Advice Request Google One VPN

[Cleo]

Hi MalwareTips.
I was wondering if you can help with a problem using Google One VPN on my little AMD Win 11 desktop.
Basically it connects and I get the green light but no traffic is being routed.
I have two ethernet connections: one for the university ISP and the other for my NAS. I have their windows network priority metrics manually set to 1 and 5 respectively.
A few days ago I got a message from the Google One VPN app that the service wasn't available in my region. It hasn't worked since, although now I get no message.
It just connects and has its usual popup saying my connection is now secure. Only, all the websites see me. I also know because I can't sent email by smtp as the university insists
that students use their own vpn for mail on personal machines. My backup unit, the Intel Win 11 desktop is having no issue with it's Google One VPN app. Works great and
is also on the same two networks by ethernet. For the record my NAS gets its internets from my personal hotspot (university doesn't allow 2nd device on their network).
I noticed that If I set either network back to "automatic" network priority, my device will take the other as its internet connection.
This is a problem for the Google One VPN app as it makes some kind of virtual adapter on the fly each time I open it (visible in control panel) and its network priority is "automatic".
Sometimes I can flush settings with ipconfig /release, /renew after I tell the Google app to connect and then traffic starts going through the VPN adapter but I can't reporoduce it reliable yet.
Sometimes it doesn't work, it just hangs. Sometimes it works if i set the Google adpter's priority to 1. Sometimes not.
I sent the app's logs to Google One's support clearly outling the issue with screen shots and they just emailed me back asking for my mobile phone's developer/bug logs. WTF???
And asked why I didn't include my mobile's whole zip file of logs. I don't use the Google VPN app on my phone. WTF are they on about?
Any comments welcome.
Cleo.

 

[Brahman]

Why do you use a VPN from Google? A VPN is supposed to keep your network traffic secure and hidden from prying eyes and I can't understand how a Google product can protect your privacy. If you don't want to pay for a vpn, use something like windscribe or warp from cloudflare which would do a much better job in protecting your privacy.

 

[Cleo]

Why do you use a VPN from Google? A VPN is supposed to keep your network traffic secure and hidden from prying eyes and I can't understand how a Google product can protect your privacy. If you don't want to pay for a vpn, use something like windscribe or warp from cloudflare which would do a much better job in protecting your privacy.

From the agreement "In addition, your network traffic and IP address will never be logged, and Google will never use the VPN connection to track, log, or sell your online activity."
Please give me a list of VPN services where I can get something better than a written promise of their practices.

 

[Brahman]

From the agreement "In addition, your network traffic and IP address will never be logged, and Google will never use the VPN connection to track, log, or sell your online activity."
Please give me a list of VPN services where I can get something better than a written promise of their practices.

If you are open to paid then Mullvad VPN | Privacy is a universal right

 

[Cleo]

If you are open to paid then Mullvad VPN | Privacy is a universal right

Mullvad's speed here is terrible. My 1000mbps ISP drops to ~50mbps.

 

[CyberTech]

Mullvad's speed here is terrible. My 1000mbps ISP drops to ~50mbps.

I would suggest try VPN trial before buy it or how about ProtonVPN or Windscribe free?

 

[Brahman]

Mullvad's speed here is terrible. My 1000mbps ISP drops to ~50mbps.

You can try Nord Vpn if you after performance. Another one is express VPN which would be the fastest one but insanely costly.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Why do you use a VPN from Google? A VPN is supposed to keep your network traffic secure and hidden from prying eyes and I can't understand how a Google product can protect your privacy. If you don't want to pay for a vpn, use something like windscribe or warp from cloudflare which would do a much better job in protecting your privacy.

What a common misconception. ANY vpn provider you use can view what you are doing, it is in picking one you trust with your information. There are tons of articles about how these "privacy VPNs" can and will sell your data they collect.

What makes a user so sure they do not pull information from Ram only servers even before a flush/restart?

You place your trust in what ever application and company you choose blindly, because you will never see exactly what they do and just take their word for it your information is safe and handled properly.

