whirlpool

Interested that such a powerful device doesn't have an OpenVPN client.

You just have to flash it with the "Asus WRT" firmware if your router doesn't already have it.

Fortunately that's very easy on the Asus routers, follow this guide:
https://torguard.net/blog/how-to-setup-openvpn-with-asus-merlin-firmware-torguard/

Where the guide talks about the "torguard openvpn bundle" substitute with this file:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/openvpn/openvpn-ip.zip

You just have to flash it with the "Asus WRT" firmware

I was referring to the Netgear... I know the Asus has it in their stock firmware (and of course Merlin) for the higher models (the 56 doesn't support it, but the 87 does)

O.P.

I was referring to the Netgear.

Oops sorry my bad

Questions about this. Is it one account/subscription per computer?

You are able to have it installed on up to 5 devices at one time.

Ah k cool Do i need to choose those devices within a certain time period or can i just install them as I go along?

Can I give a couple to my brother who lives away from me?

O.P.

You can have up to 5 devices CONNECTED at the same time.

You can have it installed on 123,087,487 devices so long as you are only using 5 of them at any one time.

Can I give a couple to my brother who lives away from me?

Yes - I do this myself. You are welcome to share the account so long as no more than 5 devices (including routers, smartphones and other gear) is connected under your account at any one time.

In that sense you need to be able to trust the person you give the user/pass to won't abuse it.

If you need more than that, say you needed 8 devices, then just buy another $40/yr account.

hmm i dont think i will really be putting on my phone

just a home computer and probably my brothers home computer

Does that count as 2 devices out of the 5 or is it already 4 if you include each of our home routers too?

This link gives a small discount to PIA, just signed up for a year cost $47.84 AUD
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/COGIPAS-ebook-offer

edit-I have kill switch on, DNS leak protection on, IPv6 protection on, the only issue i have is sometimes when i disconnect from the VPN, i lose my normal internet connection and i have to reset "Obtain an ip address automatically" in network/sharing centre ,to get it workin again without the VPN, it only takes a second so i'm not too fussed.

Anyone else having this issue it can be fixed by
1.open network sharing centre by right clicking network icon in system tray (win 7)
2.click the network connection you have on the right of the screen (in blue) ,mines listed as wireless network connection (xxxx-pc_Network.
3. Then Click properties at the bottom left of the popup screen.
4.Double click "Internet protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"
5. tick/select "Obtain an ip address automatically"
6.click ok, exit out and your good to go.

You can also right click network icon(sytem tray ) and select "troubleshoot problems" and the windows wizard will automatically reset it for you.

when you say you configured the r7000 to use aes 128, do you mean you setup the VPN on the ROUTER level and set the encryption to AES-128 ?

Yes that is correct � See this section 'DD-WRT: VPN OpenVPN Setup' here https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/

Hope this helps
ian

this post was edited

This link gives a small discount to PIA, just signed up for a year cost $47.84 AUD

Also for anyone interested in a 2 year subscription?

Here tis - https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/slickdeals-two-year-deal#moneyback

ian

Ian. writes...

Also for anyone interested in a 2 year subscription?

Here tis � https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/slickdeals-two-year-deal#moneyback

Just had a look at this, i see you can pay by gift cards. when i looked there is a Costco gift card, might have to ask the question if Australian Costco cards work

WhoCares writes...

might have to ask the question if Australian Costco cards

How would you know how much to pay?

Hi guys, new user to PIA. I have set up the Socks5 in Utorrent. Now if i am torrenting, do i use the AU servers? Or is it safer to use servers like Singapore, Japan, US etc... Sorry might be a stupid question.

this post was edited

Captain Slow writes...

The only stupid question is the one not asked....

Some will argue that you should not use the AU servers, others will argue there is no reason not to use the AU servers.... If you believe that PIA do not log the connections then it shouldn't really matter what server you use. I personally use the SOCK5 proxy and the AU servers for my Linux distros.... If I use overseas servers most of the time my connection reminds me of the bad old days of dial up....

In actual fact downloading copyright material is now illegal in the Netherlands after a 2014 court ruling so I find it somewhat amusing that the SOCK5 proxy assigns IP addresses based in the Netherlands.... You could argue that using the proxy based in a country where downloading is illegal should be risky but PIA offers it up as a seemingly safe option... I guess if anything that would potentially expose them to having their no logs promise tested by a Netherlands court...

O.P.

Sometimes it's in Norway or some other country.

The Netherlands is still safe as every vpn that allows torrents through it hasn't stopped.

We also must remember there are countless seedboxes in the Netherlands. Petabytes of "Linux distros" transverse the place every hour of every day, especially on days when that one with the swords and thrones and sex scenes is updated lol

O.P.

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/#ubuntu_openvpn_installer

just a home computer and probably my brothers home computer

Does that count as 2 devices out of the 5 or is it already 4 if you include each of our home routers too?

If the two routers have PIA running and connected then you would not need them on the computers.

But I think you have it a bit mixed up. If you connect the two computers to private internet access, that's only 2 devices. The router that provides those 2 computers is not included in the 5 devices.

You can actually get seperate routers known as vpn routers that connect to PIA then provide a 2nd wifi network I'm your house. Any device that connects to that 2nd network is then protected.

Hope that makes sense.

Hi, I'm completely new to all of this. I was wondering if someone can help me? I'm running Ubuntu 14.04 and am wondering which VPN I can use with it? I've been looking through the threads for hours and have just seen someone write 'Torguard'? Does anyone know if that would work or of any others I can try? Any help is very much appreciated. Thanks

Jacquique writes...

I'm running Ubuntu 14.04 and am wondering which VPN I can use with it?

I just contacted PIA support and they linked me to this page,

and this is on their website too.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/#ubuntu_openvpn_installer

Thank you. The web page shows they only currently support 12.04 and I spoke to one of their consultants and they confirmed it is not yet available for 14.04. Other websites don't seem to specify which version they support which is why I'm hesitant to try.

I have xubuntu 15.04 and I do not have any problem using PIA. It works fine. Also I had ubuntu 14.04 and didn't have any issues using the vpn.

this post was edited

Did you just follow the instructions for 'Ubuntu Linux 12.04: OpenVPN Installer'? When I opened the terminal to follow those instructions it wouldn't let me type my password? I'm also new to Ubuntu so the problem could be me. I asked their support and they did say some people could get it to work on 14.04 but they couldn't tell me how.

UPDATE: I have managed to install it, but there is a DNS leak. Can anyone tell me how to fix this? Thank you

Anyone know how to get this working on a macbook?

It seems to be stuck in the connecting phase. Im on 10.10 yosemite if it matters

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/1940/pia-vpn-app-linux-beta

Anyone know how to get this working on a macbook?

It seems to be stuck in the connecting phase. Im on 10.10 yosemite if it matters

When mine does this, a restart does the trick.

Anybody else having trouble with the Melbourne and Sydney connections? I connect to them for torrents but the torrents seem to jump up and down in speed. It goes high for maybe 5mins then it goes down to almost 0 again indicating the program disconnected and reconnected itself.

This happens quite a number of times now.

Anybody else having trouble with the Melbourne and Sydney connections? I connect to them for torrents but the torrents seem to jump up and down in speed

I suggest you try Singapore it gives me consistent torrent speeds.

You can also right click network icon(sytem tray ) and select "troubleshoot problems" and the windows wizard will automatically reset it for you.

----------------------------------------------
I have tried this and it works although to have a fully automated system do as follows:
1: Do above.
2: Create a shortcut to the PIA client and place into the \Windows Startup folder.

Now when your system fires up it will be functioning as soon as PIA connects up and your ready to go.

Newb question � have decided to give torrenting a miss and have got a Netflix and HBO Now account and happy with everything. I am using a DNS from UnoTelly � am looking at getting a VPN as don't want any logging of what I do � does anyone know if the PIA VPN will work inconjunction with DNS? or is it like a double slowdown? or do I set an exclusion from VPN for that DNS? any advice would be great

this post was edited

Jacquique writes...

I have managed to install it, but there is a DNS leak. Can anyone tell me how to fix this? Thank you

I can also confirm PIA works with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, i created a Linux virtual machine today just to see if PIA worked on it, and it does, ive been using it all day without issue so far, i have never used Linux before, and it wasn't too difficult to get it to work.

Download the Beta installer with instructions here,

As far as your DNS leak,
bear in mind that the windows PIA application has a DNS leak protection option built in, whereas the Linux version does not. This reply from PIA below refers to my windows machine, but i think changing your DNS settings to the ones below will help.
The instruction here are for win7, obviously changing DNS settings in Linux is done differently and i'm not knowledgeable enough with Linux to be able to tell anyone how to change them to the numbers listed below.

This is straight from PIA support,
I would also recommend manually changing your DNS settings instead of using the DNS leak protection setting in the client, as the latter makes changes to your DHCP settings. Manual DNS assignment accomplishes the same DNS leak prevention without interfering with DHCP.

Use the following instructions to make the changes:

1. Go to Start
2. Go to Control Panel
3. Go to Network Settings
4. Go to Network and Sharing
5. Go to Change Adapter Settings
6. Choose your normal internet connection. DO NOT make these changes to the TAP connection
7. Right click and press Properties
8. Go to the Network Properties
9. Go to the TCP/IP v4 and select Properties
10. Change "Obtain DNS server address automatically" to "Use the following DNS server address"
11. Enter 209.222.18.222 for the preferred DNS server
12. Enter 209.222.18.218 for the Alternate DNS server
13. Press OK

Hope this helps.

I was using PIA's DNS servers but found them slow so I did a DNS benchmark & now I use openDNS servers

get the benchmark tool from here

https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm

cheers

Pia has stopped working for me for some reason been using the Melbourne server with no problems for the last couple of months. Just lately it connects but that's it i can't access the internet utorrent won't work and Google or Firefox just hangs no connection at all. I've tried a few things (different settings) with no luck.

Has anyone else going through this at the mo?

craig90 writes...

Has anyone else going through this at the mo?

I had some issues yesterday and if they continued today I was going to try reinstalling the client.
Today is a new day and im happily connected via the Melbourne gateway.

craig90 writes...

Pia has stopped working for me ... Has anyone else going through this at the mo?

PIA is solid for me on OS X. On a Win 7 and Linux 14.10 VM it's usually OK on my preferred servers (inc. Melbourne), but on a subsequent boot or day it occasionally fails, can't port forward or takes ages to connect. I guess I shouldn't fiddle with settings at my end that once worked well if it's actually something at the other end, but I do. Usually end up grabbing a good VM snapshot to undo my futile fiddling.

craig90 writes...

Pia has stopped working for me for some reason been using the Melbourne server

Been using the Melbourne server for 4 weeks without issue, am connected now and its working fine.
Have you tried contacting their online chat support?

get the benchmark tool from here

Thanks for the link, will be running some tests later when the kids go to bed and i've got the internet to myself.

this post was edited

what happens when you log in with a 6th device? does it log out from one of the other devices or does logging in become unavailable until one of the other devices logs oout

also when torrenting can I just set my VPN to one of the aus server or does that defeat the purpose of it?

also when torrenting can I just set my VPN to one of the aus server or does that defeat the purpose of it?

You can but you will get better results if you pick a gateway which allows port forwarding and then configure your torrent client with the number provided . Check the client support page.

Thanks batfink0767 . I have now gotten it to work.

I just saw this on Peerblock:

Detected AP2P on Softlayer : Blocked

Anyone care to comment.

Im with cyberghost atm. When i wanna run torrents i just pick a torrent froendly country and connect. Actually with cyberghost. Just turn on andeverythings covered. Is pia like this?
I read with pia u have to add socks n this n that.
Does the pia client just work with everything? Or with torrents do u have to use their proxy servers.
Im using windows 8

PIA is super easy. You just run the client and it autoconnects you to the US East Coast or the last manually entered server.

Wait for the bright green light, then torrent away.

Contrary to some tinfoil paranerds, the VPN is more than sufficient just for torrenting. No need to run both SOCKS n this n that and the VPN at the same time.

If you're really worried about IP/DNS leaks, enable the Kill Switch, use any other browser except Chrome.

The level of paranoia is high on the forums though. You can still use Chrome and visit torrent sites like Kickass or whatnot. There's nothing illegal about visiting those sites at all. Just make sure the VPN is up when you start your torrent client.

wow u can torrent your ISO's from the US?
wow with cyberghost its Netherlands Ireland , UK , isreal and a few more but not australia and the US
cool

thanks for the replies

I put PIA on an old XP comp & the little red man stays red, it never looks like going to grey, let alone green. there is no anti-virus or spyware apps installed & putting an exception in windows firewall does nothing, as does turning that firewall off. it works fine on 2 of my windows 7 comps & everything is going through to the internet via the router OK on all 3 comps. any clues anyone?

cheers

I put PIA on an old XP comp & the little red man stays red, it never looks like going to grey, let alone green

Try changing the connection type from UDP to TCP. That worked for me. I could never connect with UDP

I have found out that I'm being geo-blocked from watching ABC iView and SBS On Demand content when using my PIA VPN � using an Australian exit node.

Anybody else experiencing the same?

Try changing the connection type from UDP to TCP. That worked for me. I could never connect with UDP

I just tried that & the little red man did not want to move from being red

maybe I did something wrong when I set up the wifi, but i can connect to the internet, so it should be OK

cheers

Degrasse writes...

Anybody else experiencing the same?

Both working fine for me,just tested now, using PIA melbourne server.

Both working fine for me,just tested now, using PIA melbourne server

Yep, working now � ABC & SBS don't like Sydney apparently! :)

Nauht writes...

Wait for the bright green light, then torrent away.

Or do what I do,

And make windows firewall block all connections within uTorrent unless the VPN is connected

(Block uTorrent on Home Network)
(Unbock utorrent on Public network � VPN)

Nauht writes...

Wait for the bright green light, then torrent away.

Also check http://ipleak.net/ before torrenting, in some rare cases I've seen the green light, but the VPN wasn't active.

(but I do have some internet sharing from my computer which can mess things up a bit if it is started while initializing the VPN connection)

On PIA VPN I get torrents firing up for all of 10 seconds then they flat line, every time, every server. Start again, same result 10 secs later.

Browsing is fine.

I just tried that & the little red man did not want to move from being red

maybe I did something wrong when I set up the wifi, but i can connect to the internet, so it should be OK

cheers

If you are seeing a red icon on the PIA program then you are NOT connected to the VPN and therefore NOT protected by it. When my icon is red and I am not connected the VPN I can still connect to the internet � via my normal ISP connection. Be very careful with what you are doing while that icon is red � you are not on the VPN!

I cannot turn that red man green, I even tried through wired instead of wifi. I had a look at the router settings & it looks OK. hang on, I'll bypass the router, back soon :) that did not work either. maybe some protocols are missing as that comp is running 'Micro XP'. if it went to grey some times it might give me hope, but alas, it just stays red

cheers

this post was edited

This happens quite a number of times now.

Im quoting myself here because i'm hoping I am not the only person this is happening to.
Just started downloading a torrent and it was going along nicely at max speed 2.9meg per second for a while say 10minutes.

Then after that it would slow down to almost 0 indicated a disconnect/reconnect had occured and then it would jump back up and be ok for a few minutes and then 5 mins later same again (rinse repeat)

/EDIT
Well its my conclusion that PIA's app for Mac OSX is likely to blame. I switched over to TUNNELBLICK which is a google open source project instead. Runs smooth now.

(Didn't feel like paying for Viscosity)

cheers

This might be naive of me, but have you typed in your username and password correctly. Maybe a small typing error and thus no connection.

Just a thought, good luck

harry

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/08/how-to-completely-anonymize-your-bittorrent-traffic-with-a-proxy/

Then after that it would slow down to almost 0 indicated a disconnect/reconnect had occured and then it would jump back up and be ok for a few minutes and then 5 mins later same again (rinse repeat)

I had a similar issue, turns out there was a conflict between my torrent client and the PIA app. I had a alter a few settings, and follwed the guide below to turn off a few options in the torrent client, essentially unticking the boxes to mirror the picture in step 3. Now I get a rock solid connection when torrenting.

hazzaman writes...

have you typed in your username and password correctly

I have done it manually 3 times, copy & paste 3 times, done it sober, done it after a few beers, still no go. maybe I need to hold the cat in a different position, maybe I shouldn't hold my pussy while entering the details. maybe I should just forget trying to do this on the XP machine as it works perfect on my 2 W7 comps. oh well, time for more beer :)

cheers

Not sure why, but my app is becoming erratic � it's not automatically starting up with my Mac anymore and I have to manually fire it up.

Cut a short story shorter: don't assume its running in the background. Make sure it's logged in.

PIA support said I should use the openVPN set-up instead of their software & use some config files. I put all that in one tiny bungle & here it is if anyone wants it

https://www.adrive.com/public/vWXtaz/openVPN.rar

cheers

Have you tried your DNS Settings to match your ISP i don this when i'm my laptop is connected via cable but on Wifi i have the DNS setting as auto. Sometimes the VPN will set the DNS settings on my laptop to a static address while it' on Wifi i just go into settings and put them back onto Auto and the VPN can connect to the internet ... Just have a look at your DNS setting..

PIA support said I should use the openVPN set-up instead of their software

At least they are honest.

Their PIA app is not very good.

Viscosity is the best 3rd party VPN app but it requires $9 to unlock after its trial period for future use but to those who plan to use VPN's always its probably worth it.

Free 3rd party apps are OpenVPN or Tunnelblick etc

this post was edited

yep, I can't fault PIA support ATM, and I emailed to say thanks for trying

I found pureVPN to have a much better interface but their support & the attitude of their support people to be totally shit

I paid for 2 years on PIA & am very happy to be with them :)

cheers

O.P.

http://www.softlayer.com/about-softlayer

Viscosity is the best 3rd party VPN app but it requires $9 to unlock after its trial period for future use but to those who plan to use VPN's always its probably worth it.

Yes - I can vouch for Viscosity being worth it. I used to use it a lot.

Then I got a VPN router and that $200 investment has been well worth it.

The Asus routers have OpenVPN out of the box without any flashing required. Here's a guide on how to set it up click the "openvpn" tab on that page, and where it talks about importing the ovpn file, replace with one of the ones from PIA here: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/openvpn/openvpn.zip

That page also lists the model numbers their instructions have been tested with.

For anyone who might still be looking for a VPN, hidemyass provide some great wiki pages but they LOG, LOG, LOG so don't sign up with them. They don't like "copyright infringement" and they are well known for not protecting your privacy.

I've also been very happy with PIA. Wherever I run into a wifi that has UDP connections blocked, not all VPN apps in TCP mode works, but PIA's android app is superb and can cut through almost any firewall.

I'll say that again: the windows PIA app is awful, but the android app is excellence!

Hey guys and gals,

When using the PIA client on my Mac, is there any difference in security using the TCP connection over the UDP connection? Am I just as secure using either connection?

troykm writes...

is there any difference in security using the TCP connection over the UDP connection? Am I just as secure using either connection?

No and Yes. TCP (particularly over port 443) is mostly for those who find UDP is blocked. UDP is likely to be slightly faster.

Just got PIA working and torrenting at 5 M/bit per second. :)
Then set up the Socks5 proxy and speed went to .01 M/bit. Super slow, :(

Re DNS leaks on VPN: (win7 client)

I have read all the guides I can find which describe disabling dhcp, setting static ip and manually setting dns servers that dont belong to ones isp. I used public Opendns servers.

What I find now is that after connecting the vpn and going to https://www.dnsleaktest.com/ and http://ipleak.net/ is that the opendns server that I set is shown and does so for some time maybe 15 mins before it changes to the ip assigned by the vpn provider.

Is this a problem? How do i fix it?

Im using PIA and I know they have a dns leak block in their client, but it borks my connection if I disconnect so I want to avoid using it. Id rather hide the dns manually if possible.

Gman1 writes...

Just got PIA working and torrenting at 5 M/bit per second. :)
Then set up the Socks5 proxy and speed went to .01 M/bit. Super slow, :(

If you're using the VPN you *do not* need to be using a SOCKS proxy. Still amuses me the amount of people that are using both.

Have PIA changed their Sydney hosting provider again? My IP is now 168.1.6.x which whois suggests is Softlayer.

I don't remember Sydney having 62 servers.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/

gilby writes...

Have PIA changed their Sydney hosting provider again? My IP is now 168.1.6.x which whois suggests is Softlayer.

Should we be concerned or relieved that its Softlayer? I'm in Melbourne, and am getting the same kind of result. According to this, Softlayer are owned by IBM who presumably rent out servers to PIA.

I'm also not sure what to make of an IP address so close to home though.

SW Victoria writes...

I don't remember Sydney having 62 servers.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/

They got More Recently

rookie question; Using Australian servers going to give you privacy? Im going through europe most of the time, DL'ing is slow. should i be using AUS servers?

Sorry, Im new to all this and learning the ropes.

They got More Recently

Now 82.

it is great to see PIA increase the servers due to demand :)

cheers

it is great to see PIA increase the servers due to demand :)

["cheers�]

Sure Is � I am very close to giving them a go

glendo writes...

rookie question; Using Australian servers going to give you privacy? Im going through europe most of the time, DL'ing is slow. should i be using AUS servers?

Sorry, Im new to all this and learning the ropes.

