or is it the SOCKS5 port 1080?
i suspect it will be the socks5 proxy port (try it, takes a couple of minutes to set it up) and let us know how it pans out. :)
Still, don't believe me, continue to use an Australian server for your unpaid downloads & we look forward to your screaming here on Whirlpool that PIA does not protect your identity when you receive your first infringement letter
sorry if I have missed it, then if this is a theory, what server do you recommend for downloading?
I set my connection to automatic for the first one to download as a test, and using that ip leak site to test, indicates I am using California,USA
(ps I got pretty much my normal download speed, getting a movie from a well known torrent site and having the vpn software set up on the mac overall, I couldn't be bothered with the utorrent only settings in the end)
how about their own vpn software ? would that be better to use than openvpn ?
OpenVPN is the encryption software that runs 'under the hood' of the PIA client.
I would use this software and modify the default settings to Encryption AES-128, Data Auth SHA256 and Handshake RSA-2048
So most people would not have a green tick while using this SOCKS5 setup then?
That's correct, it functions similar to a web proxy. People cant establish a connections back through a web proxy. Connections can only be initiated from your network to the outside.
Port forwarding allows a user outside to establish a connection in to your network.
Just signed up to PIA yesterday and playing around with the config but so far I'm finding I get near non-VPN speeds with the proxy and encryption vs very slow speeds with the VPN.
Which POP are you using? Speedtest from me to Sydney is ~92Mbps.
I'm mostly using Singapore and have no issues from what I have seen so far.
i suspect it will be the socks5 proxy port (try it, takes a couple of minutes to set it up) and let us know how it pans out. :)
Didn't work, still red... The main issue I have is I want to be able to connect to my PC via RealVNC on my Android while still having uTorrent running, whether that's with the VPN or the Proxy but I can't seem to get a desired outcome so far.
They simply know the server that received the download in Australia. The servers that are used by the various VPN providers are (generally) not owned or run by those VPN providers. They are run by independent operators, or by one of the big Telcos such as Telstra or Optus.
The server in Australia is likely to comply with the new data retention laws.
The movie studios know nothing about PIA. They don't contact PIA.
So the movie studios are still seeing a ip address that belongs to pia and a ip address that comes out of say Melbourne when I'm based in Adelaide. Isn't the idea that "telstra" or whoever is running the server can't tell what traffic was on the server because it's encrypted by pia? "telstra" shouldn't have the info to hand over to anyone, the movie studios would have to contact pia to find out what that traffic was, no? Given all of the above isn't the point of a VPN to make it more difficult for them to track what you are doing and make it not worthwhile to chase you down I would think that that is enough protection.
And I still don't see how it is different to connecting to say Netherlands or anywhere else in the world, if the movie studio can just contact the server operator and access the information to find out who you are, what is the point of the vpn? Surely there is encryption going on and the server operator has no idea what the traffic is, no?
The server in Australia is likely to comply with the new data retention laws.
They shouldn't have any info other than you are using a VPN?
The server in Australia knows the connection of the incoming IP address (your's) & the outgoing VPN tunnel that was generated as a result of your on-line requests.
Yeah, but it doesn't know what you did while connected. The movie studio would still need to contact pia for that information, information which should not exist. And even if it does, connecting to another server in the first instance wouldn't save you anyway.
Still, don't believe me, continue to use an Australian server for your unpaid downloads & we look forward to your screaming here on Whirlpool that PIA does not protect your identity when you receive your first infringement letter.
Overly aggressive, I'm just questioning the advice not to use a Australian server because it doesn't make any sense.
Let's say it goes the way you say, movie studio contact server operator in Melbourne (I'm in adelaide) because they see my fake ip while downloading, the server is run by telstras and they give the movie studio the information they want (which is debatable because all I have done is connect to a VPN which gives the movie studio no right to access that info, and 100s of other people if not thousands are using that same ip address worldwide) all the movie studio would have is confirmation that I connected to a VPN. Same as any other server in the world. At that point you are put in to the to hard basket or at least that is the plan of using a VPN. If they do proceed to try and track you down they would have to contact the vpn provider, a provider that supposedly keeps no logs.
That's correct, it functions similar to a web proxy. People cant establish a connections back through a web proxy. Connections can only be initiated from your network to the outside.
Port forwarding allows a user outside to establish a connection in to your network.
OK, well I'm able to max out my speed using just the Proxy, with and without Protocol Encryption disabled and Legacy connections still ticked (depending on the torrent).
Am I OK to still use my Android uTorrent remote app over 3G/4G? Since it is just a remote to my setup at home thats using the Socks5?
Am I OK to still use my Android uTorrent remote app over 3G/4G? Since it is just a remote to my setup at home thats using the Socks5?
Sure.
Just remember that anyone can port scan your ISP IP range and discover this port open. Using socks doesn't prevent this.
I use a router (ASUS) that supports OpenVPN and I can connect my iPhone directly to my network whilst on 4G for management activities. That way I don't open ports out to the net that other nefarious people may try to connect to.
OpenVPN is the encryption software that runs 'under the hood' of the PIA client.
I would use this software and modify the default settings to Encryption AES-128, Data Auth SHA256 and Handshake RSA-2048
so i am guessing you don't need to separately install openvpn in addition to the pia client?
but if you did install openvpn seperately and using it to connect to your pia service, what is the advantage of using it over the pia client and vise versa?
Sure.
Just remember that anyone can port scan your ISP IP range and discover this port open. Using socks doesn't prevent this.
I see, it's becoming clear to me that most choices in regards to increased security result in decreased convenience/usability, which is only logical I suppose.
So just to confirm...using just the SOCKS5 proxy and I will try leaving the Protocol Encryption set to Forced and the Legacy connection unticked for now. And having a specified port open for uTorrent so I can remote in from my Android should at least prevent copyright infringements notices (not that I've received one yet but in theory..)
I appreciate you answering all my questions as well.
Which POP are you using? Speedtest from me to Sydney is ~92Mbps.
I'm mostly using Singapore and have no issues from what I have seen so far.
Sydney also, but for some reason no good via VPN ... may be my settings, perhaps the port forwarding part. Prior to PIA, I had my Billion ports forwarded to the various uTorrent client PC's = full speed (all 529xx's) ... not sure exactly what to be setting the router and uTorrent client to use with PIA? From what I can gather, choosing a port forwardable POP would require the Billion to be changed each time their port changes?
So i got the PIA service just then and have about 80% of my normal speed of the local server. Anyway i did the ipleak.net test and now none of the ip numbers relate to my adsl connection, It says im on my isp correctly but no wan ip or dns match up. So is this how it's ment to be?
It says my dns is leaking but the numbers dont match..
Singapore I get 65 to 70%,
Sydney I get around 95%
Melbourne I get around 85%
Netherlands about 40 to 50%
Japan about the same funny enough
the rest aren't worth mentioning the U.S is very bad on my end
what is your usual speed without the VPN?
my usual speed is 18mbs without vpn. I did the speed test here https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/# and i get the following speeds :
sydney 17mbs
melbourne 17mbs
US - 7mbs
singapore - 6bps
japan 6mbps
hong kong 7mbps
UK 5mbps
russia - 6mbps
do you think the non-aus speeds are fine?
It says my dns is leaking but the numbers dont match..
Are you testing this in the Firefox browser? If so, fix the DNS leak by doing this:
Type about:config� in address bar. Scroll down to �media.peerconnection.enabled�, double click to set it to false.
You can also have leak prevention ticked in your PIA settings.
what is the advantage of using it over the pia client and vise versa?
The advantage of using the PIA software is that it installs additional functionality such as kill switch, dns leak protection and some IPv6 detections. This prevents traffic leaving your LAN if your VPN disconnects.
