Bad news for expats and visitors in Russia

[msmob]

Now this REALLY Sucks

I use a VPN :

1/ To securely connect to a biz server in the UK

2/ Transfer money - when online to UK Bank

3/ Watch UK TV

4/ When using free Wifi hotspots- horribly insecure

From  Nov 1st - if I use a VPN (Virtual Private Network ) - when in Russia -  I'll be breaking the law !!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40774315

Putin bans VPNs in web browsing crackdown

The irony is that Russians rushed to help Ukrainians with VPNs to get around the Ukraine's ban on many RU  sites.... AND - more interestingly - Crimea will need to be exempted - as without VPNs - internet life there will be very frustrating - as IPs known to be originating from there - often get blocked

[mhr7]

I use one as well as it's the only way I can access my bank accounts online.

[BillyB]

4/ When using free Wifi hotspots- horribly insecure

Don't worry, Trump supporters say Russia doesn't hack anything. If Russia has no interest in obtaining American politicians private info, they certainly aren't interested in yours.

[msmob]

Don't worry, Trump supporters say Russia doesn't hack anything. If Russia has no interest in obtaining American politicians private info, they certainly aren't interested in yours.

Hi BillyB,


I got you were being sl. tongue in cheek - However, I recommend using a VPN when using free wifi - anywhere - as it is EASY for a hacker to pick up your email and bank passwords when you use their networks ....

As long ago as 2003 - when people weren't setting passwords on Wifi and there was something called war driving - guys with a sniffer program on a linux  laptop were identifying open networks - if only to show where one could connect for free

[JohnDearGreen]

From  Nov 1st - if I use a VPN (Virtual Private Network ) - when in Russia -  I'll be breaking the law !!

The law does not ban VPNs, just bans those that do not support the Russian blacklist.

"Simply put, Russia likely plans to block the domains of VPNs and proxies that don’t comply with Russian authorities to enforce their internet censorship filter."

I suppose you could purchase a static IP for your home PC,  then RDC to your home PC and run your transactions from there, using a VPN connection originating from your home PC.

[msmob]

The law does not ban VPNs, just bans those that do not support the Russian blacklist.

Dear JDC,

Thanks for this advice.  I was a guest at the Dacha of one of my biz partners and we discussed this new law

Essentially, if I don't use it to visit banned domains in Russia -" I should be 'OK' !"   Example: no visiting linkedin.com (banned) for not agreeing to host the data of RU citizens, locally. "The authorities would have to demonstrate I was using the VPN to visit banned sites.... "

Hmm, all very well ... but my ISP can tell I'm using a VPN and would you want a visit from the FSB ?

I use two forms of VPN:

1/ A constantly changing IP / location in the UK  - supplied by a dedicated supplier

or

2/ As you said - using a PC back home - luckily I have good enough outbound speed in the UK to make this work. In this instance I use Teamviewer - in the Windows version - one  can turn on / off the VPN . Sadly, the Linux version doesn't have the VPN feature - just the remote control function. Not designed for playback of UK TV ))

If anyone hears more on this - please be sure to post updates