All servers worldwide have the same no log policy. Use the Australian servers for the best speed and don't worry, all is good,

http://www.softlayer.com/about-softlayer

Should we be concerned or relieved that its Softlayer? I'm in Melbourne, and am getting the same kind of result. According to this, Softlayer are owned by IBM who presumably rent out servers to PIA.

I think it is concerning as Obviously PIA are renting servers. it's nottheir own. so Softlayer get the court order not PIA, so it doesn't matter what PIA says about no logs wouldn't softlayer have it's own logs & probably pefectly happy to hand them over.

What speeds are people getting at the moment?

Speedtests from AU Melb to Melb Softlayer Speedtest server
With VPN: http://puu.sh/hJpzs/e0f46c8043.jpg (3.01Mbps/14.25Mbps)
Without VPN: http://puu.sh/hJpA4/657cf4ecac.jpg (71.85Mbps/17.29Mbps)

It's strange how some people get such terrible speeds on PIA while others get brilliant. I wonder what PIA are up to. It's been the same case for many months. Or maybe it's just that the speeds are unreliable so another person does a test now and speeds are much better.

They have full control over the servers not IBM. it's like renting a house. They decide what runs or doesn't run on their machines. In any case why would PIA lie, all they need is for one single customer to get "caught" and their business would suffer immeasurably over night.

Illidan writes...

What speeds are people getting at the moment?

Speedtests from AU Melb to Melb Softlayer Speedtest server

Just tested mine and got 8.9Mbs which is saturating my connection. Never had an issue with Melbourne speeds.

Mauro writes...

They have full control over the servers not IBM

Adding to that PIA rents servers just like.....every other VPN company. So from that perspective PIA does not have some unique vulnerability that isn't present with absolutely everybody else.

Well does every vpn rent servers? Isn't a real colo a vpn's own equipment housed in a data room that is rented? Softlayer is different. It's a service being rented. PIA do not own the equipment or the service.

Do we know PIA rent servers? The only info we have is the IP address is listed as a 3rd party that does not make it automatic that they own the server only the IP address.

I did have a look for it but it may be on the general PIA forum that the rack space is bought from the 3rd party but the ownership of the physical hardware is PIA. I could be remembering wrong but the answer should be floating around somewhere.

SW Victoria writes...

ownership of the physical hardware is PIA.

I asked via PIA's online help and was told that they "own" the Australian servers. Make from that what you will....

I use 2 other vpn's that use the same softlayer servers. And Im sure there's more vpn's that also use them

Im sure there's more vpn's that also use them

are you sure or just guessing?

Don't use the OpenVPN software linked in the guide above, more recent versions here

are you sure or just guessing?

by guessing I mean 'ofcourse I know'. it's just a more humble way of saying it.

Incidentally one of these VPN's not known to me called "Hideme" have said this on record:

. We operate 27 server locations in 19 different countries. However we do not own physical hardware, ... Furthermore we choose all third party hosting providers very carefully, so we can assure that there are certain security standards in place.... Among our reputable partners are Leaseweb, NFOrce, Equinix and Softlayer.

It seems clear PIA are just like other VPN providers and in the case of Softlayer and no doubt many other servers they do not own their servers & court orders would be made to Softlayer etc leaving PIA out of the picture completely so what they say about logging is of little merit or consequence.

I have to agree � if PIA rent servers from IBM, it's difficult to know how credible they're assurances of privacy can be.

I have no doubt that they attempt to protect us by acting as an intermediary between IBM and its users � and presumably have protection in place so IBM don't know who we are either. But the question remains: if IBM get a court order, can this layer of protection be circumvented on their end?

is anyone else having trouble with pia at the moment?

For the last day or so it seems to have become almost unusable. Not just for p2p but also general web browsing with most sites I try to visit timing out.

78vbsle writes...

timing out

what DNS server are you using? are you using theirs or openDNS servers; which I find is better

cheers

Can't connect to NL or Swiss using OpenVPN at the moment.
Sweden seems ok

I was connected to the PIA servers from Melbourne and using OpenDNS , but I noticed the http://ipleak.net/ would show that my requests were being resolved in the USA, and not the OpenDNS Sydney.

I sent a query to OpenDNS and support and they promptly rectified the "peering issue" with the softlayer servers in Melbourne.

So if you're using OpenDNS & connecting through Softlayer Technologies in Melbourne, hopefully resolver requests should be faster now! :)

----

On another note, I would highly recommend using OpenVPN instead of the PIA software (my experience is that it connects faster, and is more reliable*)

PIA OpenVPN setup guide

Always make sure to run the program as admin, otherwise it will appear to connect, but it hasn't.

*DISCLAIMER: I've got pitiful 3G access at home, so my 12mbps connection is saturated. But wireless NBN soon!

is it possible to use a prepaid mastercard ( woolworths money ) to purchase PIA subscription ?
I know you have the option to checkout with credit and I can enter the mastercard details there, but has anyone tried to and did it work ?

Yes, it works

Can anyone advice me how Socks proxy works for uTorrent?

Does all traffic go through the proxy even if im not connected via the VPN.
Also how does one set this up?

This windows PIA client cannot be trusted. That the tray icon turns bright green is no guarantee that you are connected to the vpn, especially when it takes an overly long time to (apparently) connect. Check it always.

Said it before many times and I'll continue to harp on.

People should not be using the PIA provided app. It really is very poor.

Either
A) Manually setup a connection on Windows or Mac with settings (time consuming and unsure if you can do it for OpenVPN that way)
B) Get a 3rd party application

For mac I use Tunnelblick which works a charm. I think Tunnelblick might work for windows as well but I forget.

Alternatively people can pay for Viscosity (7 USD or something for lifetime licence). Viscosity is definitely the best 3rd party one out their, flawless every time.

People should not be using the PIA provided app. It really is very poor.

The PIA app works just fine for me.

People should not be using the PIA provided app. It really is very poor.

Can you elaborate as to why its so poor, and why viscosity is superior?.

gilby writes...

The PIA app works just fine for me.

Same with me, using Windows 8.1.

I use the SOCK5 proxy for extra "concealment" and I always check IP Leak when I first connect to make sure all is in order. I use the IP Leak magnet link too to verify the proxy is working in uTorrent.

Can you elaborate as to why its so poor, and why viscosity is superior?

Numerous posts over the course of time indicating people have issues with the PIA app.

PIA app for Mac at least has some very specific problems. You have to configure the mac's firewall to ignore some things from PIA, you also need to change the PIA packets to TCP rather than UDP.
Others have mentioned problems with uTorrent etc.

Viscosity by contrast is developed for a wide global audience so it is in effect a specialist "made for" VPN app.

PIA's app is end of the day just made by PIA with limited thought. As some have mentioned sometimes it will show a Green PIA man/icon thing indicating its switched on when infact its not.

Viscosity works flawlessly across all platforms.
I don't use it however simply because I'm happy to get Tunnelblick for free (google open source project). Its got more bugs and required a tiny bit of research to setup properly but works much better than PIA for me.

Viscosity does have a free trial however for anybody that wants to give it a try.

SOCK5 proxy for extra "concealment"

You're welcome to but its been long established by PIA as well as others on this board that using SOCKS + VPN provides no added benefit at all :-)
If you're using a VPN you don't need SOCKS.

I recently started using socks + VPN because the VPN dropped out but the kill switch didn't work. I will look into the Viscosity app you were talking about.

thanks, Jason

You're welcome to but its been long established by PIA as well as others on this board that using SOCKS + VPN provides no added benefit at all :-)
If you're using a VPN you don't need SOCKS.

Yeah I get that but I figure "if" the VPN drops and "if" the kill switch fails to shut my internet I have the SOCK5 there as a last line of defence against those cold sweats you would get if you were to realise something broke and your "real" IP was out there to be harvested....

this post was edited

does openvpn support multiple VPN connections ? I don't mean simultaneously. For example if you have subscriptions from 2 vpn providers, can you set them up in open vpn and choose which one to connect to ?

I am guessing people who are not using the PIA app which had the built in dns leak protection, have manually entered the PIA DNS server or a non-ISP dns server in their network settings to prevent DNS leaks ?

vurtgod writes...

VPN because the VPN dropped out but the kill switch didn't work. I will look into the Viscosity app you were talking about.

I don't remember how good Viscosity was on a kill switch as I haven't used it for a month or so.

Tunnelblick from Google however doesn't appear to have a kill switch but it works in such a way that makes me think it achieves the same results.
Sometimes I"ll go away for a day or so and come back and see that Tunnelblick is stuck on "reconnecting" or it thinks its connected but the connection has gone stagnant/dead or something.

Yet the internet won't budge and my torrents aren't connected. In short as long as the program is on trying to connect or connected it won't attempt to use your normal connection ever.
You need to specifically disconnect for that to happen.

does openvpn support multiple VPN connections ? I don't mean simultaneously. For example if you have subscriptions from 2 vpn providers,

I imagine it would yes. I can confirm Viscosity and Tunnelblick certainly do.

Yes. Using a different config file.

PIA app for Mac at least has some very specific problems. You have to configure the mac's firewall to ignore some things from PIA, you also need to change the PIA packets to TCP rather than UDP.

I have found the Mac PIA client easier to use than Viscosity. I have made no changes to the firewall, but I do use Little Snitch which does, as you expect, require allowing the PIA client out. I have not had to change from UDP to TCP.

It learns about new PIA servers and requires minimal configuration.

That my experience. All positive for the PIA client on a Mac.

You have to configure the mac's firewall to ignore some things from PIA, you also need to change the PIA packets to TCP rather than UDP.

Why do we have to change it from UDP to TPC? What happens if we don't?

this post was edited

Why do we have to change it from UDP to TCP?

You don't just because you use a Mac.

You might need to if your ISP or your government block some UDP ports. But that is not because you use a Mac.

been using viscosity and found there was no encryption.
Used wireshark to watch it.
Then i used the provided PIA client and found that there was encryption

What prepaid card have you used from Aust?

Wont accept prepaid Woolies or Coles Credit Cards

Thanks

Do these third party apps allow for the all important request for port forwarding?

Guys how do you recommend Viscosity when it doesn't come with a kill switch feature? As solid as this software may be, how do set it up in the safest way?

Thanks

ozgonzo writes...

What prepaid card have you used from Aust?

Wont accept prepaid Woolies or Coles Credit Cards

I used the Woolworths Money Prepaid Mastercard to pay.

thanks _Machiavelli_

I was clicking the "Get VPN Access" button which only leads to the choice of multiple US Gift Cards

One I moved down the page and selected "Get started Now", I can select to pay by Credit Card ( mine is Woolies Prepaid Master Card � not required to register) which thereby allows me NOT to use my actual name and address, though I realise that my IP Address is probably recorded � Dynamic in my case.

people using openvpn client with PIA, how do you modify the encryption settings and how do you check what encryption is being used ?

with the pia client, you can go to advanced and check the default encryption settings being used and change them if required. But I can't do it while using the openvpn client.

this post was edited

people using openvpn client with PIA, how do you modify the encryption settings and how do you check what encryption is being used ?

Mate, read the doco :)
https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation.html
(and you will find parameter cipher)

Unless specified in your openvpn config file, "BlowFish is the default cipher and SHA1 is the default message digest"

Also note, PIA only have a few encyption algorithms that work on their servers via OpenVPN

A dedicated PIA iOS application is now available from the AppStore � https://appsto.re/au/NoB94.i

this post was edited

I have to agree � if PIA rent servers from IBM, it's difficult to know how credible they're assurances of privacy can be.

I have a server at Softlayer in Sydney and the security is tight. One time I forget my password and I contacted them via live chat and they called me straight away on my mobile confirming if they are talking to me on live chat.

The servers at Softlayer are top notch.

Don't know if its Optus or PIA, but the connection has been terrible for the last twelve hours or so: constant drop outs and/or sluggish speeds have been rampant.

Again twice tried to sign up with PIA using prepaid Woolies Mastercard.

Got card error message.

I was accessing PIA via the Tor browser on a TAILS live cd.

Have lodged a support request.

Seems to me that a VPN provider should allow access to its site and payments via TOR.

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/comment/28589/#Comment_28589

Also note, PIA only have a few encyption algorithms that work on their servers via OpenVPN

thanks for the info. after reading PIA forums and few threads here ( /archive/2335937 ) it does look like aes128 via openvpn does not always work. it didn't work for me and I could not connect to PIA with openvpn using aes128. I downloaded the aes128 openvpn configs from here. It was linked in a PIA forum:

Technically we only support using AES encryption in our own app. That being said we actually have some custom modified openvpn config files you can use.

I also changed the port accordingly in the config files, because PIA is blowfish on port 1194 and AES128 on port 1196.

Although I would have preferred to use openvpn over PIA client, for the time being I will stick with the PIA client because of the higher encryption that are available.

I have no problem using AES128 using OpenVPN :)

Just get a load and go from post office

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pytp1kpxp9xctx4/AADTr_y3I2bPxmeEK3Zor2oFa?dl=0

I have no problem using AES128 using OpenVPN :)

is your openvpn config files the same as the config files in this link?

can you confirm that you are using AES-128 with SHA1 and RSA-2048 ?

So with the Government looking at Possibly Banning VPN�s

Would PIA be one they would look at Banning?

Would PIA be one they would look at Banning?

why would they specifically look at banning PIA ?

PIA is no different to other vpn providers.

why would they specifically look at banning PIA ?

PIA is no different to other vpn providers.

A very Popular one though and has Servers in Australia

Government looking at Possibly Banning VPN�s

lol good luck with that. Not sure how they would possibly expect to "ban VPN's"

That crap has been tried in China and it failed miserably there as well.

hey guys..
so I signed up to PIA during the week, all things seemed good.
Speed test showed the following

Before VPN: 12Mbps
VPN Sydney: 11Mbps
VPN Japan: 6Mbps

just turned it on so I can watch the footy, and getting the following results

Before VPN: 12Mbps
VPN AUS: 0.6Mbps
VPN Japan: 0.3Mbps

any idea what would cause this?
nothing has changed.
using the default client (looked into openvpn, but hated that it wanted you to put a password in everytime you connected)

Congestion. Try a different server.

wreckedandjealous writes...

Congestion. Try a different server

best I could get on any server is 0.7Mbps (70kb/s)...
pretty much unuseable.

best I could get on any server is 0.7Mbps (70kb/s)...
pretty much unuseable.

Yep I'm having the same. When I first signed up the Melbourne PIA server used to give me 12+ Mbps. Now that everyone in Oz and his dog has signed up I'm averaging 0.7Mbps downloads...

The service is now virtually useless for anything outside of email.

Welcome to the new internet Australia.

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4378116726

I'm on Airmax in Warrnambool, there could be an issue between your ISP and the servers, what ISP are you?

zoran05 writes...

the VPN and Socks5 are separate things? it says i shouldn't use them both in conjunction with each other why is that?

It's overkill. Some people will tell you otherwise because they are paranoid and/or conspiracy theorists. Combining slows your speed unnecessarily, because you are encrypting on top of each other.

When torrenting we're concerned on two fronts: 1.if the copyright holders can note our ip and send an infringement letter to our isp who forwards it to us, i.e they know who we are 2. if our own isp can see our torrenting activities and take their own actions.

The vpn fully encrypts your whole connection, so the people in the swarm can only see the vpn's server ip, and our isp can only see one connection to the vpn - they can't see what your doing inside the tunnel.

The socks5 just fakes your ip to the swarm (PIA uses a netherlands one). Clients like utorrent has varying levels of 'encryption' to protect against isp's snooping on their side. but this is not guaranteed security it just ensures the peers you connect to are encrypted - and slows your speed a fair bit. There's also a risk of people not setting it up properly or clients playing up.

Here's why socks5 by itself can be risky: http://www.reddit.com/r/torrents/comments/2akjt3/i_use_an_ssh_socks5_proxy_to_torrent_but_got_a/

if i was torrenting where should i be connecting��i see most people saying netherlands why not aus?

Someone said it's because of legal issues - it's irrelevant. As I said some people are crazy paranoid. Unless your online activities are edward snowden espionage levels or child porn rings I wouldn't worry too much. PIA supposedly don't keep logs and it's stupid to think any govt has any legal or technological capacity to ban and thoroughly investigate the ocean of traffic (legal and illegal) that goes through vpn's.

Connecting through netherlands in my experience is one of the best for torrenting as many seedboxes are located in that part of europe and it's more central to seeders in general. For speed tests and web surfing, overseas servers don't compare to connecting to a local melbourne or sydney server. Try different servers and see what provides the best speed at different times.

What I do for torrents is tick the port forwarding box in PIA, connect to netherlands, when connected hover over the green man which will show your netherlands ip and forwarded port number. Enter this number into your torrent client.

As others have pointed out you should tick the vpn kill switch just in case your vpn goes down while torrenting. Also tick the dns and ipv6 leak box.

I have also changed my torrent client from utorrent to qbittorrent as the latter has a safeguard by only allowing the client connect through the vpn windows adapter. So if the vpn drops out and reverts to your real connection, the client will not download/seed. These all provide multiple levels of security for peace of mind while not sacrificing speed.

Ensure that your vpn ip shows in your torrent client by downloading these test torrents: http://torguard.net/checkmytorrentipaddress.php
http://ipmagnet.services.cbcdn.com/

Also make sure your torrent client is closed when not on the vpn.

*Hank Moody* writes...

Would you mind explaining how to set this up please?

Dags. writes...

Would you mind explaining how to set this up please?

I'm assuming you've installed and got PIA to work already. First find out what adapter connection PIA uses on your computer. Go to network and sharing center > change adapter settings. I only use a LAN port on my computer so my normal connection is just Local Area Connection. My PIA vpn connects on Local Area Connection 2 and uses the TAP-Windows Adapter V9 (in grey).

In qbittorent go to Options > Advanced, look for Network Interface. It's probably on Any interface which means if the vpn goes down it'll switch to the next available one automatically. So instead you choose the one that uses the TAP adapter aka vpn, in my case it's Local Area Connection 2. If you have other adapters or wireless ones it may be different. Apply it, then ok, then restart qbittorent.

^ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/9751/two-qbittorrent-questions

I've reproduced the same behavior on Windows, i.e. closing the PIA client and torrent traffic restarting.

As far as I'm concerned it's broken. I switched to Vuze, which has the same function.

peterdiva writes...

I've reproduced the same behavior on Windows, i.e. closing the PIA client and torrent traffic restarting.

In that thread it affected Mac and Linux users and/or using openVPN and they were on 3.1.12. I'm using Win7 and PIA app and on 3.2.0 which has had a few fixes since last. Is your kill switch on? Mine works fine.

Torrents do not work at all when I'm connected to LAC1 � my isp.

When torrents are running and connected to PIA server, if I disconnect the PIA server or exit the PIA app, my LAC2/TAP vpn adapter disconnects and (the kill switch comes into effect) and the torrent traffic dwindles down to zero. Accessing websites is also blocked. I've used wireshark to track the traffic data and there's no sign of leaking torrents on LAC1.

This other thread linked from the one your quoted: https://qbforums.shiki.hu/index.php/topic,3271.msg15851.html the Linux user who originally complained said he got it working properly but noted other bugs when restarting qbit. Looking elsewhere I think there are still outstanding bugs for Linux.

The Admin also said the 'dwindling' traffic (was a concern of mine) was just a delayed GUI thing.

*Hank Moody* writes...

I'm assuming you've installed and got PIA to work already.

Yes thanks.

My PIA vpn connects on Local Area Connection 2 and uses the TAP-Windows Adapter V9 (in grey).

Ok thank you very much its working fine now after I realised a computer restart was required :)

Thanks for the help!

I added some rules in Windows Firewall so only VPN traffic can go through. If I want to browse non-vpn it's just a few clicks to disable the rules, and the reverse to turn it back on.

Is it generally pretty easy to get PIA working if you don't know too much about networking? I download torrents from time to time and wanted to get on PIA, but I'm not too tech savy.

xhaydenx writes...

Is it generally pretty easy to get PIA working if you don't know too much about networking? I download torrents from time to time and wanted to get on PIA, but I'm not too tech savy.

I found it reasonably easy. I'm a little tech savvy but know sweet little about the intricacies of networking and transmission protocols etc.

The software is easy to install, what gets more tricky is when you want to set it up so that your torrents only run when connected to VPN. This thread has a lot of info that is helpful though, and the PIA site also has a lot of useful info. Google will also give any number of tutorials as to how to get things working.

In short, it can be done with a little time and research.

Am I correct in believing this is enough for torrenting ?

A.R.B.S writes...

Am I correct in believing this is enough for torrenting ?

depends on your level of paranoia.

depends on your level of paranoia.

I believe you can get plans for a tinfoil hat off the Dark Net, but of course ASIO are monitoring Coles and Woolies alfoil sales. Also CIA satellites readily follow anyone wearing foil caps outdoors, however, I do have a roll of foil in the kitchen drawer and a diode/propeller addition that renders a foil cap invisible to orbiting authorities. Bitcoins (lots of) accepted.

Post of the month.

Hmmm I don't know aren't you worried about the diode tracking satellites? Or do these satellites not share data between agencies?

Post of the month.

I agree,

now I need to find an anonymous foil dealer to rebuild my hat that has been compromised by the evil Duopoly

this post was edited

I do have a roll of foil in the kitchen drawer and a diode/propeller addition that renders a foil cap invisible to orbiting authorities. Bitcoins (lots of) accepted.

Is it the homebrand one ? they are not as good ;)

A.R.B.S writes...

