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Former PIA user who recently just moved to Mullvad [1]. Very transparent about their operations and they don't require any information from you to open an accou

by v64 7y ago

Former PIA user who recently just moved to Mullvad [1]. Very transparent about their operations and they don't require any information from you to open an account. You can even mail them cash or pay with cryptocurrency to avoid having your real identity financially linked to your subscription. [1] https://mullvad.net/en/ https://mullvad.net/en/

godzillabrennus 7y ago
Their ios support isn’t great. I’m using ExpressVPN and while they cost more (as much as 3 times as these budget services) they so far seem to offer a fast product. You can also sign up with crypto currency if you want.
- mirimir 7y ago
  > You can also sign up with crypto currency if you want. But can you renew with Bitcoin etc?
  - extesy 7y ago
    There is no difference between singing up and renewing. It's just a balance on some anonymous account number.
    - mirimir 7y ago
      Have you tried it recently?
  - nshepperd 7y ago
    Yes.
    - mirimir 7y ago
      I see no cryptocurrency option for renewal. https://keybase.pub/mirimir/ExpressVPN.png https://keybase.pub/mirimir/ExpressVPN.png
      - tripzilch 7y ago
        I believe there's been a bit of confusion, and they were talking about Mullvad.
        mirimir 7y ago
        Ah. Thanks. But I do recall, in the past, renewing ExpressVPN with Bitcoin.
  - cbsks 7y ago
    Mullvad accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, FYI.
- cbsks 7y ago
  I use Mullvad with OpenVPN on iOS with no issues at all. What issues have you experienced?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- RealStickman 7y ago
  You could try it with the wireguard client for ios. Just download the config files from their site.
- dorian-graph 7y ago
  I've used Mullvad on iOS with OpenVPN and Wireguard with no issues.
milofeynman 7y ago
Mullvad is who I decided on after this story came to light. I used that one privacy guys website Excel sheet comparison thing plus personal recommendations. https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/
Krasnol 7y ago
Seeing Mullvad being hyped all over since the NordVPN disaster, I predict they will be next.
- rndgermandude 7y ago
  Next to be what? Hacked? Taken over? Become evil?
  - Krasnol 7y ago
    Yes.
rudiv 7y ago
They also support WireGuard, which is why I use them.
thatswrong0 7y ago
Wow that onboarding process was slick. Why aren't sites always this easy to sign up for?!
- baroffoos 7y ago
  Because most people want some way to reset their password if they forget it.
  - Izkata 7y ago
    There is no password, and if you forgot your account number it can possibly be recovered: https://mullvad.net/en/help/lost-account/ https://mullvad.net/en/help/lost-account/
sneak 7y ago
What is it that you believe that PIA is doing or is likely to do, that you believe this service is not/will not be doing?
- v64 7y ago
  Given Kape's past history, I'm skeptical that PIA will be able to maintain their current levels of privacy regarding data mining and logging. I'm willing to give PIA the benefit of the doubt and accept that they believe they'll be able to do so, but as is the case in mergers like these, sometimes you simply lose that battle with your new corporate partner. My fear is that they end up doing the same level of shady activity as NordVPN [1] [2] or worse. The fact that Kape paid off PIA's $32.1m debt as part of the deal leads me to believe they'll be looking for more creative ways to monetize the service in the future. Since PIA was in debt, it doesn't sound like maintaining the current service as is would be profitable. Mullvad's policies and account creation process demonstrate an awareness and commitment to privacy as a number one priority. Yes, at the end of the day, none of us really knows what a VPN service is doing on the back end, but the fact that they have detailed public information about their operations, as well as additional privacy options such as paying with cash/crypto, is a good sign. Other little things, such as supporting WireGuard and running their own Bitcoin nodes instead of relying on third party services for crypto payments, are also good signs that their team has above average technical chops compared to other providers. [1] https://medium.com/@derek./how-is-nordvpn-unblocking-disney-6c51045dbc30 https://medium.com/@derek./how-is-nordvpn-unblocking-disney-... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21664692 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21664692
  - sneak 7y ago
    Why do you have the belief that the government in the country that the VPN provider is operating is not logging everything that goes into or out of the provider (with or without the provider's knowledge)? It seems pretty plain to me; Mullvad's website even has the relevant section on Swedish legislation that requires it for national defense. I just don't see how trust in a provider has any bearing whatsoever on the privacy of the connection they provide; they can't do anything whatsoever to stop (or even detect) governments from logging all of the data that comes into or out of their networks.
redsummer 7y ago
Mullvad is controlled by Elad Yarom - ex-IDF
eyeball 7y ago
Gave them a try for a month. Very easy to set up with WireGuard. One thing I liked about PIA’s app is the kill switch function that prevents internet connection if you’re not on the vpn. Does that happen by default when I have wireguard enabled? I use this in a place I don’t trust and need to make sure it doesn’t accidentally connect “raw”. Another nice PIA feature is the ability to check server speed. Any way to know which of mullvad’s servers is the best bet?
- MertsA 7y ago
  With Mullvad there's the wireguard configuration generator that works with wg-quick and one of the options is to have it set up an iptables rule to make sure that if the wireguard tunnel goes down it won't leak untill you actually call wg-quick down mullvad-xyz.

