Bitcoin Forum

Since you are on this forum like me and read this, I believe that you value privacy. One first, a basic but very good step that you can take to protect your privacy is to use good and affordable VPN services.

VPN, a short term of Virtual Private Network, works by redirecting your network through a specially configured remote server (VPN Host). This means that your connection is secured and it's not possible to track your movement on the internet.
To make things as easy as ABC, I would say: When you are connected with a VPN, everything that you do, looks like it's been done by the VPN service provider. You exist in shadows.

VPN Advantages:
| 1. Safety and Security	|
| 2. Anonymity	|
| 3. Access any content from any place	|
| 4. Save money on digital services (yeah, really)	|
| 5. Avoid Data/Bandwidth throttling	|

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Types of VPN

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Types of VPN protocols

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Remote Access VPN

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Internet Protocol Security or IPSec

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Site–to–Site VPN

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Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)

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Point–to–Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)

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Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS)

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Open Source VPN

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Secure Shell (SSH)

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P2P VPN

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List of VPN service providers

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VPN Provider

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Pricing Model

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Lowest monthly price

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Lowest price (subscription)

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Locations (countries)

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Dedicated/Statistic IPs

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Mullvad (https://mullvad.net/en/pricing/)

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Pay any $, get exact duration

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€5

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$5

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38

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NO

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iVPN (https://www.ivpn.net/pricing/)

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Weekly/Monthly/Yearly

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$6

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$140 / 3 Years

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32

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NO

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VPN Provider

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Pricing Model

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Lowest monthly price

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Lowest price (subscription)

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Locations (countries)

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Dedicated/Statistic IPs

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ProtonVPN (https://protonvpn.com/pricing)

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Yearly

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Free

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€120 / 2 years

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40-61

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NO

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VPN Provider

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Pricing Model

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Lowest monthly price

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Lowest price (subscription)

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Locations (countries)

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Dedicated/Statistic IPs

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Windscribe (https://windscribe.com/upgrade)

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Monthly/Yearly

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Free/$3

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$69 / Year

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63

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YES

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CyberGhost (https://cyberghostvpn.com/buy/cyberghost-vpn-4)

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Monthly/Yearly

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$12.99

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$56.97 / 2 Years

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91

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YES

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ExpressVPN (https://www.expressvpn.com/order)

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Monthly/Yearly

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$12.95

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$100 / 1 Year

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94

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NO

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NordVPN (https://nordvpn.com/pricing/)

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Monthly/Yearly

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$12.99

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$88.83 / 2 Years

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60

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YES

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Surfshark (https://order.surfshark.com)

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Monthly/Yearly

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€12.95

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€59.76 / 2 Years

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63

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YES

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How to be sure that your VPN is really protecting you?

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While I try to bring you the list of best VPN service providers, you still need to ensure that everything works as planned and promised. Actually, there are three major tests that you can do yourself to be sure that your VPN doesn't leak:

1. IP Leak Test
The purpose of using a VPN is to hide your real IP address. There are moments when connection lost and then gets restored, this is the moment when some VPN providers fail. To avoid this issue, definitely, you should enable the kill switch feature on any VPN.
Simply google (http://google.com): Show my real IP address and run test on any website. If the test shows your VPN address & location instead of the real one, then your IP isn't leaking.

2. DNS Leak Test
DNS is responsible for translating the domain name into an IP address. Your ISP assigns you with a DNS server which they control, so they can log and record your internet usage. When the time comes, they know what you did and what you do.
Usually, users only check IP Leak Test and don't pay attention to the DNS leak test,  sometimes this gives them a false sense of security.
You should run DNS Leak Test to eliminate DNS leakage.
Visit the website for test and further information: DNS leak test (https://www.dnsleaktest.com)

3. WebRTC Leak Test
WebRTC stands for Web Real-Time Communication. This technology gives you the possibility to have fast & smooth voice/video calls in your browser. If you come positive in this step, keep calm, there is nothing to worry about with your VPN service provider because the problem lies in your browser. No, you don't need to uninstall your browser because every top browser uses WebRTC technology but you should disable it. (click for the guide) (https://dataprot.net/guides/webrtc-leak/)
Click for WebRTC Leak Test (https://browserleaks.com/webrtc)

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I'll update this thread with more VPNs for privacy and non-privacy usage but would love to hear an opinion from you guys. From my experience, the current list is a very good one but my personal favourites for privacy are Mullvad and ProtonVPN.

ProtonVPN doesn't accept Bitcoin as payment it seems. I see only Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, and Amex. I wasted my time?

https://i.imgur.com/4SX1kPU.png

Since we're on a cryptocurrency board, I don't see why such providers should be listed. Otherwise, we could start a list of everything to list every shop, even if they have nothing related to crypto. What about making a list of vibrator shops.

edit


I see nothing impolite in my post. Not my problem if you are mentally fragile. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen


OK, so they could at least show it with the other logos I showed in my image
thanks anyway

Man, you are impolite!
If you have any question when you visit a VPN service provider, you can always check their Support page.
In this case, if you weren't rude, you would discover that ProtonVPN has Four Payment Options (https://protonvpn.com/support/payment-options/).
These are:

• Credit card
• PayPal
• Bitcoin
• Cash

You have to sign up at first under the Free plan and then upgrade your plan from Dashboard to pay with Bitcoin.

Accepts. I personally pay for my subscription in bitcoin.

https://i.imgur.com/GFz6U8K.png

I think it is important to remember that some VPNs offer "privacy", but you will need to trust them to give you said privacy. For example, if a VPN claims to not keep logs, you need to trust they actually don't keep logs.

Also, regarding using a VPN for streaming, many streaming services will block IPs associated with data centers, especially services that offer content based on geo-location. If this is why someone is going to buy a VPN service, it would probably be best to purchase a one-month plan (or the shortest plan available) to make sure they can actually access the streaming service via that VPN.

Nord VPN https://nordvpn.com/ also offers cryptocurrency payments. There are three to choose from: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.

In my opinion, it is one of the best VPNs and I will rather not change it, but I would like to know how it looks compared to other services in 2021.

I use Mullvad and I love it, no complaints here! Connection is always fast and secure

Small correction: the price model isn't really monthly. You can literally pay any amount and get the exact duration you paid for.
Until they accept LN, I use BCH for Mullvad. It's accepted with zero confirmations (Bitcoin needs one confirmation).

Great idea to make list of VPN providers. But your list is incomplete. There is some popular providers which accept BTC for payment is missing. I can suggest to add few:
ExpressVPN https://www.expressvpn.com/
PureVPN https://www.purevpn.com/order

Agree about NordVPN. I was surprised that it wasn't listed in OP.

Good point, streaming services like Netflix don't like VPN's at all, and they're activelly blocking it. Unfortunately, monthly plans cost very expensive  compared with yearly ones.

I think that any VPN service provider found here[1] can be added to the list (most were already mentioned). What is specially good about these providers is that not only they accept BTC/crypto as a payment but also they don't use BitPay a.k.a "anti-Bitcoin service"[2] as their payment processor (which is awesome). As a vouch I can only recommend either IVPN and Mullvad since those were the only ones that I've used. Mullvad has a higher advantage regarding privacy because they simply assign you a random number to be your account instead of asking you for your e-mail ...

Note: This post shares similar information with this[3] post of mine, but I think that the information shouldn't be missed even though the threads approach the same nature of discussion.

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[1]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367983.msg58370560#msg58370560 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367983.msg58370560#msg58370560)
[2]https://debitpay.directory/anti-bitcoin/ (https://debitpay.directory/anti-bitcoin/)
[3]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367983.msg58370560#msg58370560 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367983.msg58370560#msg58370560)

Was that an expression of politeness? If yes, then what about making a list of dildo shops? LeGaulois Approved ✔

You are right, companies have to earn trust in this business because promises mean nothing if they aren't backed by the facts. The nature of trust in this business is pretty similar to bitcoin mixers.

Thanks for correction  :) I'll update that column with: Monthly and Custom.

Yeah, that list is incomplete and I really want to make community based list of VPN service providers. At the moment, this list is created from personal experience with dozens of VPN providers.
I didn't include the Express VPN purposely. They have gone down in quality and I am not a fan of Kape Technologies. If anyone thinks that they are trustworthy, then I am open for discussion, it's very important for us to have a list of privacy-oriented VPNs.

I don't use ExpressVPN, so I had no idea that they went down in quality and they're not privacy-oriented provider.
How about CyberghostVPN or PrivateInternetAccess?

As it was mentioned they do accept bitcoin but I wanted to add that the bitcoin payment is different, it won't show up if you aren't logged in. They basically need you to already have an account with Proton team like the proton email and then you have to log into that account to see the bitcoin payment option in your account. Here is the details: https://protonvpn.com/support/vpn-bitcoin-payments/

I use Windscribe since a few months ago. It's quite ok. Keep in mind that the lowest price is not exactly $1, but $2, with an extra dollar for unlimited data. Sometimes the speed is terrible (I bought the Singapore IP) but it doesn't last that long, it is also possible that my network is the issue so this will need more test. Not the most privacy focused one but good enough if you just need something cheap.

According to this article (https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-owns-expressvpn-cyberghost-pia-zenmate-vpn-review-sites/ (https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-owns-expressvpn-cyberghost-pia-zenmate-vpn-review-sites/)), Kape now owns all of them. I would recommend you to choose different VPN.

I'm unsure what to think of Kape Technologies. They were, in the past, known as Crossrider[1] and a simple google search regarding their previous name leads you to numerous malware reports related to Crossrider - MalwareBytes even mentioned that in 2018[2]. A very recent report that I've just found - responsible to shift my perspective of the company - was this one[3] where there was an investigation regarding the claims made by other security labs and, if the report is correct, it turns out that Crossrider wasn't involved in the malware distribution, bad agents only took advantage of the platform that Crossride developed to spread malware (I do recommend users reading that article since it goes more in detail regarding this issue). Still, by the recent purchase that the company made it seems quite eager to grab a hold on numerous VPN services, I wonder why that particular focus? Let's all remember that they are a public traded company[4] and those are driven by profits... I wouldn't be comfortable knowing that at the end of the day my VPN provider is under the grasp of some company like that.

Regarding ExpressVPN - I never liked them. Here's an article[...] of which I'll highlight a relevant sentence:

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[1]https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-crossrider-renamed-kape-after-switching-to-cybersecurity-1001227178 (https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-crossrider-renamed-kape-after-switching-to-cybersecurity-1001227178)
[2]https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2018/04/new-crossrider-variant-installs-configuration-profiles-on-macs/ (https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2018/04/new-crossrider-variant-installs-configuration-profiles-on-macs/)
[3]https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-crossrider-malware/ (https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-crossrider-malware/)
[4]https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/KAPE/kape-technologies-plc/company-page (https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/KAPE/kape-technologies-plc/company-page)
[5]https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/expressvpn-cio-among-three-facing-1-6-million-doj-fine-project-raven/ (https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/expressvpn-cio-among-three-facing-1-6-million-doj-fine-project-raven/)

Avoid Kape and avoid every company they own.

Whether or not they were personally responsible for infecting their users with malware and invading their privacy with ad injectors and trackers, or whether they only provided the tools to do so to other individuals, is more or less irrelevant. They were in the business of spying on users, collecting their data, and monetizing it, the exact opposite of what you want from a VPN company. Their CEO even admitted the name change was to distance themselves from their prior activities. They bought VPN review sites and then changed the rankings to promote their own services.

Go and look at the Privacy Policies of some of their other VPNs. They are absolutely atrocious.

CyberGhost - https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_US/privacypolicy
When registering they want your name, address, and email address, and will store your IP address alongside that. They then go on to collect all kinds of information, including "data relating to the browser you are using, mobile/desktop device, general properties and metadata, OS version, preferred language, the date and time of your visit, battery charge, screen resolution, Google Advertising ID, Gyro-sensor data, screen size, Connectivity (WLAN), Mobile service provider". Tell me exactly why my VPN provider needs to know how much battery I have left or who my mobile service provider is? And then of course, "we may communicate your Personal Data to a member of our group of companies (this means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company, KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC, and all its subsidiaries)" and "with 3rd part suppliers for the purposes of optimization of our Website and Services as well customer analytics and fraud prevention (e.g.VWO, Appsflyer, Google etc)." Because you definitely want your VPN provider sharing your information with Google of all companies for the sake of "customer analysis".

ZenMate's looks pretty much the same, except they also use tracking pixels, with the data again being handed over to Google for "customer analysis".

PIA is the same. "We may disclose collected Personal Data to necessary members in our group of companies (across our ultimate holding company and all its subsidiaries)".

Remember that Kape's subsidiaries include companies like https://www.webselenese.com, which is designed to "Connect consumers with brands". In other words, a marketing agency. Who has access to all your VPN data, if they want it.

