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Mullvad?
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Created by @mouseofleaves.
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Mullvad has excellent anti-logging policies and excellent security practices. It based is in Sweden, which has a great internet privacy record.Popularity trend
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This is a great time to switch!
Get yourself the latest version of Firefox with the following add-ons:
HTTPS Everywhere
uBlock Origin (and EasyList
Privacy Badger or Privacy Possum
Decentraleyes
CanvasBlocker
Smart Referer
Those are, imho, basic add-ons EVERYONE should have. They're pretty much set 'em and forget 'em.
If you wanna go further:
NoScript Security Suite
uMatrix (some use with NoScript, some use in lieu of)
NetCraft Anti-Phishing Extension
Combine that all with a PiHole and a trusty VPN (Mullvad, PIA, Nord, Proton, etc.) and you will be set!
** Semi-Unrelated reminder: while you're thinking of security, get a good password manager (BitWarden, Lastpass, KeePass XC) and use 2FA whenever you can!
EDIT: Thanks for the gold, kind strangers! <3
EDIT 2: Forgot to mention that you should change your default search engine in Firefox to DuckDuckGo.
I think nord VPN has a gag order on it so the government monitors all the traffic or something, I would recommend Mullvad VPN it’s cheap and doesn’t log anything EDIT: I might be wrong about the gag order
For real. If you're not willing to spit some cash for a good VPN you WILL get fucked. A serious VPN like Nord or Mullvad will most definitely protect you.
The only real dangers are human errors (but that's your own fault then) and law enforcement physically tapping into the VPN servers. The latter is highly improbable though since some VPN services literally rent more than a thousand different servers all over the world
Mullvad and Proton VPN are two good ones. There's another that seemed promising in our research, but it didn't tolerate account sharing so we skipped over it.
Proton is better for performance, but doesn't like torrents, even of the legal variety (like Linux distros). Proton is also pricier than PIA and Mullvad. Mullvad is better for privacy but can be a little slower. Proton is still plenty private, it's just the torrent thing that may not be good for people wanting a VPN.
Just sign up for a vpn.
Here's a good TF article on which VPNs log your traffic, what jurisdiction they operate under, and if they share whatever information they hold with a 3rd party.
I'm currently using Mullvad with no complaints; no speed drops or sudden disconnects or anything so far.
They still have your IP and traffic details. You are trusting them to live up to their assertion that they don't log.
I like Mullvad, I just started using them and they're pretty fast. Their connectivity works fine with OpenVPN. I don't believe they would log my details, because their business depends on trust - employees talk, and if it ever got out that they were lying, they'd be dead. But let's not delude ourselves that a VPN provider would not at least technically be capable of fucking over someone who trusted them for anonymity.
Here's a direct link to Mullvad, which powers Mozilla's new VPN.
I've been using it since the start of quarantine and it's been pretty great. Lots of locations to choose from, and pretty speedy when I pick locations within the US (where I'm based).
It's not so good for mainstream streaming services, though; I haven't gotten a single server that works with Netflix, for example.
I've been using Mullvad for over half a year now and think they are great. They have (in my opinion) the most user-friendly ToS, focusing heavily on privacy. They actively support Wireguard and they even had a guide on how to get their VPN to run under QubesOS.
Here's a very basic guide for anyone who wants to fuck with these criminals.
Get a reliable VPN like PIA or Mullvad
Use and make sure it works
Only ever connect to anything related to your scambaiting while using your VPN now. This includes your VM.
Download virtualbox, and obtain a Windows ISO
Make your windows VM. Make sure your VM's network is configured to NAT.
Make a FireRTC account. Use throwaway info, they've been getting legal threats from a scamming company called myphonesoft. Of course, use your VPN.
Get numbers from and enjoy wasting these asshats' time.
I did a bunch of research and Mullvad seems to hit all the checkmarks if you're comfortable doing some DIY configuration (they don't have their own iOS app so you have to use configuration files).
Edit: They now have an iOS app and it's awesome!
After weeks of research i recommend Mullvad or due to the following details.
- 1. Its Open-Source
- 2. No Registration needed (No email or names). Just hashed tokens.
- 3. No-Logging Policy.
- 4. Able to pay with cryptocurrencies.
- 5. Offering tor hidden services.
- 6. Outside US.
I''m not try to push my agenda onto you but if you do get a VPN, get one that is usually out of the spying countries like the US or UK.
A good one that I am using is Mullvad, it's swedish, doesn't keep log, you can pay by cash anonymously and no email to sign rather a random account number.
