I’d prefer to get a VPN to avoid the risk of my internet getting shut down, but I’m not aware of what the options for Linux are. I figured this would be a good place to ask.
The only VPNs which are not owned by marketing companies are Mullvad and Proton. The largest VPNs are owned by Kape Technologies, renamed because their prior company name distributed malware, whose top people are former Israeli military, so I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them. I would never use a free VPN except for Proton, and Proton’s paid VPN has a lot more nodes and features.
Mozilla’s VPN is just reselling Mullvad, so you can support Mozilla and use Mullvad at the same time if you like.
That’s good to know!
I’m a Proton die hard but I hear their Linux VPN client is lacking. I use all of their products but not on Linux.
You don’t really need a client unless you want to do something fancy like port forwarding which they don’t support anyway
I have not had a problem using ProtonVPN on Linux.
I’m a Proton slave, all my eggs are in their basket so I’ll go ahead and provide some free marketing for them. ProtonVPN is pretty good since it’s ran by a good company that cares about you, getting Port Forwarding setup on Linux is a bit of a chore but I believe they’re working on automating it, the Windows app does have it automated already by the way.
I do worry about the long-term practicality of ProtonVPN because of this manual process, since as far as I can tell there’s no way to automatically hand your assigned port to the torrent client…
PIA for cheap service
I can also vouch for PIA’s cost vs. performance, but their prices have risen recently (still cheaper than most), and I also learned the other day that they’re now owned by Kape Technologies, a company that used to do bloat/malware development to do shady data mining.
I’m actually considering switching to AirVPN or Mozilla VPN/Mullvad, despite being a longtime customer, just for the peace of mind. Also, if you buy the three year plan of AirVPN, it’s cheaper than PIA.
And, PIA still doesn’t offer a standalone WireGuard configuration file, despite promising it was in the works a few years ago, and that’s been a stick in my craw when trying to set it up the way I want on Bazzite Linux.
hey’re now owned by Kape Technologies, a company that used to do bloat/malware development to do shady data mining.
not a new thing. been that way fr years nw. sucsk but there apps are stlll foss (on github), still 3rd pary audite, and ii still havent been sued for downlodaing shit lpl
an they have wg. but you neeed to clone their git repo and run some shit to generate it. i wish it was just a simple conf file like ovpn but something about auth token i think. idr
Proton and mullvad are the two best options I know of.
Pretty much any VPN provider is usable on Linux though, network manager can handle wireguard or openvpn configs just fine. Your biggest concern should be trustworthiness.
Mullvad has an open source client. It can also be set up usung OpenVPN too.
Bear in mind they don’t have Port Forwarding anymore.
Your OS doesn’t matter when picking a VPN provider.
Others have mentioned plenty of good options.
I really like ProtonVPN with the unlimited plan. Comes with their premium email, drive, and password manager for $8-12 a month (depending on what plan length you buy)
I used the free version of Proton for a while, but when I decided to start paying I went with Surfshark. They were the best deal at the time and their client works well with the Windows, Android and Linux devices I have used it on. I have encountered some annoying “prove you are human” prompts when using Google Search so I mostly use DuckDuckGo.
I have encountered some annoying “prove you are human” prompts when using Google Search so I mostly use DuckDuckGo.
same. searx.be anohter good one
OS doesn’t matter. And windows with crapware removed runs just as well. (OMG, there is so much crapware on the barebones install)
OP is not asking for windows
Anything that’s openvpn compatible will work but requires some setup
requires some setup
The story of Linux in a few words.
Every OS requires setup.
windows just does it for you, sometimes poorly. never used a mac so idk there
From the one time I tried MacOS in a VM, setup is similar to Windows with somehow even fewer options and stronger 1984 vibes.
Windows 11 and needing a Microsoft account to install enters chat.
And yes, I know there is a work-around, which I’ve used, but it requires CLI commands to restart the OOBE/install.
At least you can use Windows without an account, on MacOS you can’t even install an app without one I don’t think.
Just to be clear, I hate both of them, I’m a Linux user.
Nope, you must create a user account for Windows. Creating a local (non-MS online account) requires the extra steps.
Mullvad if you’re a stickler for privacy.
And when so such, pay in Monero.
I use Mullvad
Is it free?
Free VPN = Shit.
VPN costs money and legal shit. Free VPN works by ripping off few paid users and selling data.
5 euros a month. Worth it, it’s by far the best VPN.
Proton and Mullvad have the best privacy record, but I want to suggest a different tool. VPNs are really only useful for tunneling and adding an extra layer of anonymity, there’s no total assurance they won’t rat on you or get breached.
Real-Debrid is a way to torrent without risking ISP shutting down. Other debrid services exist, I just prefer real-debrid. The debrid service does the illegal part and you download over high speed. It’s also more available since you can think of it like a very large scale seedbox. There’s also implementation for most media center apps.
I’ve never heard of this before, and it sounds interesting after a cursory search online. Why the downvotes?
People get weird about VPNs. I think it’s the way that they’re marketed as security solution which is not really true these days.
