Available via the Company’s VyprVPN service, Chameleon Defeats VPN Blocking and Gives Users Access to a Fast, Unrestricted Internet
MEGGEN, Switzerland, – January 28, 2014 – Golden Frog, a global privacy and security software and applications company, today announced a new, proprietary VPN technology designed to mask Internet traffic to defeat VPN blocking in restrictive environments like China.
Chameleon scrambles OpenVPN packet metadata to ensure it’s not recognizable via deep packet inspection, while still keeping it fast and lightweight. The Chameleon technology uses unmodified OpenVPN 256-bit protocol for the underlying data encryption. The result is that VyprVPN users are able to bypass restrictive networks put in place by governments, corporations and ISPs to achieve an open internet experience without sacrificing the proven security of OpenVPN.
The Chinese government is notoriously unfriendly towards many Western websites and online services, mostly targeting social media networks and video sharing sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. While Chinese citizens and visitors have historically used VPN services to circumvent the firewall, the government has become very efficient at inspecting and identifying packet data on various VPN protocols. This has led to more sites being blocked, restricted and Web traffic being throttled within the country.
“Chameleon is currently the only VPN technology that consistently allows me to connect to the Internet from within China,” said Shawn Price, an educator at an international school in China. “It is essential that I’m able to access Web resources like Youtube and professional blogs outside of China’s restrictive network, and Chameleon helps me do that in an easy way so I can remain productive.”
But China isn’t the only problem; China, Russia, Iran, Turkey and other countries routinely use deep packet inspection to block Internet content and keep tabs on their citizens.
In addition to defeating Internet censorship, Chameleon also greatly improves speed for users experiencing throttling of their internet connection by their wired or wireless ISP.
“The censorship techniques put in place by authoritarian governments around the world do have some holes that can be exploited by very technical people,” said Sunday Yokubaitis, President of Golden Frog. “But Chameleon is unique because it is so easy to set up on our Windows, Mac and Android apps. This means everyone can have access to an open and free Internet, on any device, no matter where they live or work. Since Chameleon uses unmodified OpenVPN 256-bit encryption to secure the VPN connection, users can trust Chameleon if they trust OpenVPN.”
Unlike virtually every other VPN provider in the world, Golden Frog writes custom VPN server software, manages its own network, and owns the hardware enabling the company to deliver fast VPN speeds and better protect user data and privacy. To learn more about VyprVPN and Chameleon, please visit: http://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn
About Golden Frog
Golden Frog is a global service provider committed to developing applications and services that preserve an open and secure internet. With users in over 195 countries, Golden Frog owns and operates server clusters in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific. Golden Frog owns and manages 100% of its servers, hardware and global network to ensure the highest levels of security, privacy and service delivery. Golden Frog offers a comprehensive reseller program and VyprVPN for Business to protect company communications.
We are incredibly proud to introduce Chameleon, the latest innovation from our Golden Frog team! In recent years, there’s been growing concern worldwide about VPN protocols being inspected, throttled and blocked by governments, corporations and ISPs via deep packet inspection (DPI). To counter this, our engineers have developed a remarkable, new VPN technology called Chameleon that is available in the VyprVPN apps for Windows, Mac and Android.
Chameleon scrambles OpenVPN packet metadata to ensure it’s not recognizable via DPI, while still keeping it fast and lightweight. Chameleon technology uses the unmodified OpenVPN 256-bit protocol for the underlying data encryption. The result is that VyprVPN users are able to bypass restrictive networks put in place by governments, corporations and ISPs to achieve an open internet experience without sacrificing the proven security for which OpenVPN has long been known. Experience a truly open and uncensored Internet with Chameleon VPN.
Benefits of Using Chameleon
Chameleon is proven to help users that live in or travel to countries such as China, Russia, India, Turkey, Iran and Syria by preventing blocking. Chameleon is also ideal for users worldwide experiencing VPN blocking and speed issues related to bandwidth throttling.
Defeat VPN Blocking via Deep Packet Inspection
Resolve Speed Issues Due To Bandwidth Throttling
Bypass Censorship Anywhere in The World
How to Access Chameleon:
Chameleon is included in VyprVPN Pro and VyprVPN Premier accounts at no extra cost. Currently Chameleon is only compatible with Windows, Mac and Android devices. Due to iOS-related VPN restrictions, Chameleon is not currently available for VyprVPN for iOS. Detailed set-up instructions are included in the Chameleon FAQ document. If you don’t have a VyprVPN account, try Chameleon risk-free with a 3-day free trial.
Four out of five people in the world do not have access to an open and uncensored internet
Everything you love about the Internet is at risk. In January 2012, we censored the VyprVPN logo to join largest Internet protest in history and helped defeat the SOPA and PIPA censorship legislation. Yet, more governments are engaging in Internet filtering and censorship than ever before! Internet freedom around the globe has been on the decline for three years straight and unfortunately is only getting worse. Currently, more than 80 percent of the world’s population does not have access to an open and uncensored Internet. Freedom of expression, access to unfiltered information and online privacy could all disappear if you don’t fight back.
