After PureVPN Was Discovered to be Keeping Logs, Are There Good VPNs Out There?

[Len]

In October 2017, a Massachusetts stalker by the name of Ryan Lin was arrested for involvement in online harassment and multiple cybersecurity hacks. As the investigation unfolded, it became known that Lin was using a variety of privacy tools including TOR, Protonmail and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services. The local authorities were unable to make any headway in the case, and the Feds eventually got involved.

The FBI wasted no time and went direct to Ryan Lin’s previous employer and seized his computer. The FBI found a myriad of trace data which indicated that he had been using a VPN – PureVPN. The FBI requested that the company provide information about Lin’s online activity, and despite their privacy policy – they acquiesced.

From PureVPN to ImpureVPN in Just Three Letters: FBI

However, the terms and conditions of the company’s VPN services indicate that their servers automatically capture the connection time to their servers of clients, but there are no records that associate any user with any activity. That proved to be a falsehood. When the FBI reported details of the case, it was found that PureVPN indeed collaborated with them and had kept meticulous records of customer accounts.

Clearly, the company maintained logs of client browsing activity and that’s precisely how the IP addresses were turned over to the police for prosecuting him. Unfortunately, not all VPN providers are created equal, and many of them offer promises of no logs, yet this is a willful misrepresentation of the truth. According to cybersecurity experts there is, at the bare minimum, a specific amount of logging that must take place and there is rarely (if ever) complete anonymity with VPN service providers.

Why Are VPNs So Important?

A VPN is intended to obfuscate/encrypt/confuse anyone trying to monitor your browsing activity. It does so by rerouting your online activity through a virtual private network. Once you connect to the virtual private network, your browsing activity is supposed to be shielded from prying eyes.

However, the recent admission by the FBI that PureVPN had provided detailed logs of client accounts is cause for concern. While all VPNs track bandwidth and user activity, they are supposed to delete these logs (records). According to the majority of VPN services, they do not keep any logs of client activity – this is unfortunately false.

Top quality no log VPNs are out there, but some digging is required to unearth them. Among the top five providers of no logs VPN services are NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhostVPN, SaferVPN and VYPRVPN. The benefit of a no logs VPN provider is that your browsing activity will not be used against you when the authorities get involved for any reason. Many people use VPNs for any number of reasons, such as accessing online gambling sites or online trading platforms for recreational purposes, work-related activity, reviews, etc.

There are other uses for VPNs, notably streaming movies for free, without being subject to geolocation tracking technology. While nobody condones pirate music, pirate DVDs or pirate multimedia content, there is no reason to be locked away for 15 years or 25 years if you simply use a virtual private network.

However, a caveat is in order: the VPN service provider must not keep logs of your browsing activity. This is especially relevant if you use programs like BitTorrent which is considered public enemy #1 for the entertainment industry and the movie industry. The FBI is also monitoring websites which allow torrent downloads of content.

Who Else Needs VPNs?

Freedom of speech is a human right, but it is not universally enforced in many countries. This is true throughout multiple countries in the Middle East, notably Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Syria and similar countries. People who speak their mind may be subject to incarceration, perhaps even the death penalty if they are labelled apostates. Nobody should have to face such punitive measures for simply sharing their thoughts on sexuality, politics or economics, and this is precisely why VPNs can help you in countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Myanmar and the like.

Restrictive regimes place limitations on browsing activity, and people in these countries cannot access the same internet that Westerners can. Even in free societies, certain news sites, video streaming content etc. is only available to people from a specific country or region. A VPN blurs the boundaries and allows you to access content at your leisure. It’s not enough to use a VPN; the VPN has to comply with the strictest privacy controls by not keeping any customer logs of browsing activity.