functions of a VPN are to obscure IP addresses and encrypt internet traffic to protect user privacy.
VPNs are not a complete solution for online safety and cannot prevent risky behaviors like entering credit card information on insecure sites.
Delete Me is introduced as a sponsor that helps protect against identity theft and scams by removing personal data from data broker websites.
A scenario where using a VPN to access Netflix via a Japanese server doesn't fully protect user privacy is discussed.
The importance of using additional privacy measures like throwaway emails and cryptocurrency payments when using VPNs is highlighted.
The speaker emphasizes the need to choose a VPN with a proven track record of protecting user privacy.
Conflicts of interest in the VPN industry are discussed, including the fact that many VPN review sites are owned by corporations that also own VPN companies.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is recommended based on their no-logs policy, independent audits, and commitment to customer privacy.
PIA's transparency is highlighted through their publishing of government requests for data, bug bounty submissions, and company news.
The speaker shares their personal experience and trust in PIA, despite the complexities and potential 'sketchy' characters in the VPN industry.
Delete Me is promoted again for its service in monitoring and removing personal data from data broker websites, offering a 20% discount.
Transcripts
[Applause]
my people we've heard you we will no
longer be promoting
vpns all right let's go what that's it
yes king lonus that's it but as short as
the outrage cycle was that doesn't mean
that people's concerns about the VPN
industry were invalid Tom Scott did a
great video Back Then covering a lot of
them and we're going to touch on some of
his more nuanced points later but the
big one that really ignited the wave of
distrust was his takedown of the
inaccurate fear-mongering VPN talking
points that your Nana's favorite
podcaster was paring without the
slightest understanding of them that was
a big problem but the thing is none of
that was ever part of our deal with
private internet access and even Tom
worked with a VPN provider recently
before he went on Hiatus earlier this
year so I think it's time for us to take
another look at what vpn's do what they
don't do and whether they're worth it in
insert current year now to keep things
clean this video will not be brought to
you by a VPN but rather by our sponsor
delete me delete me helps protect you
against the risks of identity theft
fishing and even rooc calls and other
scams by removing your data from
hundreds of data broker websites we'll
talk more about them later a VPN or
virtual private network does exactly
what it says on the tin it establishes
an encrypted tunnel between your
computer and a remote server allowing
some or all of your network traffic to
be routed through that server before it
goes to its destination that's about it
but don't let the Simplicity fool you a
VPN can be an incredibly powerful and
versatile tool which is why virtual
private networking has been built into
Windows for almost 30 years now back in
those days the server you were
connecting to was probably run by your
work it department and enabled you to do
exciting things like connect to Shared
drives and internal servers as though
you were physically in the office when
you were actually working from home or
abroad and another big one at least for
young me was gaming see in the early
days many games supported land
multiplayer but didn't necessarily
Support internet multiplayer so virtual
private networking was a way for me and
my friend who were actually many miles
apart to play land games together now
both of those are still common use cases
but they aren't the ones that get a lot
of marketing so when the average
consumer thinks of a VPN it's more
likely that they're thinking about a
commercial VPN provider who has servers
all over the world to give your internet
traffic let's say a British accent so
you can watch your favorite baking
program without getting burnt by a
location check now most commercial VPN
providers also offer extras like ad
blocking antivirus password managers
remote access and even dark web
monitoring but none of that is the VPN
it's just add-ons to entice you away
from the competition in a very
competitive Marketplace so at the end of
of the day the VPN portion does two
things it obscures your IP address
helping hide your physical location from
the sites and services that you use
online and if it's properly configured
and that's a major if it encrypts all
your internet traffic including services
like DNS concealing your browsing habits
from your internet service provider and
by extension any entity like a
government or special interest group who
might compel them to share that data
what a VPN isn't though is some kind of
all-in-one solution for Online safety
security and privacy and this was and
continues to be a major contributor to
the backlash surrounding VPN marketing
see a VPN doesn't prevent you from
punching your credit card number into a
sketchy website and it doesn't prevent
you from giving your real personal
information to that mysterious cutie
that you met on a dating app for the
personal data that's already out there
you need something completely different
like from our sponsor delete me data
Brokers collect massive amounts of
personal information from anywhere they
can get it and they sell or rent it to
anyone that pays their fee now you could
go to each broker's website and follow
their opt out process then go back and
do it again every so often to make sure
your info stays offline or delete me can
do the work for you getting your data
removed from hundreds of online data
Brokers back to vpns though let's look
at a scenario where it wouldn't help you
one bit you sign into Netflix through a
Japanese server in order to get access
to your favorite anime that still hasn't
made it to the US there's a couple small
problems for one thing your IP address
might be obscured but your vpn's IP
address is visible to the service that
you're using and they can tell that uh
hey that's not a residential IP that's
coming from a Data Center and you're
watching Netflix you're probably using a
VPN the other thing is that okay while
your ISP might not be able to see what
data you're downloading Netflix
absolutely knows what you're up to
because you signed in with your Netflix
account that has your credit card info
and your billing address attached which
might not be a big concern with Netflix
