SumTips: 7 Facts You Need to Know About Russia's VPN Ban

President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law that further restricts online privacy in Russia. Read on for highlights of the legislation.

1. The legislation does NOT ban all virtual private networks (VPNs); it requires VPNs to block users from all government-censored content or face shutdown.

2. The legislation includes a blacklist of online resources with restricted access.

3. The legislation requires messaging services to log and store users’ phone numbers.

4. The legislation has the disapproval of whistleblower Edward Snowden: “Banning the ‘unauthorized’ use of basic internet security tools makes Russia both less safe and less free. This is a tragedy of policy. If the next generation is to enjoy the online liberties ours did, innocuous traffic must become truly indistinguishable from the sensitive.”

5. The legislation was signed into law on July 30 and will be enacted later this year on November 1. It follows a 2015 measure that requires telecommunications companies and internet service providers to retain user data for up to a year….and increases government censorship prior to the March 2018 elections.

6. It’s bad, but it could be worse: The Red Web author Andrei Soldatov acknowledged, “I think the regulation is a bit outdated and very difficult to implement, but this law is still very dangerous, because it means all the internet service providers will be in violation, and this will be a good tool with which to put pressure on them.”

7. SumRando Cybersecurity's VPN will continue to strive to meet your online needs in Russia and worldwide.

Surf secure and stay Rando!

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Image credit of BOLDG/Shutterstock.com.

Want more SumTips? Read on!

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• SumTips: Where Art Is Under Attack
• SumTips: 4 Digital Activists You Should Know

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SumRando Cybersecurity is a Mauritius-based VPN, Web Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!

SumRando Statement on US Refugee Ban

Mapou, Mauritius-  International privacy advocate and Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider, SumRando, reiterated its commitment to offering assistance to people living under oppressive conditions in the wake of U.S. president Donald Trump's decision to ban 134,000,000 people from entering the United States. SumRando’s CEO, Jonathan de Wolff, released the following statement:

“SumRando was founded on the principle that privacy is a fundamental human right. Any effort to prevent marginalized groups from seeking recourse, either through online tools or safe harbour as a refugee, is a step backwards and worrying in a landscape with fewer and fewer options. Turning one's back on people in need is a surefire way to embolden the autocratic regimes they are attempting to flee. If people cannot seek refuge in the United States, generally seen as a beacon for freedom and a leader in human rights for the world, millions of people will suffer.”

"Providing safe access to the internet is one small, but critical way we can assist people in such environments, allowing them to access vital information, organize human rights efforts, and communicate with loved ones. At this time, we ask that those who are willing and able to show their support, to sign up for a year-long subscription to SumRando VPN. In so doing, we can continue to provide safe internet access to those living in affected regions. You can sign up here.

We thank you in advance for your conscientiousness and willingness to promote a free and democratic internet for everyone."

SumRando, based out of Mauritius, provides safe internet access to hundreds of thousands of people in emerging economies around the world, including many who fear for their lives as they live under the threat of terrorism, war, and systematic oppression.

SumRando Cybersecurity’s Top 10 Highlights of 2015

2015 has been an exciting year for SumRando. In the last 12 months, we are proud to have:

10.  Explained what we do in less than 90 seconds

9.    Featured SumVoices contributors from Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Sweden, Algeria and Pakistan

8.    Added support of emojis to our Android secure messenger ;)

7.    Made our New York server VIP (faster!)

6.    Reached over 15,000 likes on our Facebook page

5.    Seen a spike in usership following Bangladesh’s November blockage of Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp

4.    Shared a rare interview with SumRando’s CEO

3.    Launched a more user-friendly website

2.    Expanded our Brazil server’s bandwidth in response to growing popularity

1.    Added our first Middle East server in Amman, Jordan

Thank you, Randos, for making 2015 a great year! We look forward to sharing an even more secure 2016 with all of you. Happy New Year!

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Want to check out the top posts of 2015? Read on!

• SumVoices: A Behind the Scenes Look at What Iraqi Journalists, Activists and Bloggers Think About Surveillance Online
• Flying? Tips For A Secure Boarding Pass
• SumVoices: Cyber Security & Social Media in Indonesia

SumRando Cybersecurity is a South Africa-based VPN, Web Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!

