Nord VPN App Taking Over LANs and Mesh Networks

If you participate in a private secure local area network or mesh network, Nord VPN wants you to use their app instead.

People trust Nord VPN to keep their internet activities secure and anonymous, so why not let them direct and control your LAN or decentralized mesh network? Well, because it will no longer be local or decentralized will it? If one device in your already established LAN or mesh-net is using the Nord VPN Meshnet app, the entire network has been compromised. It will be infiltrated and under central control. Diabolical and insidious, it's evil genius. In fact, if you do a search with the keyword "mesh net" to understand mesh networking, Nord VPN comes up first and dominates the first page.

What is Meshnet?
Meshnet is a way to safely access other devices, no matter where in the world they are. Once set up, Meshnet functions just like a secure local area network (LAN) — it connects devices directly. This makes Meshnet a great fit for activities that require high speed, low latency, and advanced security — activities like file sharing, active work collaborations, and intense multiplayer gaming.

. . . Meshnet: simply convenient Here are just some great things that Meshnet offers for your online life. Link up to 60 devices Create secure private networks from up to 10 devices you own and up to 50 external devices. No configuration needed Simply switch Meshnet on and invite your friends to your network using their unique Meshnet name. Traffic routing Let your friends access the internet using your device’s IP address — just like if you were a VPN server.

nordvpn.com...

Notice how they use the words "simple", "safe", "convenient", "secure" and "private" when a real mesh network is that already if it is set up properly. In fact, a mesh net, or even a private LAN, does everything the Nord VPN app does, but they sell it like it was all their idea.

Don't let a big corporation convince you that they can set up your LAN or mesh network more securely or with more features than you could. In my opinion, they are lying and want control of all networks public and private.

You can certainly use it as a layer to a multi-layer security approach. I use a combination of cloudflare's free WARP vpn and my own VPN server running on the amazon's EC2

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

What i know about all this you could write on the back of a postage stamp , but letting your friends access the internet with your IP address does not sound very good , especially if they are into porn and stuff , That sounds like a recipe for disaster .

What if I decided to download some terrorist training manuals or stuff like that , as the old saying goes if you are among the crows you will get shot .

Use the wrong pronouns now and the cops show up at your door

a reply to: quietspectator

I think that Nord VPN is going well beyond security with this app. If my suspicions are correct, then they have other agendas besides the privacy and security front they are using to draw in the paranoids and privacy seekers. This will easily infiltrate secure private networks that big brother has had to work hard to get at.

originally posted by: stonerwilliam
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

What i know about all this you could write on the back of a postage stamp , but letting your friends access the internet with your IP address does not sound very good , especially if they are into porn and stuff , That sounds like a recipe for disaster .

What if I decided to download some terrorist training manuals or stuff like that , as the old saying goes if you are among the crows you will get shot .

Use the wrong pronouns now and the cops show up at your door

What you mention is just the tip of the iceberg IMO.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

So I don't see how that's taking over your network. If I'm reading this correctly. You would have to join the devices to the meshnet aka vpn. And those devices can be anywhere. ie: at home, at work, friends house, Timbuktu, etc. The VPN is another layer on top of your existing network in order to connect you with devices on other networks.

a reply to: grey580

Exactly, corporate central control versus private decentralized control and their encryption and VPN vs yours. I say if you go with their app, you just gave them full access to your network from anywhere on the planet. IMO the government is trying to tie up the loose ends of private networks via an NGO proxy.

I put together my home LAN to help me integrate all my home devices esp. to include my security cameras. I started with ethernet cables and went to WiFi using routers disconnected from any modem or internet access. I have WiFi that could be shared on my network, but I could use that with every device individually without giving permission through my private local area network, so no need. I could also integrate my network with the web and have access on my phone or other devices and do this securely without Nord VPN's app. Why would I use Nord VPN's app? What do I need them for? I have full privacy now and can do everything they say their app does.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

That's not exactly how that type of VPN works. The VPN software on the endpoint routes the traffic from your device through their encrypted network. Plus all the other devices you joined to that VPN if any. If it's not on the VPN they don't see the traffic. And really they shouldn't be able to see the traffic on the VPN either. It's encrypted.

a reply to: grey580

You likely know what you're talking about, I don't use VPNs, but I can do everything the Nord app does without using it. Once again, why should I use their app? What reason would they have to do this for me?

