I have been out of the piracy game since a little before mullvad lost port-forwarding; I know these things are ever changing, and to my understanding ivpn is a good bet at this moment in time.
I was wondering what everyone else has been using. As well as if anyone has tried the gui client for ivpn either built from source or the AUR build(I do use arch btw).
I am open to any vpn client that has a good reputation in the community, and build-able from a repository; A gui is preferred but not necessary, and absolutely NO account creation (Except for generic account numbers of course).
Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to answer.
Mysterium looks pretty interesting, being completely decentralized. All the mainstream VPNs are pretty shady to me, being run in a centralized manner and some heavily marketed by “influencers”.
I tried learning about mysterium and it appears to be just a bunch of wire guard vpns in a network you can pay with Myst tokens. So no onion routing at all.
Windscribe works for me. You can either use their software which is open source or create personal VPN configs on their site to use it with your distros network manager.
Same here. They have an open source graphical client you can use or they can generate an OpenVPN profile for you. Easy to use, high speeds, good price and they support port forwarding.
Mullvad doesn’t support port forwarding anymore. I use airvpn and you can just use the native WireGuard (or OpenVPN if you’r crazy) apps on different platforms if you want.
Tbf, you don’t really need any app. With Mullvad I just download configuration files and import them in KDE. It really is dead simple. Now enabling VPN at will is just two clicks with the possibility do make it automatic with three to four clicks.
you should use openvpn in difficult network configurations such as college dorm blocking everything except tcp 443 and tcp 80 or with old clients that don’t support wireguard
I have heard that it is impossible to have no logs with wireguard because the configuration requires an static IP log and public key or something similar which normal openVPN doesn’t, so it breaks the “no log” policy.
I am not suse how correct that is, but that was a discussion earlier.
#Is it true that a user’s public IP must be logged in order for WireGuard to work?
No. When using WireGuard, your public WireGuard IP address is temporarily left in memory (RAM) during connection. By default, WireGuard deletes this information if this server has been rebooted or if the WireGuard interface has restarted.
For us this wasn’t enough, so we added our own solution in that if no handshake has occurred within 600 seconds, the peer is removed and reapplied. Doing so removes the public IP address and any info about when it last performed a handshake.
If you want to hide your public IP even more, use multihopping.
#Is logging of any user activity required in order for WireGuard to work?
No. There is never a need to log user activity no matter if you’re using OpenVPN or WireGuard.
#What are your thoughts on the internal WireGuard IP address being static?
We acknowledge that keeping a static IP for each device, even internally, is not ideal.
Why? Because if a user experiences WebRTC leaks, that static internal IP address could leak externally. As another example, applications running on your device can find out your internal IP, and if you’ve installed software that is malicious, it can also leak that information.
And theoretically, a static internal IP that is leaked, together with obtaining a payment record, could help to identify a user. (Dive into the payment info we handle for a fascinating read.)
Having said that, we still believe that WireGuard overall is in a better state than OpenVPN.
##Solutions to the problem
You as a user can mitigate this issue in two ways:
When connected to Mullvad, perform a Connection check. If you’re not safe from WebRTC leaks, take necessary action.
Never download and install applications that you don’t trust.
The Mullvad VPN app automatically replaces the WireGuard keys once a week.
We also want to see the WireGuard protocol itself improved, which is why we’re taking part in the development of WG-dynamic. This implementation will give the ability to dynamically assign a new internal IP every time a connection is made.
Tbf, you don’t really need any app. With Mullvad I just download configuration files and import them in KDE. It really is dead simple. Now enabling VPN at will is just two clicks with the possibility do make it automatic with three to four clicks.
Some of the things I have written down, are mostly old so if anything is missing or needs correction, please let me know:
They have shady origins, no one knows who they are or where they came from, but they did it with enough funds to quickly expand a large worldwide network of servers and an endless aggressive advertising campaign everywhere.
Misleading advertising, from saying they are the best in the world to adding countdowns to get an offer that restarts when clearing cookies.
They were hacked and tried to hide it for a very, very long time.
Their app on mac pings google every 20 seconds. The android app is riddled with trackers. They use a myriad of integrated google services.
They do not offer open source or audited apps.
If you cancel the auto-renewal of the service, you lose many secondary services and they charge you weeks before the end of the subscription.
In short, they are the kind of company that screams that they don’t deserve anyone’s trust, and that’s a big problem for a VPN. I suggest mullvad, they have a long history of good practices, are privacy activists and are backed by companies like mozilla.
Also besides them being extremely shady; I refuse to use any VPN that makes me create an account past a generic account number. If you don’t log my data, why do you need me to sign up?
IVPN is good. A little on the expensive side but based in Gibraltar, good GUI for x86 machines, CLI client for other machines, and ofc openvpn config files. Wireguard too, “hardcore” tracker blocker, always-on firewall available… A lot of bells and whistles. AND really good customer service.
Another mullvad recommendation usually don’t trust any provider if they can afford and want to do advertisement all over the place. Mullvad let’s you pay in coins if you want to be super ghost
Oh yeah. I’ve used them for a couple years, I’ve just been out of the circle for 4-5 months. I also know things can change in the snap of a finger, so I figured I’d ask around. Good to see mullvad is still so highly recommended.
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Mysterium looks pretty interesting, being completely decentralized. All the mainstream VPNs are pretty shady to me, being run in a centralized manner and some heavily marketed by “influencers”.
Isn’t that just tor but less secure?