Logging: Why We NEVER Store Your Information

For anyone seriously concerned about online privacy, a VPN is one of the best tools available. And when choosing the right VPN the question that seems to come up constantly is, “Do you keep logs?”

Absolutely not.

For the uninitiated, logging is the practice of keeping records of user activity while a VPN is connected. Proponents of logging say it’s necessary to ensure their users aren’t breaking any laws or doing things the VPN company finds unsavory (like hogging bandwidth). At a glance, this might have merit. And at SumRando, we certainly don’t want our users participating in hacking, file sharing, or anything else illegal. But we didn’t start SumRando to be an internet nanny. We are a privacy service. And as such, we believe you should have the same degree of privacy on the internet as you do in your own home. Would you rent a flat from a landlord who installed cameras in your living room — even if he promised it was only to prevent illegal activity? We sure wouldn’t.

Here’s a fun fact: Your ISP keeps records of everything you do online. Should your government provide the proper paperwork, every site you’ve visited will become public information.

Truthfully, any VPN out there will prevent your ISP from monitoring your activity. But if you choose a VPN that logs your data, you aren’t actually increasing your privacy in a meaningful way — you’re simply trading one online monitor for another and it’s just as easy for courts and governments to subpoena your activity from a mediocre VPN service as from your ISP.

So please, when you’re shopping for a VPN service, read the fine print. There are a lot of great options out there (we think ours is pretty great), but before you buy, make sure the service you choose takes your privacy as seriously as you do.

Safe Surfing,

The SumRando Team

Reasons SumRando is awesome #465

There are a million reasons to use a VPN, but the ability to hide your IP address, re-route your connection and become completely anonymous are certainly chief among them.

Before we go on it’s worth saying that if you aren’t using a VPN yet, you’re missing out. But once you decide you’re ready to take your privacy seriously and open up the range of content a VPN can provide, how do you choose the right service?

Let’s talk privacy.

ALL VPNs encrypt your data, change your IP address and re-route your connection. Any VPN will give you solid protection from unsavory hackers, criminals, evil masterminds, or whoever is trying to get your data. But if you’re really concerned about privacy, it’s time to think outside the obvious…

Logging

Like we said, any VPN will protect your data from outsiders. But what about the VPN itself? How much data do they hold onto? Lots of VPNs preach privacy, but keep logs of every site you visit, every file you download, and your login locations.

See where we’re going?

Although that data is locked up, all it takes in most countries is a court order to make all your carefully protected information completely public.

But here’s the good news.

AWESOME VPN’s like SumRando delete their user logs. That means, that even if a court orders us to turn over your protected information, we won’t and simply can’t.

What you do online is your business.

Look, there are a lot of great VPNs out there (but we’re pretty sure ours is the best), so when you’re shopping around, READ THE FINE PRINT. There’s no sense in paying for protection when all you get is a false sense of security.

security privacy freedom

SumRando is a company devoted to cybersecurity. The idea pulsing it to life is that people need to educate themselves about how things have changed since the internet became a part of who we are as a civilization. It was conceived for the people who never took a class on internet safety and social media who still just want their cookies to be chocolate chip. That said, it is also for people who watch Star Trek and can probably code the Enterprise into existence.

I have always been into technology and remember sitting around my family PC when I was eight, reading bulletin board posts on Prodigy for hints on a computer game called Monkey Island. My father presented me with a veritable tome of websites out there that I might ever want to visit--it may very well have been comprehensive. 

I studied computer science briefly but went on to concentrate on psychology and then politics. In US Congress, in addition to helping our systems administrator deal with technical challenges, I managed to sneak cybersecurity into my portfolio. 

Congress, along with governments, private industry and educational institutions around the world are waking up to a pop quiz in cyber terrorism. At a talk in DC after the China Google attacks a very clever Secretary made a compelling argument to take the fate of the internet into our own hands. I didn’t go on to found the Stewards of the Internet Facebook page, but I did commit to finding a way to participate. 

SumRando is not the solution to all of the existing and emerging issues that deal with cybercrime. It is a building block amongst many that people need to collect to build their 21st century identity. It is a jumping off point for people who want a tool to secure what is naturally theirs.