List of VPN Service Providers - 2023 - page 6.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on April 07, 2023, 02:36:48 AM

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.

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.

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 07, 2023, 04:27:57 AM

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.

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.

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18711

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 07, 2023, 04:27:57 AM

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.

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.

RickDeckard

legendary

Activity: 1148

Merit: 3117

Quote from: LoyceV on April 07, 2023, 01:17:38 AM

Please fix your quote.

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

Quote from: LoyceV on April 07, 2023, 01:17:38 AM

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

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on April 07, 2023, 02:36:48 AM

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.

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.

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on April 07, 2023, 02:36:48 AM

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.

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:

Quote

This joint project with Mullvad has brought positive changes to Tor Browser by allowing us to address legacy issues, fix vulnerabilities for Tor Browser and make necessary UX improvements that benefit both Tor and Mullvad Browsers, as well as the global privacy-preserving tech ecosystem.

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.

[1]https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/aug-2022-mempool-empty-use-this-opportunity-to-consolidate-your-small-inputs-2848987
[2]https://blog.torproject.org/releasing-mullvad-browser/

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18711

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 06, 2023, 02:07:05 PM

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?

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.

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.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 06, 2023, 02:07:05 PM

For privacy

Please fix your quote.

Quote

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?

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

Quote

I'll also give it a few weeks before trying it out.

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.

RickDeckard

legendary

Activity: 1148

Merit: 3117

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on April 06, 2023, 01:52:55 AM

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 Tongue

).

Quote from: LoyceV on April 06, 2023, 02:26:28 AM

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

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

.

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on April 06, 2023, 01:52:55 AM

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.

Quote from: LoyceV on April 06, 2023, 02:26:28 AM

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.

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:

Quote

It's basically a rebranded Tor Browser without Tor. uBlock Origin and the Mullvad VPN Companion addons are installed by default to switch the IP location with the help of Wireguard SOCKS5. They added a new service called "leta" (https[://]leta[.]mullvad[.]net), it's a search engine using the Google Search API only available to Mullvad paid subscribers and allow 50 searches per day. It's not really a "big news" like I thought it was when I first saw the blog title.

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).

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

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 05, 2023, 04:05:45 PM

I'm sorry for asking this @LoyceV but is this achievable by selecting the option "Coin Control"?

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

Quote

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?

Correct. Or something else than Mullvad.

Quote

Speaking of Mullvad, while this isn't related to a VPN it does still involve Mullvad - they've just launched their browser ~
[2]https://mullvad.net/en/browser

Allow me to quote them:

Quote

You could say it’s a Tor Browser to use without the Tor Network.

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.

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18711

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 05, 2023, 04:05:45 PM

I'm sorry for asking this @LoyceV but is this achievable by selecting the option "Coin Control"?

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 Tongue

).

Quote from: RickDeckard on April 05, 2023, 04:05:45 PM

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.

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.

RickDeckard

legendary

Activity: 1148

Merit: 3117

Quote from: LoyceV on March 24, 2023, 04:24:13 AM

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.

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?

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:

Quote

Our goal was to give users the privacy protections of Tor Browser without Tor. For instance, the Mullvad Browser applies a "hide-in-the-crowd" approach to online privacy by creating a similar fingerprint for all of its users. The browser's 'out-of-the-box' configurations and settings will mask many parameters and features commonly used to extract information from a person's device that can make them identifiable, including fonts, rendered content, and several hardware APIs. By default, Mullvad Browser has private mode enabled, blocks third-party trackers and cookies, and makes it easy to delete cookies between visiting pages during the same session.

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

Synchronice

hero member

Activity: 882

Merit: 792

Watch Bitcoin Documentary - https://t.ly/v0Nim

Quote from: SFR10 on March 23, 2023, 12:43:01 PM

Quote from: Synchronice on March 21, 2023, 03:14:32 PM

min price starts from 2$ a month.
~Snipped~
build your own plan.

It appears that the minimum price is $3 now ^{[at least three pro locations]}: Screenshot
^{- BTW, their yearly plan is $69 at the moment.}

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.

