GIGANEWS BLOG

Giganews has always supported the Open Internet and fought for the personal freedoms that the Open Internet enables. Unfortunately, one of those freedoms is the ability for anyone to say almost anything they want, whether or not it is true or factual, and for others to believe it. Yesterday, Giganews was accused of being an FBI operation by an ex-employee through the well-known Cryptome.org. This accusation is completely false, and the accuser offers no evidence to support the claim.

Cryptome’s failure to contact us to validate the allegations or respond to our concerns has lessened their credibility. It does not seem that Cryptome is in search for the truth, which leaves us to question what are their true motives. Sorry, Cryptome – Giganews is NOT an FBI operation. You’ve been duped.

Giganews is in the impossible position of proving a negative. If we say our list of employees does not include any FBI employees, then they must be “using false identities.” If we say the named FBI operatives don’t look like any of our employee photos, “the pictures must have been altered.” Even the denial itself is used as further evidence of the truth of the accusation. In a court of law, such an accusation would never stand up to scrutiny, but on the Open Internet, opinions can be formed by only a few words on a popular website. Fighting the lies only emboldens those who tell them – Feeding the Troll.

What we can do is stand on our long history of supporting the Open Internet and the privacy of our customers:

• We are one of the few providers left still offering access to a full Usenet news feed
• We led the way in introducing encrypted SSL connections for Usenet access
• We worked with Golden Frog to provide the easy-to-use VyprVPN Personal VPN service with our Usenet accounts
• Giganews customers were the first to get access to Golden Frog’s Dump Truck secure storage service
• Giganews and Golden Frog brought together those that fight for online privacy at our SXSW Take Back Your Internet Panel.
• Giganews spoke, just today, before the Texas State Legislature in support of proposed Texas privacy legislation.

Actions speak louder than words, and these are the actions of a company that supports customer privacy and a free and open Internet. Giganews has not and will not be controlled by any government organization, and we will continue to provide the best Usenet service to our customers.

Golden Frog received many votes on Golden Frog Ideas for a Kill Switch feature in the VyprVPN desktop apps. After months of hard work, they have announced Kill Switch is available in VyprVPN for Windows and Mac!

What is Kill Switch?

Kill Switch is a feature that users can enable to automatically “kill” or block their Internet connection whenever VyprVPN is disconnected. Except for network communications related to running VyprVPN services, Kill Switch will block all other Internet and network communication.

Why use Kill Switch?

Some users mistakenly connect to the Internet without enabling their VPN. Sometimes they don’t realize their VPN has disconnected. In both cases, users are unknowingly exposing their personal data. Kill Switch ensures you never connect to the Internet without VPN protection.

Customize how you want to use Kill Switch

Golden Frog made it easy to enable Kill Switch at the application or system level based on your security preferences.

• Application Level – Kill Switch will only function when you are logged in to VyprVPN.
• System Level – Kill Switch will function even after you exit VyprVPN.

You can also configure Kill Switch to allow or block LAN traffic depending on how much security you need.

Continue to submit and vote for the features you want!

Golden Frog loves hearing ideas from Giganews members and want to hear what VyprVPN features you’d like to see next. Like Kill Switch, they will continue to provide new features requested by Giganews members. Leave your feedback on Golden Frog Ideas.

To stay up to date, please subscribe to our blog and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, our YouTube Channel, and Giganews Google+.

We are proud to be partnered with a company focused on transparency and honesty in the VPN industry. Last week Golden Frog debunked 7 myths about online anonymity and VPN logging in their article, I am Anonymous When I Use a VPN – 7 Myths Debunked.

The “7 Myths” article addresses a disturbing trend in the VPN industry over the past year. More and more VPN providers are perpetuating the myth of an “anonymous” or “no logging” VPN service while providing minimal or zero transparency about how they actually handle users’ data. This has diverted privacy conscious VPN users to focus on the false promise of anonymity instead of focusing on what really matters when choosing a VPN provider: transparency, trust, ease of use, performance and reliability.