It as any VPN can retain data but their ethical business policy proves a lot.
Signal, Wire, Matrix.
I think we need to be paying very, very close attention to the work in the A.I. space because we are on the horizon of the information singularity and *that is some terrifying shit*
Yes, your VPN could technically store and sell your data just as much as your ISP but the difference is that you can change VPNs at any time and are not limited to providers under US government jurisdiction.
There are even VPNs like Mullvad that are based in Sweden and don't require any personal information for creating an account. They provide you with a generated User ID that is used for everything and if you don't like it anymore you could just generate a new one. If you want you can even send them cash in the mail to pay for your service.
I was reading along, thinking "dang, those were great ideas and great products, especially Send. Still, Mozilla needs to focus on Firefox, so this is good news."
But then, at the end:
> this decision allows us to sharpen our focus on experiences like Mozilla VPN, Firefox Monitor, and Firefox Private Network.
Oh. All three of those services are essentially rebrands. Mozilla VPN is Mullvad, Firefox Monitor is Have I Been Pwned, and Firefox Private Network is Cloudflare Warp.
I really hope the new strategy is more than "slapping our brand on other folks' products". Please focus on Firefox!
Voor meer informatie over VPNs wil ik graag iedereen doorverwijzen naar r/VPN.
Zelf gebruik ik Mullvad, komt volgens als één van de veiligste/betrouwbaarste (en bovendien goedkope en snelle) VPNs uit de bus, ook al zitten ze in een Fourteen Eyes country (jurisdiction in Zweden).
PIA is overigens Amerikaans en zou ik dus niet aanraden.
It depends on if they block your VPN or not. If not, or if a "plan" that allows for VPNs is cheaper than one which unblocks every website, then it will work.
As for which VPN you should use I can't help but Mullvad seems to be pretty popular among some people I know.
I don't know about american laws. Regardless, if I were you, I'd do the following steps:
Install a GNU/Linux distribution with LVM-Encryption. That way, nobody without a password can boot UP the PC.
Get a VPN. Mullvad offers one for 5 € a month. Completely anonymously.
Forget Skype. Use a free/open-source, encrypted VoiP such as Jitsi Meet
Before she does the deed, tell her to run "sudo shutdown -h 60", so that the computer turns off after 60 minutes. When all is done, nobody will be able to follow the traces to you.
It might be overkill. But once you set all up, you can have a dignified last moment without any outer distractions.
I've been using Mullvad for a couple of years now it's so far been the best one I've used yet. Speeds are great, good amount of features, and it doesn't even ask you for an email address. They also have a pretty useful FAQ page on their website full of tutorials
Mullvad supports WireGuard (server list some WireGuard development. Works very well.
Mullvad 3 hour trial. and you get unlimited transfer at a very quick speed. You can select the exit country, and it is OpenVPN & PPTP compatible.
5/5 *s
A lot of the industry is kinda shifty TBH. Unfortunately it's hard to tell what VPNs are actually highly recommended because the ones you'll find promoted everywhere like Nord, Express, PIA, Pure, etc. have affiliate programs, so there's an incentive for websites to recommend them over others. PIA has at least proved in court that they don't log so they have that going for them.
Personally I use Mullvad for the reasons listed here.
I also highly recommend that you check out this comparison site. It deals only with objective information and doesn't use affiliate links. Look through the tables for something that fits your criteria, ideally with a refund policy or trial, and test it to see if it gives you the speeds you need.
Whenever I travel, I always make sure to have a VPN subscription that lasts at least until I come back, and use that the entire time. Also /u/happinyz, if you need a good VPN but you don't want to pay for an entire month, IIRC Mullvad VPN lets you pay for any amount of time if you use cryptocurrency. If money is an issue, Mullvad also gives you 3 hours of trial time with every account number that you open, and using Rabbit you should be able to open an infinite number of accounts.
There are many VPNs that don't log traffic. I use Mullvad and it's great. Just whatever you do make sure you don't use a free one, because they are probably logging and selling your information. Especially don't use HideMyAss because they're notorious for handing logs over to authorities. If you have questions feel free to ask and I can try to help.
Mullvad is my personal recommendation. They have an app for pretty much every system and support for WireGuard if you’re on a system that supports it.
Best of all, their price is £5 a month. Flat. No need to pay for a years worth. I pay once a month when I can pay to top it up.
Their speed on pretty much every server hasn’t bottlenecked my 100mb internet either. They’re Swedish and if you really want privacy you can even pay for your vpn in cash (euros), in an envelope with your randomly generated registration number (or by credit card, PayPal, bitcoin etc).
