VPNs on iOS are a scam • Hacker News Board

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#21

Post by mdeeks » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:48 PM UTC

isatty wrote: post #14

xoa wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope Wireguard makes it into iOS/macOS at some point. Still early days relative to other protocols of course but it's so much simpler and more reliable (even beyond the security benefits). I use it extensively on both platforms for access to my own networks and services nowadays.

WireGuard is already available on both platforms - or do you mean kernel space WireGuard without an additional app? Fwiw the existing app integrates seamlessly into the apple ecosystem.

I think the OP means so that it can be used without an app and so it can be used with Apple's "Always On VPN" setup. Right now I believe "Always On VPN" only works with the OS supported VPNs: IKEv2, L2TP, SSL VPN, and Cisco IPSEC https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/vpn-overview-depa...

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#22

Post by mike_d » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:48 PM UTC

cmeacham98 wrote: post #7

kogir wrote: post #5

I think Apple is transparent about Always on VPN (blocking traffic except over the tunnel) requiring provisioning using MDM tools. Apple Configurator is free and allows anyone to set this up. Any other VPN is just best effort. https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/vpn-overview-depa...

That Apple documents that 'normal' VPNs are broken on iOS doesn't change the fact that they're broken.

VPNs were always meant to carry internal traffic to a private network, not the public internet (hence the name Virtual Private Network).

The fact that a VPN server can send you a route for 0.0.0.0/0 always was and always will be a happy accident.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#23

Post by fzfaa » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:49 PM UTC

vbezhenar wrote: post #8

fzfaa wrote: post #6

I remember recently using Cloudflare Warp and using one of those webpages that tell you your IP address and it showed my real IP address. It was a bit weird.

Warp is not designed to hide your address. If website is behind cloudflare, it'll know your IP address. If website is not behind cloudflare, your address will not be available.

Wow, that is really shady.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#24

Post by haunter » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:52 PM UTC

hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #20

I don’t care for VPNs but I do want an adblocker. What are my options aside from using a public pihole dns or a vpn to a private dns server?

Firefox Focus then in Settings > Safari enable it as a content blocker

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#25

Post by LeoPanthera » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:53 PM UTC

hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #20

I don’t care for VPNs but I do want an adblocker. What are my options aside from using a public pihole dns or a vpn to a private dns server?

Ad blocking is entirely possible. Safari supports ad blocking natively. OS-level blocking can be achieved via a DNS filter which can be run on-device. I use AdGuard Pro to do both:

https://adguard.com/en/adguard-ios-pro/overview.html

But other choices are available too.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#26

Post by rndgermandude » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:54 PM UTC

mmastrac wrote: post #3

Title should be: "VPNs on iOS are a scam", but a less sensationalist title might be: "VPNs on iOS leak traffic".

It's not even the VPNs that leak, it's the Apple VPN implementation that does.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#27

Post by ecliptik » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:55 PM UTC

hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #20

I don’t care for VPNs but I do want an adblocker. What are my options aside from using a public pihole dns or a vpn to a private dns server?

Tailscale + Pihole works well,

https://tailscale.com/kb/1114/pi-hole/

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#28

Post by secondcoming » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:58 PM UTC

fzfaa wrote: post #6

I remember recently using Cloudflare Warp and using one of those webpages that tell you your IP address and it showed my real IP address. It was a bit weird.

I downloaded that recently to check it out and it crippled my 5G speeds too.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#29

Post by codedokode » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:58 PM UTC

xoa wrote: post #9

kogir wrote: post #5

I think Apple is transparent about Always on VPN (blocking traffic except over the tunnel) requiring provisioning using MDM tools. Apple Configurator is free and allows anyone to set this up. Any other VPN is just best effort. https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/vpn-overview-depa...

I hope Wireguard makes it into iOS/macOS at some point. Still early days relative to other protocols of course but it's so much simpler and more reliable (even beyond the security benefits). I use it extensively on both platforms for access to my own networks and services nowadays.

No post body was provided.

Re: VPNs on iOS are a scam

#30

Post by tinus_hn » Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 9:59 PM UTC

Would be nice if someone who actually knows what he’s doing looked into this. This guy might be on to something or he might be creating a whole lot of drama about nothing.