 

[Jonny Quest]

What a common misconception. ANY vpn provider you use can view what you are doing, it is in picking one you trust with your information. There are tons of articles about how these "privacy VPNs" can and will sell your data they collect.

What makes a user so sure they do not pull information from Ram only servers even before a flush/restart?

You place your trust in what ever application and company you choose blindly, because you will never see exactly what they do and just take their word for it your information is safe and handled properly.

Except for maybe this, from this year:

Mullvad's no-log policy proven after police raid

No customer data was compromised, the provider said

www.techradar.com

 

[Jonny Quest]

You can try Nord Vpn if you after performance. Another one is express VPN which would be the fastest one but insanely costly.

I agree, from my experience with Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and F-Secure VPNs, Nord outperforms them all. 2nd place would be F-Secure, then Kaspersky then BD. I have yet to try Mullvad, Proton etc.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Except for maybe this, from this year:

Mullvad's no-log policy proven after police raid

No customer data was compromised, the provider said

www.techradar.com

As i stated a quick reboot will flush, this does not mean the company itself can not use the information however.

Look at top VPN providers like Express Vpn, Cyberghost, PIA for example, they all belong to the same company called KAPE, it was well known for distributing malware injected via browsers ect in the past and now own 3 of the top providers.

 

[Jonny Quest]

As i stated a quick reboot will flush, this does not mean the company itself can not use the information however.

Look at top VPN providers like Express Vpn, Cyberghost, PIA for example, they all belong to the same company called KAPE, it was well known for distributing malware injected via browsers ect in the past and now own 3 of the top providers.

I did not know about KAPE. Thanks for that information, I will look into it

I agree with the comment you posted above, it comes down to who are we going to place our trust in?
You place your trust in what ever application and company you choose blindly, because you will never see exactly what they do and just take their word for it your information is safe and handled properly

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

From the agreement "In addition, your network traffic and IP address will never be logged, and Google will never use the VPN connection to track, log, or sell your online activity."
Please give me a list of VPN services where I can get something better than a written promise of their practices.

None of them have anything better than a written promise, you just have to choose who you would likely trust, do your research though. As for your issue above, Australia is listed in the serviceable countries for Google One , the issue more than likely is the result of the dual connection on the university.

 

[Brahman]

What a common misconception. ANY vpn provider you use can view what you are doing, it is in picking one you trust with your information.

Do not jump the gun. I said " A VPN is supposed to keep your network traffic secure" I did not say vpn will 100% keep all your data private and secure, I know what VPN is and I have no mis conception about the "trust" element a VPN company demands. That's why I suggested some reputed names in the business, which have a proven track record and has their HQ not in Five eyes countries.

 

[Ink]

A few days ago I got a message from the Google One VPN app that the service wasn't available in my region. It hasn't worked since, although now I get no message.
[...]
I sent the app's logs to Google One's support clearly outling the issue with screen shots and they just emailed me back asking for my mobile phone's developer/bug logs. WTF???
And asked why I didn't include my mobile's whole zip file of logs. I don't use the Google VPN app on my phone. WTF are they on about?

Have you contacted your University ISP about this? Are you using any Private DNS? Are you using any Anti-Spy apps that may block Google connections? What Antivirus and Firewall are you using on this PC?

Did you clarify to Google Support (not the smartest bots) that you are NOT using any mobile device and therefore cannot provide those specific logs? Did you ask how to attach logs from their Windows client?

Have you tried other VPN services such as NordVPN (trial) or Proton* VPN Free?

Why do you use a VPN from Google? A VPN is supposed to keep your network traffic secure and hidden from prying eyes and I can't understand how a Google product can protect your privacy. If you don't want to pay for a vpn, use something like windscribe or warp from cloudflare which would do a much better job in protecting your privacy.

Didn't see OP mention using VPN by Google for privacy.

Spoiler: Read more

There are reasons people subscribe to Google One, using it on desktop is another option, though its intended target is for Android. Using their VPN on public networks makes perfect when you the Play Store is inundated with Free VPNs that are not audited. Other features of Google One include extra cloud storage, AI-editor, dark web monitoring, VPN and more.