I pretty much run it 24/7 on my phone as WireGuard barely sips battery power (and it can be used on 3 devices at a time iirc).
/r/VPN
1- go to PrivateInternetAccess or Mullvad and purchase a VPN subscription. $35/year isn't bad. There are dozens of services you can research, but these are the popular ones. Mullvad is european based, so not subject to bogus NSLs from the US government
2- Download and run their client software. This will route your traffic through their network and encrypt it
3- google What's my IP to confirm your IP address shows a different geographic location
Nothing is 100% safe, but this goes a long way toward maintaining your privacy. You can do a number of things to increase the effectiveness as well. Using an offshore VPN provider that at least says they keep no records is a start. I like Mullvad since you can fund your account anonymously with bitcoin. You can also use multiple VPNs for redundancy. This is achieved using virtual machines or configuring your router to connect to one vpn then connecting the seed-box to the other.
Essentially you are really just making yourself so difficult to track down that it is not in anyone's best interest to put the effort in to find you.
Mullvad is my favorite of those since their servers are pretty stable and they have WireGuard support (a new VPN protocol which promises better stability, more bandwidth and less CPU usage compared to OpenVPN). They also accept many forms of payments including cash.
Their main disadvantage is that they are located in Sweden which is part of the "14 eyes", but if I am doing something that sensitive I would use TOR anyway and accept the huge performance cost.
Jag använder Mullvad för att jag vet att personerna bakom tjänsten är ideologiskt övertygade försvarare av yttrandefrihet. Det är killar som tar sitt jobb på stort allvar och inte bara är ute efter att tjäna snabba pengar.
I don't think you know how VPNs work, dude.
The VPN can be based in the Sweden (like Mullvad) but allow you to connect to the internet using servers in the United States or Hong Kong or wherever, having an IP address from those places.
The porn sites in the protest are blocking only California IPs since it's a California ballot initiative.
But really, Prop 60 is an existential threat to porn as we know it. Most porn is made in California, so this is a big deal. It'll open the door to censorship and lawsuits that could cripple the adult industry. So, if you like & support porn, vote NO on prop 60!!
But to fix your current dilemma, other users have suggested VPN. This is a good option (I recommend either Mullvad or NordVPN, but there are others). All you need is an IP outside of California and you should be all set.
Happy fapping
edit: clarity
I would make an educated guess that Mozilla keeps about 50% of the sale. Mullvad presumably assumes the Mozilla brand can reach customers that the Mullvad brand can't... and since even a well-run VPN service is a high-margin business, they still make money.
Is also possible that Mullvad expects their brand to gain trust by being associated with Mozilla. In the VPN game, a trusted name counts for a lot; users are aware it's an easy business to enter and thus there are a lot of scummy services with little to differentiate them.
It's not a bad business to be in, but along with the other recent rebrands it starts to form a pattern of Mozilla trading on the Mozilla and Firefox brand rather than on their own products. That path leads toward Foxium. I hope I'm wrong!
Use MullvadVPN. It’s a super fast VPN service and is known for not saving any data at all. As some guys mentioned here already - if the service is free, you are the product! No one is giving away a VPN service just for free. No one.
I recommend moving to Mullvad and paying in cold hard cash if you want to improve your setup, also the wireless extender might be a weak point (you don't really provide any information about it)
The way you operate online is also important, you can be doing all the right steps but if you login to your Gmail, start scrolling on Facebook and check up on your colleagues on LinkedIn you're no longer private online.
Last of all, this is the wrong sub, check r/privacy or r/vpn
Lockwise ist in Ordnung, Gerätesynchronisation ist super, auch der Schritt ins VPN Geschäft mit Mullvad passt finde ich ins Konzept, aber ich habe bis heute keine Ahnung, was zum Geier ich mit Pocket anfangen soll.
Die sollen bei den Kernthemen bleiben. Irgendwelche sozialen Medien in den Browser integrieren fände ich ehrlich gesagt furchtbar und unnötig. Wieso den Browser mit so einem Quatsch aufblähen?
Trotzdem… Wenn Firefox verschwinden sollte, würde ich das vermutlich auch tun. Habe eh schon länger das Gefühl, dass sich das Internet in eine sehr negative Richtung hin entwickelt.
Worth noting too, that Firefox VPN uses Mullvad as the back-end provider! Good way to support both companies, although I'd assume that having your Mozilla account tied to the VPN undermines some of the anonymity.
