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There's way too much hype over VPN Providers, but do not forget, you are routing all your traffic through their servers

As a general advice, if a VPN provider keeps logs of your activity, does not allow you to pay with crypto, and generally spends way too much on youtube ads is probably not an ideal choice.

Do not follow any advice/recommendation blindly, do your own research on which one offers the best service for your own needs.

TorrentFreak Q&A with VPN Providers

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[–] PeachMan@lemmy.one 54 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Something that people need to realize: If you want a VPN for PRIVACY, Mullvad (edit: also maybe IVPN) is the only good option on this list. They make it very easy for you to maintain complete anonymity, they don't even WANT your email address, you can use crypto, or you can literally mail them an envelope of cash with a note inside containing your unique ID and they'll load up your account with that value. It's ridiculous how seriously they take this stuff. And if you're really concerned about privacy, you should also be taking extra steps like using a hardened OS and browser, and using disposable virtual machines. But I suspect that most of us here aren't that concerned with actual privacy.

If you want a VPN for PIRACY, any of these options are probably fine as long as they don't block or slow torrent traffic. Just use the fastest one here that you can afford. The only thing you're really doing in this case is blocking your torrent traffic from your ISP. Remember, if you give them a credit card and your email address, then that's not private! It's just for piracy. It's important to look at your priorities and pick a VPN accordingly.

[–] GlitzyArmrest@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

IVPN and Mullvad are probably the only two that give a shit about privacy. Neither require email or credit cards, and accept cash.

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[–] loudWaterEnjoyer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 50 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If someone starts his list with NordVPN you know its complete and utter bullshit

[–] Ilandar@aussie.zone 10 points 1 year ago (6 children)

That's not how the annual Torrentfreak VPN questionnaire works.

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[–] bresdin@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I still highly recommend Mullvad, they are generally an awesome company and havent had many issues with them beyond a few random sites blocking them which is to be expected.

[–] SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Mullvad used to be the no-brainer choice until they stopped supporting port forwarding. I kinda need it for seeding. ProtonVPN seems like a good idea for now.

[–] amanneedsamaid@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I switched to Torguard and have gotten MUCH better speeds than I do with Proton and marginally better speeds than Mullvad. I had issues setting up port forwarding, but it was user error and Torguard customer support is next fucking level so I got that taken care of.

Overall, no complaints so far.

They also accept crypto payments, however there is an email requirement.

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[–] PracticalParrot@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I find that weird that so many struggle without port forwarding... my seeding is going just fine without port forwarding.

[–] SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

You'll be fine in public trackers without port forwarding due to the abundance of participants. In private trackers, it matters much more.

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[–] Qvest@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They recently got visited by officers of the country they’re in. The officers didn’t find shit (no logs, no ips, nothing)

[–] Dusty@l.dustybeer.com 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I fully believe this is true, however do you have an article or anything about it?

[–] lackthought@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I use Mozilla VPN, which I believe is just a rebranded Mullvad

never had any issues!

[–] Ilandar@aussie.zone 6 points 1 year ago

I'd like to use Mozilla VPN so I can support them financially (big Firefox user) but it's still unavailable in my country. I've given up hope at this stage.

[–] matt@infosec.pub 5 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I would still be using mullvad if they hadn't removed port forwarding -- it's too damn bad but I get why they needed it. Switched to Proton but I imagine they'll run into the same issue down the road and will need to find a more permanent solution.

[–] mac1202@lemmy.fmhy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I use it for 2 years unfortunately from July 1 port forwarding will be removed. Had to switch to another vpn.

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[–] LukeSky53@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Wasn’t PIA bought out by a company that keeps logs a couple years ago? Interesting it made it on this list.

[–] equalszero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 year ago

The list are not recommended VPN Providers, they are anything but private since they are using Google services etc

[–] ki77erb@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I've been using PIA for years. I didn't know about that. If I were to switch to a new company, any recommendations?

[–] DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

It was a whole hoopla but to what I know they still don't keep logs. I believe one of the times they were asked to appear in court (and gave nothing) was since the purchase.

[–] Policeshootout@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

I switched from PIA to Mullvad w/ Wireguard a few years ago. I use BTC to pay and you don't need to supply an email or any info. They've been great for me.

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[–] admin@lemmy.magnor.ovh 5 points 1 year ago

Yes they were bought by an Israeli spyware company.

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[–] TurnItOff_OnAgain@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've been using Proton VPN for years without issue. They don't keep any logs.

[–] mawkishdave@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

I switched all my stuff to proton and I am very happy with them.

[–] CookieJarObserver@feddit.de 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I think not taking crypto currency is ok, on the other parts i agree.

Thing is crypto currency is relatively unstable.

[–] equalszero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Paying with credit cards etc deanonymizes you

I'm not a fan of using crypto as an investment tool, but since I cant pay with cash via the internet crypto is the next best option.

[–] CookieJarObserver@feddit.de 14 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Eh your bank just knows you pay for a VPN.

I would like to be able to send a mail with the exact money in cash... But that remains a dream...

[–] jayknight@lemmy.ml 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mullvad accepts cash in the mail.

[–] TonyOstrich@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Doesn't Mullvad allow you to pay via mailed money?

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[–] Wander@yiffit.net 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don't understand the downvotes. Crypto is ideal way of paying if you want to stay anonymous. Even Mullvad says that if you pay with Paypal that there's some data they are required to keep on file.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Crypto isn't anonymous though from my understanding. Since every transaction gets recorded, you can be identified through your transaction history.

[–] yote_zip@pawb.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's true and not true. If you're not careful, you can get identified even while using cryptocurrency because the ledgers are all public. If anyone can figure out that you're tied to a single one of your historical transactions, they can trace everything your "wallet" has ever done. But if you use single-use wallets, crypto shufflers, whatever else the kids have going these days, you can be untraceable. The easiest way to do private crypto is to use Monero, which automatically handles most privacy concerns.

Edit: A small vid on monero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7sLnmlZ-kU

I'm not immersed in the cryptocurrency world day-to-day so if anything has changed lmk

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[–] thesanewriter@vlemmy.net 12 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I use Mullvad. They have you buy time upfront at a fixed price, have lots of payment options, and at one point were subpoenaed and proved to the Swedish government they don't store any user data and therefore have nothing to turn over. They have a nice app too, I like them.

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[–] somedaysoon@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (13 children)

You should not trust any provider that says they do not keeps logs unless they have been audited by a reputable 3rd party and then you are putting your trust in that 3rd party. Anyone can say that they do not keep logs so it's absolutely meaningless, there really is no way to know unless you admin the server.

The secret service used a honeypot VPN to successfully take down ShadowCrew almost 20 years ago. They have had the blueprint for 2 decades, so I wouldn't be surprised if half these VPNs secretly cooperate with them over higher profile cases despite their claims.

[–] ki77erb@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

"Private Internet Access has verified in court multiple times that we keep no logs."

If they've gone to court on multiple occasions and proven they keep no logs, that's pretty compelling evidence that they're telling the truth. I guess you could never be 100% sure though.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Was that before or after they got bought out?

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[–] MrComradeTaco@lemmy.fmhy.ml 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Mysterium Network

If you want privacy and great speeds better to use a dVPN.

[–] Trung0246@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Anyone used ProtonVPN before? What's your thought?

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[–] rimorso@feddit.it 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So how bad is nord vpn seeing as that is all over YouTube?

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