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You can run your own VPN with a little know how and determination. I have two servers which cost $20 / month ($10 each). Each running openVPN, then I share the

You can run your own VPN with a little know how and determination. I have two servers which cost $20 / month ($10 each). Each running openVPN, then I share the keys to my laptop and desktop. Haven’t done mobile, but I could probably figure that out. The real trick, is VPNs need a lot of bandwidth and compute. Get a bare metal server with unlimited bandwidth. I switch between the servers to limit how much data each provider can collect. Not perfect, but I also have ProtonVPN and use Tor periodically. This means I have at least 4 ways my traffic goes out. It’s just about the best I can do

woodruffw 7y ago
This is solid advice, except in two parts: 1. You shouldn't use OpenVPN[1]. Use Wireguard or, if you must, IPSec with IKEv2. Wireguard's mobile experience is excellent, as a plus. 2. VPNs do indeed require bandwidth. But their compute requirements are pretty minimal on modern hardware: you can comfortably fit a few users onto any cloud provider's micro tier with either Wireguard or IPSec. You can get away with paying <$3/month by using the free tier and only paying for the bandwidth you use. [1]: https://github.com/trailofbits/algo/blob/master/docs/faq.md#why-arent-you-using-openvpn https://github.com/trailofbits/algo/blob/master/docs/faq.md#...
fouc 7y ago
VPNs only need as much bandwidth as you want to consume. Doesn't need much cpu or memory either. You can do a basic ssh tunnel for example.
ohaideredevs 7y ago
Can you recommend some sort of introduction/book to VPNs? I get the idea, I have read the wikipedia page, but my understanding boils down to "one server encrypts and sends small packets, the other decrypts". The packets still go through the public internet / your ISP, but they are encrypted?
- wtmt 7y ago
  You can consider a VPN service as sitting between you and any server or site you access. The traffic still has to go through your ISP and the public Internet (for this scenario). The VPN service does encrypt the traffic from your device to the VPN server (and back). This allows you to hide your browsing history from your ISP and anyone snooping on your ISP. They’d just see encrypted packets going to the VPN servers. But the traffic from the VPN server to the site/server you want to reach may or may not be encrypted, depending on whether it would or would not be encrypted if you were to access it directly. As far as the end site/server is concerned, it gets requests from the VPN server, and so it cannot (easily) know that the request is really coming from your device’s IP address. This is how circumventing geographic restrictions works. If you want to access, say Netflix US, you’d use a VPN server with a US IP address, while you may be in some other country altogether. There are content providers who detect VPN usage and try to block them. P.S.: There’s a lot of simplification in the above descriptions. Edit: This page [1] has a good explanation on VPNs. [1]: https://thebestvpn.com/what-is-vpn-beginners-guide/ https://thebestvpn.com/what-is-vpn-beginners-guide/

woodruffw 7y ago

This is solid advice, except in two parts: 1. You shouldn't use OpenVPN[1]. Use Wireguard or, if you must, IPSec with IKEv2. Wireguard's mobile experience is excellent, as a plus. 2. VPNs do indeed require bandwidth. But their compute requirements are pretty minimal on modern hardware: you can comfortably fit a few users onto any cloud provider's micro tier with either Wireguard or IPSec. You can get away with paying <$3/month by using the free tier and only paying for the bandwidth you use. [1]: https://github.com/trailofbits/algo/blob/master/docs/faq.md#why-arent-you-using-openvpn https://github.com/trailofbits/algo/blob/master/docs/faq.md#...

fouc 7y ago

VPNs only need as much bandwidth as you want to consume. Doesn't need much cpu or memory either. You can do a basic ssh tunnel for example.

ohaideredevs 7y ago

Can you recommend some sort of introduction/book to VPNs? I get the idea, I have read the wikipedia page, but my understanding boils down to "one server encrypts and sends small packets, the other decrypts". The packets still go through the public internet / your ISP, but they are encrypted?

wtmt 7y ago
You can consider a VPN service as sitting between you and any server or site you access. The traffic still has to go through your ISP and the public Internet (for this scenario). The VPN service does encrypt the traffic from your device to the VPN server (and back). This allows you to hide your browsing history from your ISP and anyone snooping on your ISP. They’d just see encrypted packets going to the VPN servers. But the traffic from the VPN server to the site/server you want to reach may or may not be encrypted, depending on whether it would or would not be encrypted if you were to access it directly. As far as the end site/server is concerned, it gets requests from the VPN server, and so it cannot (easily) know that the request is really coming from your device’s IP address. This is how circumventing geographic restrictions works. If you want to access, say Netflix US, you’d use a VPN server with a US IP address, while you may be in some other country altogether. There are content providers who detect VPN usage and try to block them. P.S.: There’s a lot of simplification in the above descriptions. Edit: This page [1] has a good explanation on VPNs. [1]: https://thebestvpn.com/what-is-vpn-beginners-guide/ https://thebestvpn.com/what-is-vpn-beginners-guide/