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Privacy Security

ProtonVPN Passes 1 Million Users and Launches on iOS (venturebeat.com) 32

Encrypted email service provider ProtonMail has launched its standalone VPN app for iOS devices. From a report: The announcement comes more than a year after ProtonVPN launched globally for desktop users and 10 months after it landed on Android, so the iOS launch has been a long time coming. There is, of course, no shortage of VPN apps out there already, but ProtonMail has built a solid reputation in the encrypted communications realm since it was founded out of CERN in 2013. Following the launch of its privacy-focused email service nearly three years ago, the company subsequently added two-factor authentication (2FA), Tor support, an encrypted contacts manager, and of course a VPN service.

ProtonMail offers various pricing tiers for ProtonVPN, ranging from free to $24 per month. Those who choose not to pay can access three countries' servers, with access on one device, but will have slower speeds, while the top $24/month tier offers access on 10 devices with server access in all available countries. In related news, ProtonMail said that ProtonVPN now has 1 million users globally.

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ProtonVPN Passes 1 Million Users and Launches on iOS

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  • by Anonymous Coward

    It was also reported that the feds have easy access to their network, rendering the VPN effectively useless.

    • Source?
    • by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @01:07PM (#57643220)

      It was also reported that the feds have easy access to their network, rendering the VPN effectively useless.

      Not at all useless.

      To me I don't care if my data on a VPN is easily accessed by various governments, because the hard truth is that it will be accessed by governments, one way or another.

      Since that aspect is irrelevant, all I end up caring about is - how much can a VPN help with non-state actors accessing my network traffic?

      To me it seems like ProtonVPN is a pretty good choice in that regard. My only misgiving is that the more populate a VPN is, the more desirable a target it is to break... but I feel like the (probable) quality of security that ProtonVPN offers outweighs that greater target profile.

      • I'm sorry, but what makes the private mercenary better than regular army?

        • They're probably more likely to follow an illegal order. Also, it's easier to cover up their deaths.

        • They're not [necessarily] supported by tax dollars. ;)
        • I'm sorry, but what makes the private mercenary better than regular army?

          I think you are possibly trying for some kind of analogy?

          But honestly what you are saying makes no sense. In fact, I cannot figure out how to apply your statement to any aspect of what I said, in any way.

          To simplify my original statement (which may help you), all your network traffic can and will be access by many governments no matter what you do. So base your choice of security around anything else but that criteria, since it is ir

          • Government, corporation. Please show the difference.

            • That's pretty easy. A government is answerable to no-one, has nearly unlimited resources with an endless cash flow, and decades of technical advances no-one else has ever seen.

              A corporation may not have any better motives to be sure, but has VASTLY less resources, and to some degree is much more vulnerable to laws. There is an element of risk consideration too where some actions COULD take down a company, whereas there is no action that could take down any of the larger (or most smaller) governments - at

              • A government is answerable to no-one

                Absolute nonsense. They answer to the voters, not that the voters are demanding anything at the present besides phony tax cuts and other handouts. But if the voters ever decide to take charge, you will see a response. So please, stop with the silly phony 'libertarian' bullshit.

                Now, since the voters don't give a damn, the corporation has all the government resources they could ask for. Their lobbyists write the laws and the government enforces them. The corp buys the polit

      • ...because the hard truth is that it will be accessed by governments, one way or another.

        Bingo.

    • All "privacy-focused" VPNs are useless for normal folks.

      Sure, they can all claim to have your privacy in mind, but there's no legal basis for that claim. They can't just refuse subpoenas or gag orders, and can't obstruct a lawful investigation. Any idiot with a server can set up a VPN provider and start selling access, and invent claims of resilience for marketing purposes. When they're facing a choice between a contempt-of-court charge or sacrificing a customer, suddenly that idea of being a bastion of ana

      • For a paranoid user who just thinks the Big Bad Gub'mint is going to persecute him for torrenting bootleg anime, a VPN is just a scam to extract money for no actual benefit.

        While I don't disagree with the rest of your comment, why "paranoid", when governments really do impose harsh penalties for such simple copyright infringement?

      • by Anonymous Coward

        Can't surrender logs if they don't exist.

        Of course, without physically inspecting the host my devices spoke to, I only have allegations of protection. I'm quite aware that their servers can store whatever they like. I'd be awfully trusting if I started piping nude photos of myself through them, for example.

      • I'd be more worried about the Big Bad ISP cutting off access for torrenting bootleg anime.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    It sounds more like an ad than anything else...

  • ProtonMail offers various pricing tiers for ProtonVPN, ranging from free to $24 per month. Those who choose not to pay can access three countries' servers...

    Sure they have over a million users, but those may just be people who were interested in the service and tried out the free offering. It says nothing about how many users are paying to use the service.

  • Slashvertisment (Score:4, Informative)

    by supercell ( 1148577 ) on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @01:42PM (#57643514)
    Wow, the blatant slashverisment here is pretty shocking. This is such an AD poorly disguised as a PR release its laughable.

    What would be a great article is someone that follows the money flow from a website like VentureBeat that pay to print, to SlashDot that pays to post.

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