We are not exactly starved for choice when it comes to VPN providers. When there are dozens of better ones out there, why would anyone ever settle for one of the worst?

Avoid Kape.

My first attempt to use a VPN I had an ugly experience with NordVPN (https://nordvpn.com/servers/)
It was not Nord's fault but mine. I was very amateur in cybersecurity issues.
I downloaded the NordVPN from a shared link on social media instead of their website or playstore.
They altered the domain name with hyphen(-). I didn't know, I completed the registration. Immediately some popups begin to display in my phone. I knew I was being spyed. I searched for the file source to uninstall but I couldn't find it.
I was swift to reset my phone even when my backup was not upto date. I lost data but I was safe from attack.
After the loss, I re-examined the url and notice it has a security encryption https: but it was still malicious.
But I am using the NordVPN now but not always.
I wish someone would create a topic on how to beat the cyber criminals, they are upgrading everyday.

Https says nothing about the authenticity of the person, website, or software you are dealing with. You should use https everywhere as it encrypts your data and protects against man in the middle attacks and protects against your communications being spied upon. Be aware, though, that that is all it does. It doesn't matter if your communication channel with a scam website is encrypted with https - you are still connecting to a scam website, and you can still download malicious software over the https connection.

Making sure you only download software from the official website or github repository is pretty basic stuff. When possible, you should also verify your download against the PGP keys of the developers or against provided hashes. Unfortunately this is not possible with NordVPN as it is with some other VPNs.

Tip 1

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During the VPN session, don't use Russian servers if anonymity is your priority because Roskomnadzor has high control on them.

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Tip 2

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Russia's firewall doesn't work well and compared to the Chinese firewall, it's very weak. Websites are blocked by ISPs and you can still access blocked websites by using the VPN that has servers in other countries.
The list of VPNs on this thread will help Russian people to get out of the information vacuum and check blocked news websites.

Good tips, man. I just want to add few words about it. It's good suggestion about privacy - don't use Russian VPN servers for privacy reasons. From what I saw, quite many VPN providers don't even have servers in Russia, probably because of reason that you mentioned.
About 2nd tip. There is problem that Russia started to block VPN providers websites. So, it might be an issue to subscribe VPN for Russian people if they haven't done it yet. And since Visa and MC isn't working, Bitcoin is one of few ramining alternatives to pay for VPN.

I've been using ExpressVPN for a couple of years now and so far I haven't had any issues with them whatsoever. My subscription ends in 2 weeks and I see here that some people raised legit concerns regarding them and privacy they provide so now I am looking at the competition and seriously thinking about getting something else.

Since one of the things I use VPN for are streaming services (Netflix and Amazon mainly), are there any VPNs on the market (other than ExpressVPN which I know works very good for this) that can handle 4k streaming without issues, with high amount of available servers that consistently work for streaming sites?

There aren't many VPN which simultaneously offer decent privacy and high speed for streaming. AFAIK only ProtonVPN offer both. I only used free version though with slow home internet connection, so i don't know if it can handle 4K streaming.

I know many people from China also use VPN for accessing many website services and it works just fine, so ''great'' firewall is not that great afteral.

I think that Mullvad is the best VPN you can buy anonymously with cryptocurrencies, but they are certainly not the cheapest available option.
If you have Coingecko account with collected candies you can use their code and get a nice discount for Surfshark VPN with 24 Months + Free 3 Months, or 18% off on NordVPN.
You can also try Windscribe or Proton free versions but for anything serious you will need to pay pro version.
 

Yeah I know, it's much harder than it looks, to find something that ticks both of those boxes. Before settling with ExpressVPN few years ago I tried few other that were supposed to be very good (like NordVPN and ProtonVPN) but all of them had some issues when it comes to streaming services. Either it was speed, Netflix reliability (NordVPN) or low amount of servers that work with Netflix (ProtonVPN) or not working with Amazon at all.


I am looking at their website now and it seems that they improved a lot compared to the last time I checked (iirc it was 2019). I see that they have wider selection of servers now and  since 1 month of their "Plus" package costs only $10 I will definitely give it a go.


I will give it a go if ProtonVPN turns out not to be good for my needs, and it seems like its even cheaper than the one I am using at the moment.


Not really interested in free versions as from my experience free VPN versions are good for only the most basic browsing purposes and nothing else and I have no issues paying something 5-10 USD per month if it means it will work hassle free and without any restrictions. You know the saying, "if something is free, you're the product".

Don't they use residential VPNs for that? I would assume they block any known VPN IP address in their "great firewall".
I remember the days when I ran an open proxy. Without advertising it (it was meant for myself only), it got many Chinese users.

It's the cheapest one I've seen if you don't need it continuously. You can literally pay for an hour, and create a new account when you need it again. I just tested it: €0.01 got me 1 hour and 38 minutes of full speed VPN.

Proton also have the free version, but both Proton and Windscribe free versions are very limited in number of locations, speed and traffic.
Paid version unlocks all locations and they provide unlimited traffic and speed, but for any vpn I would look to avoid jurisdiction of five, nine and 14 eyes countries.

I don't know what exact kind of vpn they use but I know they are using it for accessing twitter, youtube and other websites.
They have their own alternative cloned versions, so I would not be surprised if they have chinese version of bitcointalk forum  :D

Yeah, I was talking about plans that include one or more years, some vpn's even have special lifetime plan deals sometimes.
Getting some deal like that for Mullvad vpn would be great.

Somehow I never trust "lifetime plans". Let's call it experience ;)
I think Mullvad if honest in their pricing (https://mullvad.net/en/pricing/):
You can get a lifetime plan though: say you plan to live 50 more years, that cost you 0.07 Bitcoin ;)

Agree. I wouldn't trust a lifetime plan on anything, but especially not for something like a VPN which operates in a constantly changing ecosystem with constant new technological developments, protocols, regulations, laws, and so on. I had a friend who had just splashed out on a 3 year plan on Private Internet Access about two weeks before they were bought over by Kape. Couldn't get her money back, so just had to eat the loss and pay for another subscription with a different provider. Being bought out is only one risk to consider. What if the provider goes bankrupt, is shutdown, leaks data, complies with data requests, changes their privacy policy, etc., and you are locked in to a lifetime contract?

And there is the principle of it to consider as well. Once you've paid for a lifetime contract, then the VPN provider has less incentive to provide you with a good service to keep you as a customer. It's like all the early access video games we see which just cease development and collapse after raking in a few tens of millions of dollars in pre-sales.

Why would you trust any plan for that matter? :)
I am taking everything with a bit of suspicion and I know everything can collapse at any moment, so I won't fall in depression that easy.
Even the most trusted vpn service could be selling your data to government without you knowledge and claim they have ''zero log policy''.
Most lifetime plans I saw for vpn are not really lifetime and you need to to some free action after few years to renew it.

This could happen with any business, you could sign a contract with bank, take a credit for apartment, and it can all fall apart.
It's not like you would paid huge amounts of money for vpn, that you would need to cry later or call for lawyers after that :)

Lifetime deals are only temporary, for limited time and for closed circle of people, so we are not talking about millions of customers per se ;)

For my use, free version of either of those is completely useless. As I said before, I am not a fan of "free" stuff as more often than not they end up being more costly (usually wasting my time, and time is money) than those I paid for. So yeah, gonna test ProtonVPN "Plus" plan which fits my needs.

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Regarding all this lifetime/long term subscription thing, I generally avoid the former (I don't remember taking lifetime plan for anything) but I have nothing against 1 year sub. I don't take those right from the start though as first few months I like to test the service and if it proves to be reliable, I switch to yearly sub simply because I don't want to think about it every month. And as @dkbit98 said, it's not like I am risking thousands of dollars but 100, tops. I did the same thing with ExpressVPN, and will do with ProtonVPN as well if it proves to be as good as people claim it is.

I can't agree with ProntonVPN's Terms (https://protonvpn.com/terms-and-conditions):
So they don't log anything, but they restrict freedom of speech by telling me I can't tell you you're a dick? I'm insulted by the fact that they think insults have to be regulated.

On the one hand they say this (https://protonvpn.com/terms-and-conditions):
But on the other hand they say this (https://protonvpn.com/):
So which one is it? If a shady government bans something that threatens them, that means an activist won't be allowed to use ProtonVPN to promote overthrowing that government.

It sounds like the standard disclaimer that anyone just dismisses and clicks "ok" on. In my opinion, a VPN is one of those services where you should not dismiss terms you don't agree with.
All the more reason I won't use any of those VPNs. There's literally nothing like it in Mullvad's Terms (https://mullvad.net/en/help/terms-service/).

You know those terms looks fine on paper but they can be changed at any time, especially when we know that Mullvad is based in Sweden, and that is one of the 14 Eyes countries.
It's not like we didn't see terms being changed recently or played around them, like for example with Proton mail that many forum members here praised multiple times.
Mullvad vpn is good but I wouldn't trust any vpn including Mullvad for anything serious.

I don't know (never tested it).

For Mullvad, I've never tried 4k streaming either. But it maxes out my internet connection when I'm downloading.
For streaming, I can imagine the server location matters a lot, and ideally the VPN server should be in between your location and the streaming server.

Exactly. I knew that it will be hard to find VPN provider that can tick all of my boxes and that some compromises will have to be made. Tbh, If I was doing something extremely risky, I don't think I would trust any of the  VPNs that are mentioned here, no matter what they say about not keeping logs etc as all of those things can change easily.

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So, I took 1 month of Mullvad today to give it a go and I must say that I like it a lot, even though I won't use it for streaming. You can really tell that is privacy-oriented VPN.

First of all, registration is very simply and straightforward; you get 16 digit code that is your only login info. No emails, no confirmations and no hassle. I used BTC for payment of course and what I like is that you get 10% discount compared to other means of payment (to be precise they offer 10%  discount for BCH as well) so it's nice to see that they encourage people to use crypto. I tried various servers, from EU countries to NA and Asia and speed was generally very good, between 50-60 Mbps which is more than enough for comfortable 4k HDR streaming/torrenting.

Regarding streaming sites, I was surprised to see that Netflix actually works as I Googled it a bit and people said that Mullvad is generally not very good for that. So, I managed to access US, Australian, Japanese and few others without any issues. Unfortunately, Amazon didn't work at all, no matter the server I chose so for me it's not an option. Even though I won't use it for streaming purposes, I think that I will extend my sub and continue using it on my PC and mobile phone as as primary VPN since I really like how privacy oriented it is and find something else that I will use for TV only where I watch majority of stuff,

After Mullvad, I was about to get 1 month ProtonVPN sub, hoping that will be my go-to streaming option. Since they boast to have servers in 63 countries I kinda assumed that one certain country will be among those, but for some reason it isn't which is a deal-breaker for me as for some streaming reasons I need server in that country.

The search goes on. Or I will just use 2 different VPNs from now on, Mullvad + something else.

Mullvad is probably one of the best privacy focused VPN's that I've used in the past. In fact, it was the only one - that I'm aware - that earned the excellence badge from the deceased thatoneprivacysite.net[1]. Sadly the website is no longer the same as it has been sold to SafetyDetectives - which is owned by Kape Technologies[2] - by the guy that created it[3]. If you want to look for the spreadsheet that was maintained by the site owner, someone over at GitHub managed to scrap (most) of it[4]. As it stands today, I can no longer recommend thatoneprivacysite.net/SafetyDetectives as a beacon of light to identify good VPN companies.

If you are able to, I would also recommend that you check out IVPN[5]. I know it has been discussed in this thread but I've also used them in the past and I enjoyed them as much as Mullvad. They've also got WireGuard implemented which is nice. Recently they've also been supporting Ukrainian refugees with free IVPN accounts[6] - as well to Russian oppressed population - which even though doesn't make them more "privacy" oriented, they could've just continued their operations as normal and do nothing to help with the current crisis.

While they don't have trial accounts, they do offer an "affordable one week trial plan" or you can just use their 30-day money-back guarantee rule if you're not satisfied with the service[7].

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[1]https://web.archive.org/web/20200204212321/https://thatoneprivacysite.net/blog/mullvad-review/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20200204212321/https://thatoneprivacysite.net/blog/mullvad-review/)
[2]https://restoreprivacy.com/vpn-review-websites-owned-by-vpns/ (https://restoreprivacy.com/vpn-review-websites-owned-by-vpns/)
[3]https://web.archive.org/web/20201201214426/https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/announcement-tops/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20201201214426/https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/announcement-tops/)
[4]https://github.com/BitWrecker/Archived-VPN-Comparison-Spreadsheet (https://github.com/BitWrecker/Archived-VPN-Comparison-Spreadsheet)
[5]https://www.ivpn.net/ (https://www.ivpn.net/)
[6]https://www.ivpn.net/blog/in-support-of-ukraine (https://www.ivpn.net/blog/in-support-of-ukraine)
[7]https://www.ivpn.net/knowledgebase/billing/does-ivpn-offer-a-free-trial/ (https://www.ivpn.net/knowledgebase/billing/does-ivpn-offer-a-free-trial/)

For now I will give Mullvad a go, as looking at IVPN server status (https://www.ivpn.net/status/) they have even less countries supported than Mullvad, and only half of what ProtonVPN has so I doubt it would be good choice for me, especially for streaming.

