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Latest Mozilla VPN features

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Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#121

Post by ev1 »

CharlesW wrote: post #117
kyawzazaw wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A lot of consumers are interested in a quality VPN but wouldn't do this kind of research. In that case, they will probably use NordVPN or ProtonVPN

Wait, is NordVPN something an educated VPN consumer should not use? I switched from PIA after their acquisition, so now I'm wondering what I missed.

No one educated should be using NordVPN, more or less. At best it might be acceptable to throw a ton of torrents on as long as you don't use their terrible proprietary client.

Even the front page is already freely giving away tons of data to multiple analytics providers.

Basically any VPN with an affiliate scheme you should stay away from. NordVPN, Ivacy, VPN Unlimited, FastestVPN, etc explicitly, run like fuck. The more "YOU ARE UNPROTECTED REGISTER NOW!" the faster you should run.

NB: I am a power user/developer, but I do not use either company. Objectively, a basic eyeball comparison (match bullet point indexes):

Mullvad:

- Says "Not using Mullvad" / "Using Mullvad" (a neutral statement)

- Shows their company address and registered location at the bottom of every page

- No on-page analytics

- No third party includes

- One price

NordVPN:

- "Your Status: Unprotected"

- "Copyright NordVPN.com" only

- Multiple on-page analytics and third parties

- Loads google tag manager, google analytics, bing marketing, youtube, third party web surveys, zendesk, twitter ad pixel, google ads, bing, cloudflare, ada chatbot, ravenjs, processout, multiple fingerprinting and persistent device identification/tracking services (also performs webgl/font iteration/plugin iteration/canvas fingerprinting, etc)

- Repeated upsells, lying to you about price (see JS for fake "sale ends in x seconds" countdown timers that attempt to induce FOMO and more), packed with dark patterns; "9 hours left easter special TODAY ONLY" - same sale that has been running for years

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#122

Post by bassdropvroom »

CharlesW wrote: post #117
kyawzazaw wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A lot of consumers are interested in a quality VPN but wouldn't do this kind of research. In that case, they will probably use NordVPN or ProtonVPN

Wait, is NordVPN something an educated VPN consumer should not use? I switched from PIA after their acquisition, so now I'm wondering what I missed.

That's right. I use NordVPN because I got suckered into it using their terrible tactics (the whole 67% off for a limited time only offer that's been running for the past what, 3 years?), because stupidly I didn't do any research, but in general I only use NordVPN for ahem torrents. All else, I'd trust my ISP more than NordVPN.

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#124

Post by hnlmorg »

croutonwagon wrote: post #86
hnlmorg wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about tunnelling into a trusted network? That's what a VPN is really for. The other uses are more side effects exploiting the encryption and tunnelling properties of VPN rather than the original intended purpose of a VPN.

I think hes talking about VPN's in the context of these companies selling vpn services under the guise of "privacy" or "security". ProtonVPN, Nord, Mozillas, Mullvad and there are a ton others, many with less than stellar reputations and some that outright lie. Thats a bit separate from a road warrior, corporate vpn or even one that one may host on a VPS that they have full control over and are willing to allow the h…

I got the context. My point is that the whole “privacy” VPN industry is snake oil and people miss the point of VPNs when they buy into these services.

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#125

Post by skinkestek »

acatton wrote: post #74

I genuinely don't understand what is the incentive for using Mozilla VPN? I'm a Mozilla and Firefox fanboy, but this new product had me sceptical since the beginning. They literally bring nothing to the table except their brand name. They don't even do the server side, but just resell Mullvad's infrastructure with their brand. I'm already a Mullvad customer, and if I were to switch to Mozilla VPN: * It would not be a…

> I genuinely don't understand what is the incentive for using Mozilla VPN?

Supporting browser development instead of Mozilla Foundation.

This way at least they pass through the hands of the organization that does the most important work.

(Nothing against the other issues but right now the browser should be their top priority and I was massively annoyed when I found that donations towards the foundation couldn't be used for browser development and the browser.)

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#127

Post by wnevets »

acatton wrote: post #74

I genuinely don't understand what is the incentive for using Mozilla VPN? I'm a Mozilla and Firefox fanboy, but this new product had me sceptical since the beginning. They literally bring nothing to the table except their brand name. They don't even do the server side, but just resell Mullvad's infrastructure with their brand. I'm already a Mullvad customer, and if I were to switch to Mozilla VPN: * It would not be a…

> They literally bring nothing to the table except their brand name.

That has been enough for me. I generally trust Mozilla when they say privacy first and if I'm going to give my money to a VPN provider I rather give it to Mozilla than say NordVPN.

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#128

Post by qw3rty01 »

cyberlab wrote: post #26
maeln wrote: post #21

I feel like most of those VPN services are using very borderline marketing and like to keep a lot of information blurry. As far as I know, in a lot of country (like France) it is a legal obligation to keep logs and be able to identify one of your customer if the police demands it. Therefore, if you have server in France or any country with similar rules, you can't operate a "0 log" service. And since those kinds of s…

I agree. A VPN should only ever be used for the following: - Shifting traffic over a VPN when using untrusted/sketchy wifi hotspots - Spoofing your geo-location to use geo-specific content And that's it. If privacy is your goal, Tor is much more suitable since it's not a single-hop proxy like a VPN and compartments all your traffic. (But of course Tor is not a silver bullet and there are caveats).

Tor is explicitly not private, only anonymous. The end node can see all the traffic you send through it if it's not encrypted. If privacy is your main concern, tor is definitely not the right tool to use.

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#129

Post by [deleted] »

wnevets wrote: post #127
acatton wrote: post #74

I genuinely don't understand what is the incentive for using Mozilla VPN? I'm a Mozilla and Firefox fanboy, but this new product had me sceptical since the beginning. They literally bring nothing to the table except their brand name. They don't even do the server side, but just resell Mullvad's infrastructure with their brand. I'm already a Mullvad customer, and if I were to switch to Mozilla VPN: * It would not be a…

> They literally bring nothing to the table except their brand name. That has been enough for me. I generally trust Mozilla when they say privacy first and if I'm going to give my money to a VPN provider I rather give it to Mozilla than say NordVPN.

[deleted]

Re: Latest Mozilla VPN features

#130

Post by mplewis »

lucideer wrote: post #90
Fergusonb wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're using mullvad you have likely already done a lot of research on which provider you want to use. A lot of consumers are interested in a quality VPN but wouldn't do this kind of research. Mozilla provide additional eyeballs and billing support, and mullvad provides the service itself. It's a mutually beneficial transaction. They're not in competition for your money, they're targeting different demographics.

> they're targeting different demographics This is the question though: who are these demographics? I know Mozilla likely have a lot more data on this than I, but who is using Firefox / interested enough in Mozilla to read their marketing & research their VPN offerings, but is simultaneously not someone who would research VPN providers in general / use Mullvad? What is this techie/non-techie interested/not-interested…

Anyone who uses Firefox as their browser, wants to start using a VPN, and has not yet done significant research on a VPN.
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