Our new infographic The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom highlights the current landscape of declining internet freedom and reinforces the challenges we face. While it’s no surprise that many authoritative governments are now filtering, monitoring, and censoring the internet, our infographic shows that many democratic countries are increasingly imposing various internet restrictions due to the security challenges created by new media. Governments worldwide continue to view the Internet as a threat and a tool for censorship, surveillance and repression.
The Freedom of The Net Report 2013 by Freedom House referenced in our infographic studied surveillance, controlling trends and arrests due to online activity of 60 countries, finding that 34 countries have dropped in the internet freedom ratings. The three most restrictive countries continue to be China, Iran and Cuba. NSA surveillance has also decreased ratings in the West.
What You Can Do Right Now:
While the debate against warrantless spying on ordinary citizens, web censorship and data collection continues across the world, there are things that you can do right now to start protecting your privacy and internet freedoms:
Spread the Word: Let’s work to make sure people are more aware of our declining internet freedoms. Share our infographic with your friends and family.
Learn more about Internet freedom issues in your country: There’s a wealth of information on the OpenNet Initiative website.
Support The Day We Fight Back Against Mass Surveillance event on Feb. 11: Find out more about this worldwide day or protest in honor of the late Aaron Swartz and participate by raising awareness on social media, installing widgets on your personal blogs and websites and signing up for email updates on their website.
Urge your government representatives to be more accountable: Push for reforms of intrusive censorship and surveillance programs and sign petitions that ask for change.
Watch where your money goes: Don’t support businesses and corporations that are actively lobbying your government to compromise your privacy and internet freedom.
Only download and access trusted websites and apps: Take the time to read their user agreements.
Take back control of your online privacy with a VPN like Golden Frog’s VyprVPN: VPNs prevents your ISP and third parties from monitoring and controlling your online communications and browsing activity. VyprVPN is the only VPN provider that has Windows, Mac, Android and iOS apps to secure all your devices. Please read our the Vision Paper, “Peace, Prosperity and the Case for the Open Internet: A shared vision and call to action for the netizens of the world” to learn more about our fight for a free and open Internet.
The internet is a crucial medium through which people can express themselves and share ideas. It has also become an increasingly important tool to help democracy and human rights activists mobilize and advocate for political, social, and economic reform. We at Golden Frog believe that users should be free to make their own decisions about what they read and watch. Censoring the web only leads to a decline in creativity, innovation and awareness. We are joining an international movement to defend our internet freedoms, and we want to encourage our readers to do the same.
we launched our sleek and cutting-edge VyprVPN 2.0 Apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. We want to thank our users for all the amazing and helpful feedback over the past month. We’re happy to announce that VyprVPN for Windows has just been updated to version 2.1! Today’s update includes performance enhancements and stability improvements based on user feedback.
What’s New in VyprVPN for Windows 2.1
Added the ability to cancel a connection attempt – Users can do this by clicking on the ‘X’ icon when attempting to connect
Users can now limit the number of re-connection attempts – Users can limit the number of reconnection attempts from 1 to 5
Added “Apply” and “Cancel” buttons to the settings window – The settings window now has “Apply” and “Cancel” buttons to commit or cancel changes
VPN control library improvements – Improves the stability of core code base and provides better access to VPN functionality for upcoming feature improvements
Other performance enhancements and stability improvements
Six out of 10 people in the U.S. make New Year’s resolutions — mostly focused on getting fit or losing weight – but only eight percent of them actually succeed at keeping them. What’s your resolution for 2014? Work out more? Travel more? Spend less time on Facebook? We all know that technology now plays a role of growing importance in our lives, so why not make some tech resolutions this year? Considering the spate of cyber attacks and online security breaches in 2013, we hope many of you have made a tech resolution to protect your online privacy and security in 2014.
In our last blog post, we discussed how you can protect your privacy, on your terms. That means being aware of the importance of online privacy, and utilizing services like VyprVPN to protect your internet experience easily, at the click of a button and on every device. At Golden Frog, we understand that you don’t want to deal with a complicated VPN service. Our goal is to simplify the VPN setup and connection process so everyone can enjoy the benefits of secure and private Internet use, with minimal hassle.
We’ve already made VyprVPN the fastest, simplest and most stable VPN service on the market. Now we need you to resolve to do more this year to secure your digital life. Make 2014 the year that you start using a VPN consistently. According to a recent survey on a popular VPN site, less than 40% of respondents said they use their VPN every time they connect to the Internet. We at Golden Frog care about your privacy and advise you to keep your VPN turned on as often as needed.
Here are the top reasons to use a VPN service more often:
Protect your right to privacy – A VPN puts the Internet back in your hands by shielding your online activity from governments, corporations and ISPs and prevents them from monitoring your online communications and browsing activity.
Secure your data on public Wi-Fi – Many of us often use unsecured public wi-fi in airports, coffee shops and hotels. A VPN encrypts the Internet connection on public Wi-Fi to protect your personal and financial info from hackers and data sniffers.
