- Jul 28, 2016
- 950
This text is Google translated
We have tested a VPN vendor, which has a special relationship with US authorities and secret services: HotspotShield.
Where of course many questions, why one offer a VPN service as anonymization, but which is quite openly supported by US secret service circles. This requires understanding the logic. Many citizens in the US continue to think that the authorities want to do good things for them, and undoubtedly this is true. Whether we as Europeans want to trust this after all the information we have since Edward Snowdens documents about this also a service, is another question!
"The Hotspotshield users trust in the protection of foreigners' privacy by US authorities."
This is why this review differs a little from our usual format. We have also received no technical answers to our written inquiries to Hotspotshield. Much of what we could discover has confirmed our assumptions. There are clear connections to US intelligence NSA and the FBI! And in the end, every user should be aware of the potential of "monitoring"
Looking at the responsible managers of HotspotShield, the proximity and connections with the US authorities reveals:
The list of allegedly "US government delegates" to Hotspotshield could be extended even further. It is rather unlikely to assume that all of these people have suddenly committed themselves to protecting the privacy and anonymity of international users. A public stand for "freedom and democracy" does not necessarily mean a respectful approach to the privacy of non-US citizens. What is meant by freedom, whether this is only for US citizens or for each user is to use the hotspotshield, remains unclear. Even if many of these people state this as the main argument for your commitment yourself!
The "Goldman Sachs Group" finances the company!
Anyone who installs HotspotShield may also become part of the "US strategy for international surveillance on the Internet".
Hotspotshield can also be called
"Trojans with voluntary self-installation of the users!"
What sounds ironic at first sight, however, has a serious background. Because the technical components of the service allow it to monitor the users much better than without the use of the case. With allegedly 400 million installations on PC`s worldwide, Hotspotshield can be a quite interesting factor in the strategy to monitor the entire world on the Internet!
Technical conditions also allow targeted monitoring.
In our test, we have installed the application on a specially prepared Windows PC. In addition to the usual VPN connection certificates, access certificates were also installed. In this case it would be technically possible to connect to the user's PC without warning or to send different data to decoded servers without being requested. The data transmission would be encrypted as well, and the user can hardly provide any proof of this.
The communication of the company suggests protection of one's privacy, anonymity and security! It is important, however, that potential users are also aware of the dangers that may arise.
Freedom and protection for Turkish oppositionists! But turns out to be a Trojan horse with US support! Possibly to consciously undermine freedom of expression!
Particularly bad in our view, it is also, since Hotspotshield in the last years also massively and specifically in Turkey was advertised. This should obviously lead to government-critical activists to trust this service. As a Turkish journalist recently reported on Twitter, he was charged with government criticism and he had always used Hotspotshield.
"Turkish authorities detain VOA & BBC reporters, adding to 145 journalists already in jails in Turkey -world's largest prison for journalists Twitter "
Meanwhile, however, the use of Hotspotshield within Turkey has been blocked.
We have tested a VPN vendor, which has a special relationship with US authorities and secret services: HotspotShield.
Where of course many questions, why one offer a VPN service as anonymization, but which is quite openly supported by US secret service circles. This requires understanding the logic. Many citizens in the US continue to think that the authorities want to do good things for them, and undoubtedly this is true. Whether we as Europeans want to trust this after all the information we have since Edward Snowdens documents about this also a service, is another question!
"The Hotspotshield users trust in the protection of foreigners' privacy by US authorities."
This is why this review differs a little from our usual format. We have also received no technical answers to our written inquiries to Hotspotshield. Much of what we could discover has confirmed our assumptions. There are clear connections to US intelligence NSA and the FBI! And in the end, every user should be aware of the potential of "monitoring"
Looking at the responsible managers of HotspotShield, the proximity and connections with the US authorities reveals:
- Alec Ross
He was a technological advisor to Hillary Clinton when she was a member of the US government and at that time also supported the attempt and start of international surveillance on the Internet by the NSA directly with the US government. - Reed E. Hundt
He was chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission under Bill Clinton as President of the US and thus presumably significantly involved in the expansion of the NSA surveillance measures at that time. - Dr. Peter Hoag
He was also a co-founder of a CIA subsidiary, Cardinal Technologies , which sought technological unification of data transmissions in the US networks. Cardinal Technologies was also a consultant to some US-friendly governments in Europe and is probably still working for US-based intelligence services. - Kevin Cook
He is still in the management of the Barracuda Network , which became known through their "backdoors" on the hard drives and firewall ingloriously. - Rick Roth
Is known as a national adviser to the US authorities for corporate networks in the USA and is regarded as a liaison between national interests and corporate interests in the USA. - Doug Maine
He worked for IBM as a financial manager. IBM itself is known for the cooperation with US authorities also became international espionage and was banished from China among other things. - Greg Coleman
He has worked in a number of US-based corporations in senior editorial offices such as AOL, Huffington Post, and some online media houses, all of which provide US government-friendly reporting, as well as public opinion, as well as circumvention of government encryption.
The list of allegedly "US government delegates" to Hotspotshield could be extended even further. It is rather unlikely to assume that all of these people have suddenly committed themselves to protecting the privacy and anonymity of international users. A public stand for "freedom and democracy" does not necessarily mean a respectful approach to the privacy of non-US citizens. What is meant by freedom, whether this is only for US citizens or for each user is to use the hotspotshield, remains unclear. Even if many of these people state this as the main argument for your commitment yourself!
The "Goldman Sachs Group" finances the company!
Anyone who installs HotspotShield may also become part of the "US strategy for international surveillance on the Internet".
Hotspotshield can also be called
"Trojans with voluntary self-installation of the users!"
What sounds ironic at first sight, however, has a serious background. Because the technical components of the service allow it to monitor the users much better than without the use of the case. With allegedly 400 million installations on PC`s worldwide, Hotspotshield can be a quite interesting factor in the strategy to monitor the entire world on the Internet!
Technical conditions also allow targeted monitoring.
In our test, we have installed the application on a specially prepared Windows PC. In addition to the usual VPN connection certificates, access certificates were also installed. In this case it would be technically possible to connect to the user's PC without warning or to send different data to decoded servers without being requested. The data transmission would be encrypted as well, and the user can hardly provide any proof of this.
The communication of the company suggests protection of one's privacy, anonymity and security! It is important, however, that potential users are also aware of the dangers that may arise.
Freedom and protection for Turkish oppositionists! But turns out to be a Trojan horse with US support! Possibly to consciously undermine freedom of expression!
Particularly bad in our view, it is also, since Hotspotshield in the last years also massively and specifically in Turkey was advertised. This should obviously lead to government-critical activists to trust this service. As a Turkish journalist recently reported on Twitter, he was charged with government criticism and he had always used Hotspotshield.
"Turkish authorities detain VOA & BBC reporters, adding to 145 journalists already in jails in Turkey -world's largest prison for journalists Twitter "
Meanwhile, however, the use of Hotspotshield within Turkey has been blocked.