PIA client makes it easier for Joe Public to use a VPN and switch between their different servers.
OpenVPN software simply establishes a VPN connection. The above extra functionality would need to be done manually or using another method.
OpenVPN is good if you don't want PIA software installed I guess. People might prefer OpenVPN if they use several different VPN providers.
So just to confirm...using just the SOCKS5 proxy and I will try leaving the Protocol Encryption set to Forced and the Legacy connection unticked for now. And having a specified port open for uTorrent so I can remote in from my Android should at least prevent copyright infringements notices (not that I've received one yet but in theory..)
Yep that's the idea!
Check this forum note on how to ensure utorrent is configured correctly.
https://www.privat
Sydney also, but for some reason no good via VPN ... may be my settings, perhaps the port forwarding part. Prior to PIA, I had my Billion ports forwarded to the various uTorrent client PC's = full speed (all 529xx's) ... not sure exactly what to be setting the router and uTorrent client to use with PIA? From what I can gather, choosing a port forwardable POP would require the Billion to be changed each time their port changes?
That's correct, you only get allocated 1 port forward port per VPN established. You can view this via the PIA client.
Alternatively you can get it via a web call.
If you had multiple PC each establishing a VPN connection then you would get a port per session.
You could then configure your billion and each individual utorrent clients with their respective port forward.
And yes, you will get a new port each time you connect to VPN :)
I use something similar to configure my Synology with the port allocated when it connects.
$curl -d "user=$USERNAME&pass=$PASSWORD
OpenVPN is good if you don't want PIA software installed I guess. People might prefer OpenVPN if they use several different VPN providers.
Just to add another level of confusion for those who havent made their choice yet is that apparently the OpenVPN protocol as used by PIA is easily throttleable by ISP's choosing to do so. If you connect through a bastard isp as I do (Exetel), it might be worth considering a VPN provider who offers protocol options.
Just to add another level of confusion for those who havent made their choice yet is that apparently the OpenVPN protocol as used by PIA is easily throttleable by ISP's choosing to do so. If you connect through a bastard isp as I do (Exetel), it might be worth considering a VPN provider who offers protocol options.
What Ones do You Recommend with that then?
I am on IINET and I am worried what they could do as they been a Big Target in this Crackdown
OpenVPN protocol as used by PIA is easily throttleable by ISP's choosing to do so
Here is a fun read: https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/
I have bought PIA and installed its client. and ticked all options like killswitch , prevent dnsleak etc.
Now is there anyting else i need to do and or i can just use utorrent normally with VPN connection on.
I am confused if i need to do anything as mentioned here
For what purpose i need that
For what purpose i need that
The settings there are if you do not run VPN, instead wanting to use the SOCKS5 proxy.
If you use the SOCKS5 proxy you can limit it to utorrent only, whereas the VPN affects all traffic from the device (not just utorrent).
I am confused if i need to do anything as mentioned here
https://www.privateinterne
["For what purpose i need that�]
I thought IF you just run the PIA Client that everything would be Encrypted you use over the internet � Is that Correct?
By your definition Simon wright is an ISP.
I think by HIS definition, Whirlpool IS an ISP, but an ISP needs a Telecommunication carrier's licence, which Whirlpool does not.
By your definition Simon wright is an ISP.
It isn't my definition ... it is THE definition.
This link I posted earlier will ensure this if you are interested : https://community.hide.me/tu
Using our VPN for additional security and total anonymity is great � but what about when the VPN-Connection drops or disconnects? Unfortunately, if you use Windows (any version), any running application (for example, BitTorrent, your browser) will revert and using your ISP connection, exposing your IP address and opening you up to security and privacy issues. This is of particular concern when using a VPN to secure a public wi-fi spot. Windows will not prevent traffic in the event of a disconnect.
the above is from the article. wouldn't it be easier to use the kill switch in the PIA client ? I thought that is what a kill switch is for? it stops all traffic if the VPN connection goes down?
the above is from the article. wouldn't it be easier to use the kill switch in the PIA client ?
Using the WIndows firewall seems to be more reliable, but each to your own. I prefer to continue using the internet for everything except what I specify (i.e. the BT client).
It isn't my definition ... it is THE definition.
But PIA is a 'Transitory Data company', not an ISP. You need an ISP to actually CONNECT to the internet, ADSL, Cable, Fibre etc).
It isn't my definition ... it is THE definition
Please refer to the poster above. Where is whirlpools telecoms licence?
Our seo guy provides a service that is on the internet, is he an ISP as well? Hell, technically when I answer peoples questions on here I am providing a service, on the internet, so I must be an ISP as well! Better get my metadata storage centre set up!
Fizbin is taking the name literally. i.e it provides a service on the internet. This, however, is incorrect.
When did Facebook become an ISP?
Well � Facebook doesn't operate servers in Australia (which PIA does), so Facebook won't be logging data (however your ISPs might log data about Facebook).
Fizbin is taking the name literally
Again � It isn't my definition, it is THE definition.
Anyway � fact is PIA is an ISP, and this discussion is really taking the thread off the rails. Enough on it ok.
Using the WIndows firewall seems to be more reliable, but each to your own. I prefer to continue using the internet for everything except what I specify (i.e. the BT client).
I am guessing your method will work only if you are using windows firewall in the first place?
would it still work if you have windows firewall disabled and using a different firewall software ?
I am guessing your method will work only if you are using windows firewall in the first place?
Yeah � it will also be of use if you use a different firewall (although instructions will be different). WIndows 7+ has it built in.
straight from the horses mouth.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au
8 Internet service providers
Basic definition
(1) For the purposes of this Schedule, if a person supplies, or proposes to supply, an internet carriage service to the public, the person is an internet service provider .
Just FYI, if Facebook is an ISP and VOIP providers are ISPs - then why on earth would you think a VPN is not ?
that's funny, late articles I read on various tech websites have said facebook ceo is looking at ways of becoming an isp to help connectivity to facebook but there are obstacles in his way yada yada ya
the way you worded that if i had a laptop on a phone line, facebook should have an account i can access to get on the net to access facebook, maybe limited but still able to get on the net which they do not. so they are not an isp.
VPN provider != ISP.
For your benefit:
Internet Service Provider
Now lets try quoting what I said in its entirety.
If not, they're not an ISP. You're redefining what an ISP is to make your incorrect argument work. VPN provider != ISP.
You can't just sign up to a VPN and get internet access. You still need an internet service for a VPN to work. Interenet services are provided by Internet Service Providers, or ISPs.
Well � Facebook doesn't operate servers in Australia (which PIA does), so Facebook won't be logging data (however your ISPs might log data about Facebook).
That wasn't what I asked. I asked when did Facebook become an ISP as you claimed in a previous post?
Again � It isn't my definition, it is THE definition.
Anyway � fact is PIA is an ISP, and this discussion is really taking the thread off the rails. Enough on it ok.
You started it, Okay your favourite game, WOW, Eve Online, Path of Exile ?, by your definition, they are ISP's right ?
Wrong, they are Virtual services. ISP's connect you to Physical equipment, (Modem, Telephone line etc) to the Internet. You are saying Whirlpool is an ISP as well ?. Foxtel is an ISP (in more ways that one now they offer ADSL2), PIA is a VIRTUAL service, it sends data from one place to another. Regardless of the DEFINITION, you are nit picking the legislation. ISP's are REQUIRED to have a Carriers licence, a Virtual service does not. Whirlpool does not need a Carriers licence, Nor does PIA.
From the Law archives......... (As posted above).
"internet carriage service" means a listed carriage service that enables end-users to access the internet.
A service that enables end users to ACCESS the internet. You can access the internet without PIA, but you *NEED* IINET, Bigpond, Optus etc to ACCESS the internet. PIA merely provides a service *ON* the internet.
