WireGuard and PIA: what does it look like?

Private Internet Access also provides a graphical client for Linux, which is quite similar to the programs on macOS and Windows. The only difference is that PIA uses the Linux kernel module for WireGuard, should it be available. The software even advises to install the kernel module.

In the client settings you will now find the options OpenVPN and WireGuard in Connection. If I choose the new protocol, I get a few additional options, as you can see in the screenshot.

By the way, if you click on Install in Ubuntu, a terminal window with the corresponding PPA entry will open immediately.

With Linux Mint I only got a hint to the WireGuard website. The problem will be solved in the foreseeable future anyway.

If you follow Linux you know that the VPN protocol WireGuard is integrated by default from Linux kernel 5.6. For Ubuntu 20.04 and its kernel 5.4 the protocol is available in the repositories of the distributor (from 19.10). You can find installation instructions for all major distributions directly on the WireGuard website.

PIA with WireGuard*

If the appropriate kernel module is installed, I can use it or not – the choice is mine.

Android and Windows

Under Windows and Android the question does not arise. Android uses a Linux kernel but …

This also works under Windows. It is very similar. Another nice thing about the PIA client is that it informs you about your IP addresses.

I can’t try macOS and iOS, but I think it works there as well.

Connecting with WireGuard is faster than via OpenVPN, I can confirm that. I didn’t do a speed test for Private Internet Access, but compared OpenVPN and WireGuard with NordVPN – the new VPN protocol was generally faster.

Fancy Linux Client

My personal opinion is that PIA provides one of the nicest, if not the best, Linux clients for a VPN. It is almost equal to the clients under macOS and Windows. The handling is very clear and therefore user-friendly. If you decide to use the VPN (Virtual Private Network), make sure you remember the Privacy tab.

Here you configure the so-called killswitch. This is an emergency switch that blocks traffic if the client is not connected to the VPN. The options Off and Always are clear. With Automatic the client blocks external traffic as soon as the VPN is activated.

PIA MACE is a built-in ad blocker. It blocks advertising, trackers and malware.

In the Proxy tab you can also route the VPN through a Shadowsocks proxy. This is good against censorship or in countries that block VPNs. But using a proxy is only possible with the OpenVPN protocol.

In most cases, it is sufficient to select the country with which you wish to connect. You have to experiment with the VPN protocol. WireGuard is considered faster than OpenVPN.

Under Network you can configure which DNS servers you want to use. For MACE you have to use the in-house PIA-DNS, otherwise it won’t work. You can also allow LAN traffic here, even if the killswitch is enabled. In foreign networks you have to consider carefully if you want to use this option or not.

Here you will also find the so-called split tunneling. You can decide which apps and applications should run through the VPN and which not. Port forwarding is also possible.

Supported Linux distributions

In the download section of PIA you can read that the Linux client is supported under Ubuntu 16.04 or higher, Linux Mint 18 or higher, Debian as well as Arch (all 64-bit). You can also use PIA on other Linux distributions, but you have to configure the connection manually. The vendor provides a set of relevant .ovpn files. They come pre-configured with different ports and encryption.

In many Linux distributions, the .ovpn files can be imported via the network manager. If you always connect to the same country, this is fine. If you want to change countries easily, this can be tedious. When traveling, you also want to connect to a VPN server that is near you for reasons of latency and speed.

The Raspberry Pi is also currently only supported via the .ovpn files. WireGuard and Raspberry Pi do not currently work with PIA, but they do with NordVPN.

Further information about PIA

Good at this point is that you can test the VPN for 30 days risk free. PIA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s easy to get your money back. All you have to do is request a refund from customer service. You can reach the customer service via Live Chat or e-mail. I had a problem with the Linux client in the beginning and contacted customer service via email. I received a satisfactory answer within 24 hours. This is acceptable for me. In an urgent case I would have tried the Live Chat.

Test PIA risk-free*

Furthermore you are allowed to connect 10 devices to the VPN simultaneously. This is very generous and more than most of the competition offers. In any case, you should be able to equip all your devices with the VPN. Actually, you should be able to give your whole family a VPN account. Especially on vacation or when using public WLANs, you should always use a VPN. It doesn’t matter if you are in and Airbnb, a train, a bus or a plane.