Or do these satellites not share data between agencies?

They did until this http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2008/02/how_to_blow_up_a_satellite.html

Hey All,

Just signed up and installed PIA and it seems to be working pretty well, however I have noticed all of a sudden my Netflix isn't working with Unblock-Us........ have any of you had similar problems?

Why would you need unblock-us if you have PIA? Just choose a server from the country you want the netflix in.

Question to PIA minutes ago:

Hello,
I'm sure you've answered the following question a thousand times although I need to ask for my peace of mind.
I plan to use as my exit server one of the Australian ones located in Sydney or Melbourne. I am an Australian citizen and would like to know your policy since as you are aware the Meta data law coming into operation and requiring certain ISP's and Telcos to collect data. Does Pia come under the umbrella of this law or are VPN's exempt from Meta-data collection?

Reply:
(Hannah B) Hello XXXX, my name is Hannah B.
We do not maintain any logs of any kind, period.

Mauro writes...

We do not maintain any logs of any kind, period.

Thats kind of a weasel answer. It needs to be asked again when the law comes into force.

I think you would find if they were effected, Austrailian vpn gateways would disappear in favour of maintaining their no logs policy globally.

I think you would find if they were effected,

Not that this is the same but Telstra have hinted that its very difficult capture the meta data when NAT are in force, as VPN has many people using the same public address to one server or public address then storing the data per public IP address would make life tough to track who used what.

But still a VPN needs to store no data for you to get what you pay for and still grounds to disappear in favour of maintaining their no logs policy globally.

Thats kind of a weasel answer. It needs to be asked again when the law comes into force.

I asked them the same question and they advised me that since they are not an ISP they are exempt from the Australian data retention laws.

I also asked about the fact that they are using Australian based servers that appear to be owned by a third party and therefore if the third party was subject to the data retention laws but they claimed that for all intents and purposes they own the servers and are once again exempt from the retention laws as well as them re-iterating that they keep no logs regardless.

I'm having trouble with Apple Home Sharing disconnecting all the time. The only fix is restarting iTunes. It doesn't like me being connected to PIA. I'm streaming from iTunes to AppleTV, on a PC running Win7 which ideally I would always like connected to the VPN. It works fine without using PIA. It must be related to the Bonjour service which Apple uses for home sharing but my windows firewall is allowing all ports for Bonjour. Any ideas?

this post was edited

Is this OK when running my PC with Firefox, results are from ipleak.net.

PIA off

----------
Your IP Address 124.190.xxx.xxx (Telstra)
WebRTC No leak
DNS Address 61.9.xxx.xxx (Telstra residential)

PIA Running

------------------
Your IP Address 66.85.176.82 (Secured Servers LLC)
WebRTC No Leak
DNS Address 66.85.176.82 & 61.9.xxx.xxx

PIA settings are default except DNS leak protection is turned on.

PIA Running

------------------
Your IP Address 66.85.176.82 (Secured Servers LLC)
WebRTC No Leak
DNS Address 66.85.176.82 & 61.9.xxx.xxx
PIA settings are default except DNS leak protection is turned on.

I'm no expert but using ipleak my IP address and my DNS address are the same....

Not sure what that means but my results are certainly different to yours....

Does anyones kill switch work?

Paul69 writes...

Does anyones kill switch work?

Mine does on Windows 8.1

Paul69 writes...

Does anyones kill switch work?

Yep, as above on 8.1.

Paul69 writes...

Does anyones kill switch work?

No, but if you create a static IP address from your router and don't enter a DNS address then no internet for me with the services I use.

Is anyone using the PIA iOS app yet? It looks to be getting bad reviews so I'm still using the OpenVPN app for now.

Josh writes...

Is anyone using the PIA iOS app yet? It looks to be getting bad reviews so I'm still using the OpenVPN app for now.

I switched over from Open VPN to it and when the PIA app works it seems good. Better visuals than the Open VPN and it has the complete list of PIA servers unlike Open VPN which only connects with the one you set up.

It has one flaw though. If you are connected to a WiFi Network that blocks VPNs (and many workplaces, universities etc that I've visited have done so) it keeps trying to connect to PIA indefinitely without timing out and without giving you an indication (no 'VPN sign on the top since it's not connected yet). So while it looks like you are connected to wifi, Internet doesn't work and you are scratching your head why until you go into the PIA and can see it trying to connect. Once you flick the switch to OFF again your internet starts working. SO you must remember to always switch if off before using it on blocked networks.

If they fix the above (has already caught me out several times) I'll be happy.

Thats kind of a weasel answer. It needs to be asked again when the law comes into force.

VPN's are not subject to data retention laws, regardless of where the servers are located, period.

The law limits retention obligations to telcos and ISP's. Of course this could change in the future however the legislation would need to be amended through parliament for this to occur.

What's a good way to test it

PIA off
----------
Your IP Address 124.190.xxx.xxx (Telstra)
WebRTC No leak
DNS Address 61.9.xxx.xxx (Telstra residential)

PIA Running
------------------
Your IP Address 66.85.176.82 (Secured Servers LLC)
WebRTC No Leak
DNS Address 66.85.176.82 & 61.9.xxx.xxx

You are still leaking your DNS as you can still see the 61.9.XXX.XXX. Why not change your local computers DNS to run either OpenDNS or Google DNS servers all the time?

Jeff8247 writes...

You are still leaking your DNS as you can still see the 61.9.XXX.XXX. Why not change your local computers DNS to run either OpenDNS or Google DNS servers all the time?

I've found that the following seems to work.

- Use fixed IP address � 192.168.0.xxx;
- User the following DNX server address � leave blank.

With these settings both the IP address and the DNS server address are the same (PIA VPN).

Is this OK when running my PC with Firefox, results are from ipleak.net.

Did you try this DNS leak fix for Firefox?
http://support.vpnsecure.me/articles/ssh-tunnelling-proxy-troubleshooting/ssh-socks-dns-leaks-in-mozilla-firefox

BigC writes...

Did you try this DNS leak fix for Firefox?

No I hadn't done that, but what I found that seemed to work was to in my adaptor settings:-

- Set my IP address to fixed (192.168.0.xxx),
- Set my DNS to fixed � but leave it blank.

That seemed to remove the Telstra DNS being shown in ipleak.

However I have also applied the leak fix you suggested as well.

Thanks.

However I have also applied the leak fix you suggested as well.

Thanks.

Good stuff.. I was also having the same issue. But the leak fix in Firefox did the trick for me, without having to change adapter or router settings.

Is the installer file safe to open? Any viruses / malware?

Can I set this up manually instead?

Lobomoon writes...

Is the installer file safe to open? Any viruses / malware?

Well I used it very recently with no problems :)

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I've also been having consistent problems with latency on PIA in the last week.

Game servers where I usually have a ping around 40-45 now sit around 650ms. However, SpeedTest reports a ping less than 40ms and my download speed is normal.

I tried the Sydney servers, Melbourne servers, the PIA desktop client, the OpenVPN desktop client, my router's OpenVPN client, and the results are all the same. Download speed and speedtest - normal. Gaming - unplayable. My latency was actually better (still 450ms) when I connected to the Hong Kong servers.

I've jumped through the support hoops of changing protocols, changing ports, changing MTUs, specifying IPs and nothing makes any difference. The generic responses they've given me of "increased latency is very common in online games when using a VPN" and "the speeds you're seeing are above average" are pretty hard to swallow when my current setup has been flawless for the past two months...

Has anyone else noticed a problem specifically with latency?

Edit: I looked through my VPN logs and I believe the problem started around midday on May 10th after I got an "Inactivity timeout" from the PIA servers. Ever since that point, my connections are always to the 168.1.6.0/24 SoftLayer Technologies servers instead of the 103.43.72.0/24 Choopa LLC servers I had been connecting to. I'm not able to ping any of the Choopa LLC servers either. Did PIA change the Australian server hosts?

Did PIA change the Australian server hosts?

I thought its been soft layer for a while. The last time I check was when they listed 60 servers for Melbourne and Sydney.

I'm having issues even connecting the Vpn client just stuck on connecting it had been working previously and has stopped

I have rebooted the machine and router etc

Game servers where I usually have a ping around 40-45 now sit around 650ms. However, SpeedTest reports a ping less than 40ms and my download speed is normal.

How does a traceroute to the game server look?

Also no issues here on connecting to either Sydney or US California - I am on California for US Netflix right now and it usually sits on the maximum bitrate.

How does a traceroute to the game server look?

Also no issues here on connecting to either Sydney or US California � I am on California for US Netflix right now and it usually sits on the maximum bitrate.

Using the Sydney Valve servers as a test � the tracert looks normal.
38ms off the VPN, 40ms on the VPN.
But my in game ping while using the VPN is 650-670ms, whereas it's only about 40ms without.

Streaming video content is fine for me too. The throughput isn't the problem, only the latency. I can max my bandwidth on video or downloads like I always could, but my ping in any online game is through the roof.

Does PIA work well when Downloading Torrents?

But my in game ping while using the VPN is 650-670ms,

Excuse my ignorance on the subject but why would you route gaming through a vpn?

Excuse my ignorance on the subject but why would you route gaming through a vpn?

Everything on my network runs though the VPN. My router is set up as the OpenVPN client so all the clients on my network are tunnelled through the VPN indiscriminately. It seems unnecessary to mess with the iptables to create port based rules after this many months without problems.

That doesn't really answer my question. Also, it does seem to be causing problems i.e. latency.

Does PIA work well when Downloading Torrents?
PIA is good
Speeds are good, but for torrents you'll have to use a server outside of the US.
Speed test hit my 100Mbps cap. I haven't tested on a 1Gbps uplink/downlink yet, so I don't know if it's much more than that.

Azi-Ak writes...

PIA is good
Speeds are good, but for torrents you'll have to use a server outside of the US.
Speed test hit my 100Mbps cap. I haven't tested on a 1Gbps uplink/downlink yet, so I don't know if it's much more than that.

So using a Aussie Servers to use for Torrents?

What other good ones for Torrents you found?

I don�t have super quick Internet

That doesn't really answer my question. Also, it does seem to be causing problems i.e. latency.

The question was why route gaming. The answer was that gaming is not selectively routed � everything is routed.

But yes, routing is causing the latency, however it has not for the past two months. Routing has only been an issue while gaming since PIA apparently dropped the Choopa LLC servers and are exclusively using SoftLayer Technologies servers.

The problem also appears to be that data is being rereouted since a tracert to the game servers show a 40ms latency, but the actual in game latency is over 650ms. This is why download speeds and streaming video are unaffected. It's most likely a measure that SoftLayer is implementing to reduce their P2P overhead that is having the negative affect of ruining my latency.

Bad news for Australian gamers on PIA.

After going through eight PIA support people over the course of six days, they have confirmed that they are exclusively using SoftLayer Technology severs instead of Choopa LLC servers in Australia. As a result, if you prefer the security of routing all your traffic through the VPN, online gaming is now impossible.

They also refuse to offer a refund for the degradation in service.

Bad news for Australian gamers on PIA.

Yeah, League of Legends for example.

PIA: Does not ever connect into a game.
Cyberghost: Connects into games fine.

Pretty annoying.
If anyone else has got PIA working for League let me know =\

So a bit of an interesting one � I got connected to the NBN today through Netcube and also purchased a year of PIA. My problem is that PIA won't work with UDP selected in the PIA settings, PIA will connect and stay connected but most websites won't load, facebook and google do but speedtest.net and others won't and torrents run at a crawl.

The TCP option will work but disconnects frequently once i start torrents up and I have read that UDP is the faster option so i would prefer to get this working.

I am on OSX and am using an Apple Airport connected to the nbn box, I assumed it was an OSX problem (as there are reported problems with OSX's firewall and UDP mode) but after troubleshooting with no luck I decided to try my old iprimus adsl2 connection which is still connected for a couple of days and now UDP mode does work... So this points to a problem with the nbn or netcube

I've also tried it with a windows machine and am getting the same result.

Does anyone have any advise on this?

With Site Blocking Law been Passed I am looking at Signing up here.

So what do I need to Know?

Using uTorrent with PIA works Fine?

yes.

Good � So I just start the VPN up and check the IP�s have Changed and that be fine?

Good � So I just start the VPN up and check the IP�s have Changed and that be fine?

Start your VPN
In PIA client tick these options-
Kill switch enabled,
IPv6 leak protection enabled.
DNS leak protection enabled.

If you hover over the PIA icon in the system tray it displays the current ip address.

and then check for IPv6 leak and DNS leak here- https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/2114/ipv6-leak-dns-leak-e-mail-ip-leak

also check ip address here- https://ipleak.net/
also on this page check Torrent Address detection,you can download the Magnet link into Utorrent,
then highlight the link download in the utorrent client and then click on trackers tab at the bottom of the client window, the ip address utorrent is using will be shown below in the details panel/window.

For extra protection if using firefox disable webRTC - Set media.peerconnection.enabled to false in about:config. Google WEBRTC if you don't know what that is.

the only issue i have is sometimes when i disconnect from the VPN, i lose my normal internet connection and i have to reset "Obtain an ip address automatically" in network/sharing centre ,to get it workin again without the VPN, it only takes a second or so i'm not too fussed.

If you have this issue it can be fixed by
1.open network sharing centre by right clicking network icon in system tray (win 7)
2.click the network connection you have on the right of the screen (in blue) ,mines listed as wireless network connection (xxxx-pc_Network.
3. Then Click properties at the bottom left of the popup screen.
4.Double click "Internet protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"
5. tick/select "Obtain an ip address automatically"
6.click ok, exit out and your good to go.

You can also right click network icon(sytem tray ) and select "troubleshoot problems" and the windows wizard will automatically reset it for you.

Video that explains socks5 proxy and vpn- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQZXMxqHDs

I have been noticing this issue from time to time and wondered what causing it, generally I have my VPN on all the time out of habit

I use PIA in a couple of places, but on a Windows 8.1 system I have, every time I try to use it, it asks for me to reinstall the TAP driver. Is this a known issue with a known fix?

issue i have is sometimes when i disconnect from the VPN, i lose my normal internet connection and i have to reset "Obtain an ip address automatically" in network/sharing centre ,to get it workin again without the VPN

As your running Windows, and disconnected your VPN... I would give this a try:

Open an elevated CMD prompt window, (Black as the Ace of Spades)

then type:
netsh interface show interface

This will show you a 'Connected' interface, where you need to record the name of the respective connected 'Interface Name'.

so e.g... if I find my interface name is 'Local Area Connection'...

I would then type (including quotes):
netsh interface IPv4 set dnsserver "Local Area Connection" dhcp

then:
ipconfig /flushdns

This should return you to your normal internet connection :)

You could also create a batch file (to include the 2 last commands) to automate this process.

this post was edited

So I just signed up with PIA

I really only want to use this with torrents and am happy to just switch it on and off using the windows taskbar notifier.

I have set it to the settings mentioned above.

When using https://ipleak.net/ my IP address is overseas )U.S) as is my "torrent address detection".

However, under DNS and WebRTC my IP address and ISP IP address are showing respectively.

Is this something to be concerned about as far as using torrents?

Also, my connection speed when using the VPN is about 10% of my normal speed... Anything I can do about that?

I heard PIA leaks like a siv.. Im looking at total protection and heard PureVPN is great, anyone tried?

Mxyzptlk writes...

I heard PIA leaks like a siv.. Im looking at total protection and heard PureVPN is great, anyone tried?

So why post in a PIA thread?!?!

Because its a thread, and maybe someone might say "You heard wrong" PIA is ..........

Mxyzptlk writes...

I heard PIA leaks like a siv.

No leaks here. I use Google DNS on all network interfaces so don't need DNS leak protection.

Ok so with these recent laws being passed. I'm interested in a VPN service. All this mumbo jumbo seems confusing to me so i have a couple questions

Do i need to access my router settings to enable?
Does the VPN cover my entire home network or just the pc installed on?
Can you turn it on/off easily?
How good/bad is the speed diff, currently im on 100mb/s

Video that explains socks5 proxy and vpn- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQZXMxqHDs

What is better and Faster and Easier to use out of VPN or socks5 Proxy?

What is better and Faster and Easier to use out of VPN or socks5 Proxy?

Socks5 is easier and faster. Not as secure though.

maddog12 writes...

I'm no where near an expert but I was wanting to do a similar thing to you.

Some months ago I signed up to 12 months PIA VPN. My modem/router can do PPTP VPN, so I set it up to connect to PIA as I just wanted a simple set up where all the house hold devices connected to the router went via the VPN.

I chose a Sydney gateway and didn't notice any speed issues, I'm also on 100mb/s.

I had to give it away though as I couldn't access a number of sites, such as my internet banking, ABCiview and a number of others that I can't think of right now.

I signed up today and it's unbelievably slow. Even browsing is near unusable. Are the US locations the best to use?

Evva writes...

signed up today and it's unbelievably slow. Even browsing is near unusable. Are the US locations the best to use?

Have you Tried Aussie Servers?

Have you Tried Aussie Servers?

I'm on them now and it's a bit better. 360p vid on Youtube is struggling though.

What is better and Faster and Easier to use out of VPN or socks5 Proxy?

I use both at the same time. I know all the claims are it's not necessary but I consider that an extra layer of tin foil can't hurt.... ;-)

this post was edited

"So a bit of an interesting one � I got connected to the NBN today through Netcube and also purchased a year of PIA. My problem is that PIA won't work with UDP selected in the PIA settings, PIA will connect and stay connected but most websites won't load, facebook and google do but speedtest.net and others won't and torrents run at a crawl.

The TCP option will work but disconnects frequently once i start torrents up and I have read that UDP is the faster option so i would prefer to get this working.

I've also tried it with a windows machine and am getting the same result.

Does anyone have any advise on this?"

So just in reply to this, I have installed Viscosity, UDP still has the same problem but choosing tcp and port 443 is working well, getting a solid 50Mb/s through torrents using the Melbourne PIA server. 2mbit on overseas servers. No disconnects so far.

Why would my isp be blocking the UDP ports, is this heard of? I would still rather use UDP and I find it strange that I can't.

Also, I have seen it mentioned here that I shouldn't be using the Melbourne PIA server for torrents, why is this?

easy question for everyone

currently i use unblock-us to access all netflix regions via my xbox 360 (change DNS settings on xbox, use unblock-us website to select netflix region)

can i use PIA to access whatever region of netflix i want on my 360? because i want the privacy of PIA which unblock-us does not have... but i also want to be able to access all of netflix.

will i need PIA for privacy and unblock-us for netflix? are they able to work together?

this post was edited

edit. Installed Viscosity much better speeds.

alexb618 writes...

can i use PIA to access whatever region of netflix i want on my 360? because i want the privacy of PIA which unblock-us does not have... but i also want to be able to access all of netflix.

Yeah you can use different regions � but expect a massive speed hit.

Try Getflix who have a smart DNS and VPN in one package � best of both worlds.

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I was wanting to trial PIA for a month to see how they go. Can anyone confirm if selecting the 1 month $6.99 option is a one off cost or will they debit you each month for this ongoing?

thanks pikey, i am using getflix now and it works really well

this post was edited

brett174 writes...

will they debit you each month for this ongoing?

They will debit you each month if you do not cancel, you can sign up and then cancel the recurring monthly payment straight away , you will still be able to use the service for the month you have paid for. If you are happy with the service and you want to continue , you can cancel the monthly payment (if you haven't already) and then sign up for a 12 month plan which is a much cheaper option.

edit- prices on the website are in U.S. dollars.

I'm reading lots of conflicting information about this but the general consensus on this thread seems to be that it is 'safe enough' to go through a local server with the PIA app � i.e No proxy � VPN alone?

But then some say the local servers are bad for p2p so is it really faster to route through the states? In which case you are compromising the speed of general browsing for the sake of torrents...

I tried following the instructions in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQZXMxqHDs

Which suggests it's safest to use vpn and proxy. However the 'tunnel within a tunnel' reduces my speed to about � of normal speed -which I presume is to be expected with so much encryption and routing?

Anyway I guess I'm looking for a definitive setup with the best of both worlds -security and speed.

If I go with VPN and no proxy do I need to tweak any settings in Utorrent or the PIA app (other than leak protection/kill switch -such as encryption)?

Sorry for the barrage of questions but it seems like there is a grey area here or a discrepancy between official PIA advice and user discussion

kitalor writes...

No matter what goes through that VPN tunnel and comes out the other endpoint; ISPs, the Government and content holders (with the right tools), can only view it as a 'certain volume of data' going back and forth between 'some IP address that probably isn't really you', the PIA VPN server (regardless of it being local or international), and to the rest of the world.

I believe the biggest safety or privacy misunderstanding or shady area of VPNs is whether you are safe if you P2P and pass authentication details to some form of account that is tied with your name, address etc. See my new discussion on it here: /forum-replies.cfm?t=2421038

But then some say the local servers are bad for p2p so is it really faster to route through the states? In which case you are compromising the speed of general browsing for the sake of torrents...

The net speed via VPN is affected by what I would assume is based on the locality of the data/content you are accessing, no different to when you don't use a VPN, but where you don't use a VPN, an ISP can throttle you further based on it identifying a particular data it has policies to throttle.

In one circumstance, most P2P peers for a particular swarm you are connecting to, could be located closer in locality if you were to connect to a different international server, than a local server.