I am the person who asked That One Privacy Guy to do a Mullvad review. proof (I would show more of my message to him, but patreon won't let me scroll up more for some reason). We were chatting about how to make the random selections he was using at the time turn up less shovelware by weighting the probabilities. I did not have any relationship with Mullvad whatsoever until after I requested the review, at which point I subscribed to their service based on TOPG's unbiased recommendation.
I have an active sub with NordVPN, no one shared the result because:
​
"
The Report you about to see was prepared to enable NordVPN customers to verify that a report by an independent auditing company has been issued in connection with the no-log NordVPN service.
By proceeding further you agree that the auditing company will not be held liable nor responsible for any loss or damage suffered or costs incurred by you, arising out of or in connection with the Information provided in the report. You also agree not to copy and distribute the content or results of it.
​
"
And then the audit is done under the name of "Tefincom S.A's NordVPN service to the Management of Tefincom S.A. Nicosia, Cyprus"
​
Yes done under the country Cyprus, not Panama. I say screw Nord! Thank god I changed to Mullvad a few months ago even though I have still have an active sub with Nord.
Do not reply, they have no way of proving it was you that downloaded the file if you don't reply to the email.
If you want to keep torrenting, getting a paid VPN (they cost $3-5/month) will encrypt and hide your traffic as well as give you a random IP address.
Make sure the VPN service doesn't keep any logs of their customers, Mullvad or Private internet access are both good. And whatever you do avoid free VPN services.
I used Mint before, but I had some issues that I couldn't fix and I definitely changed after several days of exchanging with Stef and Sanny from Mullvad because Firefox didn't want to connect with the VPN anymore, or any other browser, we didn't manage to solve the problem under Mint, I got fed up with it, I had heard good things about Pop Os, especially for gaming because I'm using Proton, I chose it and today I don't have any more problems, but it really depends on cases, my case is not a generality.
On the laptop, I use Xubuntu.
Mullvad !!! Privacy, privacy, privacy ! Anonymous !!! Do a Google seach and read the first page of résults for Mullvad review And you can pay with Monero if I remember correctly You can buy for a year or more, cheaper, I think
Outstanding work.
I've been using Mullvad for a while now and currently see no reason to change my VPN provider. Your list is an excellent way to form a solid first opinion. Before deciding on a provider a while back during my research, I was bothered by the "sponsored" reviews on reddit and the overall lack of in depth information on the web.
According to Mullvad, their VPN still works for all apps including Apple's:
>Starting in Big Sur, the latest version of macOS released 12 November 2020, Apple excludes its own apps from the content filter provider APIs. As a result, any network monitoring and security software using these APIs is unable to detect and block traffic from Apple apps.
>Mullvad does not use content filter provider APIs to secure the device. Instead, we use the Packet Filter (PF) firewall which is built into macOS. This is a packet firewall, not an application firewall, which means that it does not exclude packets from any apps, including Apple's own apps.
>In other words, our usage of the PF firewall does not allow Apple apps to leak when Mullvad VPN is blocking the Internet. We have verified this by observing the network traffic from outside of the Apple machine.
Mullvad seems likely to be trustworthy. It is a Swedish company, but they seem pretty serious about never logging anything and about supporting work on improving VPN technology. They work with the creator of WireGuard to improve it and they were one of the first VPN providers to adopt it.
Browser: Firefox with ublock origin, https everywhere, privacy badger, cookie autodelete (all w/o whitelists)
Search engine: Duckduckgo
Email: Protonmail
VPN: Mullvad - with SOCKS5 proxy over OpenVPN (I've researched this a lot and I really find Mullvad to be the most trustworthy/safe provider. Only grey spot is Swedish jurisdiction, but I can leverage it with a no-log policy I can actually trust. I also appreciate that they do not aggressively advertise - if they advertise at all - and that it's 5eur/month flat. Cherry on top is the fact you don't need a user account - you get a random generated number instead)
Using RSS to bypass the need to log in to services to get content updates (i.e. Youtube/Google account to get subscription feed)
Relevant points:
>Starting in Big Sur, the latest version of macOS released 12 November 2020, Apple excludes its own apps from the content filter provider APIs. As a result, any network monitoring and security software using these APIs is unable to detect and block traffic from Apple apps.
>Mullvad does not use content filter provider APIs to secure the device. Instead, we use the Packet Filter (PF) firewall which is built into macOS. This is a packet firewall, not an application firewall, which means that it does not exclude packets from any apps, including Apple's own apps.
