CyberGhost VPN 2011 allows you to move around the Internet unrecognized, as if in disguise, regardless of the type of application you are using and where you log in. This program allows you anonymously to chat, surf the Net, exchange files, receive emails, visit forums and exchange data with other Internet users, all without disclosing your own identity, which would leave yourself exposed to the ever-rising demands of business and politics. In a nutshell, CyberGhost VPN 2011 lets you leave your best impression on the Internet, which is precisely none.
What does anonymous surfing mean?
It primarily means hiding your IP address, i.e. any ID that is assigned to you when you log in to the Internet and can, in the case of doubt, clearly identify you. This, combined with any personal data supplied casually, such as an email address, or even a name and address, makes it easy to identify you and be linked to your computer activities, even if no one is interested in your log entries held by your Internet provider.
Why do I need CyberGhost VPN?
Whether you are aware of this or not, every time you visit the Internet you leave personal data behind you, often an unexpectedly large amount of it. Using the right" software, the State, businesses and individuals can create numerous personal profiles and are able to connect to you with these profiles.
This applies to activities carried out on home computers, as much as to logging in via WLANs or hotspots. In addition, anyone could use your access without being noticed by you, delete data on your computer, or what is often even worse still, tamper with data.
What kind of information do I leave behind when surfing?
First of all, there is all the data that you freely volunteer about yourself, e.g. your email address, name, date of birth etc. Then there is the data that is considered as being unimportant, such as the products that you have viewed on a visit to an online store, your preferences for certain countries, genders and forums, the opinions that you have given etc. All in all, a considerable amount of information is collated in just a single session.
On top of this, you leave your IP address every time you visit a website, which is the Internet address that you actually use to access the Internet with your computer. There are also the server logs that keep an exact record of what content was transferred to your address, which link you clicked, how long you spent and where, and often where you came from as well.
How does CyberGhost VPN prevent identification?
The use of public proxy servers was very popular for a long time. This type of server acts as an intermediary between you and the destination address and is the only one of both devices that knows your identity. Given that lots of users access proxy servers, the addresses seem to get mixed up, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible to observe what is going on. Incidentally, an ever-increasing number of users have been trying to surf anonymously for a considerable time, while the number of public servers has decreased so that this kind of anonymous surfing is, in particular, very slow.
CyberGhost VPN therefore provides its own servers that can route data traffic to the relevant destinations at a high performance level, while the connection from you to our server is established via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This VPN provides a sort of tunnel between you and us and is protected against eavesdropping by 128-bit SSL encryption. This means that your destinations do not know your IP address (because it is concealed) and your provider that has assigned you the address does not know your destinations because the connection to our server is established in encrypted form via a VPN.
Does CyberGhost VPN 2011 block all personal data?
Basically yes, but there is a restriction: With your IP address being concealed, it is not possible to link in a logical manner a particular person to the data collected during a surfing session. However, your personal details are only blocked effectively if you don't disclose them yourself while surfing under protection (e.g. your email address). CyberGhost VPN is not a filter that blocks certain strings.
You are also recommended to continue with your usual security precautions, such as blocking cookies.
Does CyberGhost VPN 2011 replace a virus scanner?
No. CyberGhost's task is to ensure that your identity is not disclosed and that your surfing habits remain part of your private life, by concealing your IP address. If you surf on virus-infected websites, your computer will still be infiltrated by malware. Even Trojan horses can still carry on their business from your computer.
How does CyberGhost VPN 2011 work?
CyberGhost VPN 2011 creates for you a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that operates with strong encryption and leads you securely from your computer to the CyberGhost network. You will receive a new IP address there which, unlike the one you are assigned by your provider, is not assigned to your Internet connection and therefore prevents you from being identified as the subscriber.
The tunnel leading to the CyberGhost server is encrypted directly on your PC so that your network traffic provider can neither filter nor eavesdrop via its lines, no matter what Internet program you are currently using. Sending emails outside web mail providers is the only activity that cannot be carried out anonymously in order to prevent the CyberGhost network being abused by spam.
It is also irrelevant where you log in to the CyberGhost network from. Encryption, creating the tunnel and anonymization are carried out via DSL connections just as reliably as via WLAN, UMTS, ISDN or modem.