Every extra layer of abstraction, complexity, in the form of encryption, communication or routing, will add more and more overhead, consequently slowing your speeds down.

I'm on 100mbps Optus Cable, and I think using the kill-switch is just fine and it works for me, as I've closely monitored mine.

When browsing with a VPN what exactly does the ISP see?

When browsing with a VPN what exactly does the ISP see?

At the highest abstract level,
When you use a VPN service through a particular VPN server, it is so that external observers cannot see "who you really are" beyond the fact that you are just "someone who uses that specific VPN server presently".

At the data level,
VPNs tunnel connections between your computer and the VPN server you connect to (regardless of it being a local or international VPN server), have encryption applied to jumble the data into what appears as nonsense to the external observer.

What the ISP sees, is your computer, as it would, because it's blood providing you the internet service, a connection made to the VPN server you selected to connect to, and a volume of data that it can't understand, going back and forth.

An external observer can however see everything that leaves the VPN server endpoint, but if we have the scenario where VPNs map external IP addresses to multiple VPN clients (ONE-to-MANY relationship, with sub-addressing or identifiers to route traffic where it's meant to go inside the VPN tunnels), than it doesn't matter what pops out the other end. You can't tie it back to you because VPNs won't reveal this to a 3rd party entity.

Ok so an ISP cant see that I am actually visiting Torrent sites like pirate bay to forward to the hollywood people wanting to know who is downloading? or even that I am posting this message?

this post was edited

Ok so an ISP cant see that I am actually visiting Torrent sites like pirate bay to forward to the hollywood people wanting to know who is downloading? or even that I am posting this message?

Breaking this down:

Without VPN to access PirateBay:
- Your computer sends request for PirateBay to ISPs DNS server, routing you the correct IP address of the DNS name of thePirateBay.se.

With VPN to access PirateBay:
- Your computer sends request for PirateBay to the VPN provider's DNS server, that would then route you to the correct IP address for the DNS name of thePirateBay.se.

If we frame the viewpoint of the ISP to viewing and accessing torrent sites using a VPN tunnel, then all the ISP would see is a transmission of data (the request and response) between your computer and the VPN server.

If we frame the viewpoint of the ISP to viewing the endpoint of where the request has left the VPN server, and then reenters with a response of the IP address of a torrent site, your ISP if it even knew where to look for this particular request/response; would only know that it goes into the VPN server, then back to some unknown destination. Yes it would see traffic back into your computer, but it doesn't know where from. ISPs cannot make the correlation, connection, etc.

You posting, accessing or discussing anything about torrent/P2P sites is not admissible evidence that you committed any copyright infringement. I wouldn't fret.

There's a worlds difference between using torrent/P2P sites for sharing copyright content, using torrent/P2P sites for sharing free content, and just merely accessing the site.

Interesting when I am connected to PIA and coming out on the Melbourne server and I access http://dnsleak.com/ the results show �

Your IP: *** *** ***
DNS IP: *** *** ***
Hostname: *** *** ***-static.reverse.softlayer.com
ISP: Credit Suisse Group / CANA
Country: Switzerland

Wasn't expecting to see that for the ISP and Country. All the other leak test websites show ISP as Softlayer and Australia.

Thoughts?

I'm using ExpressVPN and it is slow as.....
Doesn't matter which country I choose...

Any suggestions?

this post was edited

Hi guys,

Long time reader on whirlpool forums you guys are great!

I would also be considered a noob and just recently signed up with PIA.

I use Qbittorrent instead of the usual utorrent and was wondering if just setting up the VPN and enabling kill switch etc is enough to be protected?

I also have checked and have no dns leaks/also disabled the WEBRTC leaks from firefox

I also got the "torguard check my torrent ip address" and it also comes up as showing the vpn ip address during downloads on qbittorrent instead of the usual one, does this, most of all things mean that I am protected?

Or do I need to add any additional settings to the client? I ask because I read something about a network interface or something by Qbittorent I.e. on the network interface tab in qbittorent it is set to "any interface" but this wouldn't matter because I have kill switch enabled right so if it cut then it wouldnt switch to my usual ip connection right?

Specifically this thread, something to do with a bug in qbittorrent, does anyone know about this? https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/4091/qbittorrent-setup-tips

Thanks for the response jfp. That answered some questions and brought up a whole lot more:)

jfprizzy writes...

In one circumstance, most P2P peers for a particular swarm you are connecting to, could be located closer in locality if you were to connect to a different international server, than a local server.

I can nearly max out connection with torrents without vpn so I'm pretty sure they're not throttled.
My thinking was that the closer the tunnel that I'm jumping in geographically would provide the best speed regardless of what I'm doing with it taking into account congestion and capacity of said server?
When I connect to my nearest server it is noted as 'softlayer' in ipleak and my torrents take a while to get going and average out at about 400kBs.
If I auto connect it goes to silicon valley and torrents load much faster and average out at 700kBs (peak with no vpn is about 1.2mbs)
Now browsing the web and doing speed tests I get the opposite result softlayer 8-10mbs -silicon valley 4-8mbs
Is anyone else experiencing this? Happy to admit there may be something wrong on my end
Earlier posts suggest softlayer aren't the best for p2p. If I'm going down the route of VPN without proxy what server would people suggest? I really just want to set and forget.

Is anyone more satisfied getting the balance right with proxy alone? IF so what settings or guide did you follow?

kitalor writes...

Earlier posts suggest softlayer aren't the best for p2p. If I'm going down the route of VPN without proxy what server would people suggest? I really just want to set and forget.

I got good results using Getflix PPTP using a server in Canada. OpenVPN is better I expect just PPTP was easy.

BillBillo1 writes...

If you hover over the kill switch, PIA don't recommend it in certain network configurations.

This tells me that there is a possibility it won't work/will screw up your internet settings.

If your using Windows, simply create INBOUND & OUTBOUND Windows firewall rules to only allow Qbittorent to work if your 'Public' (VPN network) profile is active, and to deny Qbittorent access to 'Domain' and 'Private' profiles.

The OUTBOUND rule is described here:
http://www.brighthub.com/computing/windows-platform/articles/128882.aspx
Just point the program path to the correct location where qbittorrent.exe exists on your drive.

Then create a similar INBOUND rule, ie instead of selecting Outbound Rules in Step 1, select Inbound Rules and follow the remainder of the setup.

Test it by disconnecting your VPN, and you will see that Qbittorent will stop downloading.

Once in place there is no need to worry about what interface to choose in Qbittorent !

I have used the PIA client and now have reverted to a native OpenVPN setup (as the client seems slow in connecting and with my testing seemed slower with downloads), but I also use firewall rules to keep an eye on things :)

Is this what you're referring to?
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/windows-openvpn

kitalor writes...

Is this what you're referring to?

Yes, but I've gone ahead and downloaded the latest version of OpenVPN found here:
https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html

Anyone used an Australian Toys R Us or Target gift card to pay?
cheers

I just installed PIA � which boxes should I tick on advanced login screen?

Lobomoon writes...

I just installed PIA � which boxes should I tick on advanced login screen?

For me I have DNS leak Protection and IPv6 Leak Protection ticked, VPN Kill Switch should also be but I have setup my P2P client to stop if and when PIA drops.

Edit I don't even have IPv6 enabled via my ISP anyway as Getflix doesn't like it.

Do I need to do any extra settings in Vuze?

PIA offer a Socket5 Proxy with your login, you need to generate the user ID and password via PIAs site.

Not sure the specifics with Vuze though, this will give you a idea https://www.google.com.au/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pia+vuze

I'm very happy with PIA after two months..

Just wish they'd get a Korean server soon...

What about connection type: tcp or udp?

Total Recall writes...

Edit I don't even have IPv6 enabled via my ISP anyway as Getflix doesn't like it.

I have IPv6 enabled here and use Getflix. All they do is forward requests to Telstra DNS which is dual stack and answers with AAAA records even over IPv4.

Just have to make sure all DNS goes to Getflix.

Lobomoon writes...

What about connection type: tcp or udp?

Mines set to udp, not sure if it was default or I set it up like that back in the day.

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/

I have IPv6 enabled here and use Getflix. All they do is forward requests to Telstra DNS which is dual stack and answers with AAAA records even over IPv4.

Just have to make sure all DNS goes to Getflix.

Oh ok, I still have to disable in order for my Netflix AUS account to be seen unmetered via Internode as they're currently having issues with IPv6.

Total Recall writes...

Oh ok, I still have to disable in order for my Netflix AUS account to be seen unmetered via Internode as they're currently having issues with IPv6.

Makes sense. I am on Telstra Business so no unmetered content to worry about (just unmetered uploads).

Looks like they have dropped a few servers none in Australia and mostly in Canada. Anyone herd anything as to why?

Edit: Wrong Post.

this post was edited

SW Victoria writes...

Looks like they have dropped a few servers none in Australia and mostly in Canada. Anyone herd anything as to why?

By the looks of things they are using the Softlayer (Auto Scale feature) meaning they can have less servers but less more powerful servers.

The only reason so many VPN companys use Softlayer is if you pay monthly or annually you get 5TB of bandwidth for free on each server each month. So Sydney 5TB x 60 = 300TB + Melbourne 5TB x 60 = 300TB. Total monthly bandwidth = 600TB for Australia.

Who needs Identity writes...

Total monthly bandwidth = 600TB for Australia

is that enough?

I'm surprised they sell bandwidth in the quota form as wholesale, they are nearly always in bits per second.

I have noticed a drop in speeds in the last few weeks. I wonder if it is to do with the surge of new VPN subscribers.

@47400244 Lobomoon writes...
Do I need to do any extra settings in Vuze

I use Vuze and the following (which I found on the PIA site) does work
"

1. launch Vuze

2. Go to Tools>Options

3. Click Connection (drop down arrow)>Advanced Network Settings

4. In the box that states Bind to Local IP type eth4. This is PIA TAP Adapter.

5. Click Save

6. Re-launch Vuze

At the bottom right corner of the Vuze program, you will see Routing. Place your mouse cursor over it and wait for it to connect to PIA IPv4 address. It starts with 10.

In case you're skeptical, you can go to Network and Sharing>Click on LAN>Details. It will show you the IPv4 address that will match in Vuze.

All torrent traffic will be routed to that address. If the VPN disconnects, torrents will stop downloading immediately until the VPN re-establishes connection. You can also test it out by disconnecting the VPN manually (do not have internet browsers open at the time) and go back to Vuze. Place your mouse cursor over Routing and you will see it is still connected to PIA IPv4 address."

I hope that helps

Frenata writes...

4. In the box that states Bind to Local IP type eth4. This is PIA TAP Adapter.

Not necessarily.. find the TAP Adapter and use the corresponding eth#, last time I used Vuze my eth was 5.. so don't just blindly put in 4.. find the correct adapter number.

Frenata writes...

4. In the box that states Bind to Local IP type eth4. This is PIA TAP Adapter.

Is this for Windows � I was told to type in "tun0" into the box Bind to Local IP??

Ps I'm on a mac??

Who needs Identity writes...

s that enough?

No idea mate. TBH PIA using Softlayer servers is pretty tight arse. There's much better hosts out there.

this post was edited

fysho writes...

Vuze my eth was 5.. so don't just blindly put in 4.. find the correct adapter number.

+1 agreed,
when using Vuze on my windows 7 laptop the correct one is this- eth5 (TAP-Win32 Adapter V9)
eth4 is listed as eth4 (Bluetooth Personal Area Network).

PIA using Softlayer servers is pretty tight arse

bugger :)

There's much better hosts out there

the truth is out there ;)

cheers

Eth4 is for windows, I believe you are correct for Mac it is tun0.
Eth4 worked for me. I have not tried Eth5.

So I have PIA and am thinking of using vuze for this feature.
trouble is I dont quite get the advice regarding the vuze settings
can this be clarified easily - as in how do I work it out which eth etc?

Dilligaf writes...

can this be clarified easily � as in how do I work it out which eth etc?

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/4626/forcing-vuze-to-direct-all-torrent-traffic-through-pia

Simo135 writes...

Would I still need to set-up a proxy if I am routing all my traffic through PIA's VPN anyway? I thought either VPN OR proxy would do the same thing re: Bittorrent? Or do I need to use both a proxy and a VPN simultaneously?

Did this question on page one of the thread ever get an answer. If so, I couldn't spot it so could somebody please say it as being a VPN noob I'd really like to know.

I have to say I'm a touch annoyed with whirlpool that the PIA ip address i have is being blocked by them. That is counterproductive!

chopinhauer writes...

Did this question on page one of the thread ever get an answer. If so, I couldn't spot it so could somebody please say it as being a VPN noob I'd really like to know.

You only need one, i would go with VPN.

Anunnaki writes...

You only need one, i would go with VPN.

Thanks, I'll do that in the event I go back to torrenting in this new '1984' environment.

this post was edited

If you install PIA first have it running, then download and install Vuze second , the current version of Vuze automatically recognizes you have a VPN running and a pop up box comes up asking if you want Vuze to direct all traffic through the VPN, if you click yes, it sets up all the settings for you automatically...
If your a noob like me, its easy and might be worth uninstalling and reinstalling Vuze to get it to do this...

So is Vuze safer to use than UTorrent? I currently use U Torrent but will change if it is quicker and safer.

hendo writes...

is Vuze safer to use

Just my opinion.. but the amount of extraneous junk getting shoved into your Vuze install leads me to believe that there are way better options around that don't have as many 'potential' susceptibilities in them as Vuze. I've recently gone from vuze.. bloated, to deluge.. wouldn't download worth a damn no matter what I did to the settings.. to qbitorrent.. that "Just downloads the things I want without erroring, bloating, throttling or any other "ing" except *downloading*.

With the current WOW outage I signed up with PIA as a few people said they could still play through a VPN. It's working, but the ping is 700ms+. Using the Sydney gateway. Did read a post here someone experiencing the same high pings and no solution to it.

Cheers,

Drufazz writes...

the ping is 700ms+

I'd be happy as a pig in poo if I could keep my ping down in the low 700's.. but then I'm on satellite and shouldn't expect a real broadband connection because of my errant "lifestyle choice"... according to the Minister for all things not related to God or Coal.. or his panting lapdogs.

Does anyone else find that PIA is very slow when connected to the VPN even if your connected to the Aus Servers? i couldnt even use Youtube connected to the Calafonia servers? and torrent downloading is at best 1mb sec using proxy setting in utorrent

clarktek writes...

Does anyone else find that PIA is very slow when connected to the VPN even if your connected to the Aus Servers?

Sometimes I do find it sporadic, I just disconnect and reconnect and it helps.

Speed wise, not a huge difference.

With PIA Sydney http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4474379359
Without it http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4474381665

clarktek writes...

oes anyone else find that PIA is very slow when connected to the VPN even if your connected to the Aus Servers? i couldnt even use Youtube connected to the Calafonia servers? and torrent downloading is at best 1mb sec using proxy setting in utorrent

I find general day to day browsing the net fine, it's when downloading I get terrible speeds but I'm not sure if it's a congestion issues with Telstra.

As an example, last night went to download The Zoo Ep 1 � it was downloading at an average of 15KBPS up untill around 10:30 it shot up to 1.3mbps?!

I usually don't mind if it takes a while as I usually watch the show the next day or save them up for a mini marathon but last night was frustating. Been thinking about getting a VPS or Seedbox and those sort of speeds are making it more likely I'll do it sooner than later.

Jackpackage writes...

As an example, last night went to download a Linux distro � it was downloading at an average of 15KBPS up untill around 10:30 it shot up to 1.3mbps?!

Fixed your post for you...... ;)

clarktek writes...

Does anyone else find that PIA is very slow when connected to the VPN even if your connected to the Aus Servers?

International can be a bit variable, but Australian servers always seem fast. This is from my phone connected to the Melbourne server via work's wireless network. http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/1348087286

Deal on for 4th July. 2 years for $60:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/slickdeals-fourth-of-july

Dimtar writes...

Deal on for 4th July. 2 years for $60:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/slickdeals-fourth-of-july

That's awesome value, shame I just started my second year with them in May. If I could buy it now and leave it for my current sub to expire I would but from my understanding the service starts when the sub is activated.

I wonder how this will work with gift card payments.

Total Recall writes...

That's awesome value

None of their offers are available to existing customers.

None of their offers are available to existing customers.

I have always paid via GC so user/pw have been different, paying via PayPal in the future will be a better choice because it's far better value compared to a GC of $50/366 days vs $39.95/365 days.

None of their offers are available to existing customers.

I spoke to PIA and existing customers just need to cancel their account and then sign up to the new deal . No problems. Of course you lose any time you had left on your old account .

you lose any time you had left on your old account

or give that old account to a mate

cheers

I spoke to PIA and existing customers just need to cancel their account and then sign up to the new deal

Thanks for that

Is PIA mode of currency in terms of USD? I want to try it for a month and want to make the payment via prepaid cards(to be bought from Woolworths). What denomination shall cover the full payment considering the overseas transaction fee or other expenses, if any?

XxHarryxX writes...

Is PIA mode of currency in terms of USD?

yes

What denomination shall cover the full payment

google the amount for a conversion from US(amount) to AUD

cheers

hendo writes...

So is Vuze safer to use than UTorrent? I currently use U Torrent but will change if it is quicker and safer.

A bit of a late response, but the only torrent client that I have found that "respects" proxy settings is Deluge.

If you use the PIA proxy settings in Deluge it will only download from that proxy. Other clients, such as utorrent, will download from your "real" connection if the proxy drops out.

If you use the PIA proxy settings in Deluge it will only download from that proxy. Other clients, such as utorrent, will download from your "real" connection if the proxy drops out.

Hence why I use the PIA proxy within the PIA VPN....

Been using the OpenVPN client as a replacement for the flaky pia windows client for last couple of days.
Seems a lot more solid and you can actually connect/disconnect/re-connect without it crapping out on you.

google the amount for a conversion from US(amount) to AUD

And factor an extra 5% for the cream that visa/paypal skim from the transaction to be safe.

Hence why I use the PIA proxy within the PIA VPN....

If you use Deluge then you only need to use the PIA proxy, no point in running the VPN as well, that just slows things down.

And factor an extra 5% for the cream that visa/paypal skim from the transaction to be safe

true, I forgot to mention that ripoff extra they do, thanks

cheers

Hi Guys

I have been reading the posts here as I am setting up a spare box here solely for torrenting and am looking for a VPN to use on it.

I understand the basics of a VPN but am still uncertain of the best one to use, as I am not wanting to start and stop it so I can surf the web or anything, it will be on all the time the computer is on as the computer is only one of the ones on my home network and it has only one purpose.

I tried IPVanish for a month and it seemed ok, but I am still unsure of which one would get me the most consistent download speeds. It is rare that I need something as soon as it finished downloading as most of the time I just set it to go while I am at work or asleep etc.

I see a lot of converation about AU servers etc but I figure that nowadays with everyone getting more VPN aware, there will be a lot more people using AU servers and therefore more congestion = slower speeds. I have had some success using asian servers using IPVanish, but it can be a pain finding a decent server depending on the time of day etc.

Is PIA a decent alternative or are there better options?

Im not fussed about paying with gift cards etc as I believe that is unwarranted. Its not illegal to have a VPN and it doesnt mean you are doing anything illegal with it so I dont see any reason for going to that level of caution.

Thanks

Mungrel writes...

Is PIA a decent alternative or are there better options?

I have found PIA to be fine.

I normally only use it for torrents, so I have set up Deluge to use the PIA proxy. This is all you need to do if you are only worried about torrents. No need to install the PIA VPN software, or run it, if you just use Deluge to download torrents.

If you want to install the PIA VPN software, you can run it if you ever want to use the VPN for browsing.

Edit - just to be clear, if you are setting up a spare box just for torrenting, use the Deluge torrent client with the PIA proxy settings and all will good. No need to do anything else. Deluge will only download through those proxy settings, if the proxy drops out Deluge will stop downloading, it will not use your "normal" internet connection - unlike most other torrent clients.

install the PIA VPN software, you can run it if you ever want to use the VPN for browsing.

but isnt this what you are doing to get the torrent before you download the file?

if you are only worried about torrents. No need to install the PIA VPN software, or run it

does this mean I dont have to actually join up to PIA? I can just get their proxy settings and go? :)

use the Deluge torrent client with the PIA proxy settings and all will good.

I use PIA ( Location: Netherlands ) with FireFox (webrtc disabled) I have a seedbox that is based in the Netherlands as well
and downloading from my seedbox using a FTP connection ( FTP Client is Bitkinex 3.2 )

Is this setup secure and hidden enough from prying Eyes 8-)

Mungrel writes...

does this mean I dont have to actually join up to PIA? I can just get their proxy settings and go?

You have to enter your PIA username & password in the proxy settings. So yes still need to join.

billybanana writes...

So yes still need to join

bugger! lol

PkV writes...

Is this setup secure and hidden enough from prying Eyes 8-)

All you need to do is stop your real IP address from appearing in torrent swarms. That is how you get caught out with torrents.

The way that people are caught out with torrents is not rocket science. If you look at your torrent program you will see a list of the IP adresses of the seeds and peers. All the tracking software used by "the enforcers" does is to log the details of that IP address. If they don't have your real IP address they don't know you exist.

so I have set up Deluge to use the PIA proxy.

Can you please advise how to fill out the proxy fields in Deluge? And how many of them to fill out? uTorrent only has one proxy section to complete, the Deluge I downloaded and installed has 4 proxy fields!

