I hope that you’ll identify and evaluate the VPN protocol(s) available from each provider listed in your poll so that people have a better basis for choosing their VPN provider. Here’s an example of what I mean:
In my experience as a tourist in China, it’s imperative to use a VPN for DNS and GPS navigation services, not only because of privacy considerations, but also because Chinese DNS and GPS are often wrong.
Apparently, the Great Firewall can detect OpenVPN connections and close them, so a VPN based on the OpenVPN protocol is useless in China.
In the post I quoted, David made the point that the choice of VPN depends on what you want to do.
My point is that this choice may also depend on where you want to do it. (If his corporate VPN had been based on OpenVPN, it might not have worked.)
Yes. China’s firewall is pretty aggressive. I tried to use FaceTime to talk with my wife (without a VPN) from my hotel room. After about a minute, the connection would break and I wouldn’t be able to call back for several hours. Obviously because of the encryption.
I assume my corporate VPN (Cisco AnyConnect) was working because my employer had an office in Beijing, and I was connecting via it. And the corporate network was not blocked (I assume negotiated with the CCP so they could actually do business), so I was able to get from there to the US web proxy server.
The only two VPNs I know of which have been validated by outside security audits are (1) Mullvad (which you listed) and (2) iVPN. Both are privacy-consious and do not collect or store personal data. Both I believe accept cash and cryptocurrency payments for complete anonymity.
For years I have used a white-label implementation of Mullvad that Mozilla sells under the name (3) Mozilla VPN. It uses all Mullvad’s nodes and architecture but the macOS app is Mozilla’s own, it seems. I chose it when trying out VPNs and Mozilla’s US pricing was cheaper than Mullvad’s Euro pricing – and I liked it so I stuck with it.
Thanks for all the suggestions, folks! I was still well over 20, and when I started writing, I hit some thorny issues, so I ended up making multiple questions. Since I can’t change poll answers after I start, are there any issues or confusions with this text and answer set? Again, please don’t answer the questions in this thread—I just need feedback for the eventual article, which I’ll post over the weekend or Monday.
…That’s the topic of this week’s Do You Use It? poll. What VPN do you use?
This seemingly simple question quickly ballooned in complexity because a full-featured VPN protects all the traffic from your device, but there are also browser-based VPNs (Brave VPN, which uses Guardian, ProtonVPN for Vivaldi, and Opera VPN) that are limited to traffic in Web browsers unless you install additional software to bring them up to full VPN status. Plus, there are browser extensions that are just secure proxies—again, they protect only data within the browser. That may be a distinction without a difference for most people, depending on the desired result. So I’ve added an introductory question—What type of VPN do you use?—that also lets us see how common VPN use is at all. (single answer)
I protect all traffic with a VPN
I use a browser-based VPN
I use a secure proxy browser extension
I use my employer’s VPN
I host my own VPN
I don’t use a VPN
With regard to the full-fledged VPN services, Discourse polls are restricted to 20 answers, so I’ve chosen what seem to be the most popular with help from TidBITS Talkers. If your VPN isn’t listed, please add it in the comments, with a link. We’re also interested in hearing what you like or don’t like about the VPN service you use. (multiple answers)
Maybe an additional question or option for the first question:
In my case, it would be the third option - I access my employer’s VPN when I need to log on to services that are not reachable without it.
My employer also installs a proxy-like security app (ZScaler), which is effectively a VPN for most kinds of non-local traffic. It doesn’t provide security or anonymity, but it allows the company to block any sites that violate corporate policy.
Problem with first question is the answer for me varies:
I do not run VPNs all the time (some do, but not me)
Sometimes I run a VPN that protects all traffic. There are two different use cases here, but the point is I do this sometimes
But other times I use a browser based VPN.
So can that question be multiple choice?
If it were single choice, then the dilemma is which to choose? I use a browser based VPN more often, but if I could choose only one, I’d use a full VPN client.
Oh, forgot to mention: My VPN client lets me do both. So it generally is a question of whether I’m running the full client or am I just running the browser client.
I initially read the first option above as, ‘I always have a VPN active’. But I think you meant it to mean, ‘I use a system-level VPN (some or all the time) instead of a browser-based VPN’. Might be worth re-wording to avoid confusion in responses.
Only other issue is that the list of VPNs shows a blank bullet line for me between ‘Norton VPN’ and ‘ProtonVPN’, I don’t know if this is intentional?
‘Private Internet Access’ doesn’t appear in the list and it was in your original one (and fairly well known), so I wonder if this is related?
I’d suggest NordVPN either be excluded from the list or have its response to a hack mentioned. When clients pay a company for security and privacy services, hiding and then PR-spinning a serious and foundational breach is unacceptable.
Without derailing this discussion too much, I wanted to include some concerning issues with certain VPNs.
One case is Crossrider / Kape Technologies, a former malware distributor, buying a number of VPN companies (CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, PIA aka. Private Internet Access, Zenmate) along with VPN review sites which were then altered to favor their products followed by “restructuring” of personnel at the VPN providers. Also note that Kape Tech. includes Intego (Antivirus) and Webselenese (owner of numerous privacy/security review sites) among its brands.
Another example is the malicious VPN extensions found spying on Chrome users. Among these are FVP, Red Panda, Sweet VPN, Thunder, etc.
Below is certainly not an exhaustive list, but a sampling of what has been found or researched so far.
There are also VPN options from some router providers, for instance: AVM Fritzbox. I have such a box but don’t use the VPN feature. Just wanted to add this to the mix. Possibly a good side topic for Glenn F to write about or something…
I think this is fine, but for me it depends. Sometimes it’s one thing, sometimes it’s another, and sometimes it depends on the device I’m using. So I’d just use the most likely answer. But just to say how it can depend, I have a client whose VPN I use when I do work for them, but that’s maybe hours a month, and it’s usually on only one device. Sometimes when I travel I use my own VPN to make companies gathering information think that I am home. Sometimes I use a VPN just when I need to watch something that is geo-fenced (both at home and while traveling.) Plus iCloud private relay, which has already been mentioned - I usually have that on all the time, but some web sites don’t work right if you use it and I need to let them know my real IP. And each device can have different VPNs installed or used. And in order to connect with a machine at my other house, which is behind double-NAT and can’t be reached otherwise, I use Tailscale to connect remotely.
Seconding David here—definitely, routers do enter the picture!
(Love my Fritz!Boxes—currently using a 7690, Wi-Fi 7, my 3rd ‘Box. But employing Nord much of the time I don’t use Fritz’s VPN—but I do set its Manual DNS to use Cloudflare & Cisco…)
Does the poll reply “I host my own VPN” mean standalone products like PIA and Proton VPN?
I’ve already changed my use of PIA to Proton based on the links above about the business activities of Kape Technologies. A shame, as PIA has always worked well for me, but one cannot support a cheat.