It's not hard at all to find VPN that does one or two things very good, but to find one that does everything good seems impossible. I might try NordVPN again even though I wasn't really satisfied with their reliability at all few years ago but maybe they improved in the meantime, or suck it up and use ProtonVPN even though they miss one country on their list that is important to me. It really sucks that ExpressVPN is by far the best one when it comes to streaming purposes but that one is not an option anymore.

What is your normal internet speed without using any VPN?
50-60 Mbps is not bad but it could be better especially if your normal speed is much higher than that, but it all depends from country you choose, latency, percentage of use for specific location and other factors.
I saw that windscribe is offering location that are specialized servers used for streaming and netflix, there are four of them in Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Japan.
Only thing is that you can use this locations only if you have pro account I think, but I can't confirm that because I never tried how it works.
I wanted to try Surfshark that looks decent and they son't have any bandwidth limits or restrictions.

I have 200/200. Fiber connection, so very low ping.


True, it could be better, but since those speeds are more than enough for 4k HDR streaming (afaik 25-30 Mbps is enough) I am fine with it. Also, keep in mind that those were the speeds for US/Australia/Japan servers which are very far away from me.


Since Netlfix works good with Mullvad on all those servers that you mentioned (and many more), there's really no point for me testing that one as well. While you can find several VPNs that work good with Netflix, problems start when you want to get one that will work with several others streaming sites. Beside Netflix, I use Amazon, Apple+ and HBO Max and to find VPN that works reliably for all of those while having wide selection of server is very hard. Well, there's one, but it has it's own issues.


Let me know if you check that one!

Understandable Rikafip, I'm sure you'll be very pleased! I don't know if you've noticed but Mullvad also offers the option for someone to pay with cash[1], which I found also interesting:

---

So far the only service/website that actively blocked my Mullvad servers (and that also blocks IVPN ones) were gambling websites (specifically bet365.com). Not that I gamble - which I don't - but some friends of mine were looking for VPN's that allowed them to play in such houses and asked me to try it out with bad results. So if you're looking into those kind of options as well Rikafip I advice you to double check before jumping in as well.

If you do intend to make a longer trial period of Mullvad, let us know how it goes! My VPN subscription is about to end and I may finally return to Mullvad :)

---

[1]https://mullvad.net/en/pricing/ (https://mullvad.net/en/pricing/)

I've recently transfered large amounts of data between servers, and geographical distance matters a lot. If it's relatively close, I've seen 90 MB/s (almost the full 1000 Gbit/s), but if it's further away, it drops to around 7 MB/s.
You can probably determine if the VPN is the bottleneck by opening many connections (Torrent): if that reaches the maximum of your internet connection, the VPN can handle it.

Yep, I saw it and I don't remember seeing that somewhere else and it's nice to see that even people who don't want to pay with crypto (or simply don't have it) can still keep their anonymity. Kudos to Mullvad, not many services would bother with that at this day and age.


I tested it today and it seems like bet365 still blocks all Mullvad servers I tried to use, while some others like Sportsbet (which is banned in the country I am currently living in) works without any issues whatsoever. Either way, that's not an issue for me as as I am kinda old school guy and bet online only if I really have to.


I know, and it was the reason why I tested speed with servers that were at the max distance for me, like Australia, New Zealand and West Coast of the United States. If those servers can handle 4k streaming (and they could) then those in Europe which I occasionally use should be even better. And they were when I tested them today.

Try checking settings in your VPN application and see if there is option to switch from UDP or TCP to faster IKEv2.
This should make everything work much faster, almost like your are not using any vpn.

Geographical location is most important thing but latency can sometimes be better in countries that are further away, maybe it depends on the quality of the servers and traffic they have at that moment.
It's good idea to check download and upload speed manually after selecting new vpn location, there are some dedicated websites for this purpose.

Maybe you placed some bet on OSCAR awards that are starting soon?  :D

Mullvad is a great choice for Cheap Anonimity and it's the only VPN I know that allows anonymous cash payments.
Some websites block VPNs but in order to unlock them, you need a dedicated IP but it has one negative side, dedicated IP belongs exclusively to you and probably 1-2 other users and your privacy can be easily violated if requested.

But if you only want to play on bet365 that shouldn't be a big issue.

Your option is to use a VPN with dedicated IP. The first one privacy-focused and the next three non-privacy focused providers offer you this benefit: Windscribe, Surfshark, CyberGhost & NordVPN.

Windscribe
1. Visit Windscribe (https://windscribe.com/upgrade) and either choose Monthly Plan, Yearly Plan or Build A Plan.
The cheapest option is Build A Plan. You choose one favourite Location for $1 and unlimited unlimited data for another $1, totally = $2 a month.

2. Let's acquire Statistic IP. Click here (https://windscribe.com/staticips) to visit the page and then choose Datacenter - $24 / Year or Residential - $96 / Year connection. Residential avoids all blocking but probably in your case Datacenter will be enough too.

SurfShark
1. Visit SurfShark (https://order.surfshark.com) and choose any plan you wish. It doesn't offer dedicated IPs but offers Static Servers. Connect to the Static Server and your IP will stay the same on every session.

CyberGhost
1. Visit CyberGhost (http://www.cyberghostvpn.com/buy/cyberghost-vpn-4), choose any plan you wish and during the checkout include Dedicated IP in your cart.

NordVPN
1. Visit this Guide (https://support.nordvpn.com/General-info/Features/1091993372/How-to-purchase-a-Dedicated-IP-address.htm) and follow the instructions.

Doesn't a dedicated IP dethrones the usage of VPN? I might be saying something stupid but, to my eyes, if you have a dedicated IP attached to your VPN, how is that better than having a shared IP amongst many users that use the same service? I know that for some services you probably have to turn off VPN / split tunnel (like banks for example) but for anything else I would choose shared IP against a dedicated one, at least in what concerns to anonymity. Am I wrong? Windscribe seems to share my view since they state the following regarding "dedicated IPs":

VPNs aren't only used for hiding ;) A dedicated IP makes it easier to identify the same person is visiting the same website again. But if you want to gain access to something that isn't available to your own location (for instance to bet365 or Netflix), they'll know you use the same account anyway.

Nord have just bought over SufShark, so they are now owned by the same company. The same company that got hacked, tried to cover it up, and then only admitted it to their users months later when they were exposed.

CyberGhost are owned by Kape, and should be avoided at all costs: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg58547859#msg58547859

Windscribe are still largely closed source.

Depends on why you are using a VPN. A VPN will never provide anonymity, as you suggest. A dedicated IP is certainly worse than a shared IP in terms of privacy, though, since all your traffic can be linked together via that IP rather than "lost in the crowd" of different shared IPs.

You're correct, I do know for a fact that certain services only accept the usage of VPN considering the fact that you share with them a dedicated IP. Otherwise they won't allow the usage of VPN (using shared IP's).
Sorry, I misused the words - indeed a VPN doesn't offer anonymity (specially considering if you pay with fiat / direct from your bank account). What it does provide is privacy mostly related to what your ISP sees regarding your activity. Even so, I consider it a must in these days since I'm sure ISP make their best to sell whatever data they are able to extract from us...

Hmmm thanks for this info.
I didn't know that connection between Nord and SurfShark, and I just wanted to test and see how SurfShark is working :/

I think that windscribe desktop application v2 and browser extension are open source, and you can use login credentials with open vpn.
Do you by any chance have any list of open source vpn providers, I would love to check it out?
Last time I checked I think Mullvad and ProtonVPN claimed they are open source.

Correct, but their mobile apps and router software are still closed source. I'm also not very confident in their security practices: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/vpn-servers-seized-by-ukrainian-authorities-werent-encrypted/. TL;DR, they did not encrypt some of their servers, and stored unencrypted private keys on these servers.

I don't I'm afraid, and I don't think such a list would be helpful, since there is far more that needs to be considering when picking a VPN than just if it appears on a list of open source ones. Doesn't matter if the VPN is open source if it collects all your data.

Yeah, I have even mention that before. Since your quoted my last post, I assume I forgot to edit the text.
It's correct now: The first one privacy-focused and the next three non-privacy-focused providers offer you this benefit: Windscribe, Surfshark, CyberGhost & NordVPN.

I also updated thread two days ago and added NordVPN and SurfShark because not all people are prioritizing privacy and some people simply want to unlock netflix and other platforms. But to make things clear, I put Non-Privacy Focused Mainstream VPNs title on them.

Oh, didn't know that news. If NordVPN bought SurfShark, then sure I'll move SurfShark into a non-privacy-focused VPNs list.

Today I was browsing one forum and accidentally noticed this website:
https://www.bitcoin-vpn.com/
It's huge list of VPN providers with Bitcoin and other crypto payment option, currently there 83 websites listed. I have never saw such big list of VPN services. There is also information which payment proccessor they're using. Offcourse, I can't vouch for every service listed there, but I think it's worth to check it out.

I wasn't aware that he is on Bitcointalk, thanks. Great stuff, I already bookmarked both his websites on my browser.

what are the reasons for the price difference with the same VPN? what are the difference in services as well?
Can we have names of VPN available for USA residents and for IOS phone?

That's usually the length of your subscription. You usually get a discount if you pay for a year instead of every month. Or the difference can be a dedicated IP, more servers worldwide so more IPs to be behind, more devices to use the VPN, and stuff like that...

I have never seen a VPN not available for US residents so I would say all of them. If there is any not accepting the USA, a hand is probably enough to count them

For an app on IOS, I guess it's up to you to visit the service, we can't always put the spoon in your mouth

I would suggest you to check Mullvad (https://mullvad.net/en/download/ios/). Price is reasonable ($5 per month), it has good amount of available servers and speed is also very good. The best thing about it is that is very privacy oriented (probably the best one in that regard I tried so far) so if that is high on your priority list you should definitely check it out. And yeah it has iOS app, I tried it on iPad.

Thank you for mentioning my website, really worked hard to make this list :)  I will take care to check all listed providers again soon. Hope it helps to others to find their best provider.

I can list hundreds of VPN service providers that accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments but that's not my goal. I prefer quality over quantity.
What's more comfortable for you, a list of 100 VPN service providers where 90% are garbage and you struggle with which one to choose or a list of trusted and quality 10 VPN service providers where you can choose either one without regret?

The aim of my thread is to create a great list, the most trustworthy list. I'll be more than happy if people discuss VPN service providers and share their own experiences. I'm glad for these people who posted: RickDeckard's post, (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg58540833#msg58540833) o_e_l_e_o's post, (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg58547859#msg58547859) LoyceV's post, (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg59605959#msg59605959) Rikafip's post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg59620087#msg59620087). There were some other good posts posted by them.

Bitcoin-vpn
I'm glad if my thread inspired you.

Yeah, I am thinking how I can improve my list, as a list A-Z of many providers is not a best idea.
One of ideas - make a 10 best providers ( most trustworthy, reliable, etc )  shortlist and than a list of all other providers. I still want to give a possibility to find all providers, which accepts Crypto.

I updated the thread with a new guide for you.

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How to be sure that your VPN is really protecting you?

---

While I try to bring you the list of best VPN service providers, you still need to ensure that everything works as planned and promised. Actually, there are three major tests that you can do yourself to be sure that your VPN doesn't leak:

1. IP Leak Test
The purpose of using a VPN is to hide your real IP address. There are moments when connection lost and then gets restored, this is the moment when some VPN providers fail. To avoid this issue, definitely, you should enable the kill switch feature on any VPN.
Simply google (http://google.com): Show my real IP address and run test on any website. If the test shows your VPN address & location instead of the real one, then your IP isn't leaking.

2. DNS Leak Test
DNS is responsible for translating the domain name into an IP address. Your ISP assigns you with a DNS server which they control, so they can log and record your internet usage. When the time comes, they know what you did and what you do.
Usually, users only check IP Leak Test and don't pay attention to the DNS leak test,  sometimes this gives them a false sense of security.
You should run DNS Leak Test to eliminate DNS leakage.
Visit the website for test and further information: DNS leak test (https://www.dnsleaktest.com)

3. WebRTC Leak Test
WebRTC stands for Web Real-Time Communication. This technology gives you the possibility to have fast & smooth voice/video calls in your browser. If you come positive in this step, keep calm, there is nothing to worry about with your VPN service provider because the problem lies in your browser. No, you don't need to uninstall your browser because every top browser uses WebRTC technology but you should disable it. (click for the guide) (https://dataprot.net/guides/webrtc-leak/)
Click for WebRTC Leak Test (https://browserleaks.com/webrtc)

Good call. I was ExpressVPN user for a couple of years (it was mainly for the streaming purposes) until I stumbled upon this topic, that made me look at them from a different angle. I switched to Mullvad soon after, and I must say that I am very satisfied with it.