Can you please advise how to fill out the proxy fields in Deluge?

You need to fill out all 4 proxy fields with the proxy details from PIA.

I don't have my PIA login details handy to log on and check, but if you log into your PIA account there were will be a proxy settings page somewhere, you need to generate a proxy user id and password on that page, which be will different from your normal PIA login details.

In deluge proxy settings you need to select "socks 5 with auth", put in your proxy username and password and proxy-nl.privateinternetaccess.com as host and 1080 as port.

I get around 80% of my normal maximum torrent speed using the PIA proxy and deluge.

Dimtar writes...

Deal on for 4th July. 2 years for $60:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/slickdeals-fourth-of-july

I am trying to sign up for this using Paypal. When it gets through to Paypal and I sign on it doesn't get past the process of asking me for security questions. I get an obscure Paypal error message.

I can sign on to Paypal independently and it works fine.

I have tried this on 3 computers and my Android phone.

Anyone else having this issue?

I don't think you are, and it shouldn't matter, but are you using a vpn? I"m blocked from paying for certain things using my vpn. The business it'self is responsible

You need to fill out all 4 proxy fields with the proxy details from PIA.

Thanks for that! That was what I wasn't sure of � if I needed to do all 4 fields.

Thanks again.

I don't think you are, and it shouldn't matter, but are you using a vpn?

If you are asking me, no I am not using a VPN and always use Paypal to pay for things online, eg eBay, software, etc. without any issues. I probably use Paypal at least once a week currently.

Is it possible to use the DNS Leak setting over the OpenVPN? There is no option to turn it on.

altoalto writes...

Is it possible to use the DNS Leak setting over the OpenVPN? There is no option to turn it on.

Google will show you what adapter settings to change to sort out dns leakage.

I finally decided to use one of my spare debit cards. Loaded AUD80 on it and got it processed.

I spoke to PIA and existing customers just need to cancel their account and then sign up to the new deal . No problems. Of course you lose any time you had left on your old account .

There's no point in doing that. When your subscription is about to expire PIA send you an email to resubscribe 12months for $32. There's very little to save with this current offer & you are stuck with them for 2 years when maybe they become embroied in a privacy scandal where they hand over identifiable info to police/copyright lawyers in a few months or even they could be blocked in Australia soon due to being such a large company & promoting torrents

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/rejoin-vpn-subscription

There's no point in doing that. When your subscription is about to expire PIA send you an email to resubscribe 12months for $32.

Thanks for that, I was about to buy that 2 years subscription..., will wait for my email next month...
cheers,

You should get the email a month before your subscirption ends. This is the link anyway

You save about $5 by doing this. Vpns main use is for privacy not breaching copyright. The government has stated that they will not be targeting them. Most businesses use vpns for security so I can't see the government touching them. If they don't keep logs then there is nothing to hand over ! PIA does not promote torrents ! You sound paranoid .

he government has stated that they will not be targeting them

They have said that for now but if you read the actual legislation there is nothing stopping them blocking vpn's that assist in copyright infringement.

If they don't keep logs then there is nothing to hand over ! PIA does not promote torrents

They see your real IP each time you connect & for the duration of your connection. Not sure if the historical recording of IP's matter that much. PIA have a proxy for torrents & port forwarding for torrents. You may say it's not necessarily for that use the fact is that it greatly enhances torrent use. They also state "P2P and VoIP Support"

They have said that for now but if you read the actual legislation there is nothing stopping them blocking vpn's that assist in copyright infringement.

The legislation states that a sites main purpose must be to aid in copyright breaching. A VPNs main purpose is security, privacy and avoiding geoblocking. Torrenting is not illegal it has many legal uses.
The government does not want to stop copyright breaches it just wants to be seen to be trying to stop it . To keep the large companies happy. It's impossible to stop it altogether. Almost half of what is on youtube breaches copyright but they don't seem worried about that !

Almost half of what is on youtube breaches copyright but they don't seem worried about that !

Youtube abide by DMCA laws. Piratebay doesn't so will be blocked, & the government could later argue that a vpn that facilitates a connection to the likes of piratebay must block piratebay or be banned it'self. The copyright lobyistts are so powerful they got both sides of the government to agree to censoring of the internet, they have further potential for great evil.

Google is a Big Business so they will Comply with there Mates

What the Government Says and Does are 2 Entirely Different Things

Time will tell , I just took up the 2 year deal and I'm not worried. It takes governments years to do anything. I don't see any sites blocked yet ! And only a fool would give the DBC any money.

They have said that for now but if you read the actual legislation there is nothing stopping them blocking vpn's that assist in copyright infringemen

Uh, then that would be all of them....

I'd enjoy seeing this happen. Watch government try to effectively shut down much of Australias business internet traffic, and subsequently get lampooned for being the dickheads they are.

If PIA really had a lot of non piracy business users they could set rules for any connections geolocating from Australia. Servers must abide by Australian block list & more severe & hopefully not ever even expressed as an idea block torrent traffic through all vpn servers Australians connect to. Obviously the act of torrenting it'self should never be an issue.

So there are way of not affecting business, which is worrying

hey could set rules

They could. What makes you think that they would?

They would to remain operational in Australia with business, non torrent users. We already see how they block torrents on Australian, US and other servers with a strong stand on copyright,, even though torrenting does not equal piracy.

I"m saying if Government were to say block Au banlist & block AU from torrenting or PIA is blocked in Australia they would have to comply or they lose all non piracy business in Australia. Not to say that will happen but it could under current legislation.

Hey all, just picked up a new Asus AC2400 router and was thinking of putting PIA on the router level over using the client desk application.

Are there any speed benefits with this at all ?

I am new to VPN, so I have been relying on this foum and other forums for my education in this subject.

I have just purchased PIA for three main reasons:

1. Avoid geo-blocking both here and when travelling overseas.
2. Encrypted traffic when using Wi-Fi overseas, either in public or hotels.
2. Protect my childrens download activities.

So I have got it successfully installed on my Surface Pro and my Samsung S5 and it seems to be OK, though I wouldnt want to use it all the time as it slows down my Internet significantly even when I select local servers. I will probably leave it turned off at home after I finish testing and turn it on when I travel.

My real open issue is the following:

My childrens computers are setup with them as standard users, with another account on each machine for me to use in Administrator mode.

I have installed it OK under my account, but when I restart the PC and login under a standard user account, VPN is not active or accessible.

How can I setup these machines so that either VPN is on all the time, or at least they can turn it on and off as required?

I am still within my 7 days cooling off, so is this an issue for all VPN's or just PIA.

I have installed it OK under my account, but when I restart the PC and login under a standard user account, VPN is not active or accessible.

VPNs under windows are per user unless you specify the "Allow other people to use this connection".

How can I setup these machines so that either VPN is on all the time,

There is a setting in the PIA client for "start application at logon".

Chuggington writes...

VPNs under windows are per user unless you specify the "Allow other people to use this connection".

PIA doesnt have this option from what I can see. Should I just install it again the other account as well?

There is a setting in the PIA client for "start application at logon".

I have that set already.

Ok I will stir the pot a bit here.

I am looking at getting PIA as a VPN but am wondering how many servers they have that allow P2P (shhh thats torrenting)?

Which ones are the best from people experiences and what sort of speed hits am I to expect? � I realise there will be a speed hit whoever I go through.

Mungrel writes...

(shhh thats torrenting)?

Torrenting is perfectly legal.

They all allow PTP as far as i know, if you want to port forward then these servers work,
CA Toronto
CA North York
Netherlands
Switzerland
Sweden
France
Germany
Russia
Romania
Hong Kong
Israel
I can max out my connections on PTP downloads 12mbits/sec, i only notice a small speed hit when doing general browsing.

It looks like PIA have reduced their annual price to $32 a year now as standard, rather then being a sale?

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn/

It looks like PIA have reduced their annual price to $32 a year now as standard, rather then being a sale?

Where are you seeing this price? Shows as $39.95 for me

It shows $31.95US for me

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn/

It shows $31.95US for me

Still $39.95 for me. You must have picked up a special cookie somewhere.

Yes I have confirmed your premise. price is $31.95 on chrome, but $39.95 on firefox. Anyway that answers my question. Their standard price is still the same

It appears that USD31.95 is available for resubscribers.

Waz yeah that's where they give you the cookie, so for US$31.95 new user annual sub first go to
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/rejoin-vpn-subscription

then

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn/

PIA doesnt have this option from what I can see. Should I just install it again the other account as well?

I had this issue, it wouldnt work when a second user account logged on to windows.

To fix it, go into scheduled tasks and find the one which launches PIA at "any user logon", export it as xml, then import it and give it a different name.

Change the credentials which launch PIA to be the second user account (General Tab, Security Options). Change the "Trigger" to be logon of the specific second user, instead of any user. You should end up with a task for each user, using the credentials of that user. Then launches successfully for both users at logon

If PIA really had a lot of non piracy business users

They have in there term of service that your licence only allows non-commercial use......

Privateinternetaccess.com grants you a personal, limited, non- exclusive license to use an account to which you have access for your personal, private, non-commercial, non-transferable, limited uses solely as set forth herein and as set forth in any additional documentation and/or agreements applicable to the Services accessed by you.

Reference: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/terms-of-service/

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/buy-vpn/

Waz yeah that's where they give you the cookie, so for US$31.95 new user annual sub first go to
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/rejoin-vpn-subscription

then

thanks for that. Ive now got a vpn :)

marbles writes...

To fix it, go into scheduled tasks and find the one which launches PIA at "any user logon", export it as xml, then import it and give it a different name.

Thanks I will try this tomorrow when I have access to the machine.

O.P.

Drufazz writes...

With the current WOW outage I signed up with PIA as a few people said they could still play through a VPN.

A VPN will give you high gaming pings. Have you tried changing your computer's DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 instead? If that works, do it on your router for every machine/phone/tablet at your place.

Wondering if anyone else has the same issue as me:
Running PIA openvpn via my netgear WNDR3800 router.
Everything works OK via laptops.
However, on my android phone a couple of websites don't work and the fb mobile app also doesn't load anything, just gets a constant spinning circle. google search also doesn't work...

Disable vpn and everything works.

Any ideas?

DNS settings on your Android?

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/3359/port-forwarding-without-application-pia-script-advanced-users

DNS settings on your Android?

Don't think so.
It's getting the google dns servers, same as laptop. DNS servers set in router.
I set them manually on my phone just to make sure, no dice.

I can't get PIA to connect to ANY servers today, last few days it has been getting more and more difficult to connect, today I can't at all.

Restarted PC and modem, no go, tried all the setting changes on the PIA forum, no go, uninstalled PIA and reinstalled, no go :(

I can't get PIA to connect to ANY servers today, last few days it has been getting more and more difficult to connect, today I can't at all.

Worked fine for me this afternoon connected to Amsterdam. Have had no connection issues at all recently.

marbles writes...

To fix it, go into scheduled tasks and find the one which launches PIA at "any user logon", export it as xml, then import it and give it a different name.

Thanks Marbles. I tested this afternoon and this approach works.

One question. When I switched back to the admin user on the machine (me) without logging off first, and then switched back, PIA disconnected. Is that what you would expect.

Thanks again for your assistance.

I can work with what you proposed in our situation, as normally may child would be the only one signed on to the machine.

I'm on now, for some reason Tinywall had decided to block my VPN, I had tried putting it in learning mode and when that didn't work I went looking for other reasons, but then I totally disabled my firewall and I connected OK. Will have to update my exceptions, something must have changed or updated.

Anyone that uses PIA on mac have an issue when changing users/logging into a second account pia will not load or show. Yet strangely it's working still. Is there an option I'm missing so we can see PIA loaded in the task bar of both login accounts.

this post was edited

Hi - can anyone help me out? I have a raspberry pi 2 running raspbian, with deluge daemon and openvpn with pia. I can only get an open incoming connection when I use port forwarding in my router and have openvpn switched off - under these conditions it works fine. As soon as I switch on openvpn I lose the incoming connections (though I can still download). What is openvpn doing that breaks my router's port forwarding? Router is a Netcomm N600 (NB16WV-02).

Update: even though Deluge client is reporting no incoming connections (and the port test fails) I still seem able to both download and upload (though uploading is very slow). I'm not sure what tests I need to run to find out why this is the case or if everything is working as it should.

Quick question from a complete newbie.

I thinking of signing up to their year plan. Do they bill me month to month, or the whole price at one go?

Also does it auto renew?

El Tito writes...

I thinking of signing up to their year plan. Do they bill me month to month, or the whole price at one go?

If you take an yearly plan it will be one-off payment.

Also does it auto renew?

I think they send you a reminder with a small discount to renew.

this post was edited

El Tito writes...

Also does it auto renew?

I payed with Paypal for 12 mnths, it is a recurring payment/subscription unless you cancel.
If you cancel the subscription/recurring payment, you can still use the service until the end of the plan date you paid for expires.

FEES
You acknowledge that PrivateInternetAccess.com reserves the right to create a subscription service through one or more third party merchants. Payments will be charged on the day you sign up for service and will cover use of that service for the duration of one (1) month, six (6) months, one (1) year, two (2) year or a �lifetime� account without subscription depending on the service plan level. A subscription plan is an automatic payment recurring based on the service plan with the exception of the two (2) year subscription, which will not be automatically renewed if the original subscription was paid for via the Credit Card payment option.

edit-there is a 7 day refund policy if you aren't satisfied and want to cancel/

If you are less than 100% satisfied with the PrivateInternetAccess.com VPN service, we will gladly refund your payment if the refund is requested within seven (7) days from the date of the purchase. Requests made later than the 7 day purchase date window will be denied.

I am getting error from the browsers saying the security certificate has problem when I try to visit PIA web site. Do others experience the same?

Is the turnning of re-sub within PIA menus or within Paypal?

Not familiar with eithere.

Is the turnning of re-sub within PIA menus or within Paypal?

Not familiar with either.

It's in Client Control Panel on the PIA site but I cancelled there and also cancelled the renewal authorisation in Paypal as well.

Kampua writes...

I am getting error from the browsers saying the security certificate has problem

Tried my three browsers ,IE ,FF, Slimjet, got no certificate issues on either.

Simple question here. Can this just run on one pc without affecting other pcs on the network?

maddog12 writes...

Simple question here. Can this just run on one pc without affecting other pcs on the network?

Yes. In fact that is the easiest way to set it up. Just install their client and only that pc will route through the vpn although it must be noted this is the least secure method.

maddog12 writes...

Simple question here. Can this just run on one pc without affecting other pcs on the network?

It should not affect any other computers on the network.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQZXMxqHDs

Yes.

ja123 writes...

It should not affect any other computers on the network.

Great. Thanks for the response!

Anyone else getting seriously slow speeds from the Sydney and Melbourne servers? I've a 10mb DSL connection but getting no more than 75k download speeds.

Pushing to California, I'm getting 650k !

nope, all good here in Adelaide, ping 25ms ,getting 5mb/s down and 2mb/s up to both aussie servers.

so does PIA set-up most of it automatically and then we just have to activate the SOCKS5 proxy and thats it?

Yes, you don't really have to do any of the work yourself if you use the vpn,Just download and install their software client and you'll be up and running your vpn in a few minutes.
If you choose to use the socks5 proxy, check out this video for help in doing this.
Also explains a few things you may want to know.

thanks for the help mate

I'm finding PIA so frustrating and thinking of given up, even though I've paid for a year.

When it works � speeds are fine. Problem is the app frequently fails. Right now I can't disconnect. Right click disconnect and little man stays bright green. Sometimes I can't connect. Other times I try using the kill switch and even when the app is off the internet is still dead. Try un-ticking the kill switch and saving, but internet still dead and requires a fix though Windows.

All these things are easily solved, but having to constantly fix them is really annoying. Reinstalling the app hasn't helped. Wish ExpressVPN were much cheaper as I found it far better � can't justify the price though (given I don't torrent and don't really need a VPN as such, just want to defend my privacy)

Hi. I just installed PIA and firefox with TRC disabled and IPV6 disabled in my wireless network adaptor. I plan to use this PC solely for the purpose of torrenting. So it's basically clean ie fresh windows install and firefox with deluge to go on. Maybe throw Nod 32 on as well but that's pretty much it. Now i just tried to run some tests to see how my stealth is/isn't and the first two sites below show me as being in the states, but the last test also shows the states DNS and also the DNS of my Australian provider.

1 � ipleak.net
2 � dnsleaktest.com
3 � perfect-privacy.com/dns-leaktest/

SO what do I do from here please? I understand my set up is not ideal, its just another computer on the network, but is there a solution or better setup you can recommend for me to get me more stealthy?
thanks :)

GravelClimber writes...

I'm finding PIA so frustrating

I was facing the exact same issue when I started using it. I had to restart my PC so many times before it started to connect.
After that I disabled and re-enabled the connection before you plan to switch on the VPN. (Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings). That worked for me.

Please note that, every time you re-enable the VPN connection IPV6 checkbox gets checked(atleast it happens for me). So, please remember to uncheck it too. :)

Hope it helps

this post was edited

For DNS leak issues

This is straight from PIA support,

I would also recommend manually changing your DNS settings instead of using the DNS leak protection setting in the client, as the latter makes changes to your DHCP settings. Manual DNS assignment accomplishes the same DNS leak prevention without interfering with DHCP.

Use the following instructions to make the changes:

- Before connecting the VPN, please UNcheck the killswitch button.
- AFTER connecting to the chosen VPN server, then enable the killswitch.
- When you are done with the VPN, disable the killswitch BEFORE disconnecting or exiting the client.
If you fail to follow the above steps properly, you will run into the DHCP problems you keep encountering.

The following/below is written by me and NOT from PIA support.
For internet not working after disconnecting vpn (this happens to me about twice out of 10 times)

1.open network sharing centre by right clicking network icon in system tray (win 7)
2.click the network connection you have on the right of the screen (in blue) ,mines listed as wireless network connection (xxxx-pc_Network.
3. Then Click properties at the bottom left of the popup screen.
4.Double click "Internet protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"
5. tick/select "Obtain an ip address automatically"
6.click ok, exit out and your good to go.

GravelClimber writes...

Problem is the app frequently fails

I have been using for about 3 months and it has never failed to connect/disconnect, maybe you could ask them about this on their online chat support, they are quick to reply to any issues you are having.

For those having Kill Switch issues, are you guys just simply clicking the disconnect or actually exiting the tray app properly?

I only ask because I've found you need to completely close the app if you have the kill switch enabled, otherwise it just thinks you lost vpn connection and does exactly what it is meant to do, kill your network.

Certainly boggled me for a day until I figured that one out. Only issue I've had since was a stupid bug with the Aero theme (on Vista) that caused my server list to begin appearing off-screen. The only solution so far has been to switch to a Classic theme. Hoping it sorts itself out one day as it used to work fine under Aero :/

madmangohan writes...

I've found you need to completely close the app if you have the kill switch enabled, otherwise it just thinks you lost vpn connection and does exactly what it is meant to do, kill your network.

I right click the tray icon and select "exit".

The VPN disconnects and then it take a few seconds for the connection to change back over to my ISP provided IP and normal connection.

Why would that matter

madmangohan writes...

I've found you need to completely close the app if you have the kill switch enabled, otherwise it just thinks you lost vpn connection and does exactly what it is meant to do, kill your network.

I'm clueless about VPNs and tried PIA. I tried the software and it was easy but my IP and DNS was leaking. So I ended up playing around with the VPN settings on my ASUS AC68R And my IP and DNS doesn't leak out anymore.

But might have to try other VPN providers because my speed is not all that great.

worth signing up to PIA for torrenting when your download speeds a crappy 2mb?

I've heard it considerably slows your download speeds is all is this true?

speeds i download at are around 200kbs atm but tests read at 2mb

worth signing up to PIA for torrenting when your download speeds a crappy 2mb?

I think it is worth it. Just for the fact that your activity is hidden (not really sure how hidden it is). Just my 2 cents.

Speed fluctuates, it's often a lot higher than that.

Yeah I don't get more than 300kb/s download speeds with PIA.

Ion writes...

Yeah I don't get more than 300kb/s download speeds with PIA.

I get about 5-6Mb/s on a good day, but it depends on the quality of your source. Check which server you are going to � some are much slower than others.

Obey The Fist! writes...

I get about 5-6Mb/s

that would be on an exceptional day for me but i usually download at ~2Mb/s which is perfectly fine AFAIC.

what country do you guys connect to to get good speeds?

you can test them yourself here.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/

m.o.b. writes...

what country do you guys connect to to get good speeds?

i use the AU servers and enjoy full cable download speeds ~25Mbs however if i move away from them i take a speed hit.

you can test them yourself here.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/

Tried That and I always seem to get some very good speeds from the Melbourne Server's

Tried That and I always seem to get some very good speeds from the Melbourne Server's

Likewise, but very infrequently (maybe once every 7 � 10 days) I'll suffer a really slow internet on Melbourne and sometimes Sydney isn't any better. After disconnecting PIA, or swapping to an overseas server, all might be OK. A little while later and the local PIA servers are back up to speed once more.

I guess this probably comes and goes across the day, so anyone trialling a VPN should really do more than one quick test before judging their relative performance and subscribing to the service.

