[manishsharan]

and then suppose you login to that VPN and are looking up children's sweaters for your kids and keep the session on .. while law enforcement is looking up the ip address associated with the earlier activity which is now assigned to you . Good luck explaining to the the cops about VPNs and IP addresses.

This is my fear.

[dspillett]

You are not going to be the only person appearing to come from that IP address – many will likely be NATed through it.

The more significant concern is if you are the other side: if you deliberately run some sort of VPN or other proxy that others can use, or less deliberately do so. Many hacked or otherwise suspicious browser add-ons, and other malware, will make HTTP(S) requests & other connections on behalf of their C&C hosts and to your ISP or anyone else those requests will be largely indistinguishable from those that are the result of your activity.

[x86x87]

Who enjoys privacy when we can all live in fear?

You need a VPN that actually cares about your privacy and goea the extra mile to ensure it. On top of that if the VPN service does not know who you are how can they actually tell the cops. On top of that you don't need to explain it to the cops - if you are ever accused this should be done in a court of law where we understand what ips are (heck, even some cops understand it - it's not exactly rocket science nowadays)

[flkenosad]

You don't have to explain anything to cops. You explain it to lawyers and judges.

[dylan604]

You actually shouldn't even say anything to the cops. If they show up with a warrant for arrest as well as search, you're going to jail no matter what you say. If they show up with just a search warrant, they are going to take whatever they want to take whether its outside the purview of the warrant or not. It will be up to a lawyer to convince a judge it was out of scope at a later date after it has already been taken. You will never convince a team of cops that their warrant is wrong when they show up. The only chance you have is if you're uber criminal and have your attorney present when they arrive.

[mrweasel]

> You actually shouldn't even say anything to the cops.

Unless you're in the UK, in which case: "You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

[dylan604]

As a Yank, that line always felt odd when watching BritCop dramas. How is the alleged meant to know the specifics of a defence when the full charges haven't even been levied, or how is the alleged meant to read the mind of a lawyer? It just feels like something rigging the system

[dspillett]

And the court of public opinion. By the time lawyers and judges are involved, unless you are very lucky, your name and photo is all over the tabloids. Any retractions published when you are later found completely innocent will be the equivalent of a column inch or two on page 17.

[WendyTheWillow]

Simply not an issue for nearly everyone.

[ThePowerOfFuet]

Until it happens to you.

[WendyTheWillow]

No, even if it happened to me it would not be relevant for the vast majority.

[dspillett]

The point is that it could happen to anyone, if their choice of connectivity arrangements make it possible, so it is a relevant concern for everyone when planning such connectivity arrangements (whether or not they care about the implications of it potentially happening to you, me, or anyone else).

[hiatus]

Maybe if you live in Florida.