A quick web search and you can find a lot of controversy surrounding Cloudflare. How are they any better than Google?

Footnotes from VPN by Google One - Extra online security for your phone

1 You won't be able to change your IP location to view content that is not available in your region.
2 Some minimum logging is performed to ensure quality of service, but your network traffic is never logged and your IP is not associated to your activity.
3 See here for compatible operating system versions.

More: How the VPN by Google One Works | Google One

Disclaimer: *I use Proton services on desktop/mobile, and have a good experience with their Free services.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

Do not jump the gun. I said " A VPN is supposed to keep your network traffic secure" I did not say vpn will 100% keep all your data private and secure, I know what VPN is and I have no mis conception about the "trust" element a VPN company demands. That's why I suggested some reputed names in the business, which have a proven track record and has their HQ not in Five eyes countries.

No offense meant, just pointing out that many push these VPN's for privacy like they know for a fact they can trust the companies word that their information is being kept safe. How many breaches of trust across the internet do we need to witness to know this will never be true. Companies are not doing this to provide you with secure privacy, they are in it to make money, and many of them its how ever they can make it.

I only use a VPN for extra encryption, not for privacy, as im not disillusioned into thinking there is such a thing on the net.

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

I did not know about KAPE. Thanks for that information, I will look into it

I agree with the comment you posted above, it comes down to who are we going to place our trust in?
You place your trust in what ever application and company you choose blindly, because you will never see exactly what they do and just take their word for it your information is safe and handled properly

Its called Kape Technologies. You are quite welcome, the problem here is that information as such is general knowledge outside these places like MT for those that actually dig through the companies and research what they are using, and i do not say that with offense, because its easy to sit in a place like MT where others pretend to be experts in all fields and everyone just follows their advice and opinions instead of looking.Its scary tho think a company that used to distribute malware now owns and runs 3 of the top listed VPN services. Imagine what they could do with your system , information and network with this kind of access.

Stay informed, do not take others words here, look for yourself, dig deeply.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Its called Kape Technologies. You are quite welcome, the problem here is that information as such is general knowledge outside these places like MT for those that actually dig through the companies and research what they are using, and i do not say that with offense, because its easy to sit in a place like MT where others pretend to be experts in all fields and everyone just follows their advice and opinions instead of looking.Its scary tho think a company that used to distribute malware now owns and runs 3 of the top listed VPN services. Imagine what they could do with your system , information and network with this kind of access.

Stay informed, do not take others words here, look for yourself, dig deeply.

I was checking out the data collected (previous chapter of the video) and found this

 

[ForgottenSeer 103564]

I was checking out the data collected (previous chapter of the video) and found this

You did your homework This is why i do not just take other users words for it, but research things myself.

 

[Shadowra]

The authentication step has already separated the user’s identity from the data tunnel that handles your network traffic. On top of that protection, the following data is never logged:

• Network traffic, including DNS
• IP addresses of the devices connecting to the VPN
• Bandwidth utilized by an individual user
• Connection timestamps by user

The VPN authentication and data plane services only record aggregate metrics —without any user identifiable information— for service reliability and performance optimization. These include aggregate throughput, uptime, latency, CPU/memory load and failure rates. Client applications running on the user's device may log additional metrics to understand product and feature adoption and engagement, prevent fraud, and to ensure VPN connection health. Client applications also provide the option to send feedback and errors to us, which include application and system logs, and are used for debugging purposes.

Using a VPN shouldn’t require that you completely turn over your trust to the VPN provider. A VPN provider should be able to transparently demonstrate how their service keeps your data private. Our VPN client-side code is open sourced so that users and privacy experts alike can verify how user data is handled, and we open up our implementation to rigorous external audits so you can be confident in our VPN’s privacy and security guarantees.

We believe an easy to use, highly private and performant VPN will significantly help improve user privacy online. So it should come as no surprise that we want to make VPN technology available to as many users as possible.

In any case, there's no such thing as a "no-log" VPN...
All it takes is for the police to raid the provider's house or a court request, and the VPN will give it all away.

The only one that has really proven this is Mullvad, but it's often blacklisted because they don't always renew their IPs...