They are terrible speeds for Australians to overseas servers. I assume I don't have to be connected to PIA for those tests to be true. I wonder if PIA i to blame or Australian ISP's

if you have setup the VPN at the computer level with an application such as openvpn or the PIA app, does it matter if your modem/router supports vpn or vpn passthrough or not ?

if you have setup the VPN at the computer level with an application such as openvpn or the PIA app, does it matter if your modem/router supports vpn or vpn passthrough or not ?

For OpenVPN/PIA app no it does not.

This has been my observations and many others. It's the sign of a terrible vpn if it's cyclic and constantly repeatable. It feels like a science experiment or something. I felt like a hamster. All low quality VPN's ar the same. This game of constantly finding a server that works, use it until it doesnt work, then refinding another servver that works, maybe the one that didnt work the other day.

I remember constantly the australian vpn's not even workking with a 768kbit stream, so went to Japan, worked for 10 minutes, then too slow, tried hongking and singapore. both too slow. What sort o pumpkin farmers have vpn's that can't stream 768kbit!!!!!!!!!!!

I would rate this vpn 5/10

O.P.

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I've heard it considerably slows your download speeds is all is this true?

Not at speeds that low, no. You would have to be on a Cable or Fibre connection before you start seeing major depreciation in speeds, about 20 megabits seems to be about the normal limit for VPNs with Australian servers, but some can go much higher than that.

If your connection is only 2 megabits, you will have no trouble maxing it out.

Anyone who tells you differently has the wrong VPN and/or torrent settings. After connecting, run utorrent's speed setup guide again, that will help.

*edit* A VPN router is a worthwhile investment - it will give you the best speeds and reliability. You can either buy something pre setup for you from flashrouters.com or similar (that costs a bit more) or buy one of the recent Asus routers running Merlin (not the ones with modems built in, a router only - eg the RT-AC86U - then use the in built openvpn client with PIA's openvpn files).

Windows isn't great at VPNs. Never has been. A linux based OS such as Linux, Android, Mac OS X or a VPN router are better.

If your connection is only 2 megabits, you will have no trouble maxing it out.

Anyone who tells you differently has the wrong VPN and/or torrent settings. After connecting, run utorrent's speed setup guide again, that will help.

As I just said that's not true. Torrent can be a different kettle of data owing to the cummulative nature of slower transfers maxing out a connection. It's still bad if there's only a few cconnections.

A VPN router is a worthwhile investment � it will give you the best speeds

Bro once again that's not true. Your average vpn router will give you the slowest speed. OpenVpn will tax the processor of a consumer router. You need to buy a business grade router or use a power hungry computer has a VPN. A reasonablle router for use as a vpn will cost over prob $350+ Need a 1ghz processor.

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There is little to no truth in your entire statement. A raspberry pi, costs around $50 Will work fine as a VPN gateway if you want to do it on the cheap. I personally use a netgear r7000 running tomato as a VPN client. Cost $180. CPU load is barely affected.

The fact I can max my 12Mbit ADSL using PIA Sydney in my router that only cost around $220 makes you wrong. I have an ASUS RT-AC68U.

CPU was nowhere near its limits when maxing my DSL via VPN on the router.

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The fact I can max my 12Mbit ADSL using PIA Sydney in my router that only cost around $220 makes you wrong. I have an ASUS RT-AC68U.

Brother you need to think about the NBN. Future proof. They say this router in best conditions can only do aroound 23MB

Immediately running PIA OpenVPN on the PC 17.7MB on Speedtest. Then running OpenVPN thru the AC68 router I got 14.6MB on Speedtest. OpenVPN is slower thru the router than it is thru the PC. So I question this 23mbit max. What speed would you get without the vpn on router? Notably faster I'd say. It's just hard to test with slow mainstream vpns

Brother you need to think about the NBN. Future proof. They say this router in best conditions can only do aroound 23MBIT.

I have NBN. Using both cyberghost and pia configured on my router I get consistent 80mb/s.

I'm not sure what "they" say but real world personal experience tells me this is fine.

Before I had the r7000 I had a raspberry pi setup running openVPN, transmission etc.. It would easily download torrents around 40mb/s through cyberghost Netherlands.

My parents live in a retirement village that has a fibre connection. I setup open VPN on their ddwrt router. They get better bandwidth on international links now than what their isp was giving them.

O.P.

OpenVpn will tax the processor of a consumer router. You need to buy a business grade router or use a power hungry computer has a VPN.

How long has it been since you last shopped for a router?

They have dual and even quad core processors now, and as someone else has already posted about speeds of 80 megabits, well suffice to say different products will give you different levels of quality.

I only have DSL, and I have no trouble maxing it out connected to a VPN.

If you are buying consumer routers that are also modems, sure, that's different but if you are buying a high end router (no modem) to connect to your existing modem/router or NBN point then it's worth the extra money if your getting a quality product.

I have NBN. Using both cyberghost and pia configured on my router I get consistent 80mb/s.

I'm not sure what "they" say but real world personal experience tells me this is fine

You must be providing it optimium conditions. My contention was with the gentleman saying openvpn on router is preferable to PC. For almost all consumers with TomatoVPN or DD-wrt on their 200 - 600 mhz consumer router this will likely be untrue. People need to buy 1ghz routers, which ofcourse the AC87U is however my understanding is that this is a general purpose processor . It must contend with wireless, general routing & usb, OpenVpn & wireless 5.8. Wireless is very demanding

How long has it been since you last shopped for a router?

2013

Hey guys, I got PIA today and set it up. I added SOCKS5 Proxy for my torrent application. I checked my DNS leakage issue (and only found a webRCT issue which shouldn't be a problem provided I'm torrenting as I understand). What else should I be checking and what are common mistakes people make? Security wise, would it matter what server I connect to?

Security wise, would it matter what server I connect to?

not at all.

with adding socks 5 inside a VPN you're bullet proof ....enjoy!

connect anywhere you like ....i use the Melb servers purely for the speed.

Pep� LePew writes...

with adding socks 5 inside a VPN you're bullet proof ....enjoy!

I added SOCKS5 but it wouldn't start the download, do you know why?

I'm happy to see It downloads at a healthy 2mb/s with SOCKS5 not enabled. What other tests should I run to test security measures?

this post was edited

http://s4.postimg.org/8puggibwt/proxysettings.jpg

I added SOCKS5

it is an authenticated socks 5 so did you put your username and password in correctly into the torrent client proxy settings?

Pep� LePew writes...

it is an authenticated socks 5 so did you put your username and password in correctly into the torrent client proxy settings?

I did put it in correctly with the host and port correct too.

I did put it in correctly with the host and port correct too.

turn off your vpn and torrent just using the proxy and see if the proxy wakes up and starts to torrent.

if that works then it should be o.k to restart the client with the vpn.

PIA, more like PITA!

Downloaded the app to first Mac, no problem, works out of the box just as they say.

Downloaded app onto second Mac, and there's only about half the locations showing-including none in Australia. Got onto Client Support and they suggest a fix which involves tinkering with terminal instructions and other technical stuff (while saying be careful as if you get it wrong significant data loss could occur!)

Decided not to risk it. Suggest if you aren't very tech savvy steer clear of these providers.

ctrunfree writes...

Decided not to risk it. Suggest if you aren't very tech savvy steer clear of these providers.

yeah i noticed that to but after you disconnect and reset the default location in the settings once or twice, it begins to repopulate with all the other server sites.

it's no biggy.

The PIA app is rather self contained (on windows at least), meaning you should be able to simply copy the data files from from your first mac to the second and re-run the program.

Hmm, Ok I'll try that changing the location in the settings. Wonder why the Help Desk couldn't suggest that.

Tunnelblick is the best app for openvpn on a mac in my opinion, just download pia config file and cut and paste
the ovpn files into it. Easy as!

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Well after 4 or 5 attempts (the drop down menu on the settings widget had AU Melbourne, but it kept connecting to Hong Kong and then USA) it eventually decided to connect to the Australian server. Don't know how, but it works eventually. Thanks Pepe for the tip!

O.P.

I did put it in correctly with the host and port correct too.

Your using the L2TP username/password right? It's a different one to the username/password you use with the PIA app.

If yes, and it's still not downloading, next step is to get rid of that hostname, and use one of the IPs instead. Just do a quick lookup on the hostname and you get random IPs generated based on your location and the load on the servers - eg currently it gives me:
46.166.186.208
46.166.186.193
46.166.186.211
109.201.154.130
109.201.154.235
46.166.190.162
46.166.186.231
46.166.190.169
46.166.186.227
109.201.154.132

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Your using the L2TP username/password right? It's a different one to the username/password you use with the PIA app.

I used the IP instead of the hostname and it is now working, awesome thanks :)

Lastly, I'm having problems when turning off the VPN and returning to regular internet because of the VPN kill switch being enabled. How do I get around this short of turning off the kill switch everytime before disconnecting?

I am using the right one

What torrent client are you using?

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What torrent client are you using?

See as above, I fixed it by using the IP instead of hostname. I use deluge, its my favourite! :)

Hi, finally got pia as a VPN, and read the op about socks. I'm not real up with this sort of thing . I use u torrent, is there anything thing I should do or ports I need to open to get the most out of a VPN? Thanks

hi guys,

quick question regarding VPNs and privacy when downloading. If i am running torrents, is it safe to connect to the Australian VPN ie. Melbourne? Or should i be routing through somewhere like the Netherlands/Hong Kong etc.

Thanks

AndAND writes...

Or should i be routing through somewhere like the Netherlands/Hong Kong etc.

Melb & Syd give me the best max out speeds of all their servers so i use those.

PIA keep no logs of any description and multiple people can be using the same IP at any time hence any metadata collected from teh exit node is polluted and worthless.

AndAND writes...

Melbourne? Or should i be routing through somewhere like...Hong Kong etc.

HongKong & Singapore have very slow speeds when I tested. Syd/Mel servers are unreliable speed wise. I remember having the annoyance of the 2 australlian servers being too slow to route a 768kbit video stream.

O.P.

I remember having the annoyance of the 2 australlian servers being too slow to route a 768kbit video stream.

How long ago was that? Now both server pools have 60 gigabits of capacity so it should be better now.

I haven't tried SG or HK with PIA for a while, except while on holiday in Indonesia, using slow free wifi. On the mobile network since the sim card wasn't registered to me, I didn't bother with any protection *gasp*

Anyone know why PIA wont authenticate the Battle.net single sign on and League of Legends game launch?
I can get both to work on Cyberghost flawlessly but PIA is just a show stopper.
If I want to play games I need to disconnect from the VPN which sucks :'(

Illidan writes...

If I want to play games I need to disconnect from the VPN which sucks :'(

Configure your firewall so the ports used by the games don't go through the VPN.

Configure your firewall so the ports used by the games don't go through the VPN.

Cyberghost for example require me to do that.
I'm very happy with PIA for the rest of my household but in terms of gaming it's just not great. I just want everything via the VPN :P

I'm having issues with games like hearthstone (can't play at all), and high pings with other games. Annoys me to have to switch the VPN off.

Is a workable solution to use a virtual linux box with PIA installed for all non-gaming stuff that I want to keep private, and not use PIA in the Windows host (which will only have games, and I don't care is not private)?

I'm no really up on networking, but if the virtual linux box is using PIA, but traffic is through the Windows network connection, presumably the traffic is all encrypted and the Windows host IP is not evident from the other end as per usual?

Is there a way to have uTorrent using the VPN while continuing to use my normal I.P address for everything else?

^@ GravelClimber /forum-replies.cfm?t=2430218

good advice on that thread. pretty much sums up what you need.

Cheers

gloonk writes...

good advice on that thread. pretty much sums up what you need.

Thanks � don't need Windows in the VM, so gave the Ubuntu setup a go this afternoon using Virtual Box. All works perfectly (except the VM won't auto-connect on login due to the VPN, which is a known Ubuntu bug). My setup pretty much matches though � use a shared folder for downloaded stuff so can access from Win. Don't use torrents, so don't have to stuff around with that. SABnzb and SickBeard all run happily on Linux. I'll try and mimimise the resources that the VM uses so it doesn't interfere with anything else.

No IP or DNS leaks, so all seems good. Happy days for gaming.

Was at Bunnings today and connected to their free wifi but when i tried to connect pia vpn it wouldnt connect :(
Anyone know of a workaround for this? Public wifi is one of the very times you want a vpn the most.

Is there a way to have uTorrent using the VPN while continuing to use my normal I.P address for everything else?

What I tried in the post above should work and costs nothing. Install Ubuntu or Mint on a VM (Virtual box is free). Very simple to get up and running. Install PIA and whatever torrent software (that runs on Linux) on the VM. Download to a shared folder so you can access the files from Windows. Don't bother with PIA on Windows at all.

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Anyone having issues connecting to the Netherlands server for now?

I'm unable to connect to it for some reason.

Slam

Edit: back working now, had some authentication issues with the handshaking. Now its worked, no changes to anything.

Is there a way to have uTorrent using the VPN while continuing to use my normal I.P address for everything else?

You can run a Virtual Machine (VM) on, eg, Virtualbox running Ubuntu, then use qTorrent on there. It's all pretty point and click, I'm sure there will be step by step guides out there

casualmondays writes...

then use qTorrent on there.

If you're using Linux, there is no better torrent client than transmission. Light weight and effective. Simple to configure with remote access etc...

For a cheap torrent solution, get a raspberry pi. Install openVPN, transmission, sickbeard, couch potato and plex media server.

Faultless and automated.

Is the Raspberry PI even powerful enough to render movies with Plex?

onggie writes...

Is the Raspberry PI even powerful enough to render movies with Plex?

Well, you won't be doing too much transcoding so make sure the media can be played natively by your client. It works fine in that respect and better on the electricity bill then running an x86 device 24/7.

Is there a way to have uTorrent using the VPN while continuing to use my normal I.P address for everything else?

This link explains Manual Proxy Setup Guide for uTorrent once you have done that, test it via Ipleak or ipmagnet then you can use uTorrent without using your VPN

Edit: remember though that the meta info of what you search for will be logged only the torrent IP will be disguised (with PIA it's via the Netherlands server)

What speeds are you getting while using PIA?

I was downloading at 150 KB while not suing PIA, it dropped to 35 when I turned it on

Dreyfus27 writes...

This link explains Manual Proxy Setup Guide for uTorrent once you have done that, test it via Ipleak or ipmagnet then you can use uTorrent without using your VPN

Thanks, but I've read about people getting copyright letters with SOCKS proxies, I'd rather stick to VPN.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4545795710.png

Thanks, but I've read about people getting copyright letters with SOCKS proxies, I'd rather stick to VPN.

If you do it right an IP magnet test should confirm the IP that uTorent is using but Socks5 connections are not encrypted. I use both � Socks5 on uTorrent and I configure the VPN client on the router so nothing leaks.

Dreyfus27 writes...

This link explains Manual Proxy Setup Guide for uTorrent once you have done that, test it via Ipleak or ipmagnet then you can use uTorrent without using your VPN

The problem with using uTorrent is that it does not respect the proxy settings. If PIA drops out uTorrent will continue to download through your "normal" connection, not through the proxy.

There are programs such as VPN watcher that you can set to immediately shut down uTorrent if PIA drops out, and this is a workaround.

The only torrent client that I have found to date that respects proxy settings is Deluge. If the proxy drops out Deluge stops downloading.

MJB013 writes...

What speeds are you getting while using PIA?

I was downloading at 150 KB while not suing PIA, it dropped to 35 when I turned it on

When you say "downloading" do you mean torrenting? If so, did you set up port forwarding properly?

I'm on a 100mbps connection and through PIA's Sydney server, I get around 65mbps (test done at 7pm on a Friday).

this post was edited

Now both server pools have 60 gigabits of capacity so it should be better now.

I find syd/melb servers to be generally unreliable speed wise, which is very annoying. It's the most common prob with cheap crap vpn's. Doing the vpn server shuffle to try and find a server that gives the speed you need. It's the only reason i ditched my old vpn. I do a speed test says 17MBIT, but in reality can't stream a 2mbit feed, frequently can't stream a 768kbit stream. These are twitch video streams if it matters

The problem with using uTorrent is that it does not respect the proxy settings. If PIA drops out uTorrent will continue to download through your "normal" connection, not through the proxy.

That is interesting and worrying.

It explains why irc could not connect via socks5 - an error saying proxy not found and yet utorrent was downloading at the same time. Not good.

http://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/2ywftw/psa_to_all_australians_with_unbearable_twitch_lag/

These are twitch video streams if it matters

This page, gives some tips for Australian users with twitch buffering issues, has helped some.

I thought i would drop in here and just mention another vpn that is pretty good, i would start a thread for it but not sure if one exists or not.. and i have been using private internet access until i started having a few issues with it which set me off on the hunt for a different vpn so i have grounds for comparison.

So i didnt think i would find anything better than pia after trying a few different vpns via free trials and what not and i was about to give up, Then i found a one called airvpn, not sure if they are well known and im late to the party or if no one has heard of them regardless you can try it out for $1.50 for 3 days (thats what i did) , the best thing about it is its pretty much made for torrenting, you can forward ports on any server, something i dont think any other vpn does? My torrent client shows listen port open and speeds are good. Another cool feature is no matter what server you connect to you get the US netflix when connecting to netflix, i connect to singapore server and get full speed 1080p US netflix thanks to some airvpn dns trick im guessing like unblock.us. , works for hulu and bbc and a few others. From any server you select. Just noticed it says airvpn is made by activists and hacktivists in defence of net neutrality. Guess a bit like popcorn time.

Only downside is no australian servers, but there is singapore and that is almost just as good apart from the ping, which goes from my regular 32 up to 102 when connected. Without the vpn connected i download at 1400kb/s , while connected i get 900-1000kb/s. Consistently. Plenty of set up options to tweak it how you like.

Obviously if pia is working well then stick with it, but if you have tried it and are about to give up on vpns like i almost had to, maybe think about giving airvpn a go, i will be sticking with them until they give me a reason not to.

Dont know how trustworthy this review is but it has a fair bit of info about them..

https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/4486/airvpn-review/

mboner1 writes...

Obviously if pia is working well then stick with it, but if you have tried it and are about to give up on vpns like i almost had to, maybe think about giving airvpn a go,

PIA is just constantly unreliable using Australian servers. It can be too slow to run youtube videos at 480p, 1mbit twitch streams, right now I had to disconnect to watch https://totaldrama.net/dvr/ . I don't know what the bandwidth for that stream is but I don't think it's much at all. I hate this vpn.

Is anyone having a slight problem where PIA does not launch on start-up? I only noticed this after switching from windows 7 to 10, thus if people have windows 10 and PIA let me know please. Apparently its meant to be starting up (according to windows, but it never does).

Have you tried setting the PIA client to connect using tcp instead of the default udp? I hear some isps attempt to shape udp traffic at times.

Yep happened to me on windows 10 as well, which was part of the reason i started using airvpn. Glad it happened to be honest, airvpn is superior in nearly every way for my usage.

Is anyone having a slight problem where PIA does not launch on start-up?

The same Win7 to 10 upgrade worked fine for me for a couple of days, then PIA started to fail to connect. The app was loading OK still, since it was there, but never a bright green icon and forever 'connecting'. This morning I downloaded PIA's Win10 update and it's now back to normal. Beats me why it worked OK for a couple of days though, then failed.

I downloaded PIA's Win10 update and it's now back to normal. Beats me why it worked OK for a couple of days though, then faile

Okay gunna dl it now, thanks

Okay gunna dl it now, thanks

I had a look. Cant see any reference to Windows 10 on their site, other than the forums. Do you have a link?

BTW, I have upgraded my Surface Pro 1 to Windows 10 and PIA is working fine.

I had a look at when I installed PIA and it was 3rd July. Maybe I already have the latest.

Cant see any reference to Windows 10 on their site

Nor can I now, but I was sure I browsed by some reference to a Win10 update to their app/loader before actually downloading it (v.46) from their Client Support page. It might well have been a mention in the forum that I started clicking from since it seemed like the answer even before I downloaded it.

When you say "downloading" do you mean torrenting? If so, did you set up port forwarding properly?

Yes I mean torrenting, I don't think I setup Forwarding at all

PIA works fine in W10 except it doesn't auto start. Anyone noticed this?

Josh writes...

I'm having trouble sending out email. It appears PIA are blocking SMTP port 25.

Every week or two I seem to suffer a failure to send an email using Gmail's SMTP server. I get an SMTP failure pop-up with an offer to send later. I thought it was an Apple OS X (iMac/Apple Mail) issue, but my Android phone (Samsung Note 2) fails to send at times too, and today it failed to send while on the Telstra broadband network.

Both devices were running PIA and I've recently noticed that if I quit PIA, the emails immediately get sent without fail.

It seems odd that I can leave PIA running 24/7 on these devices and send emails (Gmail IMAP) perfectly fine for days and weeks, then suddenly there's this SMTP problem that goes away the moment PIA is interrupted. Emails continue to be sent OK for days/weeks with PIA running once more.

Every week or two I seem to suffer a failure to send an email using Gmail's SMTP server.

Pia block smtp by default. Open a ticket to get the Google smtp server unblocked.

Last few days my PIA connection has been tish house....

I always use the Melbourne server and have never had any issues but at present it is virtually unusable. Dial up speeds.... Have tried the auto server function and that has thrown Sydney up a couple times but that is cactus for me as well.

Think I may have to look at another provider. I am in the middle of a 3 day free trial with NORD VPN and just deleted their app because they have been useless as well.

