4 ms·

Hm that seems like a mistake. If I'm reading the docs right, the Mullvad browser will let you browse the web without using their/any VPN, which mean that it's e

by zamnos 4y ago

Hm that seems like a mistake. If I'm reading the docs right, the Mullvad browser will let you browse the web without using their/any VPN, which mean that it's entirely possible to accidentally surf to a site without having your VPN up, and reveal your IP address to that site. To contrast, there's no way to use the Tor Browser without using the onion network so it's ~impossible to accidentally browse to site and reveal your IP address, and not just the IP address of the exit node. OpSec is hard, and tools letting you shoot yourself in the foot doesn't help. There are plenty of other browsers out there that don't offer VPN integration, so (imo) they should have made the browser a paid feature for customers, instead of giving it away for free like the market has demanded since IE6.

udev4096 4y ago
I think the reason that they have made it free is to combat fingerprinting more efficiently. It would be easy to fingerprint if they have a very limited amount of users
- warner25 4y ago
  That makes sense except for the fact that servers can still identify the smaller set of actual Mullvad VPN users by their IP address(es).
MikusR 4y ago
They advertise their VPN as having a working Split tunnel feature. That is also false, at least on Windows.
- paulryanrogers 4y ago
  Citation?
  - MikusR 4y ago
    Me. It leaks.
    - paulryanrogers 4y ago
      Can you provide a few examples? Has this been reported to Mullvad?
      - MikusR 4y ago
        Split tunnel + qbittorrent leaks your ip
        artimaeis 4y ago
        Using Mullvad (2023.2) split tunnel on my Windows 11 machine with qBittorrent 4.5.2. Every IP tool I know of is showing only my Mullvad IP. What tool are you using that indicates a leak of your real IP? Tools I've used to verify: - https://mullvad.net/en/check https://mullvad.net/en/check - https://ipleak.org/ https://ipleak.org/ - https://browserleaks.com/ip https://browserleaks.com/ip Genuinely curious because I use this setup all the time and want to rest assured it's behaving as I expect.
        MikusR 4y ago
        Mullvad was set to use wireguard. qbittorrent set to use only the mullvad adapter. qbittorrent log showed that it's listening to that adapters ip but found that external ip was mine (upnp was turned off). Then I checked with https://ipleak.net/ https://ipleak.net/ torrent address detector. and it also showed my real ip.
        SadTrombone 4y ago
        There's absolutely no way for qbittorrent to leak your IP if you've configured it correctly to only use the Mullvad network interface.
      - switch007 4y ago
        So, not reported to Mullvad? I don't think it's out of order to ask for some proof at this stage
- udev4096 4y ago
  It's available on android and linux. Don't know about windows
- artimaeis 4y ago
  I use their split tunnel feature on my Windows machine daily. I think there's some limitations to its capability to spit, such as Windows Store apps. https://mullvad.net/en/help/split-tunneling-with-the-mullvad-app/#windowsapp https://mullvad.net/en/help/split-tunneling-with-the-mullvad...
altairprime 4y ago
Mullvad’s VPN software has an available function that blocks network traffic when the VPN isn’t connected, so there’s no need to patch that into the browser.
- nicce 4y ago
  But isn’t this integrated directly into the browser, so that your host system does not need Mullvad?
  - altairprime 4y ago
    Nope. Their browser seems intended to be paired with their VPN product, not to be substituted for it.
    - nicce 4y ago
      In my understanding, the Mullvad VPN extension is built in, with Mullvad DoH included. https://mullvad.net/en/help/tag/mullvad-browser/#93 https://mullvad.net/en/help/tag/mullvad-browser/#93
      - altairprime 4y ago
        Does it offer the same system-wide protection as the desktop VPN product; or, does it only use the VPN for socks-proxied traffic through the extension-created SOCKS port, and so those protections are applied within the browser; or, it doesn’t protect against temporary interruptions; or, orher? I can’t experiment with this during my workday, and we’ve reached the limit of information available without running it and testing, so I can’t help resolve this further right now.

by zamnos 4y ago

udev4096 4y ago

I think the reason that they have made it free is to combat fingerprinting more efficiently. It would be easy to fingerprint if they have a very limited amount of users

warner25 4y ago
That makes sense except for the fact that servers can still identify the smaller set of actual Mullvad VPN users by their IP address(es).

MikusR 4y ago

They advertise their VPN as having a working Split tunnel feature. That is also false, at least on Windows.

paulryanrogers 4y ago
Citation?
- MikusR 4y ago
  Me. It leaks.
  - paulryanrogers 4y ago
    Can you provide a few examples? Has this been reported to Mullvad?
    - MikusR 4y ago
      Split tunnel + qbittorrent leaks your ip
      - artimaeis 4y ago
        Using Mullvad (2023.2) split tunnel on my Windows 11 machine with qBittorrent 4.5.2. Every IP tool I know of is showing only my Mullvad IP. What tool are you using that indicates a leak of your real IP? Tools I've used to verify: - https://mullvad.net/en/check https://mullvad.net/en/check - https://ipleak.org/ https://ipleak.org/ - https://browserleaks.com/ip https://browserleaks.com/ip Genuinely curious because I use this setup all the time and want to rest assured it's behaving as I expect.
        MikusR 4y ago
        Mullvad was set to use wireguard. qbittorrent set to use only the mullvad adapter. qbittorrent log showed that it's listening to that adapters ip but found that external ip was mine (upnp was turned off). Then I checked with https://ipleak.net/ https://ipleak.net/ torrent address detector. and it also showed my real ip.
      - SadTrombone 4y ago
        There's absolutely no way for qbittorrent to leak your IP if you've configured it correctly to only use the Mullvad network interface.
    - switch007 4y ago
      So, not reported to Mullvad? I don't think it's out of order to ask for some proof at this stage
udev4096 4y ago
It's available on android and linux. Don't know about windows
artimaeis 4y ago
I use their split tunnel feature on my Windows machine daily. I think there's some limitations to its capability to spit, such as Windows Store apps. https://mullvad.net/en/help/split-tunneling-with-the-mullvad-app/#windowsapp https://mullvad.net/en/help/split-tunneling-with-the-mullvad...

altairprime 4y ago

Mullvad’s VPN software has an available function that blocks network traffic when the VPN isn’t connected, so there’s no need to patch that into the browser.

nicce 4y ago
But isn’t this integrated directly into the browser, so that your host system does not need Mullvad?
- altairprime 4y ago
  Nope. Their browser seems intended to be paired with their VPN product, not to be substituted for it.
  - nicce 4y ago
    In my understanding, the Mullvad VPN extension is built in, with Mullvad DoH included. https://mullvad.net/en/help/tag/mullvad-browser/#93 https://mullvad.net/en/help/tag/mullvad-browser/#93
    - altairprime 4y ago
      Does it offer the same system-wide protection as the desktop VPN product; or, does it only use the VPN for socks-proxied traffic through the extension-created SOCKS port, and so those protections are applied within the browser; or, it doesn’t protect against temporary interruptions; or, orher? I can’t experiment with this during my workday, and we’ve reached the limit of information available without running it and testing, so I can’t help resolve this further right now.