Mullvad does have a tremendous focus on protecting their users identity and information that they have about them. This is their latest blog entry[1] regarding ending support for cryptocurrency refunds:
I've been keeping tabs on this company for a while and I honestly can't say bad things about them (so far). I'm really looking forward for their upcoming products from their hardware company[2] in the upcoming months. Their first product - Tillitis Key (competitor to a Yubico key) - is already very promising (both software and hardware are open source!)!

PS: If you want to increase even further your privacy you can use this store[3] to buy Mullvad vouchers through either BTC or XMR, which you can then redeem in their website.

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[1] https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2022/12/1/ending-support-for-cryptocurrency-refunds/ (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2022/12/1/ending-support-for-cryptocurrency-refunds/)
[2] https://www.tillitis.se/ (https://www.tillitis.se/)
[3] https://digitalgoods.proxysto.re/ (https://digitalgoods.proxysto.re/)

For everyone who plans to use Windscribe's Chrome Extension.

I don't know if that problem exists only for me but Windscribe's Chrome Extension for Opera browser gets automatically disabled on my pc. Sometimes, when I open Opera browser, extension is automatically unconnected and removed from Opera extension bar, l mean the area left to URL bar where you can pin extensions. So, I have to go into Opera settings -> extensions and manually enable extension and connect to Windscribe.
So, there is a chance that Windscribe extension will close automatically and if you have left some website tabs opened into browser, you may leak your IP. Definitely, no one wants to get such an unexpected surprise. That's why I am warning you, be careful!

I'm not one of its users, but IIRC, it used to have a bug in its auto-connect feature that despite being connected, it kept showing it was disconnected ^{[perhaps it's back]}... Have you tried checking your IP address whenever this happens?

You might want to try reinstalling the extension and while you're at it, make sure you're using the latest version of Opera.

If you can't predict when this happens, it sounds like you shouldn't use it at all. I always enable Mullvad's kill switch (now called lockdown mode), which prevents this.

And, I'm not using them, especially extensions, I'm just testing some VPNs and their extensions, additional softwares, etc for long-term, for weeks. That's why I posted here that since it happened to me on Opera browser, there is a good chance that other Opera users will experience this unpleasant situation.
Btw the problem is not in kill-switch but in the fact that extension somehow gets disabled without any reason. Maybe it happens because you have to install Windscribe extension from Chrome Extensions and not from Opera Addons, I don't know actually but it happens.

Good and affordable VPN services mean - fast and cheap. From your list I only see one VPN, which is free and fast - no identifying log Windscribe VPN. But from your link is not possible to find exact free Windscribe VPN plan, which is here - https://windscribe.com/features/use-for-free (https://windscribe.com/features/use-for-free) - 10GB per month data, 10 countries. From fee based VPN on your list is not possible to say, which is better, even with table view - also monthly prices are the same.
Plus, why to pay if you can get VPN for free. Just some free VPN - www.privadovpn.com (http://www.privadovpn.com), Switzerland, no log, 10GB per month data, 12 countries, https://www.vpnbook.com/ (https://www.vpnbook.com/), Switzerland, connection logs are automatically deleted every week, no limit for data, 3 countries.
 

AFAICS, they've "only" been partially audited, and I'm not sure by which firm: Has Windscribe been audited? (https://windscribe.com/knowledge-base/articles/has-windscribe-been-audited)

There's a saying that "if something is free, you’re the product (https://www.quora.com/Who-originally-suggested-that-if-youre-not-paying-for-the-product-you-are-the-product)"!

AFAIK, none of these two have been audited by a reputable auditing firm... In other words, you should take everything they say with a grain of salt!

• A good example of a VPN provider that cares about its users is NordVPN ^{[for what it's worth, I'm no longer one of its users]}: NordVPN verifies no-logs statement for the third time (https://nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-no-logs-audit-2022/)

In table I underlined that this vpn is free and min price starts from 2$ a month. I took my link from Pricing page. When you click on Pricing on windscribe's website, you get the exact link that I put in table. I think this was right thing to do because that page also lists countries that are included in Free plan. Also, when you register, as far as I can recall, you have choice to choose either free plan or paid one or build your own plan.

If I say that this VPN is the best from privacy, it means I'm taking the responsibility on myself which I'm not because this is not my business. I filtered and provided a list of VPNs that are good. Which one to trust, it's something that you have to do your own deep research and decide yourself.
Also, I don't control prices, so, if monthly prices are the same, that's because this is open market and market regulates the prices, supply & demand.

Why will someone offer VPN and privacy for free? Think about it. Not every free VPN offers privacy, they log your data and sell it, that's how they generate profit.

How can you say that on a company that got hacked and didn't admit it till someone published their private key on twitter. Company that acts like that, doesn't care about your privacy but about its financial success.

It appears that the minimum price is $3 now ^{[at least three pro locations]}: Screenshot (https://i.imgur.com/Ol2rnBR.jpg)
^{- BTW, their yearly plan is $69 at the moment.}

Surprisingly, I didn't know about that incident even though I was one of their users at the time ^[SMH]... Personally, I have mixed feelings about the route they took after knowing that one of the servers that they were renting has been breached ^{[attacker got an expired TLS key]}, but when I look at the whole picture ^{[e.g. no log]}, perhaps it's not as bad as it sounds: Why the NordVPN network is safe after a third-party provider breach (https://nordvpn.com/blog/official-response-datacenter-breach)

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@LoyceV (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg58483360#msg58483360)
I've been using Mullvad for the past few months, but I still can't find a way to add more credit using the dust or rather small amounts that I have in some of my addresses ^{[I'm a bit confused if I should still use the one-time generated payment address for it or I should do something else]}!
^{- Based on the current situation of the network, it might look like a bad idea, but I'm just going to use free accelerators with them.}

The "one-time payment address" is the only option they offer. I've never tested what happens if you create a few of them, and they confirm in random order.
For future use: don't get any dust in your wallet. Just send all small change to Mullvad directly instead of going to your wallet first.

Thanks, I updated prices of every listed VPN. Seems, there is on average 8% increase in monthly prices but noticeable changes in yearly plans and prices.

Depends, for some people it can be a concern, for some people it's okay or doesn't even matter. For me, and I think for many people, it's a concern. When VPN company claims that it's transparent and honest and lies and only admits when it has no other choice, doesn't look like a trustworthy companion.

Also, if I were you, I wouldn't trust any audits done for VPN companies. No company choose audit company that publishes negative result for them. They choose those independent companies that publish what VPN providers want. Word Audit is just a marketing term in their case, no one should assume that these statements or audit companies are actually true and honest.

I'm sorry for asking this @LoyceV but is this achievable by selecting the option "Coin Control"? I imagine that what you're saying is that if a user already knows that his address balance will be left with a small amount of Bitcoin at the moment of the transaction he/she should instruct for the change to be delivered directly to Mullvad address?

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Speaking of Mullvad, while this isn't related to a VPN it does still involve Mullvad - they've just launched their browser in partnership with TOR Project[1][2]. I'm tempted to try it out as I really like Mullvad as a company and I think that they are one of the few VPN's providers that are really fighting for their users and for what is right. I'll highly @o_e_l_e_o as well as I believe he'll be interested in knowing about another privacy option as a browser. According to the news being shared on TOR website[1] the main difference between the TOR browser and Mullvad one is the following:

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[1]https://blog.torproject.org/releasing-mullvad-browser/ (https://blog.torproject.org/releasing-mullvad-browser/)
[2]https://mullvad.net/en/browser (https://mullvad.net/en/browser)

Depends on your wallet. If you are using Electrum, for example, then you can use the "pay to many" option and put Mullvad's deposit address with a ! symbol instead of an amount. This will send everything left over from your transaction to Mullvad instead of to a change address. Obviously be careful using this so you don't accidentally send a whole bitcoin to Mullvad or something silly like that (unless of course you want to buy a 500 year subscription :P).

I had no idea they were launching a browser, so thanks for this! I'll definitely check it out. Based only on what you've quoted though, I'd be wary of using it immediately - a "hide in the crowd" approach only works when there is a crowd to hide in. It will initially have a very small user base until more people learn about it and start using it, so better to stick to Tor or Firefox for now.

For privacy (and optimal transaction fees), you should always use Coin Control. Without coin control, I wouldn't just send large change to Mullvad.

Correct. Or something else than Mullvad.

Allow me to quote them:
This is bad! Tor literally stands for "The onion router", and the main feature is that no single party other than yourself knows all data. Mullvad now recreated the browser fingerprinting features, but that's not the main part of Tor.

Thank you both for the tip! I'll try to explore the "pay to many" option in my next transaction and "Coin Control". Is there any difference between the two of them?
As for the subscription, I can't say that a 500 year subscription wouldn't be nice to have in order to pass down from generation to generation, but I think that I'll prefer to avoid accidentally spending such an amount :).

I understand your point of view o_e_l_e_o and I'll also give it a few weeks before trying it out. As far as the valid issue pointed out by LoyceV and yourself, I did a little bit of digging within some forums and Reddit and here's[1] an interesting information:
I was hoping for a bit more but that won't stop me from testing out the browser at least and create an opinion of my own. The 50 searches per day doesn't strike me since I don't believe I'm not nearly close to that number per day, but some users may find it quite a small number. Nevertheless it's great to see more private options as far as browsers are concerned (even thought it may be a stripped version of TOR).

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[1]https://libreddit.spike.codes/r/mullvadvpn/comments/12afncj/mullvad_vpn_and_the_tor_project_team_up_to/jersmgd/ (https://libreddit.spike.codes/r/mullvadvpn/comments/12afncj/mullvad_vpn_and_the_tor_project_team_up_to/jersmgd/)

Please fix your quote.

Coin Control is on the input-side, pay-to-many is about outputs.

Don't get me wrong: getting rid of browser fingerprinting has it's perks, they just shouldn't compare it to Tor. That's a whole different level.
It may cause other problems too: if users have the exact same browser fingerprint and use VPN, online casinos can think someone is using multiple accounts.

Coin control means specifically picking the inputs you want to use (or not use) for each transaction, rather than letting your wallet decide for you. This means deliberately taking care to avoid linking specific UTXOs in the same transaction to protect your privacy.
Pay to many on the other hand is exactly what it means - an option that allows you to specify multiple outputs in a transaction rather than just one. You can manipulate this feature as I described above to redirect any change to somewhere else.

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In terms of the browser, looking in to it a bit more it is obviously not being designed to replace Tor or compete directly with Tor. Rather it has been designed to compete with other non-Tor browsers. Obviously Tor is the gold standard for privacy, but for all those people who will never use Tor due to speed, breaking various websites, or other issues, then this Mullvad browser looks like a good option rather than using some spyware like Google Chrome.

I think I'll probably stick to my multiple very hardened Firefox set ups and forks, but having more privacy focused browsers such as DDG and Mullvad on the market is never a bad thing.

I messed the edit while trying to reply to both of you. Thank you for letting me know, I've fixed it.

Thank you both for the explanation, it is clear for me now. While reading the definition of "coin control" I thought that it would be a great idea to use the feature to gather all the small inputs that one has in an address and send them all to a single address and it seems that I wasn't wrong considering your thread[2] about dust LoyceV. I'll try it out as soon as possible.

At the end of the day I think that they also don't intend to compete with Tor but instead proved another solution for someone who doesn't want to use DDG or Tor browser (whatever their reasons are). The blog post[2] within Tor also supports our opinion in a way:
I imagine that Mullvad customers will at least try out this new product of the company and probably will end up being a large % of their userbase, but only the future will tell.

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[1]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2848987.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2848987.0)
[2]https://blog.torproject.org/releasing-mullvad-browser/ (https://blog.torproject.org/releasing-mullvad-browser/)

If you have multiple dust outputs on the same address, then yes, this is fine and you lose nothing by consolidating all these outputs in to one larger output.

If however you have multiple dust outputs across multiple addresses, then by consolidating them all together in a single transaction you link all these addresses under common ownership, and therefore you link all the transactions which created those dust outputs together as well. You may have reasons that you do not want to link those transactions together as all belonging to the same person.

---

I don't really understand the "50 Google searches a day" thing. There are better search engines out there than Google, but if you are desperate for Google results, then you can either use Startpage or SearX configured to return only Google results. Both of these options are free and unlimited.

Agreed. So they should adjust their marketing a bit, and focus more on the fingerprinting than on the Tor part. Even better if they focus on tracking too.