Might give Express VPN a try since they have the 30 day money back guarantee.

I always use the Melbourne server and have never had any issues but at present it is virtually unusable.

If it is not just Melbourne then it may be your connection, try Singapore. I just tested both AU servers and I got good speed through both. I know it sounds insulting to some but have you tried rebooting your router/modem?

Pia block smtp by default. Open a ticket to get the Google smtp server unblocked.

Being processed � thanks!

Dreyfus27 writes...

I have never had much success with speed from Singapore on PIA. I did reboot the router and computer to no avail. Re-connected PIA around midnight and speeds were back up again so I am assuming it is congestion on their network. I re-tried NORD around the same time and it was still flaky so they can stay gone IMO.

Will test again over the next few days and see how it goes. If it keeps up I may try Express and take advantage of their 30 day refund guarantee.

I have never had much success with speed from Singapore on PIA.

Funny/odd how it all works because I use Singapore most of the time and have no problems except for the occasional slowdown due to 'time of day' congestion. At other times, for doing website updates, I connect through Toronto because of the FTP connection and that was working well for ages and than just got slower and slower � lots of people were complaining on the PIA forum about the Toronto servers and others saying they had no problems with it and now for me it is back to being reasonably fast. I don't know how it works but obviously some people get better results than others on the same servers at the same times.

Question re the PIA SOCKS5 proxy � Every now and then torrents in uTorrent will show up "red" in the status section where it shows seeding, downloading etc where as normally seeding torrents are green. I am running the PIA SOCKS5 proxy. Is this red colour denoting that the proxy has failed or has some other sort of error or is it unrelated to the SOCKS5 proxy?

I run the Proxy and VPN in conjunction so if it is a proxy error I am still covered by the VPN but I would like to understand what the issue is. I can have several torrents seeding, some can be green and some can be red. Other times I have had them all green and returned later to see some are red.

Thoughts?

https://support.privateinternetaccess.com/Knowledgebase/PopularArticles

Last few days my PIA connection has been tish house....

Think I may have to look at another provider. I am in the middle of a 3 day free trial with NORD VPN and just deleted their app because they have been useless as well.

Might give Express VPN a try since they have the 30 day money back guarantee.

I had the same issue as you always used the melbourne or sydney server also. Speeds use to be fine but turned to crap. Tried nearly every vpn available but i have found a couple that seem to be good since pia crapped out on me.

I posted about air vpn earlier in this thread, with port forwarding on any server in any country which is good for torrents if you want to set it up properly, auto connects in windows 10 which pia wasnt doing for me, and has the feature where netflix, hulu load the US version with no set up required and it worked well.. 1080p netflix was no problem.. all from their singapore server.. which is their only downside.. no australian server, but speeds were about 2 thirds of what i normally get.. normally download at around 1500kb a second but was getting about 900 to 1000 on the singapore server. And not once did i have to stuff around with adapter settings and dns settings like i did with pia after disconnecting and stuff.

But i decided to keep looking for another one to see if i could do any better and found one called le vpn, its located in france i think, anyone heard of them? They have australian servers and smart dns which also connects you to the US version of netflix, hulu and more on any server, and they offer port forwarding on selected servers.. not the australian one, but torrents i was getting around 1300kb a sec on the australian server with no port forwarding. But the setup was much worse than airvpn. Support has been pretty lacklustre and getting the smart dns feature to work was a chore but finally got it figured out i think.. but i think it will require entering dns settings every time i disconnect and reconnect it, where air vpn did it all on its own. Speeds are slightly better with le vpn so i will be sticking with it for a bit.

Just a couple of others to think about. Sorry if i dribbled on for a bit lol.

Hi.

I'm using PIA but the transfer speeds where very low.

So I signed up to the Telstra Speed Boost, in the hopes of better speeds.

The best speeds are of course, are with the Melbourne (my local) server.

BUT one of the most popular websites that I like to use, only wants to connect to European or HK servers. Which have very low transfer speeds.

Does anyone have a solution that gets the high transfer speeds with the access to the VPN restrictive sites?

I am thinking about canceling PIA subscription due to poor speeds.
Any recommendations where to go?

SoW writes...

I am thinking about canceling PIA subscription due to poor speeds.
Any recommendations where to go?

Deploy your *own* OpenVPN server.

Has anyone had problems running pia in Windows 10 mine wont run at all . if there is a trick or help guide please let me know would be much appreciated.

fubar_ru2 writes...

Has anyone had problems running pia in Windows 10 mine wont run at all . if there is a trick or help guide please let me know would be much appreciated.

Few people on page 84 of this thread mentioned Windows 10 issues and a download of the latest version of the Windows PIA Client fixing them (V.46). https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/

There's guides to properly uninstalling & reinstalling the client I saw too:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/forum/discussion/632/tutorial-uninstall-pia-s-windows-client

hi i just upgraded to Windows 10, i am having trouble with the kill switch, i can get it working by going into adapter settings, disable then enable the connection, when it works its fine until i restart.

Ive tried updating my tap with open vpn
removed all networks restarted and let it reinstall
uninstall and reinstall PIA

i have it working but not the kill switch properly

*i suck at forums, this was a reply to a post above

How many PIA users on here have upgraded to Win 10, are you having any issues with the PIA client?,
or has the Win 10 upgrade gone smoothly and all is working as it should?.

I am waiting to upgrade to Win10, but don't want problems, so i am waiting for V47 client update.
I have read some are having issues but are there users on here with no issues?.
thanks.

How many PIA users on here have upgraded to Win 10, are you having any issues with the PIA client?, or has the Win 10 upgrade gone smoothly and all is working as it should?.

I'm running Win10 64bit in a Parallels VM on an iMac Retina with no problems. I upgraded by way of a Win7 64bit clone to Win10 without any problems on the day of its release using a downloaded ISO from MS. PIA is connecting automatically on boot-up now, but it did need a re-install of the PIA app a couple of days in � the original instance (ex-Win7) was running fine, then suddenly stopped connecting for some reason.

I'm rather surprised at how smoothly Win10 installed and ran, spotting an old HP LaserJet with a parallel/USB connection, an early Canon WiFi iP5200R and Epson scanner without any intervention from me. And doing it all as a VM on an iMac. Certainly the smoothest upgrade I've ever encountered from MS and also the nicest Windows � runs rings around Win8 on my laptop. I often swap OS's (OS X, Linus and Windows) for comparison/fun, but I might actually now use Win10 on the iMac for tasks usually easier done on another OS. This time around I'm finding Windows far more user friendly and intuitive.

How many PIA users on here have upgraded to Win 10, are you having any issues with the PIA client?,
or has the Win 10 upgrade gone smoothly and all is working as it should?.

Works perfectly fine on my Win 10. No different than before on Win 7.

Thanks for the replies, i think people having problems with Win10 and the PIA client must be in the minority as this thread isn't full of complaints of their vpn's / client going bellyup.
Might do a win 7 backup and give Win10 a whirl in the next couple of days.

I seem to get speeds around a tenth of my normal speed when on PIA (speedtest shows a drop from ~100 Mbps normally, to ~10 Mbps once I turn on the VPN).
That is using the fastest server, melbourne � it only goes downhill from there.

What can I do to tweak the settings? I'd really prefer to not have such a massive plunge in speed, but don't know where to start. I'd like to be using the VPN even when browsing, just for that extra layer of security, but it seems a waste if my connection takes such a hit

O.P.

What can I do to tweak the settings?

Try different encryption settings, personally I find on android that using AES-256 to be faster than using Blowfish, but YMMV. Also try different ports, this can make a huge difference.

Try different encryption settings

Thanks, but it didn't work � I tried all combinations, even with no encryption � it didn't seem to make much difference.

Same with ports, tried all the ones listed and still no dice....

SoW writes...

am thinking about canceling PIA subscription due to poor speeds.
Any recommendations where to go?

Given that so many people seem to have no speed issues with PIA, including myself, I dont think it makes sense to lay the blame at their network when it sounds more likely to be a client end or some oddball routing issue. If it was at the PIA end then everybody would be experiencing it and clearly theyre not.

Whereever else you choose to look i recommend you take a trial run of their service before subscribing.

Thanks, but it didn't work � I tried all combinations, even with no encryption � it didn't seem to make much difference.

You could try another client and see if that makes a difference . I ditched the windows PIA client and am using the open source OpenVpn 64bit client. Theres a bit of jiggering to set it up but I find it to be more robust than the PIA software.
Info in the PIA support pages.

If it was at the PIA end then everybody would be experiencing it and clearly theyre not.

What if everybody is, you're just oblivious to the problem, due to only using torrents, or the time of the day, or rarely use protocols that are single threaded that require reasonable speed?

The problem with this vpn is it's just not reliable. It's not dependable. The amount of times changing vpn servers or turning it off all together fixes the problem is testimony to how bad this vpn is.

Syd/Mel are often rogered, so next I try singapore/hongkong but their bandwidth figures shows why they will usually be slow. Next try is Japan, it can be good but once again it's not reliable and slow down will require a server change again. So now it's time to cycle to previoiusly tried servers in a hope they've fixed something. Then it's time to turn the 3rd rate turd off, and the internet runs as it should again.

I ditched the windows PIA client and am using the open source OpenVpn 64bit client.

+1
The OpenVpn 64bit client with the PIA VPN service seems bullet proof.

Syd/Mel are often rogered, s

Try le vpn or airvpn. I switched from pia to them and both are better and more reliable for me. Le vpn has australian servers airvpn does not but singapore is quick on airvpn.. airvpn has port forwarding for torrents but le vpn does not.. but the australian servers with le vpn are fast for torrents without port forwarding... both connect to us netflix on any server. Same for hulu.

Is anyone else having really bad issues with gaming while on the aus servers? they used to be great but lately getting into the 700ms area.

I ditched the windows PIA client and am using the open source OpenVpn 64bit client. Theres a bit of jiggering to set it up but I find it to be more robust than the PIA software.
Info in the PIA support pages.

Thanks � I set this up and tested on the melbourne server, got 22 down / 2.12 up on my 100/2 cable connection. Not amazing, but double what I was getting

https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html

Theres a bit of jiggering to set it up but I find it to be more robust than the PIA software.
Info in the PIA support pages.

Is there a link? I poked around in that maze for about 5 minutes... I am sure no matter which obscure router/linux distro I could ever buy, I found the instructions there, but nothing for configuring PIA with OpenVPN 64bit client under Windows.

Obey The Fist! writes...

Is there a link? I poked around in that maze for about 5 minutes...

First I went and grabbed the openVPN 64 bit client here:

Then I went to this page and followed the installation process, substituting the new client for the PIA one at the start:

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/windows-openvpn

Download the zip of the server locations on that page and extract them in the config folder. Then just run your new client and test for leaks.

Seems to have worked for me; I did try out the PPTP and L2TP installation processes but got multiple DNS addresses detected when using ipleak.net (none of them in aus, but a bunch in taiwan and US). I had no idea what I was doing so I thought I'd be safer not playing around with them anymore :)

Seems to have worked for me;

Sound like your on the right track, your connection log should look something like this...

Sat Aug 15 12:23:00 2015 OpenVPN 2.3.7 x86_64-w64-mingw32 [SSL (OpenSSL)] [LZO] [PKCS11] [IPv6] built on Jun  8 2015
Sat Aug 15 12:23:00 2015 library versions: OpenSSL 1.0.1m 19 Mar 2015, LZO 2.08
Enter Management Password:
Sat Aug 15 12:23:01 2015 UDPv4 link local: [undef]
Sat Aug 15 12:23:01 2015 UDPv4 link remote: [AF_INET]168.1.75.23:1194
Sat Aug 15 12:23:02 2015 [Private Internet Access] Peer Connection Initiated with [AF_INET]168.1.75.23:1194
Sat Aug 15 12:23:04 2015 do_ifconfig, tt->ipv6=0, tt->did_ifconfig_ipv6_setup=0
Sat Aug 15 12:23:04 2015 open_tun, tt->ipv6=0
Sat Aug 15 12:23:04 2015 TAP-WIN32 device [TAP-Windows Adapter v9] opened: \\.\Global\{93621C3D-A30A-4E5E-A749-8630BDED2281}.tap
Sat Aug 15 12:23:04 2015 Notified TAP-Windows driver to set a DHCP IP/netmask of 10.168.1.6/255.255.255.252 on interface {93621C3D-A30A-4E5E-A749-8630BDED2281} [DHCP-serv: 10.168.1.5, lease-time: 31536000]
Sat Aug 15 12:23:04 2015 Successful ARP Flush on interface [20] {93621C3D-A30A-4E5E-A749-8630BDED2281}
Sat Aug 15 12:23:10 2015 Initialization Sequence Completed

I'd personally ditch your need for PPTP and L2TP as the only reason you're using the OpenVPN client is for anonymity and security, PPTP and L2TP are down the list in this regard.

run your new client and test for leaks.

This is where it gets tricky, as you've mentioned got multiple DNS addresses detected when using ipleak.net and you WILL have the same issues if just using the OpenVPN client and running the same tests.

The multiple addresses are DNS leaks and probably by going by what you mentioned (none of them in aus, but a bunch in taiwan and US), are Google's DNS addresses by the sounds of it.

If your wanting to overcome DNS leaks there is a good write up here... https://dnsleaktest.com/how-to-fix-a-dns-leak.html, in effect if done properly the only DNS address you should see is a DNS IP address the same as 'Your IP Address'.

This is where it gets tricky, as you've mentioned and you WILL have the same issues if just using the OpenVPN client and running the same tests.

Whats wrong with getting multiple dns addresses from google or opendns? As long as your own dns isn't showing up?

Do you just need to click killswitch and DSN leak and your good to download with pia?

I tried this last night, following the instructions on PIA's site but when I connect ipleak and whoer show my ISP IP address. Clearly I ballsed something up....

Hello folks, I'm curious how people paid for PIA here. I'm wanting to subscribe to a VPN, and one of my goals is anonymity. For those who are using PIA for anonymity how did you ensure that your identity was protected? During payment PIA collects some details which could be used to identify you � so how did you pay? Did you pay by paypal � but that means that PIA would know the email attached to your paypal account? Did you pay by credit card � but then PIA would have a number of details � or maybe you paid by bitcoin but provided a reasonably obscure email � although the purchase of bitcoin can be troublesome in itself?

Thank you in advance for your replies :)

tallPete writes...

Did you pay by paypal � but that means that PIA would know the email attached to your paypal account?

Yep I paid by PayPal. My need to wear a tin foil hat is not such that I was worried about being identified as someone who purchased access to a completely legal and legitimate service....

It's not illegal or indicative of anything illegal to purchase access to a VPN.

mboner1 writes...

Whats wrong with getting multiple dns addresses from google or opendns?

As long as you know these multiple DNS servers are not logging your requests ?

As long as your own dns isn't showing up?

+1 but be 100% sure that your own ISP's DNS server is not showing up.
I have seen (while using ipleak) that even though you may see a multitude of servers offshore, from time to time you actually get to see your own ISP server included in that list.

The difference being, I know that my VPN requests including DNS requests are not being logged.
I only see 1x and only ever 1x DNS server meeting my requests my VPN's.

Do you just need to click killswitch and DSN leak and your good to download with pia?

Yes if your using their PIA app with DNS leak protection on.

Yep I paid by PayPal. My need to wear a tin foil hat is not such that I was worried about being identified as someone who purchased access to a completely legal and legitimate service....

My sentiments exactly ... PayPal for me too, although I suspect the toaster was taking notes :|

I tried this last night, following the instructions on PIA's site but when I connect ipleak and whoer show my ISP IP address. Clearly I ballsed something up....

You actually haven't, it's only part of the puzzle, it's just that there are other components to the PIA app that are built in so you don't physically have to do them.

If you follow the instructions below you will see that you too can have on OpenVPN implementation that will only show 1x IP address for you and your DNS, the one that belongs to your VPN provider.

see info under the section titled 'Solution B � Manually clearing the DNS' here...

If your wanting to overcome DNS leaks there is a good write up here...
https://dnsleaktest.com/how-to-fix-a-dns-leak.html,

You actually haven't, it's only part of the puzzle, it's just that there are other components to the PIA app that are built in so you don't physically have to do them.

Suddenly got too hard for me as I really don't understand what I am doing when it comes to networks etc. I'll just make do with the PIA app I think.... Seems pretty fool proof and that's what I need!

Thanks for that � I'm going to have another hash at this and see how I go

Thanks � I set this up and tested on the melbourne server, got 22 down / 2.12 up on my 100/2 cable connection. Not amazing, but double what I was getting

I would doubt that's got anything to do with your speed increase. Just a coincidence. You are still using openvpn when using PIA gui. OpenVpn is without the pia stuff is more reliable and doesn't crash. I wouldn't think it would have much to do with speed increase, it's not like your cpu can't handle the load when the PIA GUI icon sits there doing nothinig after you've connected to vpn

I know this is a long shot, but has anyone got PIA working with transmission on linux? I've got Debian running on a Banana Pi that I want to use as a torrent box. I'm hoping that I can set it up so that it will stop torrents if the VPN disconnects.

I have port forwarding enabled, it is annoying how the port changes every 1-2 weeks. PIA said they can't do anything about it.

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I have port forwarding enabled, it is annoying how the port changes every 1-2 weeks. PIA said they can't do anything about it.

I think that arrangements is ideal. To keep a port permanently allocated to a person allows the potential for individuals activity to be tracked and identified over time. It would negate the security of being an unidentifiable individual in a crowd on a shared ip.
On the other hand a port that changes on every connection becomes an annoying PITA.

Think I will be giving these guys a try.

I have port forwarding enabled, it is annoying how the port changes every 1-2 weeks. PIA said they can't do anything about it.

I've only ever used a single port for torrents and it has served me well for several years now.

Your post suggests that this wouldn't work for me with PIA? How would I be able to get around this? Set up new rules all the time in my router?

I have port forwarding enabled

What is it exactly that requires people to enable port forwarding?

I haven't and have been using PIA with no problem for months. I can browse, download torrents and perform any normal Internet task without the need to even log into my router.

laconic writes...

What is it exactly that requires people to enable port forwarding?

There's only certain nodes on PIA that support port forwarding. If you're running torrents via their VPN service you'll only have your torrent client visible if you have the port you're using forwarded from their VPN endpoint. Otherwise you'll only seed when you're actively downloading on the same port.

The downside is that your forwarded port will also make your real IP address more visible.

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know this is a long shot, but has anyone got PIA working with transmission on linux? I've got Debian running on a Banana Pi that I want to use as a torrent box. I'm hoping that I can set it up so that it will stop torrents if the VPN disconnects.

Yes, you need to bind transmission to the VPN connection (Via the configuration file) ... You can use a bunch of shell scripts to automate it.... I'll find some links for you later when I get home.... Raspian on pi...

I'll find some links for you later when I get home

Thanks dude, that would be great :)

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laconic writes...

What is it exactly that requires people to enable port forwarding?

Most often useful for for peer to peer file sharing. When port forwarding is set up this allows incoming connections from peers which can make torrent downloads much faster on sparsely seeded torrents.

You dont get allocated the same port every time, so you need to check it and manually change the port set in your torrent client to match.

I haven't and have been using PIA with no problem for months. I can browse, download torrents and perform any normal Internet task without the need to even log into my router.

That only applies if your router is handling the vpn instead of client software on your pc.

I have port forwarding enabled, it is annoying how the port changes every 1-2 weeks.

I am curious as to how this works in the absence of logging, that they say they never do...

How can they be re-allocating the same port over numerous sessions without 'remembering' what subscriber ip gets allocated what port?

re: "port forwarding".

Thanks for the answers Jack and JoffaR.

I'll have to give myself a shake and look into this more. I assumed that because completed torrents were seeding automatically that there wasn't anything more I should be doing.

I'll have a closer look at things when I fire up the VM tonight.

Going to signup for PIA today, this port forwarding thing is confusing though. I want to setup my Banana Pi to run as 24/7 torrent box, but it sounds like every couple of weeks it will just stop and I will need to change the port manually?

In the meantime I will be using it on my windows machine to download torrents. At this point I think I would just like to have my torrents going through PIA and my general websurfing through my regular internet connection. Downloading torrent files is not illegal, so it does not matter if my ISP sees me going to indexers at this stage? When they begin blocking sites I will then start using the VPN to access indexers.

Anyway, the best way to do this would be to use the socks5 proxy? Is this 100% secure? I don't need to worry about a kill switch or anything do I? As if the proxy goes down than utorrent will just stop downloading until it comes back up?

Everytime you connect the port changes. You can script it all to get the new one and update transmission quite easily tho :)

Everytime you connect the port changes. You can script it all to get the new one and update transmission quite easily tho :)

Oh cool. Transmission doesn't support proxies though?

No need to use the proxy. You bind transmission to the VPN, and update the port, and leave proxy empty. If the VPN disconnects transmission won't do anything. I didn't have time last night but I'll try get you some of the details tonight...

Basically you can script the following :

-connect to vpn via openVPN service
-get allocated port from pia (they provide a url for this you can hit)
-update transmission configuration to bind VPN ip and port allocated
-start transmission service

You can go a step further and only ever allow transmission to run if openVPN service is running and connected... However binding should be sufficient

If the VPN disconnects transmission won't do anything.

Iptables is a surefire way of achieving the same.

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Basically you can script the following :

That sounds awesome!