Dont back out now you lost the argument, PIA is not an ISP (internet service provider, or Internet carriage service).
can some pia users confirm what kind of torrent speeds you are getting when not using australian servers?
Connecting to the PIA London server(s) I am getting about 2.2Mbps downstream. Oddly though I get about 4.4Mbps through their UK Southampton node. The latter speed is adequate to watch BBC iPlayer without buffering (just).
My normal speed (not going through a VPN) is about 18Mpbs
All measurements using speedtest.net . If my kids are hammering our connection those speeds all come down!
If you just want to watch geoblocked streaming content Getflix looks like a good solution, although I haven't tried it myself.
I would be keen to hear what others are getting through PIA and other VPN services.
is pia worth giving a go for one month, really don,t know where to start and which vpn to try
is pia worth giving a go for one month
I signed up for a year, not regretting it so far. Lots of choice for end points.
I think CyberGhost had an option to change computer timezones. Does PIA have this? E.g. if I go to http://whoer.net/ the 'local' timezone is different to the Australian timezone that shows up.
Is there any way to increase the number of connections and speed via torrents?
I've a 9Mb DSL connection and would get 800k download speeds. Using PIA I'm getting 20k/45k connections.
I'm also only connecting to 1 or 2 seeds.When I turn the VPN off the peer connection increases dramatically.
Seems to do pretty well (3/4 my max speed) at times and other times down to 1/4. Torrenting that is (on private tracker which generally has fullspeed without VPN.....).Only tested US West and Seattle servers..
Is there any way to increase the number of connections and speed via torrents?
I've a 9Mb DSL connection and would get 800k download speeds. Using PIA I'm getting 20k/45k connections.
I'm also only connecting to 1 or 2 peers.When I turn the VPN off the peer connection increases dramatically.
Yeah, Torrent speeds are greatly reduced I see. Not getting anywhere near the same speed, with VPN disconnected.
I've just swapped to US California and intermittently getting 500kB/s speeds.
But only in short bursts. Then it dropped down to 0. And then builds back up.
I'm connected to US california right now, getting 800 Kb/s on a well seeded torrent.
I initially tried the Singapore gateway earlier tonight and met download speeds of ~100KB/s. Switched to the Netherlands gateway and within minutes the torrent was coming down at 600KB/s.
I'm not sure I've got the settings for uTorrent quite right, but I'm very impressed so far with PIA.
Goran 'Dragon' Dragic writes...
I'm connected to US california right now, getting 800 Kb/s on a well seeded torrent.
Hmm. I'm connected to a torrent of over 50,000 seeds, 5 are connecting and the thing has dropped to less than 1kb......
Use the Australian servers
use Sydney or Melbourne do a test or two see which one is best Sydney has better peering imo
then use socks 5 proxy from Netherlands that they recommend
If you use decent torrent sites you will get great download speeds still not as good without vpn but close too it due to seedboxes being around the same regions.
If you download from public areas which is pretty dangerous then best of luck really suffer the slow speeds or come on here scared your ip will be with the next news article of copywrite groups chasing people if you elect to disconnect the vpn or don't download at all.
Probably nothing to do with it, but if it helps I'm using qbittorrent, set to use the vpn connection only in settings � > advanced.
Why?
Note that Choopa is not registered by the tax office in Australia:
The Australian Sydney servers are hosted at Vultr which is owned by Choopa LLC. The Melbourne servers are IBM Softlayer.
Anyone that is getting slow speeds - should reconnect and disconnect many times into your on a different cluster.
In finding speeds quite good.
Currently downloading 400kb/s on Usenet (speed limited by me) and 300kb/s on poorly seeded torrents.
Connected to Sydney.
Anyone that is getting slow speeds � should reconnect and disconnect many times into your on a different cluster.
I've been trying this and still find the overall speeds to be fluctuating quite a fair bit and quite dependent on peaking times. Not really sure what could be done about all of this, just a learning curve for me to find the sweet spot.
Currently using NBN � 50/20 plan, my speeds can range from 5mbps to 45mbps, all in Melbourne.
What happens when you only have a single device and you're using a VPN to torrent something?
You pretty much can't do anything until it's done because logging into forums, social media, games etc might give away your details, right?
You pretty much can't do anything until it's done because logging into forums, social media, games etc might give away your details, right?
No, not really. All that reveals is that this IP logged into this site at this time. PIA uses shared IPs and that bloke downloading game of thrones could have been anyone out of hundreds, or even thousands, of people with that same address.
It would be a lot of work for an investigator to get a warrant for say whirlpool to reveal all the people logged into whirlpool with that particular IP this morning and for the police to go to THAT much trouble, you'd have to be a very serious pirater doing many terabytes per month.
However if that's something you are worried about:
Got an old android phone or tablet laying around? Use it as a exclusive torrent device, then use ES file explorer to transfer the file back to your computer (share a windows folder) or a USB hard drive connected to your router (either FTP or a "NAS" type service will need to be enabled in the router but it's pretty easy) or you can use an adaptor to transfer direct to a USB stick.
There are many different ways to do it.
What happens when you only have a single device and you're using a VPN to torrent something?
You pretty much can't do anything until it's done because logging into forums, social media, games etc might give away your details, right?
Realistically they're not going to be monitoring forums, random websites or games trying to correlate accounts to torrent streams. At most they'll infiltrate, capture and/or monitor torrent tracking sites, so make sure you only ever visit those from a computer behind a VPN using a browser that doesn't have the WebRTC leak.
Perhaps Choopa LLC (registered in USA) is actually providing a DNS shifting service plus VPN tunnel (ie you think you are choosing a Sydney server, but you are in fact not doing so).
Several VPNs do this, particular any VPN that is torrent friendly. They will have a set of servers where the true location is obfuscated, but is really offshore, and then usually another set of servers as a backup that are really here in Australia, which are handy for things like the AFL or TenPlay that may or may not play up otherwise.
I've been trying this and still find the overall speeds to be fluctuating quite a fair bit and quite dependent on peaking times. Not really sure what could be done about all of this, just a learning curve for me to find the sweet spot.
Next time you hit a high speed, visit dnsleaktest.com - the IP address on the front page is the one you need (or visit Ipleak.net and the first IP address is the one you want, or you could get it from your PC by clicking the Windows button, typing cmd, pressing enter, then typing ipconfig /all)
Then use that IP address to connect manually using OpenVPN client using these instructions https://www.privateinternetac
Where it says to download the configuration files, get the "IP based" files instead, here:
https://www.privateinte
Or this one if lower port numbers give you better speeds: https://www.privateinternetac
The IP in the Australia files is the load balancer, replace it with the IP you get when you connect which is the shared server IP.
(or L2TP which would be easier to install, instructions here: https://www.privateinternetac
This is all quite advanced stuff though, a practice for the geeks who love to tinker.
If the server is really offshore wouldn't the ping rate be fairly bad? I'm getting 60-70ms connected to Sydney.
BastardSheep:
So do u mean that if i visit any torrent search size and download .torrentfile from other computer not having VPN and use that torrent file to download it in utorrent on computer having VPN.
I will still be in trouble od downloading torrent file from site. Do they have access to all those torrent sites.
I usually download torrentfiles from my laptop and then put in network folder where my dedicated download machine picks up
What kind of protection do you mystically think your firewall/NAT provides that being behind a VPN providers NAT doesn't?
Your own firewall/NAT might be set up better than theirs, that was my point � with your own firewall you know what is going on, with theirs � it is a black box of unknown quantities.
Your own firewall/NAT might be set up better than theirs, that was my point � with your own firewall you know what is going on, with theirs � it is a black box of unknown quantities.
So, you're basically fear mongering. Gotchya.