I'm getting some great ideas from this thread. Most of my efforts have been around digital security. Generate strong passwords, use a password manager. Use a good vpn, shoutout to Mullvad for supporting wireguard (no affiliation). Up to date linux laptop with full disk encryption (really no downside). Browser has uBlock origin, privacy badger, https everywhere, etc. White noise machine to help with sleep and cover, ehem, extracurricular activities.
Mullvad win because they've now got partnership with a mainstream brand. Mozilla win because they'll see a cut of the subscription fees.
Both parties win because both parties will see an increase in their revenues, allowing more money to be pumped back into their respective products, resulting in better stuff for all of us.
I don't get why people are crapping all over this arrangement? Surely anything that brings in more revenue to two privacy respecting and advocating companies, whilst making a good quality VPN more visible and available to the general public, can only be a good thing?
Just buy a Mullvad subscription directly -- they're the providers for the Firefox VPN and when you buy it from them you have way more options for configuring it (e.g. OpenVPN, Wireguard, running it on whole devices or networks).
>Don't need to read it to know Mullvad is objectively the best.
I agree. I've been using Mullvad for over a year and it's been as reliable as any other service I've used. Plus, it doesn't require an email account to sign up and you can pay with Bitcoin or even cash. also gives Mullvad his top rating.
Mullvad is a great VPN service. They don't collect ANY information about you when you make an account. You get a random account number and that's how you're identified--no email, no name, no contact information, nothing. Also, if you connect to a near server, I haven't noticed any speed decreases compared to no VPN connection with 70mb/s service.
> Mozilla VPN is Mullvad
I would love to know how they're making money on this. As an American, Mullvad costs $5.50. Mozilla VPN costs me only $5. Even if Firefox got a good deal with Mullvad, it can't be much revenue.
I've been with Nord for years and from a personal service received point of view I've no complaints, but their many cockups over the past couple of years has made me lose all confidence in them. So much so, that I've move to Cryptostorm now. Another solid choice is Mullvad.
There's no getting around the license really unless you want to delve into the world of fakes, which I wouldn't recommend.
What I mean by a middle man is something that is between the site and you. So you link cam site > middleman > you. Patreon, for example, would be a middle man because you are linking you account to an entirely separate service, so if something happens and the cam site leaks all or your information, they leak the patreon information and not your actual bank details. It's much easier manage the middle man than it is close down a bank account.
Note: I also used Patreon as an example. I have no idea how Patreon works or if it's an option.
Also, as another user mentioned, a VPN should be high on the list. Mullvad is a good option as it's about five bucks and it can be paid for anonymously.
Are you looking to switch? If you are, I'm curious what you end up switching to. I've personally used PIA, but disliked that I ended up with really slow speeds most of the time. I also had issues connecting to a banking website when using PIA.
Currently using Mullvad, which works it works. Sometimes it'll just straight up lose connection and I have to go and find another server to connect to. Speeds are decent though. I've also not had any issues connecting to websites with Mullvad, which is nice.
I was looking to try Nord next, but if it's getting blocked by places like Amazon, I don't know where else to look. I just want something stable, relatively secure, with good speeds. Mullvad is everything I want except stable thus far.
Every bitcoin transaction can be traced back, it's pseudonymous. The best is probably cash. Some offer that. I actually did test Mullvad a while back, and sent them 5€ cash via anonymous letter an anonymously created acc number in it. 5 days later the account received a month of runtime. Really liked that system, though it adds cost for postage stamp. I am not sure who else does this type of anonymous payment.
For you, probably not. It would depend on what kind of a financial situation you are in. If you can afford ~6$ a month, then absolutely. Some cheap ones I would recommend that don't keep logs: Mullvad
I can chime in and say their services were (as of about a year ago) absolute dog shit. They sucker you in with big "sale" prices or "coupon codes" that are always active which is shady already, but then the speeds were fucking horrible. Every server was capped at 2MB/s and had horrible latency. It didn't start out this way either. I had used them for 3 years and on the 3rd year they turned to shit slowly but surely before I left.
I can't speak for today, but there are plenty of better alternatives out there. Siga is great if you're cheap (they run on donations, $2 being the minimum last I checked but they have free slower servers) and Mullvad is great if you can afford it (like $70 a year iirc, one of the pricier ones I've used).
Mullvad is recommended on r/privacytoolsio and doesn't record logs nor belong to 14 eyes jurisdiction. Also has a kill switch meaning the internet will stop all together if the VPN connection is lost.
If the 14 eyes are true, Mullvad is part of it. If Mullvad is part of it, then that Mozilla VPN is part of it.
