OSTIF is Beginning a Fundraiser for OpenVPN – Let’s Get it Audited!

Edit: Updates about the progress of this fundraiser are here: https://ostif.org/openvpn-audit-updates-news-and-more/

Today marks the first day of our OpenVPN fundraiser. We are asking for your support to get one of the most widely used networking applications in the world audited.

How you can support this effort:
-Donate to OSTIF! It is easier than ever with apps like SquareCash and Chase Quickpay, Paypal, Bitcoins, and Dash. You can even donate to us while costing you nothing by signing up for Amazon smile, where a small portion of your Amazon spending gets donated to us by Amazon. All of the details are on our donate page.
-Get your commercial VPN provider to support the effort! Send an email to their customer care and see if your VPN has contributed to the effort!
-Do you work at an IT company that uses OpenVPN regularly? Suggest that they contribute!
-Spread the word around the globe! Use social media and be LOUD! We need every privacy and security minded person to support this effort and move us toward a safer internet!
-Remember that donors over $50 qualify for a free t-shirt! (see the design here!)(extra $10 for international shipping)

The details about the value of this effort and the power of OSTIF are below:

Why OpenVPN?

OpenVPN is a cross platform and well supported Virtual Private Network application that is free to use for everyone around the world. It is available for all versions of Windows, OSX, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, most versions of Linux, and BSD. It is used worldwide by businesses to protect information that goes over insecure networks, and increasingly it is used by private users who want to protect their information from cybercrime and surveillance. OpenVPN is powerful, free, and used by millions of people. An audit of OpenVPN will add further integrity to the software, allowing users around the world to trust that the software is strong and resistant to intrusion.

Why now?

OpenVPN version 2.4 has just entered beta, with a full release to soon follow. As the first major revision of the software to be released in years, it has a huge number of bug fixes and feature changes under the hood, giving an audit a great opportunity to review these new areas of code that will likely persist for years with small changes until OpenVPN 2.5 is ready to go. It is the most effective time for an audit to take place.

Why OSTIF?

We are an independent advocate for free and open software that improves the security of users around the world. We are efficient, open, and ready to tackle the problems that face free software. We have just completed our audit of VeraCrypt 1.18 a few months ago, and we are striking while the iron is hot to continue making harder and more powerful security software for all of us.

Early credits for groups that are contributing to the effort:

Leading the effort, the groups that have made significant contributions to the cause:
iPredator has contributed 10 BTC or about $7700
OpenVPN Technologies Inc. has contributed $5000
Perfect Privacy has contributed $3500
nVpn.net has contributed $2650
ExpressVPN has contributed $2500
SmartDNSProxy has contributed $2500
iVPN has contributed $2100
VikingVPN has contributed $2000, making their total contribution to OSTIF $2000.
ZorroVPN has contributed $1600
SecureVPN.to has contributed $1500
VPN.ac has contributed $1500
GetFlix has contributed $1350
CryptoStorm has contributed $1337
TrickByte has contributed $1150
NordVPN has contributed $1000
BlackVPN has contributed $1000

Also contributing to the effort:
FatDisco has contributed $650
BestSmartDNS has contributed $600
StrongVPN has contributed $500
Windscribe has contributed $500
Celo.net has contributed $400
BolehVPN has contributed $300
ThatOnePrivacySite has contributed $200. They have also agreed to add a field to their famous VPN Comparison Chart showing which VPN services contribute back to the privacy community. (under activism – gives back to privacy causes)
VPNcompare.co.uk has contributed $201
BestVPN has contributed $300 and plans to write an article about the fundraiser, helping us reach out the privacy community!
InvizBox has contributed $100
Ender Informatics GmbH has contributed $100

Beginning today, we are going to attempt to contact every commercial VPN provider in the world about supporting the effort.