by v64 7y ago

godzillabrennus 7y ago

Their ios support isn’t great. I’m using ExpressVPN and while they cost more (as much as 3 times as these budget services) they so far seem to offer a fast product. You can also sign up with crypto currency if you want.

mirimir 7y ago
> You can also sign up with crypto currency if you want. But can you renew with Bitcoin etc?
- extesy 7y ago
  There is no difference between singing up and renewing. It's just a balance on some anonymous account number.
  - mirimir 7y ago
    Have you tried it recently?
- nshepperd 7y ago
  Yes.
  - mirimir 7y ago
    I see no cryptocurrency option for renewal. https://keybase.pub/mirimir/ExpressVPN.png https://keybase.pub/mirimir/ExpressVPN.png
    - tripzilch 7y ago
      I believe there's been a bit of confusion, and they were talking about Mullvad.
      - mirimir 7y ago
        Ah. Thanks. But I do recall, in the past, renewing ExpressVPN with Bitcoin.
- cbsks 7y ago
  Mullvad accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, FYI.
cbsks 7y ago
I use Mullvad with OpenVPN on iOS with no issues at all. What issues have you experienced?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
RealStickman 7y ago
You could try it with the wireguard client for ios. Just download the config files from their site.
dorian-graph 7y ago
I've used Mullvad on iOS with OpenVPN and Wireguard with no issues.

milofeynman 7y ago

Mullvad is who I decided on after this story came to light. I used that one privacy guys website Excel sheet comparison thing plus personal recommendations. https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/

Krasnol 7y ago

Seeing Mullvad being hyped all over since the NordVPN disaster, I predict they will be next.

rndgermandude 7y ago
Next to be what? Hacked? Taken over? Become evil?
- Krasnol 7y ago
  Yes.

rudiv 7y ago

They also support WireGuard, which is why I use them.

thatswrong0 7y ago

Wow that onboarding process was slick. Why aren't sites always this easy to sign up for?!

baroffoos 7y ago
Because most people want some way to reset their password if they forget it.
- Izkata 7y ago
  There is no password, and if you forgot your account number it can possibly be recovered: https://mullvad.net/en/help/lost-account/ https://mullvad.net/en/help/lost-account/

sneak 7y ago

What is it that you believe that PIA is doing or is likely to do, that you believe this service is not/will not be doing?

v64 7y ago
Given Kape's past history, I'm skeptical that PIA will be able to maintain their current levels of privacy regarding data mining and logging. I'm willing to give PIA the benefit of the doubt and accept that they believe they'll be able to do so, but as is the case in mergers like these, sometimes you simply lose that battle with your new corporate partner. My fear is that they end up doing the same level of shady activity as NordVPN [1] [2] or worse. The fact that Kape paid off PIA's $32.1m debt as part of the deal leads me to believe they'll be looking for more creative ways to monetize the service in the future. Since PIA was in debt, it doesn't sound like maintaining the current service as is would be profitable. Mullvad's policies and account creation process demonstrate an awareness and commitment to privacy as a number one priority. Yes, at the end of the day, none of us really knows what a VPN service is doing on the back end, but the fact that they have detailed public information about their operations, as well as additional privacy options such as paying with cash/crypto, is a good sign. Other little things, such as supporting WireGuard and running their own Bitcoin nodes instead of relying on third party services for crypto payments, are also good signs that their team has above average technical chops compared to other providers. [1] https://medium.com/@derek./how-is-nordvpn-unblocking-disney-6c51045dbc30 https://medium.com/@derek./how-is-nordvpn-unblocking-disney-... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21664692 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21664692
- sneak 7y ago
  Why do you have the belief that the government in the country that the VPN provider is operating is not logging everything that goes into or out of the provider (with or without the provider's knowledge)? It seems pretty plain to me; Mullvad's website even has the relevant section on Swedish legislation that requires it for national defense. I just don't see how trust in a provider has any bearing whatsoever on the privacy of the connection they provide; they can't do anything whatsoever to stop (or even detect) governments from logging all of the data that comes into or out of their networks.

redsummer 7y ago

Mullvad is controlled by Elad Yarom - ex-IDF

eyeball 7y ago

Gave them a try for a month. Very easy to set up with WireGuard. One thing I liked about PIA’s app is the kill switch function that prevents internet connection if you’re not on the vpn. Does that happen by default when I have wireguard enabled? I use this in a place I don’t trust and need to make sure it doesn’t accidentally connect “raw”. Another nice PIA feature is the ability to check server speed. Any way to know which of mullvad’s servers is the best bet?

MertsA 7y ago
With Mullvad there's the wireguard configuration generator that works with wg-quick and one of the options is to have it set up an iptables rule to make sure that if the wireguard tunnel goes down it won't leak untill you actually call wg-quick down mullvad-xyz.