Do your research and don't subscribe to a VPN because ~~it's free~~ Mozilla said it's ok.
Edit: Mozilla's VPN isn't free, they're charging $4.99 USD for Mullvad's services.
and I, an actual real human person with no VPN industry connections (at the time I had just finished my masters degree and was starting a job at a search engine company), was the patron who asked ThatOnePrivacyGuy to do a Mullvad review. No funny business behind the review selection there.
I didn't claim supporting two privacy oriented companies was going to make you immune to a data breach or surprise backup. If you trust Mullvad then stick with them. If you trust FireFox and never heard of Mullvad before this then go with them. It is about your comfort zone. If you trust both companies then this is a way to support two companies at one time for $.50 less a month than just supporting one.
Mullvad offers bridges for this exact purpose of getting around restrictive firewalls.
You can also try using Wireguard servers instead. Sometimes they work behind firewalls that auto-block OpenVPN.
I have tried a few of your mentioned providers in the past, quite liked PIA, but it wasn't a great option for streaming Netflix, so I moved to NordVPN. If I remember correctly Mullvad also doesn't work with streaming services, so have that in mind if it's important for you. If you're planning to torrent often, then Nord should be a pretty fine fit as security is one of the main things they focus on: based in Panama where no mandatory data laws exist, the mac app has a kill-switch, and I never heard anything about data leakage or smth. Btw, I should mention that it doesn't have port forwarding, it would be a nice addition to the package but insecure. Maybe that's why many VPNs that are heavily based on privacy don't even offer this feature. Anyway, IMO Nord has the best price/service quality ratio, but maybe read more reviews and decide for yourself.
This is so much better than what we've gotten. Honestly one of the few reasons I haven't fully switched from Mullvad. Mullvad's Linux client is the exact same as their Windows one. We need more Linux love from the protonVPN team!
Really great job dude.
har servrar i Sverige, nederländerna, tyskland, usa, och Kanada. 50kr i månaden om jag minns rätt, de erbjuder ett flertal betalsätt och är de enda jag känner till som erbjuder anonym kontant betalning.
Hastigheter jag får ut ligger kring 10-16 mbps och svarstider ligger för mig inom acceptabla ramar. Men dock kanske inget man spelar spel som är känsliga för höga svarstider med.
Givetvis finns det andra alternativ, men det här är ett, och i min åsikt ett av de bättre.
If you are a UK citizen or resident, please contact your representatives in parliament and explain why this is not a good idea.
(I have not used this site myself, but it seems helpful)
This does not affect Mullvad because we are incorporated in Sweden, but I'm sure some of my colleagues are incorporated there. The fewer jurisdictions privacy-friendly companies can operate from the worse for all of us.
I'm currently with Mullvad and have always been happy with them but I think they're based in Sweden, which is a 'fourteen eyes' country. Although I guess that doesn't matter if they don't keep logs but yeah.
for people that can't afford a paid VPN service, there are 3 that I would recommend:
protonvpn, riseup's VPN, and maybe windscribe
use these, and donate what you can to show your appreciation for them
save up and then use a paid VPN service. the only one I have ever felt comfortable recommending is Mullvad
If I remember correctly, NordVPN has had a few legal cases for which they had to reveal logs but revealed none under the claim that they don't have it. Unless if they really want to get arrested or pay huge fines, I don't think they'd lie to the feds. So I do think it is the case that criminals can use it to do illegal activities. Also, if NordVPN spooks you, try Mullvad. They don't even take your name, they just generate an account number for you and you must save that somewhere, you can use a VPN or Tor to get their services, then just keep using their services without it and that's decent enough to throw any possibly identifying information of you off. But again, they don't even take your name.
I chose Mullvad as my client after comparing it to others I had heard of, ironically on Reddit. I used , and it's charts and reviews, to narrow down my search and make my choice.
If you do nothing else, get a paid VPN based outside of a "five eyes" country. Everyone you ask will be biased in their own way, you already know where mine lies.
Avoid any and all free VPN clients, any based in the U.S, and any that have active scandals (NordVPN).
Feel free to contact me with additional questions!
I remember watching a list where they had like green, yellow and red boxes for several characteristics of each VPN and out of all, the VPN with the most green boxes was Mullvad and decided to use that one
After about a month of research, I determined that as a member of the USA, PIA was best for me because it's the only proven one with those court records. Don't trust people's recommendations (and I encourage you to do your own research instead of trusting mine) though, because it was really fucking surprising how many VPN shills on reddit. I'm not even joking, there's that many.