It mostly depends on the current transaction fee. I have a 1 sat/vbyte transaction that's unconfirmed for more than a month now. I'm not in a hurry, so that's fine.

I wouldn't even feel comfortable in using coin control for the second option at all, but some feedback that I got in some other forums and Reddit did in fact show that some users do not care about it, as long as they have their funds consolidated in one address instead of many. I guess this goes to show that, once again, we are a minority regarding the privacy of our coins and actions within the blockchain. Most of the current users that got a hold of bitcoin in the past years are probably investors/average john does that jumped into the ship waiting for it to reach high tides and aren't really interested in what they gave away by buying bitcoin in centralized exchanges.

As for me I'll keep my eyes open from now on to use this option and method of operation. Thank you for enlightening me.

PS: Have you checked out the parent company of Mullvad - Amagicom AB - new product? It's called Tillitis[1] and both the hardware and software will be open source.

From that perspective you're right - I got no rush in consolidating them as of now so I could just push the transaction with a low fee and whenever it happens, it happens.

---

I also can't wrap my head around this one. This is perhaps a stupid question but would it make sense to put a limitation to each user to avoid being blocked by Google API due to a large number of requests if the browser ends up being massively used?

---

[1]https://www.tillitis.se/ (https://www.tillitis.se/)

I've been using paid Proton VPN for a few weeks (before I used Avast, paid, and others free) and I must say that proton is 1000 times better.
It is true that I am not a computer scientist with high expectations, but the stability of the proton VPNs is really excellent and suitable for continuous use even for less experienced people like me.
Proton come with also 15 emails included, and we're not talking about gmail or Libero Mail (Italian provider that never works!  ::)) but we talk about a service created from CERN in Geneva!

I feel comfortable in recommending the use of proton VPN  :)

@o_e_l_e_o: While browsing around Mullvad Browser GitHub page[1] I've found an interesting debate regarding the differences between Mullvad Browser and arkenfox or even Librewolf[2]. In the mist of the debate Thorin-Oakenpants, the owner of arkenfox[3] who ended up working with other privacy related projects as well. According to his vision, the main differences between AF/LW vs Mullvad Browser are the following:
At the end he even goes to say that he'll use MB as a third daily driver (his other two are FF portable stable with AF + nightly). He seems to be supportive of the "hide in the crow" model adopted by Mullvad, albeit the same concern regarding crow size was also addressed by him. Either way, I believe this was a great step in providing another option to browse the web more safely - I guess that we'll see what they achieve in 1 year from now...

---

[1]https://github.com/mullvad/mullvad-browser (https://github.com/mullvad/mullvad-browser)
[2]https://github.com/mullvad/mullvad-browser/issues/1 (https://github.com/mullvad/mullvad-browser/issues/1)
[3]https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js (https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js)

So is this basically saying that Arkenfox is just a firefox build with "Do not save history and cookies" settings turned on? If that's the case then there isn't really much of an argument for using it in the first place. And even while Mulvad's browser/VPN, which you can also get with Mozilla's VPN service, is convenient - I mean who doesn't like free stuff? - I am definitely in the Proton camp here, as far as censorship resistance goes.

While other countries can easily crack down on most VPN providers, I can use Stealth Protocol and bypass all of these (except for China (https://protonvpn.com/support/does-protonvpn-work-in-china/), but then you can use Shadowsocks for that). Regardless, for everything else, Proton works smoothly for me - recently the country I'm in decided it would be a great idea to block Youtube, and apparently the internet operator forgot to turn off the blocking switch, so I have exported OpenVPN profiles of all proton servers and imported them to all of our computers, and it works like a charm. :)

Discussion about browsers in this thread proves again that we need Cyber Security board!

---

I don't understand why should someone block Youtube, there is nothing wrong with this platform. I would say, it's very censored and you won't see adult or violent content, the risks are minimum. There is no discussion about religion too, to my mind it's the least platform someone should ban.

---

ProtonVPN's obfuscated servers are good but latency can be a problem, especially when it comes down to video streaming.
By the way, Chinese use Shadowsocks, V2Ray, Xray, Trojan, VLESS & gRPC to bypass firewall.

Alternatively, you can also use Tor Bridges, this will allow you to bypass restrictions and at the same time it will hide your Tor usage for your ISP.

It's almost unfair comparison :D (whether free or paid version of Avast) since IMO their product in general is crappy[1-2] and they also have poor privacy history[3-4]. Comparing with general/speed-oriented VPN service (such as nordvpn) would be more fair.


Slightly off-topic, but very recently i found out Proton bought SimpleLogin[5] which is service to create email alias[6]. Basically it's intermediary between sender and your email address. Since you already have paid version of Proton, you also get paid version of SimpleLogin and IMO it's worth checking out.

[1] https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/avast-antivirus-corrupted-my-windows-10/5004788c-e51c-410c-8dfd-90d32702a323 (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/avast-antivirus-corrupted-my-windows-10/5004788c-e51c-410c-8dfd-90d32702a323)
[2] https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=117057.0 (https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=117057.0)
[3] https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/antivirus-firm-avast-is-reportedly-selling-users-web-browsing-data/ (https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/antivirus-firm-avast-is-reportedly-selling-users-web-browsing-data/)
[4] https://www.tomsguide.com/news/avast-avg-data-collection (https://www.tomsguide.com/news/avast-avg-data-collection)
[5] https://proton.me/blog/proton-and-simplelogin-join-forces (https://proton.me/blog/proton-and-simplelogin-join-forces)
[6] https://simplelogin.io/ (https://simplelogin.io/)

Privacy wise, as of now, it is very hard to compete with Proton has. With a single subscription you get access to a great range of products - e-mail, VPN, calendar and drive - whose mantra is focused on yourself and being private. The SimpleLogin features is also a great addition to the family of products that they have - and honestly it seems aligned with the nature of their concept. As always there are also users that observe this "centralization" of services and prefer to have their services spread between companies to avoid being centralized in one, but I guess this kind of debate and opinions will always exist.

Do note that if you aren't a Proton paid subscriber you can still access to a limited offer from SimpleLogin as a free customer, which mostly focuses on 10 aliases and 1 mailbox[1].

---

[1]https://simplelogin.io/pricing/ (https://simplelogin.io/pricing/)

I used Free Proton VPN on my phone, but I don't know if happen to someone here, because I always get disconnected after I change the browser, for example from Chrome to Firefox. I know that, because I always check whatismyipaddress before open something in bookmark and that show my real IP (Indonesia), not an outside country I choose (Japan and Netherland)

About damn time.


It was part of a general blockade of social media services being used by protesters and government critics (i.e. "the usual reason").

I've heard somewhere that every serious person using Telegram has a VPN and (ideally) a disposable phone number. Crazy.


This will be very helpful to anyone who needs help overcoming internet restrictions, and it is also amazing to know that there's more tech out ther than just SOCKS4/5 and OpenVPN/WireGuard!


Sometimes the VPN is disconnected if you lock your phone, depending on which OS you're running.

Most phones will have a setting in them somewhere which allows you to either set the VPN to "Always On" so it does not disconnect, or to automatically block all traffic if the VPN is disconnected so you can't accidentally connect to somewhere without it.

I think it will be very interesting if we have a discussion about VPNs that have actually proven to have zero-log policy. And in actually proven words I mean court cases where FBI has demanded logs from company and company hasn't provided them.

Actually, the first VPN that comes to my mind and will be added in the VPN list, is PIA - Private Internet Access.

• First court case: In 2016 one man allegedly made bomb threats while he was connected to PIA Vpn Ip. The FBI officially subpoenaed PIA to provideuser logs but they didn't provide, simply because they had no logs. [source¹] (http://www.scribd.com/doc/303226103/Fake-bomb-threat-arrest)
• Second court case: In 2018, John Arsenault, the lawyer for Private Internet Access, told the court that PIA doesn't save user logs and are unable to provide any useful information in response to a subpoena. [source²] (https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/06/02/alleged-hacker-claimed-he-was-paid-to-attack-news-site-witness-says)

But the problem is that in 2019, Kape Technologies acquired Private Internet Access. If you don't know why is it a problem, then you have to check this article: What is Kape Technologies? (https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/what-is-kape-technologies-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-parent-company-of-cyberghost-vpn/)
Long story short, Kape Technologies, before 2018 called Crossrider, was actively engaging in shady behaviors, including hijacking users' browsers via malware injection. In 2018, Crossrider changed its name to Kape Technologies and as they say, they moved from infecting users to improving their cybersecurity, which is a lie, I hope we all agree with.
Kape Technologies own:

• CyberGhost VPN
• Zenmate VPN
• Private Internet Access (PIA)
• ExpressVPN

Why do they need four different VPN companies? They don't care about privacy, they care about money and money, more, more money.

---

So, since PIA is now owned by Kape Technologies, if I were you, I wouldn't trust PIA because of their excellent past. Since 2019, they are owned by Kape!

It's impossible to "prove a negative".

That still doesn't prove they're not keeping logs now. Here are a few possibilities:
1. They kept logs, and lied about it in court.
2. They made a deal: they denied having logs to save their business, and shared the logs anyway.
3. They didn't keep logs back then, but they're keeping logs now.

Besides being impossible to prove that the mantra "No logs are kept" is true, there's also the nuance about the interpretation that each VPN provider has regarding "No logs are kept" - Does it really doesn't log any kind of information regarding the usage of their service & users? Or does it log the IP that is used to access the service? Take, for instance, the case of PureVPN who also claims[1] that it doesn't keep logs but, at least in 2017, it was reported that PureVPN helped the FBI in a cyber stalking case[2]. Turns out that, according to a statement by PureVPN, the IP that was used to access their service was kept[3]:
While we will never be able to confirm or audit if these companies don't keep log - in any form - the good news is that once someone finds out that their mantra is being violated by the company themselves, the word quickly goes around and for sure their reputation is tainted. After that you're the only one to blame if you still trust in the service or not.

---

[1]https://www.purevpn.com/why-purevpn (https://www.purevpn.com/why-purevpn)
[2]https://thehackernews.com/2017/10/no-logs-vpn-service-security_8.html (https://thehackernews.com/2017/10/no-logs-vpn-service-security_8.html)
[3]https://torrentfreak.com/purevpn-explains-how-it-helped-the-fbi-catch-a-cyberstalker-171016/ (https://torrentfreak.com/purevpn-explains-how-it-helped-the-fbi-catch-a-cyberstalker-171016/)

That's impossible to actually prove but at least we have facts in front of our face and I think that past is an indicator of future, especially in this case when PIA wasn't able to provide logs on every court case.
By the way, that deal part is possible to happen as it's possible to happen that they will start to keep logs but I think it's a little beneficial to include some interesting stories in this thread.

That was a list of very good articles. I think, there should be mentioned in this thread that the definition of some VPN's anti-log policy is that they won't log your activities but they will log the IP addresses that customers use to access the VPN. There is no point to use such VPN, it looks like to wear a transparent mask in public and lie to yourself that no one sees your actual face.

The problem is that it is very hard to pinpoint exactly the interpretation that each VPN provider has regarding "No logs policy". Eventually we get to know the interpretation of each company when a case such as the one in my previous post is reported. If you go today to PureVPN privacy policy[1] you'll see that they refer that they don't collect your origin IP, which totally happened in the previous report[2]. WBM has many snapshots of the privacy policy of PureVPN and in 2016 they stated that[3]:
Out of curiosity I've checked the same page in 2018 - after the alleged colaboration with the FBI happened[2] - and the previous definition is somewhat different:
They casually removed the part that they told you they kept the IP given to the user and the part that "The time you connected to any of our servers and disconnected is counted as a session,(...)" was also edited. All in all this just screams shady behaviour and I surely wouldn't touch PureVPN even with a stick.

---

@o_e_l_e_o - In a totally different realm of VPN providers, here is an interesting take on the guys behind Mullvad that I found while browsing Reddit[1]:
Albeit we should take this with a grain of salt, I would definitely feel a bit better knowing that the guys who are behind Mullvad have such high standards of security in real life...

---

[1]https://www.purevpn.com/privacy-policy.php (https://www.purevpn.com/privacy-policy.php)
[2]https://torrentfreak.com/purevpn-explains-how-it-helped-the-fbi-catch-a-cyberstalker-171016/ (https://torrentfreak.com/purevpn-explains-how-it-helped-the-fbi-catch-a-cyberstalker-171016/)
[3]https://web.archive.org/web/20160108132127/https://www.purevpn.com/privacy-policy.php (https://web.archive.org/web/20160108132127/https://www.purevpn.com/privacy-policy.php)
[4]https://web.archive.org/web/20180121070615/https://www.purevpn.com/privacy-policy.php (https://web.archive.org/web/20180121070615/https://www.purevpn.com/privacy-policy.php)
[5]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31005767 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31005767)

I posted about Kape and PIA a few years ago in this very thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5372131.msg58547859#msg58547859
I just went back to check if that clause in their Privacy Policy about sharing your data still exists, and it does. In addition, I also found that they use BitPay to process bitcoin payments. The same BitPay renowned for requiring KYC from their customers and their terrible privacy practices.  ::)

So yeah, I wouldn't go anywhere near PIA or anything else owned by Kape.

