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Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

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Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#111

Post by lukan »

philipallstar wrote: post #89
kotaKat wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we go back to making all this garbage, I don’t know, a browser extension or something? All of this crap that everyone keeps pulling into their browsers needs to be ripped back out and made a plugin or an extension. Stop shoving it in the core damn browser. I didn’t need the waste of space and I’m never going to touch it.

Why would a VPN be a good browser extension?

Convenience. I also don't mind it in the browser as it would not really add much complexity. Some lines of code at most? VPN's do not require complex client logic - they require actual servers that reroute the user traffic - that is the expensive part.

And for many non technical users that is very useful, if they can get that with a click. To get geoblocked content, etc.

Mozilla has done way worse things, much more distracting from their core mission - building a browser that people want to use and trust.

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#113

Post by fortyseven »

philipallstar wrote: post #106
kotaKat wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does the VPN need to be integrated into the browser itself?

I don't think it should. You think it should be a browser extension. I don't think it should either be integrated or a browser extension.

I think we can interpret "browser extension" as a catch-all for "not directly built into the browser", in whatever form that takes.

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#115

Post by Gormo »

gzread wrote: post #74
aragilar wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is an SSH jump server a VPN (or forwarding a port from another machine at VPN)? I'd suggest neither are because it's connection-based rather than setting up a network (with routing etc). Absent a network, it's a proxy (which can be used like some deployments of a VPN).

Really none of these VPNs are VPNs either since they don't establish a virtual private network. They are just tunnels for your internet access. Tailscale is actual VPN software. It simulates a private network.

WireGuard is VPN software. Tailscale is WireGuard-as-a-service.

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#116

Post by Gormo »

nl wrote: post #26
m132 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes a proxy a "VPN" again? Most popular "VPN" companies only offer a proxy that merely runs over a VPN protocol.

> Most popular "VPN" companies only offer a proxy that merely runs over a VPN protocol. Well that doesn't seem true? Mullvad, Proton, Private Internet Access, NordVPN, ExpressVPN etc are all VPNs. You can use them for whatever protocol you want.

Well, only some of them actually offer full VPN service. Most of them are still just traffic-forwarding proxies, just not limited to HTTP. NordVPN used to offer full VPN service under the name "Meshnet", but actually discontinued it last year.

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#117

Post by Xunjin »

aleph_minus_one wrote: post #98
aurareturn wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, "free": "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold" HN is "free" too. :)

> > Also, "free": "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold" > HN is "free" too. :) Indeed: you deliver valuable information about market trends, market sentiments, technology, ... to SV startups and investors. Additionally, Hacker News is basically a marketing expense of YC.

Well pointed. Sometimes being the "product" is not a bad thing.

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#118

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

userbinator wrote: post #3

As a Firefox user: if I want a VPN I'll use an actual VPN. Focus on making a great browser, and not all this distraction. Also, "free": "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold"

Why is this always upvoted to the top? You realize that if they focus on only making a browser they'll run out of money?

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#119

Post by glenstein »

shevy-java wrote: post #84
nl wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold" This is such a un-nuanced take. In this case Firefox's route-to-market is the product. It's a distribution channel where some people who receive the free version will upgrade. Free tiers for products where some will pay to upgrade seems like a reasonable compromise, but it does depend on how the deal is structured. If Mullvad pays Firefox for the free use…

> This is such a un-nuanced take. It's still correct though. In this context Mozilla uses the firefox-users as their test and demo base. At the end is commercial benefit. And I think the core criticism still applies. Mozilla gave up on the browser years ago, let's be honest. It may be interesting from a historic point of view to find out how, when and why, but meanwhile the rest of the world has moved on already, so…

>Mozilla gave up on the browser years ago, let's be honest.

They push million lines of new code every year, push thousands of patches, and regularly achieve performance measurable performance boosts to Webrender, the JavaScript and CSS rendering engines, on rapid release cycles that have improved speed and memory usage.

There are a lot of criticisms leveled at Mozilla some fair some unfair, but the amount of work poured into the browser is so extensively documented that there's no excuse for not knowing.

Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149

#120

Post by mhitza »

userbinator wrote: post #3

As a Firefox user: if I want a VPN I'll use an actual VPN. Focus on making a great browser, and not all this distraction. Also, "free": "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold"

This feature actually sounds like something that is aligned to Mozilla's mission of an open internet (paraphrasing).

Now, from where this cost is going to be recouped, how seamless the integration will be (in-browser translation is useful but the UX is not good enough), or if their VPN exit points aren't flagged to death as bad IPs; will remain to be seen.

The other thing about this feature, is that it will prove interesting in France and the UK; where it could be seen as a circumvention technique of the currently in place age restriction laws. And at the very least, it will bring those topics back into discussion.

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