PIA is shilled for a lot but it's proven not to log, and in my experience had decent speeds. For some reason, I think I also trusted Mullvad but I don't remember why.
Use TOPS (thatoneprivacysite, owned by the owner of /r/VPN) as a guideline but not a final resource.
EDIT: PIA is five eyes. I think this was a disadvantage for people not in the five eyes, but I don't remember if that was the final result of that research. Mullvad is 14 eyes, which is less of a threat.
The laws would apply to VPN providers who are based in Sweden, like Mullvad. So I would say it would be affected with the current language as described in articles:
> A legislator has also attacked VPN services in the inquiry, Karlung claims, with a demand that ISPs log the first activation of each new anonymisation service.
Also, Sweden is Fourteen Eyes, not Five Eyes.
The people who own O2.
At least they don't outright block stuff like a lot of UK providers. And not just them.
I recommend VPN providers like Mullvad, or tor to anyone who'll listen.
Mullvad, the VPN provider, also uses Rust for at least their new client. No idea if they also use it at their servers.
I also use Rust at my company but I do not want to out my identity on Reddit since we are just a three man shop.
Mullvad? Almost certainly not gonna happen. They'd be obliterated by such a revelation because almost their entire brand is built up for the nerds and experts on these subjects. Most VPNs talk about unblocking and privacy and stuff whereas Mullvad has stuff like Wireguard and Crypto and credentials that don't link to identification.
Also there are plenty of VPNs and ISPs already worse. In fact if your ISP is trustworthy enough you shouldn't really need a VPN (assuming your LAN is secure) unless you want the IP-hopping.
VPNs shift trust, they don't remove the need for it. I'd trust Mozilla/Mullvad much more than I'd trust Comcast or the operator of whatever guest WiFi I might be on.
Mullvad is 1 of the 3 vpn providers that is recommended by . Of those, it's the only one that supports Bitcoin Cash. (the other 2 only support BTC)
"Our recommended providers are outside the US, use encryption, accept Bitcoin, support OpenVPN, and have a no logging policy."
Same for me. Started with Proton; ended up with Mullvad. But the OpenVPN iOS client frequently disconnected without reconnecting, so I now use Wireguard, which requires much less intervention on my part.
+1 for Mullvad. I’ve been using them for about a year (~3 terabytes/month) and I haven’t had a single issue.
They don’t store logs, there are no email logins (you’re given a randomized account number—no password), you get a 10% discount for paying with crypto, torrenting allowed, and a 3 hour free trial.
That’s not a really straightforward answer as it depends on how you use it and how much you care about your privacy. ThatOnePrivacySite has a very detailed and unbiased table that can help you in deciding, and r/vpn can probably help answer any questions.
I ultimately went with Mullvad since they seem to be one of the best in terms of privacy, and It’s been working great so far.
Mullvad VPN is the most privacy focused VPN out there and has lots of different VPN servers within the US and lots of other countries. You can geographically select the one you like. Also Mullvad comes with a free test use period. Check it out
Sky in the UK appears to be soft blocking VPN's. When on WiFi, can't access any VPN's website and my VPN (Mullvad) can't access it's update servers or server list...
Switch to mobile data/phone hotspot, the site will load with no trouble, instantly.
But they're not admitting they're blocking it, as they do with streaming/piracy where you get a notice telling you it's blocked, you just get connection timed out...
In addition to the torrentfreak link provided by several commenters, commercial VPNs are also a good solution.
I keep recommending Mullvad for Windows, OSX, and other platforms, don't log anything, accept Bitcoin payment if you want, and are pretty fast.
I actually believe their no-logging claims, since that's one of their main selling points, and if it ever came out that they were full of shit, it'd pretty much kill them.
Costs 5 Euros / month, and IMO is very very very worth it - I've had them for about a year now and am super satisfied (geez, they should give me a discount for the number of recommendations I've made).
Couldn't agree more with you. Especially since they have gateways in many different locations, for just a few bucks a month you can pretend to be almost wherever you want, and take advantage of local services (e.g. TV). I've been using them since the start of the month, and the performance is like nothing I've seen. Definitely better than my old & more expensive VPN provider (Mullvad). They don't do any logging whatsoever, and they promisse that if they get subpoena'd, they will do everything to keep user data privacy, even if they have to shut down that gateway.
Well, Mozilla is going to resell Mullvad VPN under name "Mozilla VPN" at
Mullvad has never let me down. I find basically no impact on speed (unless I'm gaming), cost is 60 euros a year. Their logs are minimal as fuck and they allow you to pay in Bitcoin AND actual hard cash for complete anonymity and they have something like 300 servers in 50 countries.