Learn the truth about each of these myths:

• Myth #1: I can be anonymous on the Internet.
• Myth #2: Anonymity and Privacy are the same.
• Myth #3: When my VPN Provider advertises an “anonymous” service, that means they don’t log any identifying information about me.
• Myth #4: When my VPN Provider’s privacy policy says they “don’t log”, that means I am anonymous.
• Myth #5: Even if my VPN Provider uses Hosted or Cloud based VPN servers I can still be anonymous.
• Myth #6: Even if my VPN Provider doesn’t own and operate the network I can still be anonymous.
• Myth #7: Any VPN Logging is Bad.

For other insightful discussions on online privacy and security check out Golden Frog’s “Take Back Your Internet” policy microsite.

We highly recommend that Giganews members view “The FCC Revolving Door vs. The Open Internet” for a detailed look at how the revolving door has hurt the free and Open Internet. The FCC has extended the deadline for people to leave comments on their site to Friday, July 18th. Make your voice heard and show the FCC bureaucrats that the public’s will to preserve the Open Internet is stronger than the corporate ties the revolving door has facilitated.

In May of 2014, the FCC made a historic decision to advance rules that will kill the “Open Internet” as we know it. Despite public outcry nationwide, Tom Wheeler, current chairman of the FCC, and his democratic commissioners betrayed Net Neutrality rhetoric, and instead approved the consideration for rules that would create a “two-tiered Internet.” that will:

• stifle innovation by putting startups with less funding at a competitive disadvantage because they can’t afford to pay for faster access
• increased costs because companies will pass along new costs for “premium traffic” to consumers
• decreased privacy because ISPs will snoop on user traffic so they can prioritize “premium” traffic over “regular” traffic

Though this ruling is disturbing and paints a grim picture of the future of the Internet, it doesn’t come as a surprise. The FCC has a long history of employing former cable and telecom lobbyists and executives. This “revolving door” phenomenon has posed significant conflicts of interest in the past, from the controversial changes enacted to media ownership rules in 2003, the Comcast – NBC merger in 2011, and now this most recent Net Neutrality debacle.

The FCC has asked Internet users to weigh in on Net Neutrality by posting to the comments section on the FCC website, http://www.fcc.gov/comments. There have been over 800,000 comments, an overwhelming number that even caused the site to crash on July 15th. Continue to leave comments through July 18th and pressure the FCC to protect the Open Internet. Make your voice heard!

I am Anonymous When I Use a VPN – 7 Myths Debunked is Golden Frog’s latest article featured on their “Take Back Your Internet” policy microsite. The “7 Myths” article addresses a disturbing trend in the VPN industry over the past year. More and more VPN providers are perpetuating the myth of an “anonymous” or “no logging” VPN service while providing minimal or zero transparency about how they actually handle users’ data. This has diverted privacy conscious VPN users to focus on the false promise of anonymity instead of focusing on what really matters when choosing a VPN provider: transparency, trust, ease of use, performance and reliability. Understanding these myths is important for Giganews members with VyprVPN and anyone considering using a VPN service.

Over the next week Golden Frog is going to reveal the reality behind these 7 myths:

• Myth #1: I can be anonymous on the Internet.
• Myth #2: – July 10th Anonymity and Privacy are the same.
• Myth #3: – July 11th When my VPN Provider advertises an “anonymous” service, that means they don’t log any identifying information about me.
• Myth #4: – July 14th When my VPN Provider’s privacy policy says they “don’t log,” that means I am anonymous.
• Myth #5: – July 15th Even if my VPN Provider uses Hosted or Cloud based VPN servers I can still be anonymous.
• Myth #6: – July 16th Even if my VPN Provider doesn’t own and operate the network I can still be anonymous.
• Myth #7: – July 17th Any VPN logging is bad.

Golden Frog has done an excellent job dispelling these common myths and starting a transparent and frank discussion about privacy in the VPN industry. Learn the truth about online anonymity today starting with Myth #1, “I can be anonymous on the Internet.”

To stay up to date on Giganews, please subscribe to our blog and follow us on Giganews Facebook, Giganews Twitter, Giganews YouTube Channel, and Giganews Google+.