Previously the domain of the particularly Internet savvy, in recent years the issue of online privacy has become a regular talking point in many mainstream tech publications.
The use of VPNs and services such as TOR have proven particularly popular with those looking to keep a low profile online with the added benefit of enabling users to bypass government imposed websites censorship around the world.
Of course, this year came a watershed moment for privacy when ex-CIA contractor Edward Snowden spilled the beans on the activities of the NSA, revelations which have sent shockwaves around the world. While previously corporations and geeks might have sought to heavily encrypt their communications, now everyone is getting in on the act. Needless to say, security-focused products are enjoying the boom.
For regular file-sharers, security requirements are somewhat different to those looking to whistle-blow or widely share government secrets. Nevertheless, one of the biggest VPN providers in the space will today up the ante with the release of a brand new VPN client. It offers more features than ever before to encrypt users’ communications to a level that will perfectly suit them but disappoint would-be attackers.
TorrentFreak was given access to the new software earlier this week for testing. It’s an upgrade to the current Private Internet Access OpenVPN client and installed without a hitch. It looks very much like the old software until a press of the ‘Advanced’ button reveals a new option titled ‘Encryption’.
“Our application allows our clients to change their encryption and security settings with just a few clicks to any combination they choose,” PIA CEO Andrew Lee told TorrentFreak. “We allow our customers to configure their handshake encryption, data authentication encryption and even the data itself with levels up to AES-256 and RSA 4096!”
With so many options now available, we took a brief look at each and detailed a summary below. We have avoided rocket-science type explanations – those will appear in a follow up article.