Mullvad is based in Sweden which is part of the Fourteen Eyes but they have had a security audit conducted on them, verifying their minimal-as-fuck-logging policy and their servers are also using Qubes (which... yeah). I trust them even beyond ProtonVPN.
They have been proven not to keep logs as of about 2 years ago, but that can change. In terms of marketing, PIA is one of the shadiest VPN companies out there. They are also based in the US which is a big no-no. I don’t trust them after they were caught trying to spread rumors about ProtonVPN. One of their high ranking executives has also been caught selling data at a different company.
The only real advantages of PIA is that they’re dirt cheap and they accept gift cards as payment, so you finally have something to do with that subway gift card aunt sally gets you every birthday.
ProtonVPN and Mullvad are two superior companies but they’re a buck or two more expensive.
There are no good free VPNs. A VPN isn’t something you want for free. You are the product when using a free VPN. I recommend Mullvad, which is a flat €5 per month. You only get what you pay for. You can give them only €5 and you’ll get your one month. You can even send them the €5 in the post. They require zero information from you, not even an email.
There's a vpn-service that's quite popular here in Sweden called mullvad that promises that they don't store any log files and let's you by that surf "anonymously". Their first gateway was located in Amsterdam (now they have many more exit nodes in many countries) so maybe the jurisdiction regarding cyber crimes are more loose there? is the address. (And I am in no way associated with them, I just happened to know about their service.)
Yes, VPN prevents your ISP from seeing your connections (websites). You want to choose a trustworthy VPN that does NOT log (at least claims so). You mentioned Mullvad in another comment, and it is perfectly fine. There is also VPN from creators of ProtonMail that offers a free plan, but it doesn't allow P2P and the speed is limited.
But VPN won't help with text messages and phone calls but end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, such as Wire can handle them.
I'll have a go at this question! They're not US based, no email sign up, you can pay in nearly any currency (including cash), it tunnels IPV6, has a lot of options for servers, supports wireguard iirc, and works great. They also don't have annoying/spammy/suspicious advertising like Nord and PIA do. I researched VPNs for a long long time before choosing one and Mullvad checked all the boxes I needed, as well as some I wasn't even thinking of at the time (wireguard). There's really no reason to use another VPN service in my opinion
Download Qbittorrent
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Start your vpn with Network lock and DNS leak protection ( Refer to your vpn )
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Use one of the known good vpn ( Mullvad , air vpn , pia , express vpn , cyberghost , torguard ,perfect privacy , nord vpn )
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follow the rule
Steps
- VPN on
- torrent client on
- torrent client off
- Vpn off
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Bind your vpn to the bittorent client
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for Qbittorrent
Settings > Advanced > Network interface ( The one of your vpn )
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go to any of the known websites ( With vpn on ) and get your stuff.
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Adguard isn't a VPN. It is just an adblocker which uses the "VPN service" to route your traffic so it can do its blocking. Blockada is the same as Adguard and uses the same VPN service to block ads and trackers. Blockada is open source and free, whereas Adguard has a subscription. These apps DO NOT encrypt/alter your traffic and improve your privacy in any way, as a real VPN would do. They will only block ads systemwide and need the VPN service to be running all the time to do so.
Also at the moment, it is not possible to use a real VPN and one of these Adblockers simultaneously since only one app can use the VPN service at a time. So if you use a real VPN like Mullvad, Azure, Express etc then you won't be able to use Adguard or Blockada at the same time.
If you want to know which one of these two is better then according to me Blockada is free and open-source and does almost everything that Adguard does for free, so i would definitely recommend trying it out first.
I'm a current user, only because of the 99 USD for 3 years deal they offered. If you care about speed then I wouldn't recommend Nord. If you have the money then go for Mullvad, or Proton for their email+vpn bundle (haven't used their vpn but their email service is fantastic). PIA is a no for me because they are US-based.
I used to work for a cam company and I just so happen to know that IPs from various VPNs are blocked. This may just be the case for customers as opposed to performers (because of obvious reasons) but I am not certain. In any case, there are several other things your friend can do – such as ordering a webcam cover from Amazon – if she really wants to go through with this.
I know this is not my place but if I may, I would like to suggest that you talk to your friend about this and make sure she is absolutely set on doing it. The money seems okay if you are in a country like Ukraine or Romania (some place where minimum wage is atrocious) but it really is not worth it in the long run.
P.S. My personal recommendation for a VPN would be Mullvad.