I've been using PIA through their US Midwest servers and been very impressed with the speeds. I get 4-8Mbps most nights.
So, you're basically fear mongering
No � just stating a fact. Connecting your computer to unknown risks has been a definite no-no for a couple of decades at least.
No � just stating a fact. Connecting your computer to unknown risks has been a definite no-no for a couple of decades at least.
And yet you can't define exactly what this risk is that you want people to be so worried about. Fear mongering.
Are you sure you want to do that? What sort of speed are you getting through the VPN?
I haven't done a full test as yet... but It doesn't seem to have decreased by much (if any). Need to do further testing.
I was more asking for future rather than now. At the moment a Proxy for Torrents is all I need. Potentially in the near future for Internet Explorer.
But who knows...
you can see if you can flash your router with DD-WRT
Mmmmm Billion doesn't even appear.
Yes, Google continually places cookies into your browsing history so they can track you. Some people are also so dumb as to remain logged in to their Google account whilst using their VPN.
Just learning about VPN's myself and looking through some relevant threads to learn from the contributors as is my norm.
Sad to see this point phrased as it is though. Technically I have learnt from it, but have little respect for the poster. Why are people so negative. What is wrong with "People should be made aware that they shouldnt stay logged in etc etc...."
I found this article... http://stevehardie.com/2010/0
But VPN is not an option... under Advanced Configuration.... I'll keep Googling.
Edit: http://au.billion.com/products/voip/bipac7404vnpx.html Mmmm Looks like it may not have that capability,
And yet you can't define exactly what this risk is
That IS the risk.... an unknown quantity between your computer and the internet....
can anyone else try their leak test with this site?
https://www.perfect-privacy.com/dns-leaktest/
this site seems to pick up my IP which is of concern, yet the others listed in this thread are fine and does not show my IP.....strange.
this site seems to pick up my IP which is of concern, yet the others listed in this thread are fine and does not show my IP.....strange.
Just ran a test, my results were fine just as other sites were.
On a side note, I use my iMac more than my gaming laptop which runs windows 8.1
iMac has never had issues with dns leaks, though my laptop has with windows has had one or two that I've sorted. Meh windows
That IS the risk.... an unknown quantity between your computer and the internet....
Do you completely vet any ISP and their internal network before you start using them? Do you completely vet your friends wifi networks before you connect your phone or laptop to it? What about school & uni? Work? The list goes on.
PIA haven't just popped up overnight. Unless you want to state an explicit threat and cause for concern other than just "the great unknown boogeyman ohhhhhhhh", you're just fear mongering.
Do you completely vet any ISP
I have a firewall which I control between my computer and the ISP.
I have a firewall which I control between my computer and the ISP.
Congratulations. Doesn't address the other scenarios. You're just fear mongering.
That IS the risk.... an unknown quantity between your computer and the internet....
Are you sure it's not more a case of:
There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.
Doesn't address the other scenarios.
Look � I was just trying to make sure people were aware that their computer was no longer protected by their firewall, nothing more nothing less.
If you want to take the risk, that's your decision � however with so many new people on VPNs many may not realise that this is the case.
There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.
Head trip!
ust ran a test, my results were fine just as other sites were.
thanks for that but i figure the ip leak on my windows computer was strange so i manually programmed google's servers into the dns settings of the adapter and now the test comes up clean and ISP listed as google....LOL
Look � I was just trying to make sure people were aware that their computer was no longer protected by their firewall, nothing more nothing less.
If you want to take the risk, that's your decision � however with so many new people on VPNs many may not realise that this is the case.
Well I got Kaspersky Internet Security, so you saying malware/viruses. The internet security would detect that crap straight out and get rid of it. I can understand an attack can come through the vpn which my firewall trusts but it can also do that with trusted applications anyway so what's the difference? I ain't no tech over this. If you got decent security measures set up on your PC too you can't modify anything without admin permission or passwords such as apple/macs how are you not DECENTLY safe? I say decent nothing is full
My understanding is only ISPs have to log user data for 2 years. I don't define PIA as an ISP
Yes, but you haven't written the law. The pretty archaic Broadcasting Services Act of 1992 defines an ISP. An ISP is much broader than an internet carriage provider, and the metadata act (the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2015) in clause 29 is explicit that it applies to both carriers and Broadcasting-Act-defined ISPs. It presents the two separately, along with a future catch-all 'as defined in Regulations'.
So the legislation is pretty clear. Of course, the Government may not use those full powers (yet).
So the legislation is pretty clear.
lol � I think it is anything but clear. :)
M.
lol � I think it is anything but clear. :)
OK, fair call. It's not clear. But the legislation is much wider than companies that provide an internet carriage service.
so if you put PIA's dns servers in your PC and not have the VPN connected, you can still browse as usual ?
yep, I have been using their DNS servers with & without having PIA's VPN connected for days & I believe it is better than my regular IPS's DNS servers
cheers
So the legislation is pretty clear.
Clear as mud, like a lot of legislation. I guess we will have to just keep an eye on what happens. They might make VPNs log data in Australia but if/when they do we will all move to servers elsewhere.
They might make VPNs log data in Australia but if/when they do we will all move to servers elsewhere.
Correct. If the VPN services aren't logging now (as they claim) and are suddenly told they are under scope and need to be logging data, then I am sure (?) they will tell us and we can just change our exit points to other countries.
M.
I found the best way to do this is through a 3rd party app that is designed to work through VPNs and firewalls.
I use www.jumpdesktop.com myself, it's awesome and better than anything else i've ever used for remote desktop. You can choose to set it up manually but I sync connections to all my windows machines through my google/gmail account and I've never had an issue in the 4+ years I've used it, works great even on Windows 8.1.
However, teamviewer and others should still work.
Can you give a quick run down of how this works and any limitations, their website doesn't go in to much detail?
I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to run the VPN all the time because I want access via my Android via VNC (I currently use RealVNC via Dyndns).
Obviously I can set it up as a short term solution using the VPN's IP address with RealVNC but I don't want to have to change the IP every day (when my VPN IP changes due to computer reboots etc).
How does it work with the whole Google thing exactly, will I be able to run the VPN always, reboot my PC and have the VPN connect to a new IP address and not have to change any settings on my Android/PC?
Correct. If the VPN services aren't logging now (as they claim) and are suddenly told they are under scope and need to be logging data, then I am sure (?) they will tell us and we can just change our exit points to other countries.
Setup your own OpenVPN access server (Very easy) and turn off logging then you'll know 100%
Setup your own OpenVPN access server (Very easy) and turn off logging then you'll know 100%
I actually did this prior to signing up with PIA. I used the AWS free tier to spin up an instance and installed OpenVPN. Pretty easy to configure etc... The only real reason I don't continue with that is obviously a commercial VPN service has more points of presence and more servers. Creating your own VPN (as I did) can still lead back to you from wherever you spin it up.
M.
Can you give a quick run down of how this works and any limitations, their website doesn't go in to much detail?
There are no limitations that I can see. The setup software takes you through installing a VNC server if it can't detect one, or it will default to Windows RDP if you have an appropriate version of windows. It then reccomends you use gmail for keeping track of your PCs IP, but you don't have to do that, you can connect to the VNC manually, but then if you did that you will still have the same problem you do today.
The app on your PC builds an SSL tunnel around the VNC server to communicate with your google account over HTTPS so that your IP can be reported back.
Obviously I can set it up as a short term solution using the VPN's IP address with RealVNC but I don't want to have to change the IP every day (when my VPN IP changes due to computer reboots etc).
The google integration acts like your dyndns does � it keeps track of your IP and reports it back to the android app, which is also using google integration.