On another note. I just signed up for PIA and I get significantly faster speeds using the PIA client than the socks5 proxy, so I think I'm going to use the client. I did the IPMagnet test and it came back with the PIA proxy. However, I did a dns leak test at dnsleaktest.com and it came back with my ISP.

I'm confused what this means? Am I safe while torrenting?

I have DNS leak prevention enabled in the PIA client.

Edit: cleared browser cache and cookies and restarted PIA client and it is working now.

I have DNS leak prevention enabled in the PIA client.

Use the openVPN client from your repository. Also, edit /etc/network/interfaces so you are using the pia DNS 4.2.2.1 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.3

Use the openVPN client from your repository. Also, edit /etc/network/interfaces so you are using the pia DNS 4.2.2.1 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.3

This is on my windows machine...

Ok, it seems to be running well now. However, my concern is that the PIA client takes longer than utorrent to load at startup. By the time PIA loads and connects utorrent has already loaded and broadcasted my real IP. Is there anyway to get around this? Maybe delay utorrent from loading for a few minutes?

Is there anyway to get around this?

Configure Windows firewall so torrent client can only access internet through vpn.

For ease and privacy, keep torrents to Linux and transmission. Ditch utorrent and Windows.

http://puu.sh/jGOIw/35c7af5f20.png

Configure Windows firewall so torrent client can only access internet through vpn.

For ease and privacy, keep torrents to Linux and transmission. Ditch utorrent and Windows.

That's the plan, but my Bpi isn't up and running yet and I need to download torrents in the meantime.
Is this the best way to configure the firewall?
https://support.hidemyass.com/hc/en-us/articles/202723616-IP-Binding-via-Windows-Firewall-block-non-VPN-traffic

Cheers

Anyone know why I'm getting a teardrop attack when I connect to this VPN?

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Just signed up to these guys but having troubles.

Can someone connect to the PIA Japanese server and click this link? Then click the blue icon and tell me what you see on the next page.... Should be asking for login details but I'm getting an message in Japanese telling I can NOT access this site from outside Japan.

http://otn.fujitv.co.jp/nextsmart/index.html

Thanks to anyone that can help. Cheers.

This is the msg I get after clicking the blue button. I'm hoping someone can confirm its not just my issue.

Imgur.com/LZNyF18

??????????????????????????????????????

?Android????????
????????????????????Chrome???????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Edit: I have done ip leak test and don't see any dns leaks or web etc leaks. Tried chrome IE and Firefox still no dice.

yes i get the same, firefox and chrome.

Basically you can script the following :

You can go a step further and only ever allow transmission to run if openVPN service is running and connected... However binding should be sufficient

Excellent. Is this possible with other torrent clients such as Deluge?

Use the openVPN client from your repository. Also, edit /etc/network/interfaces so you are using the pia DNS 4.2.2.1 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.3

I had a thought. Do you run your linux box headless? What do you do if the PIA server you are connected to stuffs up? This afternoon the Melbourne server was so slow it may as well not even have been online, I changed to the Sydney server on windows because I saw it was so slow and now it is downloading fast from the Sydney server.

If I had automated torrents on linux I wouldn't have known there was a problem until I went to watch a show and realised it hadn't downloaded.

Im on Melbourne right now and speed looks normal to me at 11mb/s
Are all you people with speed complaints on nbn?

I had a thought. Do you run your linux box headless? What do you do if the PIA server you are connected to stuffs up?

I had a solution for that too.

During the times that Transmission and your VPN are connected and running, you can create a monitor shell script that basically hits a URL like so:
https://wtfismyip.com/xml

Maybe you run it every 15mins... if you notice the VPN is disconnected, you re-run the connect startup scripts.

I mentioned in a previous post above that you can script up the PORT Number and the VPN IP address in the config file, well, you can do the same for the PIA server so that each time it connects it tries a different one.

Im on Melbourne right now and speed looks normal to me at 11mb/s
Are all you people with speed complaints on nbn?

I wish I was on nbn!
It was really weird, it was downloading fine, then all of a sudden it just dropped to almost 0k/sec, but it wasn't just net traffic, it was also my LAN traffic. I connected to Sydney and everything went back to normal, so I'm not really sure what was going on.

That's awesome! I have so much to learn!

yes i get the same, firefox and chrome.

Thanks for checking. Anyone else confirm? Any idea why this would be happening?

nayr37 writes...

Anyone else confirm?

Pia Melbourne server working fine for me. In adelaide on TPG NBN.

Pia Melbourne server working fine for me. In adelaide on TPG NBN.

No mate. Go a few posts further up. I'm asking people to connect to the Japanese server and see if they can access the link I provided. Seems like their servers in Japan are not working as advertised?

Apologies if this has been asked already but is there a way so utorrents won't work unless VPN (PIA) is connected wouldn't want killswitch to fail then real one exposed

Apologies if this has been asked already but is there a way so utorrents won't work unless VPN (PIA) is connected wouldn't want killswitch to fail then real one exposed

Not easy with uTorrent but with qBittorrent its very easy to bind to an interface (I have tested it � had it downloading at good speed and disconnected the VPN and the download instantly stopped).

nayr37 writes...

No mate. Go a few posts further up. I'm asking people to connect to the Japanese server

Sorry. Curse my damned one minute attention span!

Not easy with uTorrent but with qBittorrent its very easy to bind to an interface (I have tested it � had it downloading at good speed and disconnected the VPN and the download instantly stopped).

Can't you use the Windows firewall?
https://support.hidemyass.com/hc/en-us/articles/202723616-IP-Binding-via-Windows-Firewall-block-non-VPN-traffic

Can't you use the Windows firewall?

Absolutely. And that will be the most sure and safest way to be guaranteed.

Absolutely. And that will be the most sure and safest way to be guaranteed.

That's the next job on my list.
After that it's getting transmission setup :)

Apologies if this has been asked already but is there a way so utorrents won't work unless VPN (PIA) is connected wouldn't want killswitch to fail then real one exposed

use windows firewall as mentioned above.
https://support.hidemyass.com/hc/en-us/articles/202723616-IP-Binding-via-Windows-Firewall-block-non-VPN-traffic

Or use deluge or QBittorent and bind the torrent client to the vpn tap adapter.
Or for best security do both.

How does one bind it to qbitttorrent? Is there a guide Still new to all this lol :)

How does one bind it to qbitttorrent? Is there a guide Still new to all this lol :)

First you will need to know what the network adaptor is called. In windows go to "network and sharing center", then click on the link on the left that says "change adaptor settings". To find network and sharing center right click on the little wifi / connection icon down the bottom right of the screen.

Disconnect / reconnect the PIA vpn client and see which adaptor disconnects / reconnects, it can also be identified by the type which will be something like "TAP-Windows Adaptor". I normally right click it and rename it to something like PIA VPN for simplicity.

Then startup QBitorrent
Goto Tool -> Options -> Advanced
Look for "Network Interface (Requires Restart)"
Select your PIA VPN adaptor.
Restart QBitorrent.

Your should be good to go and QBittorent will only work when you are connected to PIA. :)

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Cheers mate just set up like that now having an issue where everything i try download says stalled doesn't matter what it is ect libra software

Connection status is yellow

Isn't PIA related to VPN's? just a bit curious about this cause I've never heard about it before.

yes.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

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Cheers mate just set up like that now having an issue where everything i try download says stalled doesn't matter what it is ect libra software

Make sure you have have PIA connected before u start qbittorent otherwise it will not work (at least on my pc). Other than than not really sure sorry, just check to make sure you choose the correct VPN interface in the setup.

You could temporarily disable the kill switch to see if that's interfering, i dont use it, i find it annoying for general browsing. I don't use bittorrent that often and i find myself manually having to revert the settings in the network connection even after i disable it in the client.

I do not have the kill switch ticked in my PIA client, but when I disconnect from PIA I lose my internet. My wifi connection is shown by windows as connected and it says I have internet access, but nothing will load. Is there a trick to turn off the vpn and surf with your normal connection?

I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting to the wifi and disabling and re-enabling the wifi adapter, neither of them fixed it.

i was waiting for someone who knows to answer you but since no one did, let me try and see if this help. instead of disabling/enabling the wifi adaptor, try uninstall it in device manager. then reboot your pc so that windows would re-install the wifi adaptor driver. hopefully this work as it did for me all the time when i had connection issue.

edit: oh, you should also exit the pia cleint altogether while it's still connected instead of disconnecting. that could be the reason you can't connect especially if you had the stop dns leak ticked.

seriously writes...

Do you have to do that every time you turn PIA off? Man that is a PIA :p

Edit: I do have DNS leak ticked, so I will trying closing it instead of disconnecting. Thanks.

Do you have to do that every time you turn PIA off? Man that is a PIA :p

no you don't. exiting the pia client (while it's still connected) should then allows you to connect normally. the uninstall procedure only required when pia lost the connection and you can't get it back.

@ Loose nut,when that happens try this.

1.open network sharing centre by left or right clicking network icon in system tray (win 7)
2.click the network connection you have on the right of the screen (in blue) ,mines listed as wireless network connection (xxxx-pc_Network.
3. Then Click properties at the bottom left of the popup screen.
4.Double click "Internet protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"
5. tick/select "Obtain an ip address automatically" ( it might have PIA's ip address and subnet mask listed in the 'use following ip address'
6.you can tick 'validate settings upon exit'if you want, ( i usually don't)
7.click ok, exit out and your good to go.

You can also right click network icon(sytem tray ) and select "troubleshoot problems" and the windows wizard will automatically reset it for you.

2 years at a discount, the same as the April deal:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/techbargains-special-offer

Can you turn off auto-renew with PIA?

yes, login in to your online PIA client control panel, and you will see this

'Cancel Subscription (Optional)
Please use the following button to cancel your subscription. Your automatic payments will be canceled, but you will still be able to login for the remainder of the billing period.
This cannot be reversed and is effective immediately.'

Your subsciption will be cancelled but you can still use the VPN until your subscription expires.
You can also cancel recurring payment through Paypal account. if you used that to sign up.

I'm on TPG at the moment and my connection maxes out at 450kbps. How much of a speed reduction were I to take if I went through a VPN? I'm guessing barely usable.

grarck attakc writes...

I'm on TPG at the moment and my connection maxes out at 450kbps. How much of a speed reduction were I to take if I went through a VPN? I'm guessing barely usable.

There is no definite answer. There are many variables and unknowns. I can safely say that after routing through a vpn your connection will appear somewhere between it being barely noticeable to barely usable.

You won't know until you do it.

Well PIA have a 7 day money back guarantee,so if your not happy, it won't cost you anything to try it.

k thanks guys

So, having a problem for the first time with PIA. Been working fine until today with Vuze, but now the VPN Helper Plugin for PIA is reporting "Can't connect to PIA RPC via /10.203.32.240: Connect to www.privateinternetaccess.com:443 failed: no route to host"

Any help/suggestions?

grarck attakc writes...

I'm on TPG at the moment and my connection maxes out at 450kbps. How much of a speed reduction were I to take if I went through a VPN? I'm guessing barely usable.

From my experience I think you will be fine. I'm with TPG also and on a really good day doing a speed test I can sometimes hit 7Mbps, with the Australian PIA servers I usually get somewhere between 5 and 5.5Mbps.

From what I have read slower connections usually get closer to their max speed, whereas people with faster speeds (eg. NBN) get a bigger performance hit.

I'm on 100 Mb Telstra cable and torrent via the Netherlands server. The combined speed of all downloading torrents is consistently in the 4-5 Mb range which I find more than adequate.

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Morning all

I've been trying to wrap my head around this whole VPN business for a while and not having much luck determining if I'll be able to get it working as I need it to.

Basically, due to my router I need to use a single port for torrents (which I have forwarded) and it works well. I read earlier in the thread that it is a random port, is there any way to make it static?

In regards to the kill switch, it seems that this is easily engaged via PIA settings (or similar), is this correct? How well does it work? Do I simply need to put it against uttorrent somehow? https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/5142/5-ways-to-protect-yourself-when-your-vpn-connection-fails/

I use Getflix as well to access other Netflix libraries, will a changing IP address cause issues there? Would I need to update the IP each time I wanted to watch Getflix?

Same deal for the private tracker I use, will a changing IP address cause issues there? I know they use the IP to determine a member, is it simply a matter of logging in each time?

I assume the DNS leak prevention is pretty solid, is this a fair assessment?

What servers have been found to be the quickest or more reliable?

Sorry for, what will be, questions previously asked multiple times.

Appreciate any assistance guys

Ray writes...

I'm on 100 Mb Telstra cable and torrent via the Netherlands server. The combined speed of all downloading torrents is consistently in the 4-5 Mb range which I find more than adequate.

I'm jelly!
How does that compare to what you would get without the VPN on?

Is it risky to run account based services like FB over a VPN, from an anonymity perspective? Can the other traffic through the pc be tied back to your fb traffic/account?

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/techbargains-special-offer

How does that compare to what you would get without the VPN on?

Have been using PIA for several months now but I think that it is about a 50% hit on the overall speed that I was getting from well seeded private tracker torrents.

Ray writes...

Have been using PIA for several months now but I think that it is about a 50% hit on the overall speed that I was getting from well seeded private tracker torrents.

Yeah, that's what I meant when I said it seems to affect fast connections more than slower connections. The PIA can't match a 100mbit NBN connection, but they can get close to a 5mbit adsl connection. Does that make sense? I suck at explaining!

Hi could someone do a traceroute to login.worldoftanks.asia from the Aussie servers please :)

What's the best way to pay for this?

Meemoo writes...

What's the best way to pay for this?

Prepaid credit card

Nostromo writes...

Hi could someone do a traceroute to login.worldoftanks.asia from the Aussie servers please :)

Tracing route to login.worldoftanks.asia [92.223.16.66]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 35 ms 34 ms 35 ms 10.143.1.1
2 34 ms 34 ms 34 ms 168.1.6.2-static.reverse.softlayer.com [168.1.6.2]
3 34 ms 34 ms 34 ms 168.1.18.132-static.reverse.softlayer.com [168.1.18.132]
4 34 ms 34 ms 35 ms ae9.bbr01.eq01.syd02.networklayer.com [50.97.19.150]
5 35 ms 35 ms 35 ms Bundle-Ether27.ken-edge902.sydney.telstra.net [139.130.197.165]
6 35 ms 36 ms 35 ms bundle-ether14.ken-core10.sydney.telstra.net [203.50.11.96]
7 47 ms 48 ms 49 ms bundle-ether12.win-core10.melbourne.telstra.net [203.50.11.123]
8 58 ms 59 ms 58 ms bundle-ether6.fli-core1.adelaide.telstra.net [203.50.11.90]
9 91 ms 90 ms 90 ms bundle-ether5.wel-core3.perth.telstra.net [203.50.11.19]
10 92 ms 92 ms 90 ms tengige0-6-0-0.pthw-core01.perth.net.reach.com [203.50.13.234]
11 135 ms 133 ms 136 ms i-0-1-4-0.istt-core02.bx.telstraglobal.net [202.84.141.154]
12 133 ms 136 ms 136 ms i-0-0-0-0.istt03.bi.telstraglobal.net [202.84.243.74]
13 132 ms 133 ms 133 ms unknown.telstraglobal.net [202.127.73.118]
14 134 ms 132 ms 133 ms sg2-n5596-fe-1-vl231.wargaming.net [92.223.116.163]
15 133 ms 132 ms 133 ms sg2-sl-a66.worldoftanks.sg [92.223.16.66]

Trace complete.

Meemoo writes...

What's the best way to pay for this?

It's not illegal to purchase or use a Vpn, i just used Paypal.

I am also using Windows 7 and uTorrent. It works fine at first but after how many months of use and lots of downloads it made my computer really slow. I just make sure that I am connected to a VPN when downloading because utorrent is full of viruses and hidden malwares.

Meemoo writes...

What's the best way to pay for this?

Unless you are planning on doing something extremely dodgy or are wearing a tinfoil hat (or both), a credit card or pay pal will work fine.

Quick question

Is the pricing on the 2 year deal ($60) in AUD or USD? I cant work that out.

People have also mentioned that you can pay using iTunes cards, I can't see this option anywhere, can someone please provide me with a link?

Cheers

Kurgan writes...

Is the pricing on the 2 year deal ($60) in AUD or USD? I cant work that out.

I am guessing it is USD but you could ask them https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/contact-us

People have also mentioned that you can pay using iTunes cards, I can't see this option anywhere, can someone please provide me with a link?

There is a whole list of cards in the drop-down menu but is says � Apple Store (not iTunes)

https://secure.paygarden.com/pay/site/ltm/privateinternet/start

It's not illegal, Paypal or credit card works fine

Since last night PIA has become basically unusable for me. I didn't change any settings, I was browsing websites and downloading a torrent at about 400K/sec then all of a sudden it just dropped to 0 and I started getting server not found errors when I tried to go to a web page. It drops all all connections to peers in utorrent, occasionally it will connect to a couple and download at 2-3k/sec and then go back to 0. This is happening on every server I connect to. When I change servers it will usually work fine for about 30 seconds (400+K/sec, and web pages will load), then it will drop down to 0.

If I do a speedtest it will start fast, then just drop and eventually stops completely and doesn't even finish the speed test. If I do it without PIA running the speed test is basically a straight line at about 7MBps.

Is it a coincidence that this has started happening just as my 7 money back period trial has finished?

Since last night PIA has become basically unusable for me.

Which server/s? I noticed last night and this morning that the NL gateway was behaving oddly, not loading sites etc.

Tracing route to login.worldoftanks.asia [92.223.16.66]

Thanks Pikey18 appreciate it :)

Kurgan writes...

Is the pricing on the 2 year deal ($60) in AUD or USD? I cant work that out.

My regular annual subscription comes out in US dollars

Which server/s? I noticed last night and this morning that the NL gateway was behaving oddly, not loading sites etc.

Sydney
Melbourne
Singapore
Toronto

I haven't found one that is working yet. I have spoken to the help desk and they have given me a list of settings to change (all to do with tcp/udp and ports). I'm about � of the way through and none of them have helped yet.

I haven't found one that is working yet.

Bugger, hope it works out. I'll check those gateways tonight, how are you finding PIA support generally?

Bugger, hope it works out. I'll check those gateways tonight, how are you finding PIA support generally?

Thanks, I don't think it's the servers though as it's happening on every one I connect to. Their support seems pretty good so far.

No problem with the Melbourne server, taken just now.

[URL=http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4626448752][IMG]http://www.speedtest.net/result/4626448752.png[/IMG][/URL]

I don't think it's the servers though as it's happening on every one I connect to

Have you done Item One on the amateurs' fixit list � turn everything (e.g. PC and modem) off and on? Then, if it's still misbehaving, reinstall any associated software (e.g. PIA) and redo the settings?

Is there any way to stop the port changing periodically when you enable Port Forwarding?

Have you done Item One on the amateurs' fixit list � turn everything (e.g. PC and modem) off and on?

Yep. Everything works fine without the PIA client working, it's just when the PIA client is turned on everything falls apart.

Then, if it's still misbehaving, reinstall any associated software (e.g. PIA) and redo the settings?

That is my next step.

how are you finding PIA support generally?

Very early on i had a few questions a couple of times and their online chat support was very prompt, i don't think i waited more than a minute to chat with someone and they were very helpful.
I emailed them once and had a reply within 24 hours.

All set up now and seemingly working smoothly. Speeds are about � of normal which is acceptable

I have a question on QBT however which I'd prefer to discuss more privately, can someone please whim me if they're familiar with the machinations of set-up.

My issue has exhausted the online chat support. I have had to lodge a support ticket. Very frustrating.

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https://support.privateinternetaccess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/32

I have had to lodge a support ticket. Very frustrating.

So you wiped the client (and TAP adapter afaik?) and reinstalled/setup and still an issue?

This seems to be a better thread to ask over the other one I was asking.

Anyway; I'm looking at PIA since they seemed to be the best ones which came up, but I have a few questions.

1- This is relating to steam, if I use PIA servers would it effect steam if I make the final connection an Australian server once it has gone through some overseas servers?

I don't want to risk getting my steam account nuked if they detected I using VPN's

2- With Netflix, would I be able to keep it on the Australian region since I have a bunch of stuff to get through and I'm not sure if using the American region will lose my Aus titles or anything (This would be for if I watched from the computer, I have a Roku which shouldn't be effected with how I want to set it up).

3- I know this will have a speed impact, and from what other's have told me, I'm hoping it shouldn't be too noticeable, I currently get between 10 and 13mbps so I'm hoping I should see only a 2-4mbps hit, but the large thing is ping, I don't play online games as much I used to, but how much will the vpn add on in terms of ping? Would it likely be 50+?

4- The next thing, and someone mentioned this to me in the other thread, but I would look at encrypting my connection from my computer rather than at the modem level (As I'm not sure how it'll effect the households other units) but I was told I'd need AES encryption but I wasn't sure about how to do this? Does PIA offer AES encryption in an easy to set up manner?

Once the data retention laws come into effect, I'll likely be browsing with PIA and maybe tor browser as well.

https://support.privateinternetaccess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/32

So you wiped the client (and TAP adapter afaik?) and reinstalled/setup and still an issue?

Yes, that's exactly what I did. Didn't solve it :(

trial by power writes...

Does PIA offer AES encryption in an easy to set up manner?

you can set encryption from within in the PIA client software.
AES-128
AES-256
Blowfish