You may use PIA as a VPN router. With a Raspberry Pi you can easily build your own VPN router. The bandwidth of PIA is of course not limited.

PIA also allows P2P or file sharing.

Private Internet access is very affordable, especially for long-term packages. There are monthly packages, half-yearly subscriptions or annual subscriptions. Needless to say, the annual subscription is the cheapest. The VPN costs about €3 per month.

If you like to tinker, you can also easily create a WireGuard server yourself. This is not that difficult, but less flexible. With only €3 per month, you also have to seriously consider whether the less flexible self-made solution is worth the effort.

Concluding thoughts

Along with NordVPN, PIA is one of the few VPN giants that have now rolled out WireGuard system-wide. I use exactly these two – in other words, I had the right hunch. – I don’t deny that other VPNs also work well, but as we say in IT: Never change a running system.

Private Internet Access is partner of Purism and the developers of Linux Mint recommend PIA as well. Mint’s own developed PIA client is terrible, though – take the official one, it’s much better.

There is one thing I would like to mention though and that is to keep an eye on. PIA was bought by Kape Technologies, who also own ZenMate and bought CyberGhost as well (called Crossrider back then). So far, nothing has changed for me in Private Internet Access and 1 year subscription at that price is not risky. I just wanted to mention it. If you have any concerns here, NordVPN might be the better option. They don’t have a graphical client for Linux, but the CLI client is available for Raspberry Pi – that might be an advantage.

The post PIA (Private Internet Access) VPN: WireGuard in all Apps appeared first on VPN Expert.

Important note: The function will be rolled out step by step. Not everyone will get the new VPN (Virtual Private Network) clients simultaneously and you may have to wait a few days until NordLynx arrives. The goal is to have all new apps distributed April 24th.

Nordlynx / WireGuard for everyone!*

It is not difficult to use the new protocol.

On Android you find the new option in the settings.

What about the security and NordLynx?

WireGuard is fast, but there are concerns about anonymity. NordVPN protects the privacy of the users by using double NAT (Network Address Translation). The double NAT system creates two local network interfaces for each user. One of them is used by all users connected to the server. So, you will be lost in the crowd as before.

The second IP address is only assigned to you during the session and no data is stored on the server. You are therefore not identifiable. In the end, the endpoint will not see your WireGuard IP address, but a general one from the NordVPN network. At least that’s how I understood it.

NordLynx / WireGuard is faster – much faster – good for streaming

My speed tests have shown that NordLynx is faster than OpenVPN. However, I could only test it under Linux so far. During the release of NordLynx for all apps the provider wrote that they did 256.886 internal speed tests. According to NordVPN the new VPN protocol has left the established IKEv2 and OpenVPN far behind.

This is valid for connection times as well as download and upload were constantly faster than a connection with OpenVPN. This does not mean that OpenVPN is slow, but better performance is always welcome. You can also switch at any time, if you feel like using a different VPN protocol. The others won’t be removed.

WireGuard is roaming capable by the way. So, you can switch networks without disconnecting from the VPN server. Now it can always happen that a VPN server fails completely. But for this, the client of NordVPN additionally offers a so-called kill switch. If this function is active, it will cut off all connections to the Internet as soon as your connection to the Virtual Private Network is disconnected.

If you use your VPN primarily for streaming, a higher speed will also be handy. The minimum requirements of streaming providers are relatively low, but you will only get the lowest quality. Especially if you want to avoid geoblocking, you want to have high speeds so that you can stream hassle-free.

Lower latency with NordLynx is an advantage for VoIP, video calls and so on. So, all real-time applications benefit from lower latency and faster response times.

Does NordLynx have disadvantages?

The only small disadvantage I can see at the moment: There are fewer sites that are equipped with WireGuard.

It is possible that these countries will also be equipped with WireGuard at some point. Especially for Finland, I cannot imagine that there will be no improvements. In any case, this is a disadvantage that I can live with at the moment.