Thanks to TryNinja[1] post in the Portuguese board, I was just informed that Mullvad recently suffered a search warrant from the Swedish polish in their offices[2]:
In line with Mullvad foundation philosophy, being transparent regarding such events is always good for any company - especially an event that resulted in supporting their privacy policies. Will be interesting to see what the case files say about this warrant (if they ever get released) since it would also validate Mullvad claims.

---

[1]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5418378.msg62123343#msg62123343 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5418378.msg62123343#msg62123343)
[2]https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/4/20/mullvad-vpn-was-subject-to-a-search-warrant-customer-data-not-compromised/ (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/4/20/mullvad-vpn-was-subject-to-a-search-warrant-customer-data-not-compromised/)

Mullvad's blog is something one should constantly check because not only this but they usually post other helpful and important information.
By the way, regarding to VPNs, the fact that no one talks about Russian VPN service providers, confuses me. Literally, there is a war between Russia and West, so, logically, if one uses Russian VPN company, based on Russia, there is almost zero chance that the USA will gete any info from those VPN providers. Also, Russians are very pro-piracy, they manage the biggest torrent websites, they crack games, softwares, upload movies, etc and recently even Putin or one Russian political said that people are welcome to pirate western content.
I think, if we imagine that every VPN provider keeps logs, definitely the USA/Europe can demand data from companies that operate in western countries but I bet there is a very slight chance they'll get any data from Russia-based companies that operate from Russia.

I prefer a VPN with a good image, reliable service and fast uncensored internet connection. Russians can't even reach Bitcointalk without VPN (outside Russia).

And it seems that my hope was heard as Mullvad just received a reply from the Swedish authorities[1] regarding their recent search. Here's the full - translated - text:
As for the reasons of the search, it seems that it was related with a blackmail made in Germany somewhere in 2021:
I highly advise anyone interested in knowing more about the case to read the blog entry from Mullvad. I have never seen such a high degree of transparency and effort to show how committed they are with their work and product and this goes to show that you really can't go wrong by using their service.

---

[1]https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/5/2/update-the-swedish-authorities-answered-our-protocol-request/ (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/5/2/update-the-swedish-authorities-answered-our-protocol-request/)

It may be an useful for people to use Trials before they actually purchase the service, so, I found out that some VPN providers from the list offer free trials for Google Pay and Apple Pay users.
CyberGhost - 1-day free trial on PC, | 3-day free trial for Android and 7-day free trial for iOS users.
ExpressVPN - 7-day free trial for Android and iOS users via Google Pay and Apple Pay.
NordVPN - 7-day free trial for Android and iOS users via Google Pay and Apple Pay.
SurfShark - 7-day free trial for Android and iOS users via Google Pay and Apple Pay.

When you subscribe to 7-day free trial, don't forget to unsubscribe them before they charge you.
Also, I hope you understand that company that uses BitPay or Coinbase to process crypto transactions, doesn't care about its privacy and won't care even more about your privacy too.

90% of VPNs are sketchy and don't care about your privacy whether you pay them in crypto or not. Most trials are not worth the privacy compromise, and should not even be called Virtual Private Networks.

Besides, what is the point of having a third party deanonymize you with Chainalysis if they can just collect your logs instead?

[At the risk of sounding like a shill for Proton, at least they don't engage in that crappy behavior. Neither does Mullvad, AFAIK.]

That's why you see only limited number of VPNs in this thread and those VPNs that offer trials have always been under Non-Privacy Focused Mainstream VPNs hood.
By the way, trials are a good way to measure VPNs speed and latency on different server locations and if one uses this just for testing, I don't think his privacy is compromised.
Some may want VPN for streaming, some may want it for gambling, that's why I included them, ExpressVPN, Cyberghost and some others are very popular for that purpose.

I'd rather discourage them, especially after you've mentioned many times that those VPN companies with trials available are being owned by such a shady company. I think that reason alone is enough to stay away from them regardless of your activity on the network when you're connected to their service. I'd rather be paranoid if the company I'm dealing with is proven to never cares about my privacy. Not to mention most paid VPNs offer a money-back guarantee for at least a month.

And there is a news out there from Mullvad: Introducing Mullvad Leta: a search engine used in the Mullvad Browser (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/6/20/introducing-mullvad-leta-a-search-engine-used-in-the-mullvad-browser/), but the problem is that it's only available for Mullvad users and isn't public.

---

To be honest, I would prefer if Mullvad spent more money into increasing server speeds, adding more locations and improving overall performance instead of paying this money to Google for using their search engine because we have duckduckgo too and other alternatives. They are just reinventing the wheel by offering Mullvad web browser and Leta search engine and I see no point into it.

Looking for VPN recently and found windscribe from this list, not as popular as surfshark or nord but its reliable. However tho, many people has mentioned about this thread correlation with Bitcoin and Crypto since its a bitcoin forum, so my advice, and it will be much appreciated if you add some details for the payment method, maybe just a yes/now which vpn accept crypto and which aren't. Anyway thank you for the list.

While it's a bit of old news, I think it's still important to post this information here - As of 2023-07-01, Mullvad has removed the support for forwarded ports[1]. While this is not a deal breaker for some (or most of their clients) I think it's important to highlight considering that it has some uses for people that are a bit more tech savy.

---

Both Mullvad[2] and IVPN[3] (which I can vouch for since I've used them both) support payments by means of cryptocurrency. Mullvad offers 10% discount when paying with cryptocurrencies as well. You can also browse kycnot.me[4] to see which more VPN services support that kind of payment.

---

[1]https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/5/29/removing-the-support-for-forwarded-ports/ (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/5/29/removing-the-support-for-forwarded-ports/)
[2]https://mullvad.net/en/pricing (https://mullvad.net/en/pricing)
[3]https://www.ivpn.net/pricing/ (https://www.ivpn.net/pricing/)
[4]https://kycnot.me/services (https://kycnot.me/services)

That's like saying it's a problem Mullvad's VPN is only available for subscribers. That's normal for businesses.

Did you experience server speed problems? I usually get the maximum my internet connection can handle.
They have 669 servers in 43 countries (https://mullvad.net/en/servers). I haven't tried most of them, and I can't think of a reason why I'd need more locations.

I like Google's search results better, but not it's privacy. So this could be a good solution.

Those tech savy people can setup a cheap VPS with OpenVPN and port forwarding.

Absolutely every VPN provider that's listed in this thread, accepts Bitcoin or altcoin payments. Btw it's still not a bad idea. To be honest, as you can see, I rarely have left any space on table for anything but I think I'll figure it out if people wish so.

Of course that's normal for a business but I didn't directly meant that it's a problem, you know. I hope you understand in what way I said that (Like, I've got the protein powder but the problem is that I don't have my shaker with me - actually, there is no real problem but the situation is uncomfortable).

Yes, if you want anything beyond web browsing (for example, streaming), Mullvad VPN isn't that good. Overall, I get the best speed from iVPN.
Sometimes countries like Australia and Japan give you early access to the content because of their time zone. Btw I just saw that they have New Zealand but these countries would be a good addition too, why not? Also, more servers mean better connection for everyone. If person lives in Indonesia, he will benefit from Australian or Indonesian server.

What you're saying is basically setting up a personal VPN with a dedicated IP, or am I wrong? And if that's the case, wouldn't it kinda defeat the purpose of having a VPN since we would be getting a dedicated IP that could be linked to ourselves considering the fact that no more users would be using that same IP? Or were you just referring to the use case of circumventing the limitations imposed by Mullvad regarding port forwarding?

First they created Mullvad browser that is based on Tor browser, and now they introduced new search engine.
I think this is a good idea but it's far from being used as a standard search engine, it only gives text result without images, news and other stuff, and that is very limited.
One more thing I don't like is that Leta search  is just using the same g00gle Search API.  :P

Talking about centralization and bias censored results in search engines:

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2023/06/21/HFNHm.jpeg
https://www.searchenginemap.com/

I guess we have a totally different use case. I don't use streaming, and I wouldn't care about a few hours earlier access. I have no idea how fast internet to and from Australia is, it's a remote country and submarine cables are expensive. I usually use servers a bit closer to my location for best results.

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you want a static IP in a certain location, a cheap VPS could work very well. Even better if it uses NAT and shares it's IPv4 with many other users. I've seen bundles for multiple cheap servers in different locations for this purpose.
Any adversary will only see your server's IP, and without access to the webhost, won't know your real location. But long-term, if an adversary gains access, you're no longer anonymous. At least with random IPs from a standard VPN provider all traces are (or at least "should be") gone the moment you disconnect.

I don't know why people tend to think that VPNs are really good for streaming purposes. Putting the speed aside, in my experience (of other VPNs), trying 5-10 different locations never really helped me gain access to region-locked Netflix titles (it was different back in the day). So I think the streaming services are catching up with this trend and "neutering" the VPN's IP address.

If you want to watch something region-restricted in your country, your options are: 1 - buy it, 2 - rent it for a few days, 3 - piracy.


OpenVPN is a PITA to set up, instructions are too long and complicated. Shadowsocks servers are easier to set up.

Then you can use Startpage (https://www.startpage.com/) or SearXNG (https://docs.searxng.org/) for free to return Google's results to you privately.

Not bad, it works instantly without annoying captcha on Tor browser.

The About Us (https://www.startpage.com/en/about-us/?t=light) isn't very convincing though:
Privacy laws in the Netherlands look good on paper, but many companies and government branches violate privacy laws.

We don't have a totally different use case, I rarely use VPN for streaming but for music, it's true. Servers that are located near you, usually perform well on every VPN provider but the servers that are located far, for example, the USA servers, were slow on Mullvad but on iVPN, I get a very good performance.
If Mullvad performs well for you, then great, it's one of the greatest VPN out there.

No, VPNs help you to watch region-locked Netflix & Prime Video titles and even more. Here you can see this page of ExpressVPN: https://www.expressvpn.com/vpn-service
To be honest, the VPNs included in Non-Privacy Focused Mainstream VPNs are popular because of streaming, I doubt anyone uses them for privacy. Also, sometimes people use it for gaming too.

Imagine, I live in Bulgaria, watch a lot of animes and movies but some of them, like OG naruto and some netflix/prime/hulu tv shows aren't available in my country. It's better to buy a VPN than to buy or rent titles. Piracy is always possible but I think that's very disrespectful.

Would you trust it if there was written Sweden instead of Netherlands?

Also check out their anonymous view (https://www.startpage.com/en/anonymous-view/) feature.

Their privacy policy (https://www.startpage.com/en/privacy-policy) says everything you would want it to say though. No logging of IPs, no logging of search queries.

Still, if you still don't like using a third party, then set up your own instance of SearXNG.

They are offering refunds: https://www.reddit.com/r/mullvadvpn/comments/13utbmd/removing_the_support_for_forwarded_ports_blog/jm6j7aa/

From what I've seen, privacy laws are okay there, but I've never been there and I have no idea if they're actually enforcing it.
Note that I have no reason not to trust Startpage, and I'll only use Startpage.com through Tor without sharing any personal information. It's just great that it works without captcha. Cloudflare alone makes more and more websites completely impossible to use through Tor nowadays.

I won't go that far.

You'll get one eventually: https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/articles/4521350590996-Why-am-I-receiving-a-CAPTCHA-verification-page-

Occasionally solving the captcha doesn't work for me, but switching to a new Tor circuit does.

Heads up - As it was expected, IVPN has now followed the lead and will be gradually removing the port forwarding feature from their Pro plan[1]:
This decision was also motivated by the fact that they got a big influx of users after Mullvad decision and some of those users that were abusing the service in Mullvad probably went on to IVPN to continue their behaviour. They are also issuing a refund on a pro rata basis if this change deeply affects their clients usage of the service[2].

---

[1]https://www.ivpn.net/blog/gradual-removal-of-port-forwarding (https://www.ivpn.net/blog/gradual-removal-of-port-forwarding)
[2]https://safereddit.com/r/IVPN/comments/13uun18/comment/jm6fo23/ (https://safereddit.com/r/IVPN/comments/13uun18/comment/jm6fo23/)

Thanks for regularly updating this thread with some news. And I really, really like the style of your posts.

