Ask HN: How creepy are Google and Facebook wireless?

9 pointsby username22311 anni fa7 comments

I've recently noticed "Google wireless" at various Starbucks, which has a click-through accepting Google's usual "we own you" ToS, and also an even creepier "Facebook wireless" at a couple of coffee shops. Any idea how much data they're harvesting if I don't use a VPN?

1 comments

quadrangularis11 anni fa

Yikes. I would use a VPN, preferably one configured to use UDP over port 53.

jakeva11 anni fa

I've never heard of this. What is the advantage over just using https via a VPN verified to do no logging?

atmosx11 anni fa

With VPN all the traffic is encrypted, not just https... Plus , https might work for you, but your DNS requests are still plain text. You could use DNSCrypt and DNSSEC (combined).

A VPN though, makes your life so much easier, you just open the connection and router everything through it.

jakeva11 anni fa

Yes, but that wasn't the question. The question was what does UDP over port 53 get you?

rndmind11 anni fa

That's the port and protocol DNS queries used, therefore it is usually never blocked.

atmosx11 anni fa

Obfuscation.

0x40061411 anni fa

Not all websites are https enabled.