So this is interesting to me because lately, I've been looking for a VPN that would work for my little brother who is trying to make it to the point that he can stream full time on Twitch. The problem is that he has been targeted by script kiddies, who found his IP address through Skype. Shame on you skype.
That said, I've been looking for a good VPN for him. It seems that ProXpn isn't as solid as I thought it was because they found his IP there and were able to (D)DOS not sure how exactly they are doing it at this point, him. They have also been able to get him banned from Twitch via his IP. He needs a VPN with enough bandwith that he can do Twitch and Skype (under a different name), all while playing games. I figured ProXpn would be sufficient, but I've never loaded it like that.
Also, there is no guide out there for streamers, or people who are in the public eye on the internet, on how to avoid getting attacked by script kiddies. Or at least no guide that I've found sufficiently useful, and yes I have googled this. Does anyone here have any references they can point me to that give the "what not to do" for streamers, youtubers, big twitter people, etc?
So far I've told him.
-Use strong passwords: LastPass and yes I know this is a point of contention but it's better then what he is using and it's accessible enough for him that he'll actually use it.
-Don't click links in chat: Because duh (Is there a way to verify the safety of said links first)? I know of none.
-Obfuscate your Skype id: This seems to be a major tool in finding IPs.
-Keep a personal and a public email: Personal goes to banks and stuff, public goes to everyone else.
-Don't friend people on Steam you don't know.
Am I missing any major advice points that seem easy to follow?
>Also, there is no guide out there for streamers, or people who are in the public eye on the internet, on how to avoid getting attacked by script kiddies.
A famous StarCraft streamer made a guide on how to avoid this:
Yeah I've seen this, and gone over it with him. He has some added exposure due to Steam which is another potential risk. I added a bullet point for that.
Thanks for pointing this out but what do you think about the VPS vs VPN. It has an increased exposure to attack because everything else you do on your pc isn't being routed through the VPS.
It also doesn't do anything for best practices for avoiding other forms of hacking. So it's a good guide but definitely incomplete.
I looked pretty hard, I spent the better part of 4 hours just looking around and reading these sort of articles and evaluating whether or not a VPN or a VPS would be better. And in retrospect a VPS might actually be better for his skype connection. So thanks for pointing me to this again so that I could think on that again. I wouldn't have gone back through it otherwise.
The main reason of using a VPN or VPS is that you keep using your normal IP for the stream and the game. Everything else (where the attacker can get your IP) you use the VPN/VPS for. This will not protect your chat or browsing from getting DDOSed but it WILL prevent the attacker from killing your stream and your game. The benefit with using a VPS is the much bigger bandwidth of the host company to soak up the DDOS trafic so you can stay online.
If he has a fixed IP this is too late for him, he needs to get a new IP for this to be useful.
>They have also been able to get him banned from Twitch via his IP.
This sounds like they have access to his computer (with a RAT or something). You shouldn't be getting IP banned unless you actually break Twitch rules from that IP.
>The problem is that he has been targeted by script kiddies, who found his IP address through Skype. Shame on you skype.
So if Skype relays through servers, they get flak for spying, but if they use P2P it's their fault for giving his IP out? The Skype options have a choice for exposing it. "Allow direct connections to contacts only". Make sure it's checked, and don't add bad actors to Skype.
That said, I've been looking for a good VPN for him. It seems that ProXpn isn't as solid as I thought it was because they found his IP there and were able to (D)DOS not sure how exactly they are doing it at this point, him. They have also been able to get him banned from Twitch via his IP. He needs a VPN with enough bandwith that he can do Twitch and Skype (under a different name), all while playing games. I figured ProXpn would be sufficient, but I've never loaded it like that.
Also, there is no guide out there for streamers, or people who are in the public eye on the internet, on how to avoid getting attacked by script kiddies. Or at least no guide that I've found sufficiently useful, and yes I have googled this. Does anyone here have any references they can point me to that give the "what not to do" for streamers, youtubers, big twitter people, etc? So far I've told him.
-Use strong passwords: LastPass and yes I know this is a point of contention but it's better then what he is using and it's accessible enough for him that he'll actually use it.
-Don't click links in chat: Because duh (Is there a way to verify the safety of said links first)? I know of none. -Obfuscate your Skype id: This seems to be a major tool in finding IPs.
-Keep a personal and a public email: Personal goes to banks and stuff, public goes to everyone else.
-Don't friend people on Steam you don't know.
Am I missing any major advice points that seem easy to follow?
Edit: formatting and added steam bullet point.