Banking on Xerobank

I’ve been using the Torrify Browser at my job for a few weeks now, and man did I fall completely in love with it. :love: Ever since I got into it with my boss over his refusal to accommodate my disabilities (among other things), and watching him piss all over my efforts to go back to school, I no longer felt safe using my work PC to surf the net and blog when things at work got slow, at least not with him lurking around. So I started exploring my options. When I somehow stumbled onto Torrify, I found something that not only enabled me to keep my browsing contents off the servers, it also enabled me to install the StumbleUpon and ScribeFire plugins as well (something I couldn’t do on my work PC). I now had a completely portable browser on my USB thumbdrive with all the goodies I needed for secure blogging (and *ahem* a little bit of stumbling too). It even bypassed the server filters so I could once again access Pandora and other streaming radio sites, something I USED to enjoy until the party crashing snotballs in ISD (Information Systems Department) decided to block it all.

Only problem was Torrify’s ability to access the Tor network (for anonymous web surfing). Initially it was slow (which was to be expected), but then it suddenly stopped working altogether. I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t too concerned about it since I rarely used it anyway. My main concern was keeping my content, cookies and whatnot off ISD’s servers, and Torrify was able to accomplish that for me quite nicely.

Now it looks like Torrify has become XeroBank, which will eventually offer anonymous email and a completely portable virtual machine (??????). It also offers hi-speed access for anonymous Internet surfing (the cheapest package being ten dollars a month), and I had to admit its touted features looked impressive. Offering a true broadband solution for secure and anonymous surfing had been an elusive quest for many privacy minded users, so if XeroBank is able to deliver here, this could be the start of something big.

I, of course, already signed up for a 3 day demo. :shades:

Important Update and Review:

After receiving email instructions on how to download Xerobank, I went to the site to choose the 3 day demo, but then it it forwarded me to a signup page for an account even though I had one already. Oh well, a minor hiccup that didn’t affect my account status, since I was able to download the browser from my Profile page without any further issues.

When I went to extract the files into my thumbdrive though, my antivirus software AVG suddenly started to throw a FIT, insisting that one of the XeroBank files was a trojan (Generic4.XXX). The name of the offending file was called KillProc.dll, and after a quick Google search I learned some antivirus products like to make a false hit on this particular file, even though it did have legitimate uses (which is to kill processes, duh). Still, this is probably gonna freak some people out if their AV also starts going bat crazy because of this particular file. AVG was still trying to grab and quarantine the file in my case, so I couldn’t get it to extract properly when I ran Xerobank the first few times, and sure it enough when I closed the browser, the processes were still running in Task Manager. I finally disabled the AVG shield and extracted it successfully, but then had to flush and recopy the files on to the thumbdrive a few times because the Firefox add-ons seemed to lock up on me for some reason.

When I finally got it running smoothly, I noticed the start page gave some some IPSpy statistics on the network I was currently using to surf anonymously. I was being rerouted through a server in Germany, but there was definitely a clear difference in speed compared to the Tor network. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!! At long last, anonymous BROADBAND!!

From what I could tell, I wasn’t actually using the Tor network anymore (even though oddly enough, the add-on to access the network still came pre-installed as it did in Torpark). My guess is that it’s being relegated as a backup option now, while your real connection is granted via an assigned static IP address as regulated by XeroBank. I’m assuming if I signed up for a Plus account that I would probably still be maintaining the same static IP, though this could really just be a unique characteristic of the demo version.

The important thing was that my connection was now effectively proxied, AND it was operating at broadband level speeds. If XeroBank can maintain this level of service, then man it’s definitely worth the 10 dollars a month it costs to use the Plus version at least. I can finally entertain my delusions of grandeur of being the faceless superhero who hacks his way through the Internet in an endless pursuit of truth and justice.

Update 2:

After being contacted by one of the administrators of XeroBank, I learned that if you wish to downgrade to the free “Torpark” version of the browser after installation, simply delete the two files in Data/XeroBank and you’re good to go. It was also confirmed the the static IP I was initially assigned would eventually be followed up with a broader range of IP addresses as they continue to expand their network and work out the remaining kinks.

Tags: anonymous internet, anonymous surfing, anonymous web, antivirus, boss, broadband, browser, disabilities, firefox, goodies, hi speed, job, little bit, mobile, pandora, portable, scribefire, streaming radio, stumbleupon, thumbdrive, tor, tor network, torrify, trojan, usb drive, virtual machine, whatnot, xerobank
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10 Responses to “Banking on Xerobank”

William Bonney wrote a comment on June 4, 2007 @ 01:26:pm
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Thanks so much for your positive coverage of Xerobank. Excellent job!! Xerobank is a new offering in a pre-existing market of Privacy services that have been around for some time. The league includes 1) Cotse 2) Privacy.li 3) FindNot 4) Metropipe. Steve Topletz, innovator of Xerobank has extensive experience with TOR, thus his credentials, I feel are excellent. Xerobank, if I may, seems very closely modeled if not exactly, after Metropipe. MP doesn’t get alot of exposure, just sort of quietly humming under the radar. They offer several tiers of service. “Tunneler Gold” which one must setup to anonymize individual applications, and “Tunneler Professional” which anonymizes your entire Internet connection, all apps under broadband speeds. Their service uptime is nearly 100% and speeds are simply amazing.