but let's be real here many of you are
relying on vpns for media acquisition on
other services and the truth is that a
VPN can be an extremely powerful tool
for such Endeavors but it still isn't a
silver bullet and depending on the laws
in your jurisdiction there are a number
of other protections that you should
absolutely have in place before sailing
the high seas for one thing you should
be using a throwaway email ideally from
a provider with strong privacy
protections like proton mail use a fake
name or the real name of someone you
hate and don't enter any payment
information that can be traced back to
you Pia for instance takes
cryptocurrency for payment though that's
probably not as untraceable as we once
thought it was and finally choose a VPN
that has a long history of not just
refusing to Prov provide data logs to
entities who demand them but being
unable to cuz that's kind of An
Inconvenient Truth of the VPN industry
without additional layers of protection
like torrent protocol encryption your
VPN provider has a pretty good idea of
where you go and what you're up to and
all of that is only as secure as their
willingness and ability to protect you
which requires a lot of trust without
much ability for the average person to
verify so how do we choose a VPN to
partner with I mean that VPN is owned by
so and so and those guys own all these
other VPN and those guys hired that
sketchy dude you know the one but the
fact of the matter is guys in the
Cutthroat world of online security and
privacy you're going to find sketchy
characters who came over from the other
side unscrupulous Crypt Bros and
conspiracy theories Galore some of which
turn out to be a lot more than just
theories and depending on who's doing
the spinning of the facts the same
developer could be a nefarious former
hacker with ties to the Middle Eastern
intelligence Community or they could be
a computer nerd that served the
mandatory time in their country's Armed
Forces when they were a teenager another
concern is that according to VPN pro at
least 105 VPN providers are owned by
just 24 corporations and making it worse
many VPN review sites and even giants
like PC magaz azine and IGN are owned by
Umbrella corporations that also own VPN
companies so with so many conflicts of
interest everywhere it's hard to trust
pretty much anything that you read about
this industry so for me what It
ultimately comes down to is my personal
experiences and who's got the provable
track record which is why more than 6
years after we first partnered with them
I'm still happy to tell you guys that
we're going to be sticking with private
internet access who again is not the
sponsor of this video but we do have an
affiliate relationship with them I use
them Luke uses them and a bunch of other
folks here at lmg do too but lonus how
can you trust them I hear you asking
well they had me at bro too
soon okay to start with Pia's no logs
policy has been tested in court multiple
times they have never produced logs in
response to a government's demands for
data I mean you can't hand over logs if
they don't exist and depending on where
you live in the 100 Acre Wood or beyond
that can be the difference between
freedom and imprisonment or Worse on top
of that their Ram only server
architecture their logging prevention
architecture and even their Anonymous
dedicated IP offering have all been
independently audited by one of the big
four Professional Services networks
multiple times with the most recent
audit results released just a few weeks
before shooting this video the Android
app has been independently reviewed with
a mobile application security assessment
something only a handful of VPN apps can
boast and if all of that still isn't
good enough for you all of their clients
are open source and you can go over
every line of code for yourself or you
can even just not use them and connect
to their servers with a generic openvpn
client pia has also removed their
physical servers from a number of
countries in response to changes in
legislation law enforcement action and
other threats to customer privacy when
they removed their servers from Hong
Kong back in 2020 they stated that Pia
will not operate servers in locations
that have enacted anti-privacy internet
laws or who have proven to not follow
the rule of law they also publish
quarterly reports detailing government
requests for data bug Bounty submissions
along with some company and industry
news their blog archive goes back more
than a decade and in between General
Industry news and security tips you'll
find explanations for controversial
hiring and policy decisions and some
excellent essays on digital privacy most
importantly though while I have
acknowledged in the past that VPN deals
can be pretty lucrative and more
subscriptions you drive the more money
you can make Pia doesn't push us to say
anything that is misleading whatsoever
in fact they give us zero guidelines
other than to say hey don't say the
product does something that it can't do
and don't drag us into any of your
endless controversies they actually
didn't even say that second part which
leaves us free to keep the BS completely
out of our talking points and stay
focused on real world benefits for our
audience like the aforementioned
privateering for which uh
Pia uh definitely works pretty well so
if you guys evaluate things for yourself
and decide Pia is for you we're going to
have an affiliate link to Pia in the
description but whatever you decide just
remember that a VPN any VPN doesn't give
you some kind of digital diplomatic
immunity and they don't make illegal
activities any more legal they're just
one piece of your broader digital
privacy toolkit just like our sponsor
delete me your personal data is already
out there getting gathered up by
countless data Brokers and putting you
at increased risk of identity theft
online harassment and even good
oldfashioned spam and Robo calls delete
me saves you time while helping reduce
the risk of your data getting into the
wrong hands by removing your data from
hundreds of data broker websites but
they don't stop there delete me actively
monitors data broker websites making
sure that your personal info stays
removed for 20% off all us consumer
plans just follow the link in the video
description if you guys liked this video
maybe check out our how to browse the
internet anonymously video from a few
years ago it's got a few more things
that you might want to add to your
privacy toolkit and some of them are
free so there's no reason not to do it
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