Are they really providing a VPN service not keeping logs of what sites any customer looks at, which would mean nothing to provide to law enforcement if they wanted information?
I own a new VPN startup (catering to gamers).
Are they really providing a VPN service not keeping logs of what sites any customer looks at
Yes, I tell my users that I do not log. I can say this as I personally built and own this company and technology myself and it has zero capability to log and this gives us a considerable technical back-end speed and cost advantage, in addition to privacy and security advantages.
Because I built/own everything, I have no financial commitments to shady datamining companies, governments, etc., thus I have no economic or otherwise ties to entities that value logs.
I’m both a gamer, a Redditor, an entrepreneur, and a human being who cares, which is why I am responding to you here VS an employee/astroturfer/etc.
If you want a true VPN and do shady stuff follow this steps……! Should I answer 
? (Legit ans)
There is no way to know. So assume they are.
I really doubt that a single truly “no logs” VPN exists.
Logs can be turned on easily at any time.
You almost have to have sort of logging sometimes just to run the service. Who has never ever had to debug a problem with their VPN or network?
Trying to guess “trustworthiness” or “not logging” is a losing game. You never can be sure, about any product or service. Even an audit or court case just establishes one data point.
So, instead DON’T trust: compartmentalize, encrypt (outside the service), use defense in depth, test, verify, don’t use VPN’s custom client app or extension, don’t use a root cert from them, don’t post private stuff, maybe don’t do illegal stuff. And give fake/anon info where possible: fake name, throwaway or unique email address, pay with gift card or virtual credit card or crypto or cash.
You can use a VPN, ISP, bank, etc without having to trust them.
Unlikely. The FEDs can trace you. See the case of multiple digital bandits that were brought to justice. They all used vpn. Not saying you will commit crimes, but no, you cannot fully delete your presence.
TL:DR - Don’t use a static IP address from a VPN provider, in general, logging each individual users activity to the point it can be used to identify you would be very expensive and most VPN providers are trying to make money.
So I see a lot of people saying “you can’t be sure” which yes you truly can’t. However, there are some good tell tales that help ease the worry.
You can lookup if the provider has been in the news. Then you can figure out how that person who was using said provider got caught. I have read that they were using the VPN, and “forgot” to turn on the VPN, and that is how they got their IP to charge them. Digging deeper that tends to be true.
Logging is also defined as “the ability to connect your IP address to the activity on the VPN”. I would say that is mostly true. A lot of providers offer a static IP address for you, I would say these are the ones to stay away from.
Most VPNs work by giving you the same VPN as everyone else that is using that service. For the VPN provider to track/log each and every single person’s activity would be very costly, so I don’t think that is happening. Once you are connected, they themselves have no idea what each packet of data is or whom it belongs too - as doing so would cost them a lot of money, and they are in the business of MAKING money.
A big problem with sharing IPs is the end user may not be able to access certain websites because the website provider blocks that IP address, and thats easy to do as you block a large amount of individuals then.
The VPN company itself does not keep logs, but the company which owns the server will sell the info to police and other authorities. It is actually extremely profitable for these telecom companies.
So no the VPN company itself is not lying, but you are not secure on a VPN.
VPN companies purchase server space from telecom companies, which will sell your logs to authorities.
I know this because I work in a telecom company. This happens almost weekly!
Based on what I’ve seen, they’re pretty reliable.
Why would you want a VPN to play games?
So…what would you do if you received a legal government order to start logging one individual user “of interest” and to ensure that user has no way to know they’re being logged, and to hide this fact from auditors?
No-log policies are good to thwart business tracking or casual profiling, but if you operate within a government’s borders, you generally have to do what they demand. If you plan to defy the government you better have some damn good lawyers, deep pockets and a willingness to be a martyr (e.g. be detained until you figure out a way to enable logging). And the general public at large won’t be on your side because Big Gov can just paint it as “aiding a terrorist” or something.
Remember it’s all for the children/to stop the terrorists/to protect the RIAA/to serve justice to the political opposition/to prosecute thought crime!
That’s exactly what an FBI agent would say.
Because the US is a police state with massive surveillance programs that are being used to spy on both their own citizens and foreigners. With information comes power. I have no interest in giving the US power of me
Sounds like OP is interested in some illegal stuff and wants to CYA.
What about the logs from TOR nodes?
yeah and they are selling what kind of information exactly do they have access to? a reputable provider is not going to do that, sure some sack of shit at a smaller vpn might do that, even then, thats going to be pretty rough trying to do anything with that information, the companies that are buying the data are going to get what? a bunch of people that are connecting to a vpn? i dont see how they will get anymore than that IF they even get that. but you work at a telecom company and are privy to inside information, care to elaborate more? how you know this is a weekly thing at the company you work for? is this in north america? ive never heard of isps selling logs to authorities, turning them over when they are compelled to sure, even a vpn will turn over anything that it has if they are hit with a subpeona from the country that they are operating within. there are legal frameworks in place in north america for how customer data is handled and impose restrictions. i guess the main thing im having an issue with is where your saying “the company which owns the server will sell the info to the police and other authorities”
Gta 5 leaks your ip since it’s a P2P network, and to get rid of the Russians by connecting to non-European servers when playing CS:GO
The answer is in 2 parts:
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Some people play games and are a typical VPN user, at the same time. Gamers and tech conscience people have a high crossover. So a person using my VPN could bittorrent over VPN and game over a VPN bypass, at the same time.
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Some people push their game over the VPN to give a varied geographical location, provide an alternate route (sometimes can improve things), mask their IP from game server operators/protect from doxxing, etc.
Lastly with regards to my VPN, we are focused around end-user performance so our service is focused around low jitter, low ping, low cpu usage, and no overselling.
it’s actually a bit difficult on modern systems to fully anonymize/disable all logs
If you’re using existing frameworks that virtually all VPN companies use, then you’d be correct. For example, for OpenVPN, IPSec, SOCKs, etc., all have logging and you’re at the behest of the VPN provider to trust they’ve clicked the button to disable logs.
Whereas I’ve invested considerable resources to build things myself and not use typical VPN frameworks. My technology stack and back-end is completely custom, using a modified Wireguard (double encryption with anti-fingerprint tech, zero trust VPN servers, zero private encryption key knowledge, servers operate in memory, user clients generate/own crypto keys). This gives me a significant advantage with regards to creating a system that cannot log and instead was developed for speed/privacy. For example, my VPN works in China.
Ultimately people have to research things themselves including all sources of information such as my Reddit post here.
You’re wanting OP to disprove a negative? 