Recommendations regarding VPNs

[Sureal_1]

I am in Australia and Big Gov here is now mandated that ISPs retain and store our metadata for 2 years.
Hence at VPNs mostly for browser email and P2P privacy
and so before committing to one or another thought I would check to see if there were any recommendations or issues to be aware of when setting up and using VPNs?

I'm currently running Mint18 Cin with KDE DE /Dual Boot with Win7

system.jpg

[jimallyn]

I decided a while back to start using a VPN. Here on the Mint forums and a few other places, I found that PIA is often recommended, so that's what I got:

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

[Pierre]

as you noted, the Fed Gov't is now requiring our ISPs to store our metadata,
but it's still a Media Beat-up.

nevertheless, over on the Whirlpool site, it's a current issue.
& it's still your right to protect yourself. .. .

the General Rule is that you do not use a VPN that is based in your Target Area.
ie: if you wish to VPN into the USA - - then don't use a USA based VPN.

[jameskga]

Private Internet Access is good. So is NordVPN.

Check with your VPN provider to make sure they at least use the same standards as those two. Go ahead and buy a two-year plan at < $4/month. You will be glad you did.

[RiverRanch]

Start here: https://privacytoolsio.github.io/privacytools.io/ One of the most important reads if you are privacy/security concerned.

Personally I use AirVPN. (3+ yrs.) Air has a nice Linux client and supports Bitcoin.

I would never use a vpn in my home country. (US)

Remember, there isn't a VPN in the world that will go to jail for you.

Torrent Freak has reviews of many of the popular VPN's. Here's AirVPN's https://torrentfreak.com/review/airvpn-reviews/

[marlenejo]

I concur, AirVpn is excellent as mentioned before. I have subscribe my sister, who is paranoiac about spying, to them for the last 2 years. They have quite competitive rates. Good Linux client too. They even have a ppa for Ubuntu/Mint distros.
One thing is that a lot of people use VPN for torrenting ( not me ... of course ). Some VPN companies will block any torrent. Something to check if you are in that sort of thing. AirVpn does not.

[fungus]

I would recommend you to pick a VPN which:

1) Does not require you to install any client software. OpenVPN client script's are easy to install, if provided.
2) Does not require you to apply any personal information (name, address, email etc.)
3) Accepts anonymous payment (eg. accepts BitCoin).
4) Is not located in "paranoid countries". Choose a VPN located in a country where privacy is still a private matter (Scandinavia, Germany and so on).

You should also try to pick a VPN which has an exit node (VPN server) located close to your origin in order to reduce latency and packet loss.

[smccarthy945]

The easiest, best and most secure way I have found is to do the following:

1. Install Untangle Firewall and install the OpenVPN app. (www.untangle.com). It's free and based on Linux. It has a GUI to configure OpenVPN for clients and super easy to setup and maintain.
2. Download the config files from OpenVPN in Untangle and drop them into the OpenVPN directory.
3. Reboot

Done!

Below is a detailed post on how to setup OpenVPN on Mint with Untangle:
https://forums.untangle.com/openvpn/386 ... ing-2.html

[cstocci]

Hi,

I have installed the AirVPN Linux application and an updated OpenVPN group per MINT 18.2 (64-bit). Once I login and engage the Active Network Lock, I cannot access any Internet. I tried with Chrome, Firefox and even the email is cutoff from any access to the Internet. I have several emails to tech support into AirVPN and they have been great and fast with good suggestions, but I am still not able to get the AirVPN to work in my Linux MINT 18.2 OS.

Funny thing is I have a dual-boot system with Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) on the "other side" and the Windows version of the AirVPN client works great and right away! No issues at all, so that told me that the problem in my Linux setup is not the cable modem or ISP (ComCast) or, at least, any of the hardware on the Windows 7 side.

The only thing left I can imagine (I am a so-so newbie with Linux) is perhaps some piece of hardware driver is interfering with the OpenVPN packets as this is an issue, I believe, between OpenVPN and something in my Linux OS. I eliminated the obvious things like ESET antivirus, my cloud service and the Linux Firewall...all gone and still no connectivity to the Internet.

Anybody got any suggestions?

Chris

[bertradio]

I've used Private Internet Access (PIA) for 6 months now. Works great on Mint, Windows and Android. Easy install and very little loss of speed. They have servers in many different countries. They have an app for Linux and also files to just run under OpenVPN.

[greerd]

Hi,

I have installed the AirVPN Linux application and an updated OpenVPN group per MINT 18.2 (64-bit). Once I login and engage the Active Network Lock, I cannot access any Internet. I tried with Chrome, Firefox and even the email is cutoff from any access to the Internet. I have several emails to tech support into AirVPN and they have been great and fast with good suggestions, but I am still not able to get the AirVPN to work in my Linux MINT 18.2 OS.

Funny thing is I have a dual-boot system with Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) on the "other side" and the Windows version of the AirVPN client works great and right away! No issues at all, so that told me that the problem in my Linux setup is not the cable modem or ISP (ComCast) or, at least, any of the hardware on the Windows 7 side.

The only thing left I can imagine (I am a so-so newbie with Linux) is perhaps some piece of hardware driver is interfering with the OpenVPN packets as this is an issue, I believe, between OpenVPN and something in my Linux OS. I eliminated the obvious things like ESET antivirus, my cloud service and the Linux Firewall...all gone and still no connectivity to the Internet.

Anybody got any suggestions?

Chris

I use AirVPN (and PIA) and use the opensource eddie client. You should start a new thread and state what you've tried so far, maybe we can help.