I could remotely access my desktop, access the LAN then make a hot spot on the remote end and share the connection with other devices within WiFi or blue tooth distance. All that is encrypted or through a VPN if I so desire, no need for Nord to do that for me. Allowing them to access my network is opening the door to them, I can't be sure what is happening to my data once they are playing with it.

Unless they can't do what I am thinking they can, then it is a real risk. Otherwise, it is just a paranoid lack of trust on my part and I can accept that if you could prove otherwise. Don't get me wrong, for ease and convenience it sounds great, but I may not want to create a covert network that way.

I forgot to say that Nord VPN offers the app for free, but their Meshnet network only works with other people in your network that have the app. I wonder why?

Is Meshnet free?
Yes, Meshnet comes free — simply download and start using it! Meshnet was created by NordVPN, so all NordVPN users can find Meshnet in their NordVPN apps for every major platform.

Can I share files with someone who doesn’t have Meshnet?
No, but anyone can download and use Meshnet for free. Sharing files costs nothing with Meshnet.

I believe I will make my next networking project setting up my home LAN to operate the same as the Nord app does. A proof of concept project to test my contentions as well as the limits of my LAN.

Here is some basic information from Wiki on NordVPN

NordVPN operates under the jurisdiction of Panama, as the country has no mandatory data retention laws and does not participate in the Five Eyes or Fourteen Eyes intelligence sharing alliances. Its offices are located in Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Panama and the Netherlands.[11]

Hummm, maybe they are one of the good guys, but if it sounds too good to be true, then . . .

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

That’s what all VPN’s do.

Virtual Private Network. It acts like a proxy, you connect to that network directly so nothing in the middle sees the tragic. Your traffic then comes from a different end point, that’s how they all work.

That doesn’t give them access to your network. You’re just skipping some of the points in between and the source looks different at the end.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Humm, so you believe that there is no monkey business between your connection to Nord when it goes through their system in order to show a fake user IP address to the end-point address? That there is no misuse of the LAN created by their app that goes through another layer of processing before encryption and the IP switcheroo?

My most basic question is, if my data stream is flowing through their system, how do I know what stops it makes along the way? Nord sounds like a good company that is outside of government influence, I'd like to believe they are for real in their concern for their customers, but this is an entirely free app, so what are they getting if you are using it? Why add traffic to their network for free and get zero for handling it? Is there an intentional or accidental "back door" process that can be exploited?

Privacy perils of using a mesh network

The obvious solution is to create an independent, non-hierarchical, self-configuring local network that connects people within a group. This forms what is generally known as a mesh network. It’s an idea that has been around for several decades, but the near ubiquity of powerful smartphones has turned it into a practical approach that can be used by ordinary people without technical expertise. All that is needed is suitable software providing the mesh networking capabilities. One app that has become popular with people taking part in demonstrations is Bridgefy, which is based on Bluetooth communications. It was used by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong last year, and Bridgefy’s Twitter account has mentioned its deployment in the US, India, Zimbabwe and Belarus. Despite that widespread use around the world, often in contexts where the authorities will be interested in monitoring who is using the app, or in blocking it, a group of researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, found a range of serious vulnerabilities in Bridgefy that underline the dangers of naively assuming that a mesh network app is safe to use for purposes requiring complete confidentiality.

With all the censoring, canceling, and filtering going on with the internet and its resources, not to mention the monitoring, why even use a web connection in your private LAN or mesh network? The only way to get a wide-open uncensored unfiltered internet is to have one that runs parallel to the worldwide internet, one that has no central control only an organically evolving distributed network.

As wild and chaotic as that sounds, it may be the only option left. There will be open-source programs and apps to keep things safe and secure. Things will improve over time. Concerning the government, maybe AI can be used to stay ahead of the "command and control" brigade without establishing a centralized network. They speak of the "Internet of things", and I'd like to have some control over that foreseeable future.