Quote from: SFR10 on March 23, 2023, 12:43:01 PM

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

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.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: SFR10 on March 23, 2023, 12:43:01 PM

@LoyceV
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.

SFR10

legendary

Activity: 2968

Merit: 3406

Crypto Swap Exchange

Quote from: Synchronice on March 21, 2023, 03:14:32 PM

min price starts from 2$ a month.
~Snipped~
build your own plan.

It appears that the minimum price is $3 now ^{[at least three pro locations]}: Screenshot
^{- BTW, their yearly plan is $69 at the moment.}

Quote from: Synchronice on March 21, 2023, 03:14:32 PM

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.

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

@LoyceV
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.}

Synchronice

hero member

Activity: 882

Merit: 792

Watch Bitcoin Documentary - https://t.ly/v0Nim

Quote from: Pezroly on March 20, 2023, 12:01:14 PM

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 - 10GB per month data, 10 countries.

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.

Quote from: Pezroly on March 20, 2023, 12:01:14 PM

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.

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.

Quote from: Pezroly on March 20, 2023, 12:01:14 PM

Plus, why to pay if you can get VPN for free.

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.

Quote from: SFR10 on March 21, 2023, 12:39:37 PM

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

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.

SFR10

legendary

Activity: 2968

Merit: 3406

Crypto Swap Exchange

Quote from: Pezroly on March 20, 2023, 12:01:14 PM

no identifying log Windscribe VPN.

AFAICS, they've "only" been partially audited, and I'm not sure by which firm: Has Windscribe been audited?

Quote from: Pezroly on March 20, 2023, 12:01:14 PM

Plus, why to pay if you can get VPN for free.

There's a saying that "if something is free, you’re the product"!

Quote from: Pezroly on March 20, 2023, 12:01:14 PM

www.privadovpn.com, Switzerland, no log, 10GB per month data, 12 countries, https://www.vpnbook.com/, Switzerland, connection logs are automatically deleted every week, no limit for data, 3 countries.

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

Pezroly

jr. member

Activity: 66

Merit: 8

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 - 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, Switzerland, no log, 10GB per month data, 12 countries, https://www.vpnbook.com/, Switzerland, connection logs are automatically deleted every week, no limit for data, 3 countries.

Synchronice

hero member

Activity: 882

Merit: 792

Watch Bitcoin Documentary - https://t.ly/v0Nim

Quote from: LoyceV on March 11, 2023, 01:46:35 AM

Quote from: Synchronice on March 08, 2023, 05:45:36 AM

Windscribe's Chrome Extension for Opera browser gets automatically disabled on my pc
~
you may leak your IP. Definitely, no one wants to get such an unexpected surprise. That's why I am warning you, be careful!

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.

LoyceV

legendary

Activity: 3290

Merit: 16489

Thick-Skinned Gang Leader and Golden Feather 2021

Quote from: Synchronice on March 08, 2023, 05:45:36 AM

Windscribe's Chrome Extension for Opera browser gets automatically disabled on my pc
~
you may leak your IP. Definitely, no one wants to get such an unexpected surprise. That's why I am warning you, be careful!

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.

SFR10

legendary

Activity: 2968

Merit: 3406

Crypto Swap Exchange

Quote from: Synchronice on March 08, 2023, 05:45:36 AM

Sometimes, when I open Opera browser, extension is automatically unconnected

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?

Quote from: Synchronice on March 08, 2023, 05:45:36 AM

and removed from Opera extension bar,

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

Synchronice

hero member

Activity: 882

Merit: 792

Watch Bitcoin Documentary - https://t.ly/v0Nim

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!

RickDeckard

legendary

Activity: 1148

Merit: 3117

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:

Quote

As a next step on this path toward better privacy we’ll be removing support for both refunds and account recovery for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash payments, meaning all cryptocurrencies will be treated equally. This will allow us to remove the connection between a Mullvad VPN account and the public blockchain transaction records much sooner after the payment is made. This change will take effect on 1st January, 2023. Our terms of service have been updated accordingly.

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.

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

Topic: List of VPN Service Providers - 2023 - page 6. (Read 2997 times)