Chrome remote desktop is another solution, and has much the same effect. I just really like the controls in Jump Desktop, they have been developed over many years of user feedback and I find I was much slower when using anything else, especially the Microsoft official RDP app. The controls allow me to get things done very quickly. Love it.
When I connect to sydney servers and then I do a IP/DNS leak test I get the following:
Australia � South Australia , Choopa, LLC � Hosting
The IP address and DNS detection has the same IP which starts with 108.XXX.XXX.XXX
When I connect to other countries such as Singapore and do a IP/DNS leak test I get:
Singapore
SoftLayer Dutch Holdings B.V. � Hosting
The IP address and DNS detection has the same IP address
The IP/DNS address detected is not my ISP's. Is this is how it is supposed to work ?
Setup your own OpenVPN access server (Very easy) and turn off logging then you'll know 100%
Listen to this man, he knows his stuff. Just make sure you stay away from AWS and you'll be fine.
http://lowendbox.com. Have a look on here and work out the math yourself.
Hi guys, I used to be able to disconnect from one of PIA servers and just use my normal internet connection without doing anything but now whenever I disconnect from my VPN my normal internet doesn't work. Any ideas on how to fix it?
Hi guys, I used to be able to disconnect from one of PIA servers and just use my normal internet connection without doing anything but now whenever I disconnect from my VPN my normal internet doesn't work. Any ideas on how to fix it?
you probably have the kill vpn switch turned on in the PIA client ? you might have to untick that option and close the pia client to use your normal internet.
you probably have the kill vpn switch turned on in the PIA client ? you might have to untick that option and close the pia client to use your normal internet.
Its unticked on the settings page. The only thing I installed was VPNWatcher so utorrent would automatically exit if the VPN turned off but that was a couple days before this issue started.
Its unticked on the settings page. The only thing I installed was VPNWatcher so utorrent would automatically exit if the VPN turned off but that was a couple days before this issue started.
do you have dns leak protection turned on in the pia client ?
Hi guys, I used to be able to disconnect from one of PIA servers and just use my normal internet connection without doing anything but now whenever I disconnect from my VPN my normal internet doesn't work. Any ideas on how to fix it?
I had the same problem. What I do now is exit the application from the tray, don't disconnect, it seems to wreck your normal adapter settings. Just start up PIA again if you want to do another VPN session.
To fix the adapter get windows to do a repair job on it otherwise you have to go into the adapter properties and manually reset and then reboot.
The IP/DNS address detected is not my ISP's. Is this is how it is supposed to work ?
Yes. That means you are safe and your IP is not leaking (which is what you want).
do you have dns leak protection turned on in the pia client ?
yes its on.
To fix the adapter get windows to do a repair job on it otherwise you have to go into the adapter properties and manually reset and then reboot.
This worked, the repair window said something along the lines of DHCP not enabled or something like that.
When I connect to sydney servers and then I do a IP/DNS leak test I get the following:
Australia � South Australia , Choopa, LLC � Hosting
The IP address and DNS detection has the same IP which starts with 108.XXX.XXX.XXX
When I connect to other countries such as Singapore and do a IP/DNS leak test I get:
Singapore
SoftLayer Dutch Holdings B.V. � Hosting
The IP address and DNS detection has the same IP address
The IP/DNS address detected is not my ISP's. Is this is how it is supposed to work ?
Yes, that is right. You don't say which leak test url you are using � I use http://ipleak.net
The key thing is that both your IP and the DNS address are NOT your ISP provided IP address or the ISP's DNS server.
Do note that the location and owner information may or may not be completely accurate. It just comes from a set of tables which the leak test web site needs to keep up to date � there is no GPS or other magic!
The hosting (e.g. Choopa or Softlayer) are from the registered owner of the IP address ranges used by PIA's server hosting providers. This is at first sight confusing as we expect the IP addresses to belong to PIA � they don't.
Recently PIA/Choopa moved Adelaide hosting to Sydney and I think that 108... is one of these addresses. My Sydney connection right now is 103... and is correctly reported as Choopa in Sydney.
I've got an issue (that by the looks of it can't be fixed) with Chrome leaking my DNS, but not Firefox.
We'll worry about that later, the question of the moment is this ................
Are the VPN 'service' and the Proxy (SOCKS5) 'service' two completely, independent animals ?
I've noticed that some people have issues with the proxy server and utorrent playing nicely together, but as far as I can see, it's working 100% as advertised for me.
I simply put the SOCKS5 details in the utorrent "Proxy Server" options, ticked ALL the boxes under that and it all seems to be working 100%.
Having configured utorrent like this does this mean it will **ONLY** connect to the Internet via the selected proxy server ?
So if PIA's proxy Server cr@ps itself utorrent will (effectively) JUST keep trying to connect via the (unresponsive) proxy, thus maintaining 100% privacy. So that no-one can possibly what Linux Distro I am currently (attempting) to download ??
Thanks.
does this mean it will **ONLY** connect to the Internet via the selected proxy server ?
this is correct.
So if PIA's proxy Server cr@ps itself utorrent will (effectively) JUST keep trying to connect via the (unresponsive) proxy, thus maintaining 100% privacy. So that no-one can possibly what Linux Distro I am currently (attempting) to download ??
that is correct but why would anyone care about you downloading a free OS distribution? :)
that is correct but why would anyone care about you downloading a free OS distribution? :)
Targeted advertising :-)
Are the VPN 'service' and the Proxy (SOCKS5) 'service' two completely, independent animals ?
Yes, proxy less secure.
So if PIA's proxy Server cr@ps itself utorrent will (effectively) JUST keep trying to connect via the (unresponsive) proxy, thus maintaining 100% privacy.
I would solely rely on the VPN side of things, for the utmost security.
If I were you, I would dump uTorrent and utilise qBittorrent asap, as you have the option to select the network interface that PIA provides within qBittorrent's options, instead of relying on a SOCKS connection.
If the PIA interface goes down, or if you disconnect PIA, your torrents will stop, so no need to get too worked up about what really happens under the hood ;-)
that is correct but why would anyone care about you downloading a free OS distribution? :)
lol good thing you have a VPN setup even Linux won't know who's dling it.
I've set up utorrent the same and use a normal connection for browsing, gaming etc.
Just be aware that socks5 proxy is an unencrypted connection, you should "force encryption" in your torrent client settings and have "allow incoming legacy connections"unticked, if you want the traffic encrypted.
But if your "only" downloading Linux distros, then i wouldn't bother. :)
allow incoming legacy connections"unticked, if you want the traffic encrypted.
Good point, done.
Yeah but I really don't want to be tracked, I'm dling so many Linux dists.
Just be aware that socks5 proxy is an unencrypted connection
But If you go through the open vpn say on an Australia server + the socks 5 proxy your data is encrypted from your ISP from I understand.
I would dump uTorrent and utilise qBittorrent asap
+1, uTorrent is disgusting as of late used to be good back quiet a few years ago. qBittorrent is a very good program works very well on macs as well next option would be Deluge.
I've been on to PIA Tech Support without too much luck, like most Tech Support staff they are great at sending "Cut 'N Paste" canned answers, not so much actually reading your question and coming up with a real answer.
Here's the latest I've sent them, but I DID attach the images, if I could work out the best way to post them here for your viewing pleasure I would :o !!
Austen.
Thanks M.... ,
I *HAVE* installed the Chrome Extension WebRTC as you can see from the attached Screenshot PIA_01.jpg.
browserleaks.com seems to confirm that it is working "Is WebRTC Enabled" = False as shown in PIA_02.jpg
However, ipleak.com NOT ONLY finds my real IP Address, it also finds my Internal Address as shown in PIA_03.jpg !!
How can I stop these leaks ?
Thanks,
ere's the latest I've sent them, but I DID attach the images, if I could work out the best way to post them here for your viewing pleasure I would :o !!
if I could work out the best way to post them here for your viewing pleasure I would :o !!
easy peasy.