It’s more like anonymously connecting to someone else’s wi-fi.
https://safing.io/ is ToR but less secure.
I tried learning about mysterium and it appears to be just a bunch of wire guard vpns in a network you can pay with Myst tokens. So no onion routing at all.
Windscribe works for me. You can either use their software which is open source or create personal VPN configs on their site to use it with your distros network manager.
They’re the best!
Nobody mentioned Mozilla VPN (not recommending it, just wondering why).
It’s mullvad, which I love. The app works great in Linux on arch or you can use wireguard.
Torguard has worked well for me
ivpn cuz you can pay with Monero
Airvpn. I’ve been using it for years with no problem.
Same here but do find they are blocked a bit more than other vpn providers. But will keep using them due to good speeds and easy config.
Same here. They have an open source graphical client you can use or they can generate an OpenVPN profile for you. Easy to use, high speeds, good price and they support port forwarding.
I enjoy ProtonVPN and other services that come with the premium subscription. Proton Pass with email aliases is a very good addition.
Seconding this, Proton has been super easy to work with, and the ProtonPass alias feature just works beautifully
I’m currently using AirVPN and even tough the website looks like a really old forum it’s a fast and cheap VPN with port forwarding.
Tor Browser. Be safe.
No, you should absolutely not abuse Tor for filesharing, especially not for torrents or other large P2P downloads.
Mullvad. The others have horrible apps on Linux.
Mullvad doesn’t support port forwarding anymore. I use airvpn and you can just use the native WireGuard (or OpenVPN if you’r crazy) apps on different platforms if you want.
I use Wireguard on Mullvad. I don’t know what you’re talking about 🤷♂️
he is saying mullvad doesn’t support port forwarding anymore, which is true. As a long time mullvad customer, I’m now looking for alternatives
Is that a deal breaker? Why not just tunnel through if you need
Wait why “if you’re crazy”? I know wireguard is faster but is there something I’m missing?
you should use openvpn in difficult network configurations such as college dorm blocking everything except tcp 443 and tcp 80 or with old clients that don’t support wireguard
No, you are not missing anything. Wireguard is just much better.
I have heard that it is impossible to have no logs with wireguard because the configuration requires an static IP log and public key or something similar which normal openVPN doesn’t, so it breaks the “no log” policy.
I am not suse how correct that is, but that was a discussion earlier.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivateInternetAccess/comments/jg98le/is_wireguard_protocol_safe_for_torrenting/
Here is what Mullvad has to say about that: https://mullvad.net/en/help/why-wireguard/
Ah, nice. No issue for mullvad then. I wonder if other VPNs do something similar. Otherwise they.could be stored for multiple months.
Tbf, you don’t really need any app. With Mullvad I just download configuration files and import them in KDE. It really is dead simple. Now enabling VPN at will is just two clicks with the possibility do make it automatic with three to four clicks.
ProtonVPN’s interface is fine
Is it? I couldn’t get it to auto connect at start. Which makes the all idea of having a VPN senseless IMHO.
It integrates like a normal VPN in GNOME, you get a button in the quick settings tray.
Could not get it to work on Mint. Support could not as well.
I’m on Fedora GNOME, so YMMV. Might be a GNOME-centric software.
Maybe.
+1 to Mullvad. I only switched to NordVPN because I wanted to use an IP address from a country they have servers on.
Can I piggy back on this and ask why NordVPN isn’t as highly recommended?
Some of the things I have written down, are mostly old so if anything is missing or needs correction, please let me know:
They have shady origins, no one knows who they are or where they came from, but they did it with enough funds to quickly expand a large worldwide network of servers and an endless aggressive advertising campaign everywhere.
Misleading advertising, from saying they are the best in the world to adding countdowns to get an offer that restarts when clearing cookies.
They were hacked and tried to hide it for a very, very long time.
Their app on mac pings google every 20 seconds. The android app is riddled with trackers. They use a myriad of integrated google services.
They do not offer open source or audited apps.
If you cancel the auto-renewal of the service, you lose many secondary services and they charge you weeks before the end of the subscription.
In short, they are the kind of company that screams that they don’t deserve anyone’s trust, and that’s a big problem for a VPN. I suggest mullvad, they have a long history of good practices, are privacy activists and are backed by companies like mozilla.
Thank you so much; your response was very helpful. I guess I’m canceling my Nord sub now…
Also besides them being extremely shady; I refuse to use any VPN that makes me create an account past a generic account number. If you don’t log my data, why do you need me to sign up?
Mullvad even accepts an envelope of cash as payment. It’s the only reputable VPN
ProtonVPN is quite reputable TBF.
Started off at CERN if I have my info correct (the guys behind the word wide web for example, researchers) with Proton mail.
IVPN is good. A little on the expensive side but based in Gibraltar, good GUI for x86 machines, CLI client for other machines, and ofc openvpn config files. Wireguard too, “hardcore” tracker blocker, always-on firewall available… A lot of bells and whistles. AND really good customer service.
If you dont want to pay, for torrenting, WARP with Wireguard Its free and fast
Another mullvad recommendation usually don’t trust any provider if they can afford and want to do advertisement all over the place. Mullvad let’s you pay in coins if you want to be super ghost
Oh yeah. I’ve used them for a couple years, I’ve just been out of the circle for 4-5 months. I also know things can change in the snap of a finger, so I figured I’d ask around. Good to see mullvad is still so highly recommended.