---

For those who are lost in vain and don't understand what port forwarding is, calm down, nothing changes for you if you don't set up Plex Media Server, haven't been seeding torrents or if you don't set up virtual private network at your home to access it from a remote location.
Port forwarding bypasses the NAT firewall and allows external sources to access your device easily. It improves your internet speed and increases download time but it comes with the cost and the price is security because open ports, if not constantly occupied, make it easier for hackers to successfully attack you.

Most of the time, port forwarding is very useful in P2P file sharing. To directly answer your question, when you seed torrents, people who want to download from you have to access your torrent files through an open port on your network. As Mullvad and IVPN say, they removed port forwarding because some users were using it for hosting and sharing of illegal materials.
This is just an excuse to remove port forwarding features, an excuse similar to why you are asked to upload KYC documents on centralized exchanges.

If you are more interested in Port Forwarding, you can check some good articles:
Port forwarding: What it is and how to set it up (https://nordvpn.com/blog/port-forwarding/) - This article is focused on why you shouldn't use port forwarding.
VPN Port Forwarding (https://surfshark.com/blog/vpn-port-forwarding) - Neutral article.
What is NAT Firewall (https://nordvpn.com/blog/what-is-nat-firewall/).
Supercharge peer-to-peer speeds with port forwarding (https://protonvpn.com/blog/port-forwarding/).

Thank you for your words and description regarding what port forwarding is. What I envision happening next is that probably ProtonVPN will also announce that they'll drop port forwarding. I suppose there will be another great influx of users - mainly looking for port forwarding option - to another VPN provider that has a good privacy stance - in this case ProtonVPN - which will eventually force Proton team to also drop it to prevent further abuse (as it was one of the main reasons that made both Mullvad and IVPN drop it).

Who else uses port forwarding though, besides Bittorrent users?

Obviously not Bitcoin Core clients, because you shouldn't be running it through a VPN anyway, but rather through Tor.


The fact that we're at the point where you have to use VPNs to access region-locked content on streaming platforms[1] shows that the whole business model of that industry is broken and makes for a very frustrating experience for users.

[1]: and even that is not a "god mode" as some franchises keep their movies off of rival platforms, such as Star Wars.


Sweden is part of the EU, right? Or just the EEA?

You are right, Bitcoin Core clients don't need VPNs with port forwarding option. Besides Bittorrent users, gamers use port forwarding to host game servers or enhance their performance when playing online. Also, those who host Plex Media Servers and overall, do p2p things, need port forwarding service.
But that feature is definitely not necessary for us and we can continue life without that :D

You are right! There is no point to block content in certain countries if you can legally use VPN and stream whatever you want. It makes me to believe that there is a space created intentionally to milk some additional money. It's a problem if you use VPN to buy cheap Turkish subscription but it's okay if you buy American or EU expensive one :D

It's part of the EU.

Tor doesn't really work if you quickly want to download a few (Fork) chains. I've used a VPN for this, but didn't need port forwarding. If you'd like to be an uploading node, a VPN with port forwarding contributes much more than a Tor node. I prefer a server for that though.

Of course region locks are designed for profit maximization. You can't really blame them: if Americans can afford $10 and Turks $1, it's worth allowing the Turks as long as it pays for hosting plus some profit. But if they'd charge Americans $1 too, they wouldn't have enough budget to run their company.
But you also can't really blame the users when they use a VPN.

There are definitely more experienced people than me in privacy on bitcointalk, so I have a question for you: There are people who haven't tried VPN and want to try, or let's say, I want people to make this topic more active and every week/month I'll reward the ones who publish most genuine, helpful and informative guides/articles in this thread.
If I buy and give away Mullvad or IVPN's monthly VPN service to people there and someone does something illegal (not me, definitely), can that giveaway turn into a problem for me?

Be careful not to turn this into a giveaway thread, that's not allowed.

If this would come back bite you in the ass, that means the VPN kept logs. So first of all, it shouldn't be possible to come back to you. But even if it's traced back that you paid for the subscription, and note that I'm not a lawyer, I see no reason why you'd be liable for someone else's actions. Just like their ISP isn't liable, just like the VPN service isn't liable.

Thanks for warning. So, I should post giveaways in games sections in case I decide to do one.

Good point! Thanks again!

Nope, still not allowed (unless you're giving away Bitcoin, or not asking people to post for it).

They can just try Mullvad at any price: when making a Bitcoin transaction and getting a small amount of change (say 1000 sat, close to the dust limit and barely worth sending), use "send to many" instead and send that change to fund a new Mullvad account. That dust gets them 42 hours of Mullvad access, and should be more than enough to test it.

I'd suggest regularly bumping this thread if you want people to read this (like once a week or so). Those who want to use VPN will actively ask for reviews/read previous posts anyway. Even if you can incentivize people it will just give you more trouble later on. Not to mention some reputable members do post their experience/suggestions regularly already. If anything doing something like that is likely going to invite spammers to your thread.

Because of the nature of my work (I am not telling you anything about it :P), my company requires that I use VPNs for certain activities. I use one that is tagged here as being privacy-focused and cheap - Windscribe. The second one that my boss provides is Surfshark, which is non-privacy focused according to the OP. I am very satisfied with both, and they get the job done. Windscribe is my main VPN, though, and seems faster. Surfshark offers servers from more countries.

Very good, I like it! Yeah, Surfshark is non-privacy focused because of this:
Also, as far as I know, their Killswitch sometimes leaks IP, many people were posting about this.

To be honest, recently I am starting to like IVPN, like their pricing and services, also their VPN is very fast, like the interface of their app, like the way they let you to create an account without email and other details, they also use and financially support BTCPayserver and they only support two cryptocurrencies for payment, Bitcoin and Monero. I don't advertise their service but just feel like they are very close to Mullvad.

I wouldn't pay too much attention on a company's claim that they are not storing logs, they will never share logs, or that your information is safe. In the past, there have been cases where those that claimed your information is safe or that nothing gets logged were caught lying. They are a business entity interested in their own well-being and prosperity. If the right people knock on their doors, many will comply and magically recover deleted data.

I don't believe what they write but in this case, it certainly means that they store your logs but it's difficult to say whether they really delete it after 15 minutes or not, for cautious, I would say - not.
But there is a thing that I don't understand, do VPN companies have legal right to act and say that they don't store logs? Is it legal to offer VPN service without storing logs and activities? If yes, then why do they lie? If not, then why do they lie again? If they don't have right to not keep logs, then their it's a criminal case that they mention no-log policy on their website and if they have legal right to offer no-log service, then I don't really understand why do they cheat and still keep our logs and activities. It's a pure bullshit to say that they keep it in order to optimize network performance. Yeah, it's necessary for that too but it's possible to offer normal service without that.

It probably depends on the company's location and the geo location of the users connecting to their servers. I am sure they are required by law to keep logs that could be recovered in case of criminal activities by the users. It's not the same if the VPN provider operates outside of the Five Eyes countries (or one of the other X Eyes countries) or some exotic off-grid territory ,though. To be on the safe side, I would rather think they are storing logs unless proven otherwise. 

For those interested: Mullvad has now concluded another infrastructure audit[1] (third one) conducted by Radically Open Security[2] - Netherlands based firm - and where are their main conclusions:
For those interested in knowing in what kind of environment were these tests conducted, wait no more:
As always, Mullvad transparency is something that is unique to them and that I would like to see other VPN providers adopting. Even after dropping port forwarding features, they still are one of the VPN providers that I can't stop recommending to people around me (that and IVPN).

Besides this infrastructure audit they also recently published another entry[3] where they also state that their client isn't susceptible to the "TunnelCrack" vulnerability disclosure[4].

---

[1]https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/8/9/infrastructure-audit-completed-by-radically-open-security/ (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/8/9/infrastructure-audit-completed-by-radically-open-security/)
[2]https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/ (https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/)
[3]https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/8/9/response-to-tunnelcrack-vulnerability-disclosure/ (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/8/9/response-to-tunnelcrack-vulnerability-disclosure/)
[4]https://tunnelcrack.mathyvanhoef.com/ (https://tunnelcrack.mathyvanhoef.com/)

I'll just leave this here, since a lot of VPN services have been blocked in Russia, and information from the telegram channel gives a clue to VPN services that are still working.

 (https://zoogvpn.com/)
 (https://xeovo.com/)
 (https://vpnredcat.com/ru)
 (https://getoutline.org/)
 (https://lantern.io/)
 (https://psiphon.ca/)
 (https://finevpn.org/)
 (https://amnezia.org/)
 (https://seed4.me/)
 (https://blancvpn.com/ru)
 (https://surfshark.com/) -
 (https://redshieldvpn.com/)
 (https://cloudvpn.pro/ru/)
 (https://antizapret.prostovpn.org/)
 (https://turbovpn.com/ru/)
 (https://hi-l.im/)
 (https://adguard-vpn.com/ru/welcome.html)
 (https://t.me/vpngen)
 (https://www.newnode.com/)
 (https://stolitomsonvpn.com/)


https://t.me/na_svyazi_helpdesk/193

I want to believe that's a mistake. Right? Perhaps, you entering Xeovo there instead of zoogvpn seems to have misplaced others beneath on your list. You may want to crosscheck it.

Are the VPNs listed in this thread blocked in your country? I have no idea about how good those VPNs are, I only know Surfshark and it's already on the list. Besides that, I think ProtonVPN still works in Russia and it's on the list too. I even created a new thread on your local board but no one has responded: Кaким VPN пpoвaидepoм пoльзyeтecь? (http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5463284).
If you guys respond and help me to filter this list, then I'll add them on the list here.

Yes, that's a mistake man, without a doubt. It's pretty clear to see that there is the website first, then name of upcoming VPN provider, then website down below, then the name of upcoming VPN provider and so on. That's okay man.

How about VPS access? If you can access them, you can run your own VPN software starting from about $10 per year.

No, from what I understood from Telegram post is available in Russia right now and not blocked. I read thatthey're actively fighting with VPN services and trying to censor internet. But probably it's worth adding to the list only these services that someone from forum users have tried and can vouch for it.

We all know that VPN is not the best solution when it comes to privacy and there are better alternatives like Tor but what do you think about combining VPN and Tor? I.E. is it good to use Tor with VPN or not? We can write a good guide about it.

Personally, I think that everyone should hide Tor usage from their ISP because normally it's considered that you use Tor to hide something from government. At least we should assume so to maximize our privacy.
So, there are two options to protect Tor usage from your ISP:
1. Use Tor Bridges
2. Use VPN service providers with no-log policy.

1. Tor Bridges - It's considered unethical if you live in a country where Tor is legal and use Tor Bridge because they are usually meant for people where Tor is illegal, i.e. for people from China, Iran, etc. But Tor Bridges hide it from your ISP that you use Tor. If Tor gets compromised, you are getting exposed too.
2. VPNs - When you connect to VPN and then open Tor browser, your ISP only sees that you are connected to VPN, it can't see that you are using Tor but your VPN provider can see that you are using Tor. If it happens that your VPN provider doesn't really log you, then you can feel safe even if Tor gets compromised.

Personally, I would use Tor over VPN, i.e. would run Qubes OS with tails and route Tails traffic through VPN. Safe VPNs to my mind are Mullvad and probably IVPN too.

Short version:

Longer version: see TorPlusVPN (https://gitlab.torproject.org/legacy/trac/-/wikis/doc/TorPlusVPN).

That article just covers basic differences, at the same time it mentions that VPN can enhance your anonymity if configured correctly and your VPN provider has zero logs but doesn't talk about how to configure it correctly, which is the main part of this subject.

Tor Bridges are avaiable for free for people who really need it. When you use Tor Bridge, you are consuming part of bandwidth that's meant for people who really need it.
Long story short, my advice is to use Tor Bridge if you live in a country where Tor is blocked. If Tor is not blocked and you still want to hide your Tor usage from your ISP,

I haven't updated this thread and VPN service provider prices for a long time but it looks like there is no change in prices, they all remain the same, I just checked recently all of them.

---

By the way, I checked Windscribe's R.O.B.E.R.T page and discovered that along many features that includes block list, they also have one that I don't like: Competitors (Other VPNs). When you enable R.O.B.E.R.T on windscribe, they block all competitor VPNs and this is their explanation:

How fair is that? Should I remove them from the list of Privacy focused cheap monthly VPNs?

Personally I would never use a service that censures my internet browsing in any way and in this specific case it just doesn't make sense (to me at least). This is just plain censoring - they are pretty much blocking you in seeing other providers offers because "supposedly" they are the best one. The fact that they claim they are the best privacy tool after suffering this breach[1] in the past is amusing to say the least. I would also like to point out that despise promising to release their full node audit in 2023, they still haven't done it[2].

