When it comes to VPN my choice is always Mullvad.
Comment on Proton launches privacy-first alternative to Excel and Google Sheets
danc4498@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Do we like Proton? I never know which VPN company I can truly trust.
napoleonsdumbcousin@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Anivia@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
No port forwarding
xylight@crust.piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I torrent even without the port forwarding and still get great speeds, and >1 share ratios
Anivia@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Great for you, but most good private trackers will ban you if you aren’t connectable. If you’re only torrenting English stuff then public trackers are fine, or one’s with lax rules like IPT, but for many other languages private trackers are unavoidable
artyom@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I use Proton because they are no longer a “VPN company”. They are slowly rolling out a suite of privacy tools that compete with Google’s Workspace (or whatever the hell they’re calling it these days).
If you want a “VPN company” I would recommend Mullvad.
scytale@piefed.zip 2 weeks ago
If you don’t need port-forwarding, Mullvad is the best choice IMO. Eggs in a basket as well, if you already use other Proton products but don’t want to lock yourself into one vendor for everything.
LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
If you’re buying an annual plan, Mozilla resells Mullvad for cheaper. Monthly, buying direct is cheaper.
Also, I assume, but don’t have any evidence, that buying from a reseller is a little more private due to separation of billing and services.
x00z@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If you use Mullvad you get a token instead of an account. It’s not linked to any email address. You can then pay directly to this token using crypto. You can even send cash in an envelope. If you use Tor to get a token and pay, you’re as private as can be.
The thing however is that VPN providers can always see what IP address is using their service. So however private your account and payment is, in the end you always have to trust the provider that they are not logging IPs.
If you are buying from Mozilla, then both Mozilla and Mullvad get access information. This means that buying from a reseller is less private by default.
scytale@piefed.zip 2 weeks ago
Good idea budget wise. Mullvad doesn’t require any information from you though, except your payment info. And even then, you can pay by cash or crypto if you really want to purchase anonymously.
Spacehooks@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
Not even sure anymore. Ceo recently said Trump is great.
illi@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
This is not completely fair or true statement - though it is not too far from truth.
Spacehooks@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
Proton Mail has long positioned itself as an apolitical company, dedicated solely to safeguarding user privacy. That’s why many were surprised when CEO Andy Yen posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the political landscape in the U.S. had shifted, stating, “10 years ago, Republicans were the party of big business and Dems stood for the little guys, but today the tables have completely turned.”
This was earlier this year. So sure its up to interpretation.
Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
So… He’s an idiot, is what you’re saying.
illi@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I remember there being a little more to it, but I don’t have receipts. They did fairly reasonable PR explanation which lowered my concern a little - but some doubts stayed with me for sure.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
Yeah it’s a LOT far from the truth, like the distance between uranus and the sun
illi@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Yeah, I guess it depends on how you look at it and what are your limits on this stuff. I can see why you disagree even with me for sure.
It definitely didn’t look great. It certainly didn’t inspire confidence. Not bad enough for me to leave (once the head cooled), but enough for me to consider it if a competitor comes up with a similar offering (looking at Tuta Drive once they introduce it).
XLE@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
“Great pick by [Donald Trump]. 10 years ago, Republicans were the party of big business and Dems stood for the little guys, but today the tables have completely turned.”
- Andy Yen, Proton CEO
“Until corporate Dems are thrown out, the reality is that Republicans remain more likely to tackle Big Tech abuses.”
- Proton
cabbage@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
They’re increasingly divisive I’d say. For me the fact that they rage-quit mastodon after a stint of bad publicity is all I need to know. If they were truly dedicated to a better internet they would be committed to stand up against big tech everywhere, not just wherever there’s money to be made on it. I’m migrating away from my proton mail account.
I get my VPN from Surfshark. Not because I necessarily trust them, but because it’s cheap and they don’t insist on doing anything else than just being my VPN provider.
DahGangalang@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Don’t let me ruin your good time, but my experience with Surf shark:
Used surf shark for about 3 years around pandemic timeframe. Had no complaints (other than it drained my phone battery super fast - didn’t test empirically, but seemed somewhat worse than other VPN providers). I was unemployed for a while, so took the opportunity to cut expenses; tried to drop my surf shark subscription. It was a HUGE pain in the butt. I forget the process, but iirc, you had to use their help chat to get the number for cancellations, they kept me on hold for ~10 min, then had a long winded questionnaire (“were required to ask you these questions before proceeding”) asking why I was quitting, then made an offer for discounted months before letting me unsubscribe.
Its my understanding regulations have changed such that that’s not allowed anymore and also that most VPN can elations are about that bad anyway, but still, wanted to share my experience. Lol, suppose so long as you never quit, you won’t have to deal with all that.
cabbage@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Ah, yeah, that sucks. In Europe you can always cancel by just not paying for a subscription, so I’ve rarely had experiences like this. Only time it happened to me was when I had been stupid enough to have a New York Times subscription (gah) and decided to end it. Huge pain in the ass.
With Surfshark I bought a two-year subscription without automatic renewal, so I get what I paid for and then it’s done. But I’m sorry to hear about their bad business practices—it goes well with the overall sleazy look of their website. Hopefully I’ll find something better by the time the subscription period is over. :)
SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
do you have a more current preference/recommendation?
DahGangalang@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Not any authoritative recommendations. I’m at most a casual user of VPNs, and so long as I see the traffic getting encrypted, don’t think about it much more.
I always hear Mullvad is great for maximizing privacy. Never tried them myself though.
Personally, I use Proton. I was prepping to jump ship earlier this year, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it. I’ve had a pretty decent experience with them. The only issue was on on a Linux machine…Uh…and it was minor enough and long ago enough that I don’t even remember what it was?
See above for my dissatisfying experience with Surf shark.
I did try to sign up with ExpressVPN many years ago. They’re payment portal was busted (tried every day for a week, emailed support with no response).
That about sums up my experience.
cabbage@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I suspect Mullvad would be a popular choice, but it’s quite a bit more expensive. As I rarely use VPN (I hardly every do anything where it’s necessary), I’m a bit on the stingy side personally.