VPN Server Logs: Who Keeps Them?

Internet privacy doesn't hinge only on having secure communications. You also need to make certain that the records of your communications are not retained. Some VPN providers do retain server logs. Others do not. There are different methods you can use to make your server logs as inaccessible as possible. If private browsing is a major concern for you, there are tactics that you can use that go beyond the technical in nature.

Logging and Retention
For privacy enthusiasts, any VPN provider that keeps logs is automatically disqualified as an option. If you're worried about people not being able to track down what you are doing online, you'll need to go with a provider that either does not keep logs or that only keeps them for a very short amount of time.
One of the easiest ways to get some peace of mind about server logs is to go with a company that offers unlimited bandwidth plans. Generally speaking, most companies that do retain logs only keep them to determine how much bandwidth users have gone through. If those users are on metered plans, the provider needs to know this information so that they can tell when their usage has expired for the month. There's no reason to keep server logs if you have unlimited access. Your VPN provider's policies will be detailed on their site.

Server Ownership
Some VPN providers offer servers located all over the world. Obviously, one would have to be pretty credulous to believe that the company actually has employees located all over the world attending those servers. The servers, of course, are contracted. If you're truly worried about security, you'll want to look for a company that owns all of its servers. This is a way of ensuring that the company's security policies are applied consistently across all of its servers.

Jurisdictional Layering
Jurisdictional layering is a tactic for obtaining Internet security that shares some features in common with having a foreign bank account. By utilizing a VPN service located in a nation that does not cooperate with the law enforcement in your own nation, you can avoid having lawyers subpoena information about your traffic logs, if the company even keeps them.

The popular nations for jurisdictional layering include Russia, Ukraine and Panama. In addition to the fact that VPN operators in these nations aren't likely to be concerned with a demand for server logs by any agency outside their own nation, there are language barriers that make it very difficult for lawyers and other legal authorities to get information from such providers. For businesses that want to maintain the highest levels of security for trade secrets and other information, jurisdictional layering is oftentimes a useful tactic.

Mind the TOS
Every once in a while, you may get an e-mail from your provider letting you know that the terms of service agreement for their service has changed. You need to read these. The reading is oftentimes tedious and is about as exciting as is reading any other legal document is but, because the change in the terms of service may affect logging policies, you need to know.

For most users, a VPN provider that doesn't keep logs will provide adequate security. There may be cases where law enforcement could compel them to keep logs as part of an investigation, but this would be on a case-by-case basis. If you're truly worried about being able to keep your logs private, the best option may be to go with a provider located in a nation that doesn't cooperate with law enforcement in your home nation. The Internet is a global medium and, if you're smart, you can utilize that global nature to give yourself enhanced privacy on the Internet.

Author: Michael Maxstead is a big fan of VPN and provides in depth information and reviews on hiding your IP address.  Visit VPNReviewz.com for more information on how to use VPN and choose the right service for you.

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Why the Internet Will Never Kill Television

The way that we consume media has changed dramatically over the last decade. For me, the first real change that proved that there were other commercially viable ways of distributing media other than by cathode ray tubes was BBC iPlayer.

Developed by the people from the murky world of peer to peer software Kazaa, BBC iplayer has a winning combination of quality content and an easy to use interface. Making watching television accessible for all on a computer for the first time. Since it was first introduced, iPlayer has become a medium unrivalled by other commercial stations. Surely the end of the television?

Creatures of Habit
There were worries that the introduction of online content would lead to the death of the television. Sure I have a Sky plus box at home that I regularly use, but I don’t exclusively watch it. You would have thought that the old format of tuning into a programme that you wanted to watch at a specific time would have become an archaic and laughable activity in the age where I can sync my media content wirelessly over the internet.  But traditional mainstream television has continued to dominate our leisure time.

Image:Schmilblick

Do you ever catch yourself watching something on television that you own on DVD or Blu-ray? Or how about searching through the channels looking for something to watch?
There is a sense that when you are watching live television there is some connection to others.  Live television remains the most up to date place to get new content, bar a few series like “Skins” who offer entire preview episodes available online first before television broadcast.

