It’s Hidden…Or Not
by Nick on Jul.26, 2009, under Geeky, Reviews
I was shocked to sit down at my computer this morning only to find that AT&T had gone above and beyond the call of duty with their self-imposed 4chan ban. Now, I’m not a fan or visitor of the site in any way, but I am still a little irked that they thought it was necessary to restrict access to (parts of) the site. I’m not a fan of censorship, especially because anything “blocked” because it “could be used for ill intent” could also be used for good. (Of course, the good uses of 4chan are up in the air, but I digress…)
However, having just heard about a new VPN service promising unlimited and unfiltered anonymized access to the Internet at the awesome price of free, I figured it might be good to get an account and look into the service before AT&T decided that there were any more sites they wanted to block access to.
ItsHidden may not be the most creative name I’ve heard for a VPN provider, and the website could use some retooling (and perhaps a proofreader), but they do function exactly as promised, and without requiring the installation of any software to get online.
Taking into account a comparison in performance between my raw DSL line, a tethered connection with my cell phone, and the VPN through both, there is a noticeable loss in the amount of available bandwidth. Of course, this is expected when the traffic is going to the Netherlands and back (I ran all speed tests against the same server in Chicago), but it’s not unbearably slow. Of course, this could change once the public gets its hands on it and the word spreads a little (not unlike ImageShack’s torrent downloader).
I do have a slight concern with the privacy you “gain” by using this service, and whether it might be worth looking into, though. ItsHidden seems to meter your VPN usage. I don’t know if this is the first hint at a freemium model they might be looking to pursue, or whether they simply think it’s a numbers game, but I question the meaning of its existence. Furthermore, any user of the VPN should be worried about the decrypted traffic on ItsHidden’s end. It would be trivial for them to sniff any data off the wire before they pass it along, and, even though they claim they don’t collect any information, I can’t help but wonder whether they’re actually doing so.
Realistically, I can’t say I trust a company that doesn’t run spell-check on their own site enough to think they would be a good idea for any mission critical data (and why you would be allowing yourself to tunnel through something you can’t verify the setup of anyway is beyond me), but if you need a VPN to get at anything unimportant or for your file downloading needs, this might be a reasonable solution for you to look into. (Read: This might be a good idea if you’re heading to DEFCON but don’t have any other means available to secure yourself.)
Update (7/29): According to a bunch of news outlets, AT&T was acting on behalf of customers they thought were being targeted by a denial-of-service attack. While the thought of protecting your customers is a nice one, a heads-up might have made things a little happier and calmer for everyone. Heck, maybe communicating through the proper channels could have picked up some help from moot and the 4chan crew. So, AT&T, the gesture was nice, but you really can’t go around trying to pull stunts like that without letting people know. One giant secret is enough.
July 29th, 2009 on 5:05 am
And once again, it NEVER fails with the incessant lying, as lying is a way of life for these hacker creeps. I salute AT&T for blocking viruses, trojans and nasty spider scripts, as that is what the REAL truth is as to WHY AT&T has flashed the middle finger [blocked] to 4 Chan. Why should AT&T waste time and energy in dealing with viruses, trojans and uncontrollable script programs emanating from the 4 Chan site?
I don’t condone censorship and I certainly don’t condone lies “in the name of lulz”. The only thing 4 Chan has proven again and again, is that they are infantile and violent. A bunch of two year olds who go on tirades. And just like an out of control two year old, they need some REAL hard slaps from the school of hard knocks.
Any consequences or denial of internet access to AT&T customers due to NAZI actions emanating from 4 Chan [or any other hacker creeps for that matter], I pray that they are caught, rounded up, prosecuted beyond the extent of the law, thrown in a windowless cell and locked up forever until the day they die.
I commend AT&T for taking the step forward and I sincerely hope that other ISP’S follow suit ASAP. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Hackers cause destruction, chaos, waste everyones time and energy. Normal people on the net are SICK AND TIRED of these two year old tantrum antics that 4 Chan displays on a daily basis. These hacker creeps really and truly need to GROW THE F*** UP.
October 22nd, 2009 on 7:31 pm
Control the flow of information to the people and you control the people. Censoring information “for the public good” is the first step in fascism. Eventually you are left with just government approved information, which will never give you a balanced look at anything that they do. Granted 4-chan is a den of iniquity and that it is good for nothing more than a laugh at the stupidity of some people, but censoring it is the first step in the removal of net neutrality.
We are adults. We choose what to view, read, consume, etc. and should behave like adults. If we have children, we act like parents. This means monitoring their internet usage and discouraging the use of sites like 4-chan or anything else that goes against our beliefs. As an adult though I should have the choice to look at a site like 4-chan. I do not need a faceless corporation telling me that a site is bad for me. One trip to 4-chan will demonstrate that for me. I do need the choice though.
February 14th, 2010 on 1:18 pm
I agree with both of you that AT&T and all other ISP’s need to mind their business and stay away from our freedoms. Never heard of 4chan before so checked it out connected to It’sHidden and the IP I’m currently using is banned permanently for others abusing it. Oh well. I’m still trying to figure out if my bandwidth is being tracked and shaped or not. Seemed like it will go faster than other times. Not sure but new to using it. I did do some tests using Wireshark and definitely hides IP not only in browser but also clients and applications. I like it and after some more testing I will most likely become a paid member to get the best bandwidth and dedicated IP. Only problem I have had is it occasionally disconnects but I’m still testing different settings and will figure out the problem.
October 5th, 2010 on 9:15 pm
this vpn Co. uses an invalid, from an untrusted source, certificate and my machine refuses to connect based on my security setings. use FF to check for yourself, rt.Gayforit.com
Their ‘help desk’is non-existent and they don’t respond to email. I’m surprised that no one has reported this before, there are no legitimate reasons to falsify a certificate like this, beware.