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OpenVPN and IPSec clients exist, why is ProtonVPN reinventing the wheel? This ProtonVPN advertisement wouldn't have been 'necessary' if they had used and suppor

OpenVPN and IPSec clients exist, why is ProtonVPN reinventing the wheel? This ProtonVPN advertisement wouldn't have been 'necessary' if they had used and supported an existing client for these protocols.. but then again, they wouldn't have had this ad on 'hacker' 'news' if they had..

OJFord 7y ago
Lower barrier to entry for non-technical users? Marketing (by being in app-stores, and thus gaining visibility & being suggested for 'users like you')?
- craftyguy 7y ago
  Those arguments don't hold any weight. They could have forked the OpenVPN for Android app (which is some GPL license, don't remember which), thrown in their own branding and default config, and not shipped a proprietary mess to customers. Instead they went the proprietary mess route.
himinlomax 7y ago
I haven't looked at the app, but my guess is things like exit point selection, account management, troubleshooting and performance indicators.
- prophesi 7y ago
  Not sure what exit point selection is, but I don't see why any of those features can't be added upstream to a FOSS OpenVPN client/server.
  - himinlomax 7y ago
    It's simply selecting where packets exiting the VPN are routed. > but I don't see why any of those features can't be added upstream to a FOSS OpenVPN client/server Could be simply because none allows this in the first place. And then the selection may be very service-dependent. In any case, their app is now open source, so why is this an issue anyway?
    - prophesi 7y ago
      > In any case, their app is now open source, so why is this an issue anyway? My issue is that countless VPN companies are re-inventing the wheel, when they could just be contributing to open-source in the first place. It's obviously in their best interests from a security & trust standpoint to start from an already open & well-audited platform. Everyone wins when bugs are squashed and new features are added; and the licensing lets them keep their branding/ui for the app they deploy.

OJFord 7y ago

Lower barrier to entry for non-technical users? Marketing (by being in app-stores, and thus gaining visibility & being suggested for 'users like you')?

craftyguy 7y ago
Those arguments don't hold any weight. They could have forked the OpenVPN for Android app (which is some GPL license, don't remember which), thrown in their own branding and default config, and not shipped a proprietary mess to customers. Instead they went the proprietary mess route.

himinlomax 7y ago

I haven't looked at the app, but my guess is things like exit point selection, account management, troubleshooting and performance indicators.

prophesi 7y ago
Not sure what exit point selection is, but I don't see why any of those features can't be added upstream to a FOSS OpenVPN client/server.
- himinlomax 7y ago
  It's simply selecting where packets exiting the VPN are routed. > but I don't see why any of those features can't be added upstream to a FOSS OpenVPN client/server Could be simply because none allows this in the first place. And then the selection may be very service-dependent. In any case, their app is now open source, so why is this an issue anyway?
  - prophesi 7y ago
    > In any case, their app is now open source, so why is this an issue anyway? My issue is that countless VPN companies are re-inventing the wheel, when they could just be contributing to open-source in the first place. It's obviously in their best interests from a security & trust standpoint to start from an already open & well-audited platform. Everyone wins when bugs are squashed and new features are added; and the licensing lets them keep their branding/ui for the app they deploy.