Further advantages of NordVPN and NordLynx

NordVPN is one of the most user-friendly VPNs on the market. Except for the CLI Linux client, the clients for the other operating systems are similar. You just type or click on the country you want to connect to and the software does the rest. It does not get much easier. But you can also connect just like that and the client takes the server that responds fastest. This is usually a server that is located near you.

If you only want to protect your traffic and maintain your anonymity, you don’t need to worry about the server. With geoblocking, however, it becomes more specific.

Of course, you can build your own WireGuard VPN server using a Raspberry Pi. This is not that difficult. However, you won’t be as flexible in bypassing geoblocking as you would be with a global VPN provider like NordVPN*. Besides, anonymity is most probably also not given with your own server.

If you only want to protect yourself in free Wi-Fi hotspots, hotels, Airbnb, on the bus and so on, then a self-made solution is certainly a good idea. But if you want to beat geoblocking, connect to other countries and so on, then you are better off with a VPN provider. The packages are no longer expensive. NordVPN only costs around €3 per month if you take a three-year subscription.

Short overview of the functions of NordPVN:

Take advantage of the 30-day money back guarantee and test NordLynx without risk. If you dislike the service, you will get your money back.

Test NordVPN risk free*

The provider usually does not ask questions and refunds your money rather quick.

CyberSec briefly explained

The CyberSec function is one of the best features of NordVPN. It is an ad blocker, but it also blocks trackers and malware and protects against phishing. The function is included in all clients of NordVPN, including the extensions for Firefox and Chrome.

However, the function is not activated by default. There is a good reason for this. Some websites don’t like active CyberSec. If you activate the function, keep this in mind.

As soon as I leave the house, the VPN with CyberSec is active on my smartphone. At home, my traffic runs through a Pi-Hole and/or the VPN router with CyberSec active, so I usually don’t need a VPN on the individual clients at home.

NordLynx also for Windows

The Windows version now also offers WireGuard as a protocol.

All you have to do is set it up and you can use it immediately.

I was there from the beginning

I was one of the early testers of NordVPN’s WireGuard implementation. In the very beginning (2018) there were only two servers and I had to set up WireGuard manually. With NordLynx for Linux (July 2019) testing became a lot easier. The Linux client certainly had major quirks in the beginning, but the developers reacted quickly to my bug reports. They still do that today.

Compared to the first versions of the Linux client it has improved a lot.

The Linux client has been improved and is still under active development. On its website NordVPN offers the Linux client for Debian-based (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Raspbian) and RPM-based (Red Hat, Fedora, openSUSE) Linux distributions. By the way, the client is also available for Manjaro or Arch – it is located in AUR and is called nordvpn-bin.

Tip: After the installation via AUR you have to activate the daemon first. Otherwise, the client does not work like in the other linux distributions:

sudo systemctl enable --now nordvpnd

It works really well and the thing is fast. In Linux you can change between OpenVPN and NordLynx like this:

nordvpn set technology nordlynx

or:

nordvpn set technology openvpn

Using the command

nordvpn set cybersec on

you activate CyberSec, if you would like to use it.

Why do I need a VPN?

There are several reasons why you want to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). As already mentioned, some people only want to protect themselves in public networks.

If you are travelling, you might like to use the open WLANs in restaurants, cafés and so on, just like me. First, I don’t know who else is on the same network, nor who set up the network. I have also seen compromised routers in countries like Egypt or Indonesia (DNS redirections).

By the way, VPNs are blocked in Egypt, but not illegal. But thanks to the stealth function, NordVPN works very well there. The service also works in other countries with censorship like Russia and China (can crack the Great Firewall). If you want to know if a VPN is illegal in a country, you should do your own research. Laws can change. In most countries VPNs are legal. In North Korea, for example, it would be illegal.

Others want to circumvent geoblocking. You can use your VPN to watch Netflix US or BBC iPlayer.

Others don’t want to put up with the stress of having to manage their own VPN server because of €3 per month. I do this for fun or because I am interested. But since I can now use NordLynx / WireGuard on Android, my own VPN server might get less attention. But I will keep it running because a backup can never hurt.

The post NordLynx: NordVPN introduces WireGuard for all apps (also Android / Windows) appeared first on VPN Expert.