I am living with family in Arizona lately and notice their internet service provider is reading my searches and inserting their ads into my search results?!
WTF?
(SuddenLink does not seem to respect the rights of those using their internet connection for P2P as well.)
I don't have a picture of it right now, and I don't want to turn off my VPN to create one. But it's the first time I have ever seen it, and it scared the heck out of me!
The logic here:
- They read my web request, know I am attempting a search for "green apples"
- They intercept the text search results from bing.com for my search of "green apples"
- Suddenlink formatted a page in their template with their logo, with my search results to a site they do not own, for a web search they have no business reading in the first place.
WE WILL HAVE TO STAY VIGILANT TO THIS, or the internet will no longer be our own. It looks like it's going to be a fight, for something I have taken for granted for 2 decades.
I recently received this letter from a well known open-source media group (tvaddons.co):
"At this point it's safe to say that the future of the internet is not looking too promising when it comes to individual freedoms and rights. While the internet may have once been a place where the free flow of information was paramount, it is slowly being taken over by corporate interests and governmental regulations. The notion of a free and open internet will soon be forgotten, to be replaced with something that can be controlled at many different levels.
Reasons Why You Need a VPN
Privacy Protection: Your ISP keeps logs of everything you do online, do you really want them having a list of every web site you've ever visited? Using a VPN will prevent them from being able to log your internet use.
Circumvent Censorship: Countries around the world are blocking sites in the name of anti-piracy efforts, consumer protection, and even worse: to silence political dissidents. Don't let the government control your internet use!
Geoblocking: Streaming video sites around the world frequently block foreign visitors from accessing their free services. An example would be an American trying to access an Italian streaming site, or vice versa.
Torrents & P2P: When you are downloading or streaming via torrents (or SopCast/AceStream) other people on the network can see your IP Address. This could result in you receiving a nasty letter in the mail.
Recommended VPN Services
IPVanish: This very popular VPN service markets itself to Kodi users and offers native apps for both Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. Definitely worth considering! Prices start at $5.20 per month.
Private Internet Access: They are one of the most respected names in the privacy world, the only downside is that they do not yet offer native apps for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. Prices start at $2.91 per month.
NordVPN: Another great option, NordVPN is a global leader in the VPN industry. You'll often see their commercials on TV, however they do not offer native Android TV and Amazon Fire TV apps. Prices start at $3.29 per month.
ExpressVPN: They're just released their native apps for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV, making them good contenders in the race to provide VPN services to people looking to cut the cord. Prices start at $8.32 per month.
Internet services providers used to be the ones that fought for internet freedoms, they wanted the internet to be something that could be enjoyed universally. Over the years, almost every internet service provider in the world has either been acquired by (or expanded into) larger media conglomerates who had monopolized the distribution of entertainment and media prior to the arrival of high speed internet.
We're beginning to see governments and internet services providers blocking more and more content on a daily basis. It looks like the free internet is being lost to the status-quo. At one point China was the only country that blocked its citizens from accessing an open internet, now we're seeing countries like the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe following suit.
The right to privacy is a fundamental human right. Free societies could exist without that right. Change could not happen without that right. Governments could not be held accountable without it. In an age where user information is considered to be a business asset, and information is shared between companies for the purposes of delivering advertising, VPN services are essential."
I agree this will require world wide vigilance over time. The best thing you can do is get a VPN right now. And participate in elections where internet privacy is being voted on in your nation.
I think it will require we all understand this issue and why it's important. And tell our family about it, and understand when and why it's happening. Recognize it's happening and do what is necessary to block it.
When I first attempted to use Private Internet Access, I found that SuddenLink had blocked all the IP addresses of all PIA servers around the world!!
At that point I was forced to try a new provider and purchased a subscription to IpVanish. This is probably the VPN I will recommend to others, because they are much more sophisticated and have 1000s of IPs they switch between, making it very difficult to block their servers! ;-)
Surf Safely!
Art by: @rocksg