What is an IP address?
Anyone surfing the Net has, the very moment they dial up to connect to the Internet, a unique IP address assigned to them that identifies them for the whole time they are online. This address only returns to the address pool it came from after you have logged out. This pool is used again the next time any surfer logs in.
The fact that you are then assigned a new address every time you log in (at least once a day as many providers deliberately terminate the connection after 24 hours) does not give you any reason to assume that you surf the Net unrecognized and anonymously, with the notion: Whats the big deal? My address expires once I hang up.
This is a fallacy. An Internet users identity remains assigned to the IP address allocated not just during the relevant Internet session, but also for a certain period of time afterwards. The idea has also been discussed of making your Internet Service Provider keep not only the data required for billing, but also personal data for several months in the event of any requests from the authorities for it. This data includes the name of the customer logged in, along with the valid IP address at the time of registration, as well as the destinations selected on the Internet.
Having said this, there are enough people around who are interested only in the current IP address during a session (and not necessarily in you personally or in where you are surfing) so that they can, for instance, put some popups on your computer or even make your PC crash. The protection of your privacy during your forays on the Internet is virtually zero and is based, in practical terms, only on the belief that no one is (supposedly) interested in you.
What is a VPN?
VPN is the abbreviation for Virtual Private Network. This is a tunnel established between you and one of our servers that is protected against eavesdropping, via which all your future Internet activities will be run, making it almost like an extension of your home network. You can use all your usual Internet programs, such as browsers, Messenger etc. without any restriction, with all the data traffic being protected by an encryption method that protects against eavesdropping. At the end of the tunnel you access our server which routes your requests to the Internet and acts as a front for you every time you connect. Your IP address remains hidden and the only IP address visible on the sites that you have surfed on is ours. The big exception is email traffic, which is not tunneled in order to avoid any abuse by spam distributors.
How are the keys for the secure VPN connection created?
CyberGhost VPN operates using a protected surfing encryption based on the SSL standard (RSA procedure) which, unlike the procedures used by rival products, creates both the public and private keys directly and individually on the users system. This prevents Man in the middle attacks that are possible if key pairs are created on the server and possibly also still depend on the serial number acquired.
What kind of data is stored by CyberGhost?
We store for billing purposes a user ID (a username selected by the actual user), the data volume generated at 5-minute intervals and a timestamp. (Refer to §13 of the General Terms and Conditions.) We save this data for up to two months after the billing period.
However, our customers also have the option to have this traffic data deleted at the end of the billing period. (This is an account management setting under Traffic settings.) This also means that you waive the opportunity to raise objections against the traffic calculation.
We explicitly want to say that we will NOT store:
the content of any communication or data about accessed websites and any IP addresses.
Key facts and figures
- CyberGhost VPN 2011 guides you securely around the Internet via a Virtual Private Network in an encrypted, anonymous manner. The SSL-based encryption operates with 128 bits and is generated directly on the user's computer to prevent the keys from being intercepted.
- CyberGhost VPN 2011 supports the use of almost every program that can access the Internet in any way, enabling you to surf anonymously, communicate and exchange files. (In order to avoid abuse from spam distributors, however, the sending of email cannot be disguised. This does not apply to web mail, i.e. mail applications that can be used via a web browser.)
- CyberGhost VPN 2011 allows you to operate securely in public WLANs and hotspots and prevents your data traffic from being viewed. (This does not apply to email clients that must operate outside the closed tunnel when emails are sent.)
- CyberGhost VPN 2011 has a powerful server network for Basic and Premium customers with minimal and, in the case of Premium subscribers, almost negligible time loss.
- Servers are classified according to speed and anonymity level and can be selected on a country basis in the login window (Premium customers only).
- CyberGhost VPN 2011 offers Premium subscribers password-protected online storage with robust 256-bit AES encryption. The storage facility allows shares to be set up and external shares to be integrated.
- Guaranteed bandwidth of 2000 kbit/s for Premium customers (higher values are possible, depending on the server load, and are often achieved).
- CyberGhost VPN 2011 supports all known Internet connection types for PC/laptop (WLAN, Internet cafés, UMTS, DSL, ISDN, modem).
- Subscribers' costs are easy to control with an ongoing, clear indication of consumption.