More New VPN Gateways

Ghost Path is committed to becoming the best VPN provider in the world, and part of that mission is to have servers available all across the globe. We’re continually adding new VPN server gateways. We added several more new countries since our last update, and additional gateways in existing cities.

We have added the following gateways, all in countries where we didn’t have gateways before:

  • Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Dublin, Ireland

We’ve also added additional gateways in Orlando, Los Angeles, and Buffalo NY.

Your Feedback

Are there any cities and countries that you want us to add? Comment below and tell us or send us an email.

Ghost Path Proposes a “National Password Day”

National Password Day

We have days throughout the year commemorating everything from doughnuts to the color purple, but we don’t have a day for one of the most important aspects of modern life. We need a “National Password Day” to remind everyone of the importance of routinely changing your passwords.

The Plan

May 20th is the day that we’ve chosen. Every year on May 20th (starting in 2014, most likely) social media will be blanketed with reminders to change passwords for the services you use most (email, Facebook, etc.). The goal is for major media outlets to start covering the movement and spreading the word to mainstream internet users, who are the users that likely need the most advice for protecting themselves online.

Why You Should Change Your Password Frequently

Usernames, email addresses, and passwords are the keys to your digital life. Someone stealing, guessing, or hacking your password can lead to serious financial consequences and identity theft. Changing your passwords frequently can help keep you vigilant. Also, changing passwords frequently requires you to get creative with your password choices, which is good thing. A weak password is like a door left unlocked… it doesn’t really provide much protection.

How To Choose A Strong Password

What type of password you can choose depends greatly on the service that you’re using. Not every website allows special characters and they all have different length requirements. Keeping that in mind here are a few suggestions:

  • Always mix uppercase and lowercase letters. However, don’t do it obviously. Something like “eaTmoreSteak” is better than “EatMoreSteak”. 
  • Always add numeric characters whenever possible. Again, don’t do it obviously. Think “eaTmore4Steak” instead of “eaTmoreSteak4”.
  • Special characters are your friend. If they are allowed then use them to replace common characters. My favorites are @, !, and _. “e@Tmore4Steak!” is a winner of a password.
  • An outside the box suggestion is to use three or more dictionary words. If spaces are allowed then you can build secure, easy to remember passwords. “eat more steak” is nearly as secure as “e@Tmore4Steak!”, but has the added benefit of being quite easy to remember.

Of course, you should never use your birthday, address, name, pet’s name, mother’s maiden name, anniversary date, etc. as your password. These are far too easy and offer no protection at all.

Help Us Promote National Password Day

We need your help to make National Password Day a reality. Leave a comment below if you believe that having a National Password Day is a good idea. We need to be able to show the level of interest on our application.

We’ve also created a shareable image that you’re free to use.

National Password Day icon

How To Avoid Location-Based Restrictions With Ghost Path

Large content providers such as Netflix, Hulu, and the BBC lock their content so that only viewers in their chosen territory can gain access. For example, Netflix streaming is only available to viewers in the United States. That means that a Netflix subscriber on vacation in Europe won’t be able to watch their favorites shows. Read on to learn how to get around geographic restrictions.

About Location Restrictions

Geolocation is the process of determining where an internet user is geographically located. Each device that you use to connect to the internet, even your smartphone, is assigned an internet protocol (IP) address. An IP address is usually tied to a certain ISP, and therefore a certain location. There are large global databases of IP addresses and the location that they are connected to. This makes it fairly easy for a provider such as Netflix to be able to determine where you’re located.

Using a VPN

When you use a VPN such as Ghost Path you are connected to the internet through our servers, and only relayed through your ISP. Ghost Path offers servers in dozens of countries, so you have many options for connecting. If you connect to a server in London then your traffic will appear to be originating from London. The same goes for any other server.

So, for Netflix, you can connect to any of the Ghost Path servers in the United States to gain access (you’ll still need your Netflix account).

Geolocation Defeated

This same process should work to defeat any geolocation attempts provided. Some devices, such as your iPhone, might have alternative location services, such as GPS, that also broadcast your location. You’ll want to turn those off as well.

How To Get Started

You can start getting around location restrictions today by creating your Ghost Path account. Then follow the instructions and enjoy!

Photo Credit: via Compfight cc

Announcing Our Newest VPN Gateways

We have been busily working to grow our VPN network across the globe by continually adding new VPN gateways in new countries. So far in 2013 we have added gateways in several cities in the US and UK, as well as new gateways in Bucharest, Romania and Riga, Latvia.

Why Keep Adding Gateways

Each new gateway that we add is a new possibility. The most obvious reason for adding new gateways is to bring them geographically closer to users. The closer you are to a gateway that faster your connection should be.

Another reason is that each gateway gives you another option for where you want your traffic to originate from. If you need your traffic to appear to be from San Jose vs Los Angeles or San Diego then you’ll need the server that we have in San Jose. More gateways makes it easier to get around geographically blocked content.

How To Choose A VPN Server

Choosing a VPN server

If you follow our blog then you already know all the reasons why you need a VPN. Whether you’re a business owner who has employees working on location, if you’re a student using free Wi-Fi, or if you’re simply shopping online for your husband’s birthday gift, a VPN will protect you from scammers, viruses and potential identity theft. Read more

Tunnelblick Configurations For Ghost Path VPN

Tunnelblick is one of the most popular VPN clients available for Mac. It’s free and powerful, but the setup is a little trickier than most clients. Tunnelblick makes it easy to control your OpenVPN connection to Ghost Path and it easily manages multiple server connections. We also have a dedicated page explaining how to Setup Tunnelblick with Ghost Path.

Read more

Inside the Mind of a Hacker

Many people think hackers are merely people who find a way to break into some company’s servers and steal their data. There are also hackers who simply want to get into your bank account and drain all the money you have. Or perhaps they find out your credit card information and go on a shopping spree. Often, though, hackers are after way more than just your money. Read more

Why You Need To Be Using VPN

We recently found an article by Erica Sadun of TUAW. We couldn’t help but love the way she so smoothly describes VPN and how it can benefit your web surfing and sharing experience. It’s always interesting to see how other industry professionals see VPN and it’s benefits. Read more

12 Simple Tips for Online Safety

Internet Safety Tips

Here are 12 simple, quick tips for protecting yourself online. Many of these tips are very obvious, however, they are often the ones we forget about the most. Never underestimate the intelligence and perseverance of websites and hackers looking to steal your important information and documents. Often the smallest errors or negligence mistakes are the ones that harm your safety the most.

Follow these tips to ensure your identity stays yours and your private documents do not end up in the wrong hands.

Tips for searching and surfing safety:

  • Do business with only known and recommended companies. Do not trust unknown websites and pages.
  • Do not type in passwords or log in information on unknown websites.
  • Do not complete forms from unknown websites.
  • Completely close out windows with any bank information or important documents.
  • Do not leave up open pages in public.
  • Do not leave your computer unattended, even with a familiar face.
  • Do not change any passwords if a website encourages.

 Tips for email safety:

  • Do not open mail from unknown senders.
  • Do not respond to unknown pop-ups from any emails.
  • If you do not have a VPN, do not email sensitive and private information via email.
  • Delete any unknown mail from unknown senders.
  • Empty your spam folder frequently.

Your Turn

What simple tips and advice do you have? How do you stay safe online? Comments and conversation welcome!

5 Tips for Safe Online Shopping this Holiday Season

We aim to bring you the newest and most up-to-date information regarding online safety and protecting your personal information, so we wanted to share with you some tips Fox Business sent out last week regarding safe online shopping holiday season. Read more