Television is Getting More Social
One addition that I have noticed getting more prevalent in recent months is the link between live (or the first airing of a pre-recorded show) and Twitter. To me it seems alien that there is no connection between a hash tag comment displayed on television and the internet; no interface to click and be connected. Yet we still manually enter the text into our iPads and laptops, as the urge to participate in the social discussion is so strong.

There isn’t as yet the technology available to the masses that allows for social interaction between a viewer and Twitter tags directly through an internet connected television, but this is something I predict will change incredibly rapidly.

Like watching a programme with other people physically in the same room, there is a human instinct to share a human reaction to events shown on the television.

This social interaction adds to the whole experience of watching TV. Social activity is an incredibly sought after element of marketing, I wouldn’t be surprised if ratings were changed to encompass the amount of interactions through social networks online in the near future.

A Marketers Dream
Direct information is available in real time over the whole time spectrum of a show. From low level interest and speculation at the announcement of the show and the release of the previews and adverts produced by the TV advertisement production agency, to feedback whilst the show is being broadcast, and then reactionary discussions both from the general public, industry professionals and commercial reviews.
All incredibly valuable to the television network, and all unavailable only a short time ago.

Television is not the box in your living room. Television encompasses an entire ecosystem of content creation and consumption. Live television can influence us far more effectively than if we are left to choose specific content to consume at specific time.

We rely on television networks to deliver programming of a high quality so that we don’t have to source it ourselves. This is not the same strand of consumerism that implies that we are being sold everything at every second of the day. This time we have social media – we can talk back.

Author: Dan Izzard writes for TV advertising agency Space City about the evolution of television and TV advertising production.

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3 Outstanding Features of Mobile Broadband over Cable Broadband

3 Outstanding Features of Mobile Broadband over Cable Broadband
As an office men and women, there’re will be sometimes you’ll find it boring sitting in a particular place to surf the web at all time. Sometimes, you might want to experience another atmosphere in your place of work or, you might even feel like mixing your job with the out world life; may be, by working on the internet at the beach side, or per adventure, in your car. But all of these desires were truncated as a result of you using a cable internet connection to surf the web. Though cable internet could be fast and more reliable than any other high speed internet connection system, but looking into the benefifit of a mobile internet connection, you’ll be marvel at what you’ll be getting using it over some high speed internet connection.

A mobile broadband popularly known as a high speed internet connection is one of the internet connections that offers high speed internet service through a device called modem. The modem is a small attachment that allows connection of your system to the internet without any cable. It uses a wireless connection to get your system connected to the web. 

Read - Ethernet In a Wireless World

Just like every other high speed internet connection, the mobile broadband offers a very high speed internet connection service but there are some amazing features it posses which are absent in other high speed internet connection and I’ll be sharing with you some of the features.

Mobility
The number one feature of a mobile broadband communication that makes it different from all other high speed internet connection is that, with a mobile broadband connection you can surf the internet anywhere you wish. And you can also be able to move your high speed internet connection wherever you go. This is because, a mobile broadband communication system is a small device made in a way that can be move together with your laptop without you feeling the weight. Thus, the discomfort in sitting in a particular place surfing the internet wont has to be a problem anymore. 

Flexibility
This is another aspect you need to know about the features of mobile broadband over the cable internet connection system. The manual fixing of cable around your computer, configuration settings of the computer to work with the fixed cables, which will be done for a cable broadband to get your system connected to the internet are not present in the use of a mobile broadband system, with a mobile broadband system, all you need to get connected to the web is just an internet modem and a click on your system and you’re good to surf the web.

Freedom
Just like I said earlier on, the surfing of the web at one place with a cable internet connection might be boring at times and the need to change location which won’t be possible might be wanted. Surfing the web with a mobile broadband connection gives room for you to surf at any place and at any time and the restriction in surfing in one place by a cable internet connection will be long forgotten.

Author: his guest post is contributed by Paul T, an expert that helps people get cheap sim only deals.Read our guidelines to be a Guest Author at TechGau.Org

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