I am looking into a VPN service, does this work on top a current ISP service or if I'm not contacted to a ISP will this still work? Im a dummy when it comes to this
Here's the latest I've sent them, but I DID attach the images, if I could work out the best way to post them here for your viewing pleasure I would :o !!
Chrome has issues with the extension by all accounts. Reports say use Script Safe. Don't use Chrome if you really want to be sure of not leaking your ip address.
edited.
But If you go through the open vpn say on an Australia server + the socks 5 proxy your data is encrypted from your ISP from I understand.
if you were using the PIA client, wouldn't the data be encrypted? or do you have to use open vpn?
If I were you, I would dump uTorrent and utilise qBittorrent asap, as you have the option to select the network interface that PIA provides within qBittorrent's options, instead of relying on a SOCKS connection.
you can bind qBittorrent to use a specific adapter in your PC? so in the case of PIA, you bind it to the TAP adapter ?
you can bind qBittorrent to use a specific adapter in your PC? so in the case of PIA, you bind it to the TAP adapter ?
Yes certainly can, it simply choosing the correct 'Network interface' to use in qBittorrent.
choose:
> Options
> Advanced
> Network Interface (requires restart)
> choose the correct interface from the drop down list, the default PIA adapter is called TAP � Win32 Adapter V9 (not sure if this is different for 64bit systems)
> click Apply, then OK
> restart qBittorrent
If PIA is not connected/down, qBittorrent is rendered useless for downloads as it won't use any other Network interface other than PIA's own interface. ;-)
if you were using the PIA client, wouldn't the data be encrypted? or do you have to use open vpn?
I'm confused lol sorry
I mean if you use the pia client your data will be encrypted no matter what location you choose from your ISP.
The socks 5 proxy is just another smoke screen to hide your PIA server, really only needed if you use Australian/U.K or U.S servers as there is no point using a Netherlands server and a Netherlands proxy ontop of it.
This will test your browser and connection for IPv6 readiness, as well as show you your current IPV4 and IPv6 address and ISP.
http://test-ipv6.com/
I unticked ipv6 on lan adapters and that stopped DNS leaks.
Anyone know how to open ports with PIA when running on a NAS?
I can see there's a script but I can't seem to run it.
Any help would be great!
Anyone know how to open ports with PIA when running on a NAS?
Look for UPnP in the settings on your router and enable. Should automatically open needed ports etc.
Assuming I understand correctly, PIA should automatically connect when a torrent app like Transmission starts � but that doesn't seem to be happening.
You can script everything. Openvpn and Transmission-daemon can all just be called from a shell script in a particular order.
I guess something like this may help you:
http://askubuntu.com/que
http://www.snbforums.com/thr
Bascially the "bind-address-ipv4" config option for transmission should be set to the IP of the VPN interface (when running ifconfig command).
Not even necessary if you use transmission... In transmission configuration you can bind it to the VPN interface IP... If the VPN disconnects, transmission won't connect to anyone
Thanks, will give that a shot.
How have you guys managed to get around port blocks on PIA. Thought I managed to fix my issues with deluge web ui by obtaining a port from PIA only to find the port is now closed again. It seems I need to again obtain a port to allow me to access deluge over the web.
I hope you don't mean using a SOCKS5 server set-up with qBittorrent?
nope. not using the proxy server. only using the PIA client and with utorrent I get upto 90% of my usual download speed without the vpn. with qtorrent I barely get 30-40 % . although the settings in both the clients are similar, but named slightly differently, maybe I missed turning on or off a setting(s) in qtorrent which is why it is getting lower speeds than utorrent ? because I tested with the same linux distro on both clients and other than the settings being different and causing the issue in speeds, I can't think of anything else.
qBittorrent ONLY requires the PIA client running and bound to the proper network interface...
that's how I have set it up.
If you have, disable this completely, it is NOT required, only used for uTorrent setup.
although I am not using the proxy with qtorrent or utorrent, I am interested as to why it would only be for utorrent ? is it because you can't bind utorrent to a network interface ?
How have you guys managed to get around port blocks on PIA
what blocks are you talking about? ISP putting blocks on PIA?
what blocks are you talking about? ISP putting blocks on PIA?
No � it seems you are unable to forward ports (with a static port number) while under VPN. From what I can tell anyhow.
You ARE using the specified gateways right to attempt port forwarding??
https://www.privateinterneta
Enable port forwarding in the application by entering the Advanced area, enabling port forwarding and selecting one of the following gateways:
CA Toronto
CA North York
Netherlands
Switzerland
S
France
Germany
Russia
Romania
Hong Kong
Israel
After enabling port forwarding and re-connecting to one of the above gateways, please hover your mouse over the System Tray or Menu Bar icon to reveal the tooltip which will display the port number. You can then enter this port into your software.
You will know its set correctly for torrenting when you find you are connecting to many leechers and not only just seeds.
I hear everyone complaining about poor torrent speeds but nobody is talking about setting up port forwarding properly!
No � it seems you are unable to forward ports (with a static port number) while under VPN. From what I can tell anyhow.
No, you can (as above). You can port forward 1 single port, and the port will change each time you connect to the VPN. Depending on software you are using, you might be able to script it or manually enter it in.
came across this post in another thread:
All of the vpn service providers utilise either a cheap dedicated server or VPS... most likely from SoftLayer as PIA does or other ones... most of those companies are US-owned... So even if PIA does not keep logs, who says that SoftLayer or others do not keep them?
No, you can (as above). You can port forward 1 single port, and the port will change each time you connect to the VPN. Depending on software you are using, you might be able to script it or manually enter it in.
Yep - I managed to forward a port successfully (using one of the specified servers) however after a while it no longer worked. I did reboot in-between, so that was probably the cause.
I will look into it - however I came across a guide for transmission that also claims to setup remote gui to bypass the proxy. Will find a solution somehow!
Edit - as per my previous post, this is what I used: https://www.privateinternetac
Has anyone tested torrenting speeds with a correctly set up forwarded port?
You know its set up correctly when are connecting to many leechers and not only just seeds.
Has anyone tested torrenting speeds with a correctly set up forwarded port?
off-topic from you question slightly. is there a benefit to port forwarding ?
the pia websites says that it reduces privacy.
off-topic from you question slightly. is there a benefit to port forwarding ?
Most definately YESSSSSSS!!
It used to be common knowledge that you had to open and forward ports on your router to get decent speed when using p2p but this seems to be all forgetton since upnp become common and did it all for you automatically.
Well upnp doesnt work for you when youre on a vpn!
ISO torrents that max out my adsl when running 'naked' without vpn drop down to 350KB ish when peers (leechers) cannot connect because theres no port forwarded. Im am trialing another vpn that dont offer port forwarding.
Without port forwarding, torrenting is crippled and will never achieve anything like the speed you get running without proxy/vpn.
Im looking for an answer to the question - Can you get good speeds on torrents on PIA with a properly configured torrent client and port forwarding?
Without port forwarding, torrenting is crippled and will never achieve anything like the speed you get without proxy/vpn.
I don't have port forward setup ( nor connect to the PIA servers that have port forwarding ) and get 90% of my non-vpn speeds.
Im looking for an answer to the question - Can you get good speeds on torrents on PIA with a properly configured torrent client and port forwarding?
I will give this a test and report back.
the servers that have port forwarding on PIA are not near Australia. Wouldn't connecting to those servers reduce your speed anyway compared to connecting to aussie servers or servers close by ?
I will give this a test and report back.
If you find it easy to max out your connection then perhaps test with a torrent with fewer seeds. You'll know its set right when you are connecting to leechers as much as seeds.
the servers that have port forwarding on PIA are not near Australia. Wouldn't connecting to those servers reduce your speed anyway compared to connecting to aussie servers or servers close by ?
