@prologic@twtxt.net idk I tend to think that “reading something on some random person’s web site” and “telling some random person where I live to within a mile or two” ought to be distinct things I get to choose independently….
@abucci@anthony.buc.ci Whilst I agree with this sentiment, the Internet kind of requires IP Addresses to even function in the first place, and p2p protocols like WebRTC require peer addresses to be able to communicate with one another.
Your ISP (or my ISP) having an address on file and providing a mapping of IP Address (IPv4 or IPv6) to a physical geographic address is an entirely separate problem I think 🤔 – At least in Australia any entity that provides consumers goods or services has to “know their customer” – However I argue that tracking (an ISP) an IPv4/IPv6 address on the Internet to a geographic address under a few kms (sorry, I work in metric 🤪) should be illegal – Much like Targeting Advertising to groups of “people” less than 5,000 is against the law (at least it was in the US when I last worked at Facebook™).
the Internet kind of requires IP Addresses to even function in the first place
True, but a VPN can be used to mask your real IP address because all of your network traffic is relayed through another computer with a different IP address.
p2p protocols like WebRTC require peer addresses to be able to communicate with one another
In principle, yes, but they don’t need to be able to communicate directly as long as both clients can communicate with a TURN server. At least, that’s how I understand it.
True, but a VPN can be used to mask your real IP address because all of your network traffic is relayed through another computer with a different IP address.
This is true, however you still leak your IP address to that VPN provider anyway. So it comes down to who you trust, your ISP or your VPN provider(s)? 😅
In principle, yes, but they don’t need to be able to communicate directly as long as both clients can communicate with a TURN server. At least, that’s how I understand it.
Actually I think you’re right, STUN/ICE are specifications for services that allow two or more peers to figure out what their direct IP addresses are so they can communicate in a p2p fashion, whilst I think TURN is a specification/service for peers to communicate and exchange (generally) media through a central server.
You still leak your IP address with that TURN server however.
@prologic@twtxt.net I find the top purpose for corporate VPN providers is low-impact legal offenses involving torrenting: It’s not necessarily about the VPN provider not ratting you out, but about being enough of a hassle to uncloak you that by the time the legal process to do so has ramped up, the VPN provider has dumped their logs anyways. Serious crimes, governments are going to act a lot faster, and get the response they need quickly, but for the low level stuff it’s more civil law nonsense a VPN company in the middle will befuddle the process.
So it comes down to who you trust [more], your ISP or your VPN provider(s)?
My VPN provider, 100%. I’ve talked about my ISP in the past.
Besides, I don’t need to trust them as much as my ISP. Under normal circumstances, this is the important information that your ISP can know about you:
- All of your personal information, down to a home address
- The IP addresses to which you’re connecting
- Information leaked by unencrypted traffic (DNS queries, etc.)
As long as the VPN provider doesn’t require any personal information, and mine doesn’t, you’re making it so no single party has all of that information. The IP address cloaking is an added benefit for me.
You still leak your IP address with that TURN server however.
If your WebRTC implementation isn’t broken, the TURN server sees your traffic as coming from the VPN server, just like any thing else you connect to through that tunnel. It’s the same story if I open a port and make a direct p2p connection.
If your WebRTC implementation isn’t broken, the TURN server sees your traffic as coming from the VPN server, just like any thing else you connect to through that tunnel. It’s the same story if I open a port and make a direct p2p connection.
Sorry I meant in the case of standard Internet connectivity (without a VPN).