---

[1]https://restoreprivacy.com/windscribe-vpn-security-breach-servers-seized/ (https://restoreprivacy.com/windscribe-vpn-security-breach-servers-seized/)
[2]https://rus.windscribe.com/knowledge-base/articles/has-windscribe-been-audited (https://rus.windscribe.com/knowledge-base/articles/has-windscribe-been-audited)

I just read how it works on https://windscribe.com/features/robert (https://windscribe.com/features/robert) and it seems you can choose not to block competitor VPN. I believe few people would use such feature, such as not allowing their WiFi users to bypass blockade to certain content. So IMO it's still fair game if it's disabled by default. Although i'm also concerned that they offer option to block crypto.

Yes, it's optional to block other VPN service providers but is it normal that that service is called block Competitors (Other VPNs)? And the description of that service is that you are using the best VPN called Windscribe and there is no need of seeing other VPNs. To my mind, that's censorship and false statement. If windscribe thinks that they are the best, then they shouldn't include an option that blocks other VPNs.
I understand that they block cryptomining services but I don't understand what's wrong with exchanges and crypto news websites. It's probably okay to block CEX but I think they include DEX too. It's irony that they accept crypto payments but block cryptocurrencies.

There is nothing wrong with exchanges and crypto news websites ofc. I suspect windscribe is trying to widen their target audience or create more variety for this since I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people who wants to abstain from anything crypto due to stigma/disinterest.

I do wonder if they list scam websites too cause the blocklist seems customizable. For instance, one could whitelist their go-to exchanges and the rest together with scams are blocked in return -- not that I need it in determining scams but it could be another use for some folks. Speaking of, I'm surprised they don't have a category for general scams.

In any case, I think the whole thing depends on one's risk appetite. A middle ground approach could be adding a list of things people should take note and let them decide if they're ok or nah.

Those filters are optional and not enabled by default but it is still stupid that it is something which they are offering as a suggestion. What is even more concerning is their fake news filter. There aren't any details explaining how it works but the icon for the filter seems to be a reference to Donald Trump's hair. Is this implying they will censor right wing websites when you turn this filter on? While I do not like Trump or the alt-right, VPN's shouldn't be censoring information which they find objectionable — bypassing censorship is one of the primary reasons for needing a VPN to begin with.

They are only optionally blocking and it's mostly for malicious crypto mining crap, not everything related with bitcoin and crypto.
This ROBERT feature is not bad at all if used correctly, especially if you have kids and you want to hide from them adult content, gambling, etc.
Important thing is they gave customers option to hide, it's not mandatory, and other VPN providers are doing something similar with custom DNS settings, for example Mullvad VPN.
I think you can pay everything on this vpn website with Bitcoin, so they are not anti-bitcoin or anything like that.

Re: Windscribe

You are supposed to use these kinds of VPNs to circumvent censorship, not to censor yourself!  ???

Yes. Any VPN that's afraid of competitors doesn't deserve to be promoted.

I am not removing Windscribe from my VPN list, I am just removing them from the list of Privacy focused cheap monthly VPNs and will move it into Non-Privacy Focused Mainstream VPNs because their business doesn't seem to be valuing privacy and freedom, instead, they put their own censorship. Windscribe's R.O.B.E.R.T's blocklist is not open-source, it's closed.

This is what they say about their competitors:
Block them all, is this a fair game? They say most VPN companies track you, that means, some of them don't track you, why should we block all of them? Is also there any evidence that Windscribe is the best privacy tool out there?

No. It's impossible to prove, which makes their claims about others even more ridiculous.

I also don't like the idea of using an icon representing a pile of feces when referring to other competitors product / services. From my perspective it's just a bad business practice and we shouldn't support these kind of companies. Like LoyceV said, the claim s completely void of any arguments/facts that they can present to proof their stance. They just want to grab the attention of unaware/uninformed users ...

Dude I don't know what you are talking about  ::)
First of all I am not defending windscribe but they are open source, and this robert is DNS based tool... most other VPN providers have this, included Mullvad that is in your list.
Do your own research, and don't mix privacy with censorship, and I will repeat again, all VPN's have (optional) self ''censorship'' according to you  :P
https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

You obviously don't understand this so I won't continue this discussion anymore.
Best of luck.

Not true.
There are many gambling addicts who want self-exclusion, and parents who want to restrict some access to their kids.

Windscribe is open-sourced but R.O.B.E.R.T list is not. Mullvad's dns-blocklists is public: https://github.com/mullvad/dns-blocklists. Show me the one from Windscribe and I'll stop.
I have nothing against Windscribe too, their free plan is good for those who want to test VPN or rarely waste bandwidth and only visit text-only websites.

Just wondering, how will VPN that you can turn off with one click, will exclude you from gambling? The most effective tool in this case is to ask casino to ban you from gambling and they won't unban you even if you request it.
By the way, I don't say that R.O.B.E.R.T. is an useless tool, it has its place but I don't understand why their blocklist is not public.

In order to combat gambling addiction there are better ways to do it other than using a VPN to block certain websites (after all a user doesn't even need a VPN for that when you can create a list for blocked websites in uBlock Origin for example.). I easily see opposite happen - gambling addicts instead using VPN services to access gambling websites that may have been blocked on their country.

Also, as a note, every licensed casino/gambling company has to offer a self exclusion procedure[1] that can be used by any client (see for example this[2] one from bet365) in order to prevent them from using the service.

---

[1]https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/page/self-exclusion (https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/page/self-exclusion)
[2]https://responsiblegambling.bet365.com/stay-in-control/self-exclusion (https://responsiblegambling.bet365.com/stay-in-control/self-exclusion)

You can setup the VPN on your router, so all device connected to that router would use Windscribe/other VPN automatically along with optional blockade. But your router must have feature to use either custom OpenVPN, WireGuard or IKEv2 VPN configuration. But i've no idea whether you can configure things to be blocked from manual configuration.

It won't.
If you want protect your children, updating your hosts file (https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts) helps. I'm not concerned about gambling, but I use it to block social media and other ads.

It would probably work better than asking casinos to self-exclude you, when you can easily register new account and/or use different casino.
Setting custom DNS can be done even without using any VPN, this can be on network or router level, and yes this is self-censorship that actually works.

I didn't propose that VPN should be used just for this purpose, but I simply stated that DNA based self-censorship is very effective way and it has real use cases.
uBlock origin is something I use every day, but simple using of different browser would bypass any restrictions you made.

Yes, and there are thousands of different casinos they can use.
Today I saw one example in Scam Accusation of one guy who got self-exclusion but they accepted him again with different account:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5484390.0

Admittedly I do not know a whole lot about gambling addiction solutions, but shouldn't addicts be trying to get professional counseling to figure out the best way for them to solve their gambling problem? Which may or may not include blocking the websites by DNS.

But DNS blocking is hard, because there's a bunch of illegal betting websites around, to the point where even professional athletes were banned for using them.

Since we currently talk about blocking feature, today Mullvad announce content blocking for their free DNS[1]. The interesting part is they share list of blocked sites[2].


Using professional counseling might cost a fortune, while blocking website cost little or no money.


That's true, although i wonder how many addict interested with illegal casino which may cheat or scam them. Anyway, i've seen people take more drastic action such as installing software which perform whitelist or block all web page which contain specific keyword.

[1] https://mullvad.net/en/blog/family-friendly-dns-content-blocking-now-added-to-our-encrypted-dns-service (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/family-friendly-dns-content-blocking-now-added-to-our-encrypted-dns-service)
[2] https://github.com/mullvad/dns-blocklists (https://github.com/mullvad/dns-blocklists)

Interesting to see, thank you for the update. I think that the main difference with Mullvad is that the reason for doing this content blocking is different (as stated by their blog update - "enable parents and guardians the opportunity to block unwanted advertising, adult content and gambling, whilst still enabling their children access to social media platforms.") and this is also a free Encrypted DNS which makes you free to choose either to use it or not.

Yeah well that is why some people came up with solution to ban everything related with gambling, porn and other things with using third party software.
DNS blocking is not that hard, you just need to have list of blocked websites that is constantly updated with new domains.

Very nice.
I don't know if you guys know this, but it's easy to add their DNS address in your smartphone settings, and there will be no more ads on internet, except in apps maybe.
You don't even have to use Mullvad VPN to have this.

I've chosen Proton VPN over others due to BTC payment option. Now. Let's see the midterm results. I've paid 120 Euros (in BTC!) say one year back. And that amount turned to be like 430 Euros by 2024. But amount in BTC did fall back to same sum in Euros! Did I overspend my assets?

That's nature of things when you're paying in BTC for goods. When you're paying in BTC, you have to accept possibility that Bitcoin can go up significantly and it may make your purchases to look very expensive. On the other hand, Bitcoin can go down too.
Personally, I wouldn't consider that you overspent. After all, at time of purchase you paid €120, not €430.

At that time, you could buy and sell X amount of bitcoin for 120 Euros. Now, if you were to sell that number of bitcoins, you'll get 430 Euro but you can't buy the same amount of Bitcoins for 120 Euros, that's called investment. So, you didn't overpay for the service because you had a need of VPN back then and it was probably necessary for you to buy VPN in exchange of amount of Bitcoins.
Please, don't follow that logic and don't get yourself depressed because of that. We can't always invest in Bitcoin and also we can't invest everything into Btc. There are things where we need to spend money anyways, including food, drink, rent and so on. If you think like that, then you might also say that you overpaid on your meal x4 because you could buy Bitcoin and sell it with 4x profit. That's not right way to think, this will only make you feel depressed.

I remember the days I would spend 0.001BTC to use Mullvad VPN for a day. Nowadays, that buys you more than a year. Since Bitcoin is at a new All Time High, every piece of Bitcoin I ever spent or sold can be thought of as a bad decision. But that's in hindsight.
On the other hand, it also helped support the Bitcoin economy. Bitcoin can't be a currency if nobody uses it. So as long as you don't spend everything, you're still on the winning end.

Let me tell quote you a story:

Anyone here tried and tested cryptostorm.is VPN service?
I see them popping out more recently, they have open source code, no registration, no kyc and they are accepting cryptocurrency payments.
Mullvad is probably a better service, but it's always good to have some alternative opentions available.

Interesting, I had never heard of them, but apparently they have been running for 10 years[1] - Question #7. It seems interesting, and they something unusual as well - you are able to purchase a lifetime license. Perpetuity is always a tricky choice in products as it doesn't provide a constant flow of revenue like subscriptions, so it is an interesting choice.

However, a bit of investigation led me to this[2] post regarding the connection between Cryptostorm and CryptoCloud and someone named Spink. Also, I wasn't able to find any kind of audit made to the infrastructure of CryptoStorm...
I also consider IVPN to be on par with Mullvad level of operation and business ethics.

---

[1]https://www.cryptostorm.is/faq (https://www.cryptostorm.is/faq)
[2]https://airvpn.org/forums/topic/16590-about-honeypots/?do=findComment&comment=36684 (https://airvpn.org/forums/topic/16590-about-honeypots/?do=findComment&comment=36684)

Actually it's first time i heard this VPN service. But looking at the guide, i find it's annoying the guide (for various OS) only meant for OpenVPN even though they support WireGuard. Less technical user better use Mullvad which offer more guide and user-friendly application.


I did quick check and it seems to be true, https://web.archive.org/web/20130926232935/https://cryptostorm.is/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20130926232935/https://cryptostorm.is/).

Yeah it definitely looks... shady. I guess I'll continue to pay attention to any development or news that come out of the service, but I still won't touch it for now. They do appear also on KYCnot.me[1] with a high score but do note that that the website only evaluates how KYC unfriendly the serivce and how private their policy is.

---

[1]https://kycnot.me/service/cryptostorm (https://kycnot.me/service/cryptostorm)

I've seen too many cases in which "lifetime" isn't really lifetime. I wouldn't pay $500 up front for this.

You're right as well, one example that instantly came to my mind was the infamous Cerberus application[1] that "offered" lifetime subscriptions to amass a huge set of users and then when they reached a comfortable number they simply removed the license. In another similar topic, I am still amazed at how long Plex has been offering their lifetime subscription though, I wonder if they will hit it with the axe eventually.

---

[1][url]https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/12/21/cerberus-paid-lifetime-license-expiration/[url]

ProtonMail also used to offer lifetime subscriptions. You could get them for 800 EUR a pop, way back in 2014 back when they were running a fundraiser.

That's a lot of money for a vendor lock-in.

If I had more smerits, I would send you them but at the moment I have only left 2, I am on budget.
Thank you very much for sharing that VPN, it looks very interesting and it is the first time for me to hear about them but it seems that they are an old VPN service provider because I found topics about them since 2014 (haven't dig much). Seems, they haven't changed their UI since the first day but their FAQ section and overall structure of information is very different from others. From quick view, it looks like this is a privacy focused VPN but they accept BitPay for crypto payments, c'mon.

I would stick with IVPN or Mullvad. I don't want any room for headache. By the way, from quick research, many people complain their service but I'll try to find more info about them in the upcoming days.