Try http://speedtest.net first to see.
In my playing around yesterday I found that shutting off incoming connections (ports) reduced speed to less than a 1/4
qBittorrent is a very good program works very well on macs as well next option would be Deluge.
it seems the bind to interface option in qtorrent is not secure and 100% effective. some users have reported that if the vpn interface dropped it started to use another interface and continue downloading :
https://www.privateinterneta
http://qbforums.shiki.hu/index.php?topic=2657.0
issue may be on OS X only according to the above links. when I tested on windows it worked fine.
What is the encryption that you guys use with PIA? I am using the default one in the PIA client, but wondering if I should use something else like max protection? the following is from the pia web-site:
Default Recommended Protection � AES-128 / SHA1 / RSA-2048
All Speed No Safety � None / None / ECC-256k1
Maximum Protection � AES-256 / SHA256 / RSA-4096
Risky Business � AES-128 / None / RSA-2048
Yep � I managed to forward a port successfully (using one of the specified servers) however after a while it no longer worked. I did reboot in-between, so that was probably the cause.
Most definitely. You need to get a new port after re-connecting.
I will look into it � however I came across a guide for transmission that also claims to setup remote gui to bypass the proxy. Will find a solution somehow!
Also possible yep.
that's how I have set it up.
that good
although I am not using the proxy with qtorrent or utorrent, I am interested as to why it would only be for utorrent ? is it because you can't bind utorrent to a network interface ?
Possibly, it may be that the bittorrent client is connecting using a different network interface.
Getting back to basics, check what is occurring:
i.e. to see which ip address uTorrent and qBittorrent is using, to make this comparison...
This test would need to be done twice, in each case, not disconnecting the PIA client,
once for uTorrent and again for qBittorrent, with ONLY one browser window open for each test, subsequently closing and reopening a new browser window to conduct the second test.
navigate to :
- http://ipleak.net/ and check what your ip address is, also the DNS server address to make sure that both do not link to an Australian location
- further down the page under 'Torrent Address detection' click 'Activate', then click on 'this Magnet Link' which will open your default bittorrent client
- this will open up your bittorrent client for you to accept the magnet
- back to your browser, under the same section...
now click on 'Refresh', then 'View/Hide request dump' where it will show you what address your bittorrent client is using.
If the ip addresses in each test is NOT identical, then one bittorrent client is using another interface to make the connections to report to ipleak.net.
If they are both the same (and also the same as the PIA client address as shown when hovering your mouse over the PIA connected taskbar icon), then at least your secure knowing that client traffic is going through PIA.
Another reason is that the 2x torrents you've downloaded using the 2x different bittorrent clients have taken a completely different route, one slower than the other.
the servers that have port forwarding on PIA are not near Australia. Wouldn't connecting to those servers reduce your speed anyway compared to connecting to aussie servers or servers close by ?
I would think so.
In my tests they were slower.
IMO it really boils down to either choosing Aussie servers or west coast American servers to connect your PIA client with.
IIRC backbone links between Aussie cities are 60GB, and the same to the west coast of America. All other international destinations are slower.
There again, if you only got a couple of seeders, you've got buckley's of getting major throughput anyway.
What is the encryption that you guys use with PIA?
PIA recommend the default level for speed.
As much as I love the freedom of PIA (and other VPN's), I'm not sure I can believe that there aren't red flags built into the system.
I also kind of hope that some illicit activity can be documented and/or reported to the authorities � which would make me a hypocrite about the limits of democracy (I suppose).
At any rate, I'm feeling some discomfit about the possibility of browsing 'anonymously' � the system seems designed for potential abuse and I hope PIA (amongst others) can monitor things like the activities of pedophiles and/or terrorists. I also suspect that there are some safeguards that allow for their detection and prosecution: VPN'S can't be a free for all.
Has anyone tested torrenting speeds
I have tried using:
- PIA's own VPN client
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/installer/download_installer_win - Windows 7's inbuilt VPN L2TP/IPSec+PSK Setup
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/#windows7_pptp
IMO:
- PIA's own VPN client is cumbersome at times, slower for torrenting, disconnecting at times,
MOST secure, losing ~11-12% torrenting speed - PIA's instructions for Windows 7's inbuilt VPN L2TP/IPSec+PSK Setup is easy to follow,
no software installation is required (uses Windows 7's inbuilt VPN connectivity), very stable,
LESS secure, yet only losing ~8-9% torrenting speed
I hope PIA (amongst others) can monitor things like the activities of pedophiles and/or terrorists.
+1
Well the US server I was using is block Whirlpool now. Attempts to go to Whirlpool when PIA is enabled result in a "suspicious activity, blocked" type of message and won;t give access to the website.
Which one should I choose?
I have no idea with Mac's, I'm an IBM compatible from way back :-)
Tun0
Yeah on the US California server it won't load: http://torrentz.eu/i
Is there a way to put certain websites on a white-list of some type?
Signed up with PIA for a month. So far its been pretty good, and sometimes woeful.
Using QBittorrent im having a problem where it wont start seeding or downloading
till I close QBittorrent and relaunch it. This occurs on startup when PIA connects or if the kill switch
disables the ethernet port. It wont start any activity unless I reboot the program.
Is there a setting or something I need to adjust to get it working automatically?
Well the US server I was using is block Whirlpool now. Attempts to go to Whirlpool when PIA is enabled result in a "suspicious activity, blocked" type of message and won;t give access to the website.
In the past whirlpool asked for a captcha to continue
Still does i just got in 2 minutes ago when i joined
connected to Singapore server
really? speak for yourself
my speeds are awesome.
Yeah my speeds are pretty good too.
Well seeded torrents are hitting around 1.8MB/sec....I'll happily take that if that's considered shit.
eah my speeds are pretty good too.
Well seeded torrents are hitting around 1.8MB/sec....I'll happily take that if that's considered shit.
Same here, I'm only using the socks5 proxy for torrents and browsing locally (normal connection, no client vpn running) and it seems to be fine.
Well the US server I was using is block Whirlpool now. Attempts to go to Whirlpool when PIA is enabled result in a "suspicious activity, blocked" type of message and won;t give access to the website.
It still does, when you connect from a range of IP addresses that Whirlpool has had 'Issues' with in the past.
how do you config the torrent and pia ?
I could not get more than 20kb/sec
From the new 'blocking' law:
This requirement of "primary purpose" was inserted in s 115(1) in order to make clear that the section did not apply to, say, a US site which was accessed by VPN from Australia and sold content to Australians in respect of which the site did not have an Australian license.
From the new 'blocking' law:
So it looks like VPNs and US streaming are safe (for now),
But then can we really trust anything out from a politican's mouth? =D
how do you config the torrent and pia ?
I could not get more than 20kb/sec
you need to give us a bit more details:
- the PIA server you are connecting to ( e.g Aus, UK, US ? )
- do a speed test www.speedtest.net after connecting to that server and post the result
- do a speed test without connecting to the vpn and post the result
- what torrent client are you are using
- what is your usual torrent speed when not connected to the vpn
to configure proxy with torrent:
https://www.privatei
I have PIA on my Mac and just recently the kill switch is not working.
I have it enabled, and I look in my task bar up top and the PIA logo is light grey and says "connecting" � yet stuff continues to download.
I'm connected via UDP/Auto. PIA Support got me to change the settings to TCP/443 but the download speed is unusable. UDP/Auto speeds were fine but the kill switch wouldn't work as it's designed to do.
Any thoughts??
Any thoughts??
create a firewall rule that forces all torrent application requests to only function via the VPN and deny any requests from the router.
this is the best way to never get caught with your pants down in the event the vpn borks.
create a firewall rule that forces all torrent application requests to only function via the VPN and deny any requests from the router.