Of these offerings, one must be very careful in Googling information as there isn’t much, and what is there is comprised of wholly unsubstantiated rumor, arguements and rage, slander and innuendo. Cotse and Privacy.li appear to take most of the heat. Ultimately, as Privacy Services, you will never know much about the players and who they really are, for obvious reasons. So you don’t really know them.. But you need to count on them.. The Anonymity Purists are very vocal in their total disdain and dislke of Privacy Services. Why? Simply put, depending on your anonymity needs, how do you REALLY KNOW if the service can be trusted? It’s an important point.

The purist community will rely on the anonymous remailer network for email and TOR for all the rest. These are not commercial enterprises, but protocols and technologies controled by no one, and if implemented properly offer essentailly iron-clad anonymity. And they are 100% free. They can be a pain to learn and work with but are totally solid. See, it depends on what one wishes to be anonymous from… That is a critical, central point. People’s anonymity needs have a very, very wide range that can only be open to the imagination. From political dissidence in oppressed countries, to corporate whistle-blowing to severely criminal and subversive activities. The remailer network and TOR are simply anonymous offering no concern for legal penalties or objectionable illegal behavior. Privacy services on the other hand… How far will they go to protect an individual especially under compulsion of a subpoena or some other type of legal pressure or duress to give up your identity?

Any way, that’s the crux of the argument. The purists believe it is suicidal to trust your “privacy testicles” to one, and only one source.. And they tend to disbelieve any notion that a paid for service that by nature, must keep some records, can operate “With No Logs” considering that to be a sham.. Privacy services DO HAVE Abuse policies. How can that be accomplished with “No Logging?” So they caution us to be very wary of them. Personally I believe that reputable, privacy services, because of their fast-broadband speeds will only continue to grow in the future. And I’m looking forward to Xerobank to be one of the better offerings…

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on June 4, 2007 @ 02:42:pm
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Thanks for your thoughts! I never knew there were different schools of thought regarding anonymous surfing, so this was very informative. I like that XeroBank offers a standalone browser you can use on your thumbdrive. A virtual machine similar to what MetroPipe offers would probably be overkill for my needs.

William Bonney wrote a comment on June 4, 2007 @ 03:57:pm
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Great!! Glad you enjoyed it. Were you to delve into some serious research on anonymity, you would find it highly absorbing and vast. The science of anonymity goes on and on without end. IMHO, Xerobank will join Metropipe as the clear leaders in this field. Xerobank may well move ahead of MP in some areas that need resolution.. Like Tech Support. MP sort of isn’t there.. I mean they’re tough to reach. Once you get the hang of MP, you’ll never need support again!! Their Premium service is an encrypted VPN Tunnel. Your ISP can “see” a connection, but that is all. They absolutely cannot see where you are going, where you are surfing. It’s all encrypted. Same with Xerobank. Tremendous freedom in an online world rife with monitoring, spying, tracking, surveillance. And getting worse by the day. If you want to treat yourself, get Xerobank’s Plus Service. Give it a spin.. You’ll love it. If it’s your birthday, try their Pro/Premium service. Be amazed and be forever hooked!!

William Bonney wrote a comment on June 4, 2007 @ 04:03:pm
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One last thing.. You will want to check out, and do some reading on TOR. That is the Gold Standard.
http://tor.eff.org/

TOR is free. Utterly anon, and very tight… But very slow..
If more people used it, it would be faster. Also, the more anon you are, the slower you would tend to be.

Good exposure to that would be Opera TOR. Free also.
Might want to check out the package at:
http://letwist.net/operator

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on June 4, 2007 @ 07:02:pm
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Thanks for the info! :shades:

ecorob wrote a comment on June 12, 2007 @ 11:25:pm
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I have read your comments on pandora. I want to access my pandora which is now blocked – from new Zealand. When trying to access it, it tells me that ……We believe that you are in Germany (your IP address appears to be 195.71.90.10)………… It changes country everytime but never hits the US from which it should be allowed. Anyone have any idea how to set the IP so it reads from the US.

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on June 13, 2007 @ 01:11:am
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@ecorob: I relayed my own concerns to XeroBank support and they will look into it. I don’t think you can choose your own IP range though since it seems to be predetermined in advance when you launch the XeroBank browser, and they are still in their early development stages. As time goes on we may see an expansion of IP addresses that will include the U.S. as well.

In the meantime what I personally do is just launch IE separately and use that ONLY to login into Pandora. It’s not perfect but it does the trick for me, at least for now.

If you have any further issues, XeroBank has a support ticket system now. Just go to their website, log in using the ID you signed up under, and select “Support” so you can send in your own ticket.

George Iso wrote a comment on June 23, 2007 @ 05:40:pm
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I hope Xerobank will offer an extensive list of FAQs and other Technical information that are accessible to more then computer geeks. This is the problem with these services (except for the major ones like anonymizer) – geeks think they’re easy to set up and use but to a non-geek, that isn’t the case.

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on June 23, 2007 @ 05:47:pm
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I agree, as much as I know about computers, I didn’t even know where to begin with XeroBank’s anonymous email features. It’s all Greek to me. They are still in their early stages of development however, and they seem very responsive to user input, so that’s encouraging.