A better Internet experience – This is often overlooked, but a good VPN provides a fast and stable browsing experience that keeps your ISP from inspecting, prioritizing and throttling the data sent to and from your device.
Bypass geographic web censorship – A VPN creates a secure tunnel to the Internet, allowing you to experience any website, worldwide, without blocks, censorship or government firewalls. This is an absolute must if you live in, or travel to countries with restricted internet freedoms like China or Turkey.
We are excited to announce the Beta of the new Private Sharing feature for Dump Truck. Using the Dump Truck Web App, users can now use Private Sharing to easily and securely collaborate on files and folders with other Dump Truck users. This new feature is ideal for small businesses, and for sharing files with family and friends. Users can also easily invite anyone to access shared folders and assign a permission level, with just an email address. When a privately shared file or folder is changed, added or deleted, the changes synchronize to all users who have joined the share.
Previously, Dump Truck only enabled users to share files and/or folders with others via a Public Link. Users also had the option to add an expiration date and a password to the link but they could not collaborate on these files. The new Private Sharing feature now allows for collaboration, easy access and secure sharing!
Dump Truck Private Sharing Features
Any changes to a folder will show up for all users who have access to it, allowing for easier and better collaboration
There are multiple permission level options for each folder. You can also edit the permission level after you share the folder
Unlike many competitors, we support Read Only access. If you choose this option, users can view files but cannot modify them
With the right permission levels, users can move, rename and edit shared files and folders
Users can access shared files across all Dump Truck desktop, mobile and web applications
How to Get Started
You don’t have to sign up for the Private Sharing Beta. Here’s how you can get started:
If you’re not an existing user, you can sign up for a FREE 5GB account today.
If you’re an existing Dump Truck user, update the Dump Truck Mac or Windows app
Log into the Beta version of the Web App and start sharing folders with Dump Truck users using their email address
Share your valuable feedback with us by using the Beta Feedback form on the page
Desktop App Update Required
Although you can share folders via Private Sharing only through the web app, you can access shared folders via our desktop apps. Privately shared files will be synced to your desktop using the Dump Truck desktop app. We recently updated the Dump Truck Mac and Windows apps to version 1.2.2 to support the Private Sharing beta. In order to use Private Sharing, you must update the Dump Truck desktop app. Note: You could lose some of your data if you don’t update your apps first. Update from within the app by clicking on “Update Available” in the main menu, or you can download the latest version of the app on our website.
Dump Truck Desktop Version 1.2.2 Changes Include:
Compatibility with Private Sharing folder permissions
Multiple sync defects resolved
Sync speed improvements
Added ability to Pause/Resume sync (Mac only)
Ability to choose location for Dump Truck folder during setup (Mac only)
Improved software update process (Mac only)
A few weeks ago, the Oxford Dictionary named “Selfie” the word of the year. In contrast, earlier this week, Dictionary.com countered with “Privacy” as its word of the year.
The folks at Snapchat must be really pleased, but selfie and privacy are two words that often contradict each other.
Various surveys show that Internet users want increased online privacy. However, their actions often indicate that they care very little about it. You often hear people complain about the NSA surveillance scandal and that they want to take back control over their digital life and data. Those same people then proceed to chronicle every detail of their everyday lives on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and multiple other social sites.
The paradox of current times is that we want both: The opportunity to define our own digital identity by freely sharing private information, and the right to retain our privacy and security where it matters. People gain a new sense of self if they can form and reinforce their own digital identity. At the same time, there’s a heightened awareness of unwarranted surveillance, cyber crime risks and diminishing internet freedoms worldwide.
In a world where everyone from Google and Amazon to your local stores are collecting data on you, every “Selfie” has universal reach. Emails and text messages were once thought of as private communications. However, we have learned governments access and regularly collect this data even without a warrant.
From PRISM and the Edward Snowden scandal, to the popularity of Google Glass, 2013 was the year that the need to be seen and heard was turned on its head. Now more than ever before, people are looking for tools like secure websites, and a personal VPN to encrypt their data and take back control of their internet experience.
Protecting your privacy, on your terms
What’s indisputable is the huge influence technology is having on society. Sharing and communicating via the Internet is a fulfilling part of our modern lives, and very few people are willing to significantly alter their online habits. At the same time, people do value privacy, but they want it on their own terms.
This means it is up to companies like Golden Frog to provide privacy solutions that are not burdensome or inconvenient. Privacy solutions that work on every modern device and in every country. Our hope is that while internet users may not secure all of their online communications, they’ll be prudent enough to use a VPN to protect their identity and personal data when making financial transactions, shopping online with a credit card, or sending sensitive business emails.
Golden Frog’s commitment to making privacy simple and accessible to everyone is why we continually strive to improve our VyprVPN products. Our in-house engineers worked exceptionally hard to create cutting-edge VyprVPN 2.0 Apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS so you are protected on every desktop and mobile device. In addition to offering the fastest, most stable VPN service in the market, these 2.0 apps are incredibly easy to use.
