from the missed-chance-to-sell-to-the-Boring-Company dept.
McAfee announced that it has acquired Canada-based virtual private network (VPN) company TunnelBear. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2011, Toronto-based TunnelBear has gained a solid reputation for its fun, cross-platform VPN app that uses quirky bear-burrowing animations to bring online privacy to the masses.
The company claims around 20 million people have used its service across mobile and desktop, while a few months back it branched out into password management with the launch of the standalone RememBear app.
[...] McAfee has said that it bought TunnelBear for its consumer-focused business, but TunnelBear has also branched out into the business realm, recently introducing a new VPN product for teams, so there is scope for McAfee to build on this foundation.
That TunnelBear has sold to a major brand such as McAfee won't be greeted warmly by many of the product's existing users. However, with significantly more resources now at its disposal, TunnelBear should be in a good position to absorb any losses that result from the transfer of ownership.
Source: https://venturebeat.com/2018/03/08/mcafee-acquires-vpn-company-tunnelbear/
(Score: 2, Touché) by cocaine overdose on Friday March 09 2018, @10:33PM
Truly, an unfortunate day for all privacy advocates and non-controlled-opposition leakers. The Nudes Snooping Automatons have won. Who's taking bets that the spooks have gained some wisdom and invested in sales classes and now don't need warrants to snoop on anyone, when they give you their info themselves.
5 Salt that TunnelBear is a CIA front. I don't think the NSA has the human capability to understand emotions.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday March 09 2018, @10:46PM
Not content to scan everything as you write it to disk, then scan it again every time you read it from disk, now they want to scan everything coming across the wire from a server where every file you fetch is scanned as read in, after being scanned as it was written out.
Did I miss anything?
Profit perhaps?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday March 10 2018, @01:32AM (2 children)
Can I expect my VPN to start hitting on my GF and freebasing high grade coke soon ?
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Saturday March 10 2018, @02:08AM (1 child)
Unlike corporations, VPNs are not persons, they're objects much like condoms.
If your favorite condom manufacturer was bought out by an anti-abortion, abstinence-is-the-only-acceptable-form-of-family-planning religious fundamentalist organization, or the NSA, or a Big Pharma manufacturer of medications for STDs, viruses, and abortions, would you still feel good about using the products? McAfee is definitely a computing world analog of a Big Pharma member. The product quality might suffer, might be a few more holes....
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Saturday March 10 2018, @07:13AM
In other words...Yes ?
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday March 10 2018, @02:23AM
Hoping that privateinternetaccess never sells out, never changes.
Likes me my pia!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 10 2018, @06:40AM (1 child)
-- Why did you suspect this company again John?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday March 10 2018, @03:38PM
You beat me to it. I'm visualizing a PedoBear that drags it's victims into dark tunnels, instead of Chevy vans.
(Score: 1) by cpghost on Saturday March 10 2018, @08:14PM
TunnelBear is based in Canada, i.e. in one of the Five Eyes countries. Using them borders on the insane. Even VPNs in Fourteen Eyes countries should be avoided. Therefore, if McAfee acquires them, so what? I'd start worrying when McAfee et al set their sights on Panama, Switzerland etc. based VPNs.
Cordula's Web. http://www.cordula.ws/