Thanks for the tip � how do I do this?
Ps I use the PIA app on the laptop individually, not through the router.
They are thinking about banning VPNs
Thanks for the tip � how do I do this?
Ps I use the PIA app on the laptop individually, not through the router.
you might need to do some googleing on how to set up the rules in the OXS firewall.
or use a torrent like qtorrent that has the option to bind itself to the vpn adapter.
or use a 3rd party kill switch which kills the torrent app when your vpn goes down.
or use a torrent like qtorrent that has the option to bind itself to the vpn adapter.
or use a 3rd party kill switch which kills the torrent app when your vpn goes down.
Thanks � are these last two reliable? I would have thought the kill switch in PIA would have been reliable but it's not!
They are thinking about banning VPNs
http://www.smh.com.au/digi
I'm not sure they could. Many business operations relies on VPN still in this day and age.... I know some quite large corporations who must have staff VPN into their work environment.
How could a VPN for legitimate purpose be different to a VPN for a geo blocker?
As the program is binded to the tun0 (VPN) interface, meaning all traffic goes through tun0 ... If that interface is down or disconnected, the program will fail to connect to anything. (in theory)
So all I have to do is download qbittorrent and type tun0 into the Network Interface setting and that's my new kill switch?
So all I have to do is download qbittorrent and type tun0 into the Network Interface setting and that's my new kill switch?
can confirm that even using this that is does not work.
tested it by disconnecting and by exiting it. Slowed down then fired back up again.
Really recommend to have an socks 5 proxy on too for peace of mind if your vpn server drops out.
Funny enough iTunes wouldn't let me use an Aussie CC when setting up an U.S account. I just rolled with free option with adding in iTunes u.s gift cards afterwards once trials finished.
Exactly. Where vendors accept things like gift cards it's so easy to go and buy one from the source country, get it emailed to you and presto! We have subscribed.
There are so many holes in the boat it's surprising it's not resting on the bottom of the ocean floor yet.
These companies just don't realize that the world and internet are global now. Geo-locking is just a speed bump on the way to connectivity with the service you want.
So all I have to do is download qbittorrent and type tun0 into the Network Interface setting and that's my new kill switch?
choose:
> Options
> Advanced
> Network Interface (requires restart)
> choose the correct interface from the drop down list, the default PIA adapter is called TAP � Win32 Adapter V9 (not sure if this is different for 64bit systems)
> click Apply, then OK
> restart qBittorrent
this is for windows. might be different for OSX.
So all I have to do is download qbittorrent and type tun0 into the Network Interface setting and that's my new kill switch?
Exactly. Where vendors accept things like gift cards it's so easy to go and buy one from the source country, get it emailed to you and presto! We have subscribed.
Also just quit hulu plus, i used an aussie cc to sign up. They sent me so many offers to rejoin I suspect not all American services hate Australians lol. After all money is money.
can confirm that even using this that is does not work.
didn't you say it works for you in a previous post, or have I misread your post?
Yeah I've never had that problem anyway, even if my vpn drops out which I haven't seen yet I have the socks 5 proxy on which PIA provide from the Netherlands so got to be really unlucky.
I've never had my vpn drop out.
I never set qbtorrent to go through the adapter only to act like a kill switch which I done today and it does not work sorry if it's confusing lol.
've never had my vpn drop out.
I never set qbtorrent to go through the adapter only to act like a kill switch which I done today and it does not work sorry if it's confusing lol.
I get it now. I am guessing you are using mac?
on a separate topic, since you use VPN+proxy can you confirm something ?
While using VPN+Proxy :
if you do a IP leak test, your VPN IP will show up.
But if you then do a torrent ip leak test, a different will be detected. Do you know whose IP is this and why it is different to the VPN IP?
While using VPN only :
if you do a IP leak test and torrent IP leak test with only VPN connected, the IP detected will same for both and will be your VPN IP.
i was testing with http://ipleak.net/ , http://torguard.net/checkmytorrentipaddress.php and http://torguard.net/whats-my-ip.php
you are using mac?
sure am
if you do a IP leak test, your VPN IP will show up.
But if you then do a torrent ip leak test, a different will be detected. Do you know whose IP is this and why it is different to the VPN IP?
torrent leak test using a socks 5 proxy I take it? Will be either 3 options, the vpn ip, your ip or the proxy ip.
just do a quick look up. If u use the socks 5 Netherlands proxy the i.p will originate from there.
Basically it's just another smoke screen, so the vpn encrypts your data to hide it from your ISP and protects your your I.P but for torrenting due to torrenting being a big no no and if your using servers like Australia/U.S or U.K etc it just throws another smoke screen/mirror.
torrent leak test using a socks 5 proxy I take it?
yes
Basically it's just another smoke screen, so the vpn encrypts your data to hide it from your ISP and protects your your I.P but for torrenting due to torrenting being a big no no and if your using servers like Australia/U.S or U.K etc it just throws another smoke screen/mirror.
so if you use VPN+socks 5 proxy, the proxy masks your VPN IP? which is why in the torrent IP test your VPN ip is not detected.
Ok, I have installed qbittorrent and changed the Network Interface to tun0 - I deactivated the VPN and the torrents stopped downloading.
Just as another test, I used my bittorrent client, deactivated the VPN and the torrent kept downloading - ie the kill switch inside PIA did not work!
Should I be worried about PIA not doing what it says?
so if you use VPN+socks 5 proxy, the proxy masks your VPN IP? which is why in the torrent IP test your VPN ip is not detected.
Correct, it masks your vpn i.p as I said it's another smoke screen and is why your i.p in your torrent test is different. :)
Basically If an I.P logger like from DBC goes onto a torrent swarm, it will detect the i.p coming from netherlands.
And not your VPN I.P.
Kable, thanks for all your advice.
Is having a Sock 5 Proxy another layer of protection (over and above a Kill Switch if your VPN drops out?)
Is having a Sock 5 Proxy another layer of protection (over and above a Kill Switch if your VPN drops out?
Not sure on that one really that's a bit technical for me to answer. I think a working kill switch would be the best.
I have tested on another client if your vpn does drop out(i closed it) your socks 5 proxy stays up. So I guess to be caught out both would need to fail which is always a possibility but doubtful.
Thanks again.
I've gone back to my default app for torrents (BitTorrent) and set up the Sock5 Proxy there � that, (along with the inbuilt PIA Kill Switch) should be sufficient I'm guessing!
Is having a Sock 5 Proxy another layer of protection (over and above a Kill Switch if your VPN drops out?)
from my understanding if your VPN goes down and you are just using the socsks 5 proxy, the connection is not encrypted but your IP is still masked. This is because the proxy does not provide encryption, only masks your IP address. The VPN provides the encryption and since it has gone down, there is no encryption. and if it were me I would not be using proxy without the VPN because of the lack of encryption.
if the PIA kill switch is not working and you are not using the firewall rules as previously posted by someone, then you might want to consider using a 3rd party VPN kill switch. there are free ones out there. It will kill the torrent app when the VPN goes down. I use one myself (vpnmonitor i think it is called) because I am just not comfortable with the torrent app running while the vpn is down.
Thanks sam � those firewall rules posted previously, are they for Mac OSX or Windows � I'm having trouble finding them??
Thanks sam � those firewall rules posted previously, are they for Mac OSX or Windows � I'm having trouble finding them??
I am guessing for windows. I have not set up firewall rules on my pc so can't advise you on this.
other people using mac here might be able to help you or you will need to google.
Ok, I have installed qbittorrent and changed the Network Interface to tun0 � I deactivated the VPN and the torrents stopped downloading.
So it works! Don't need to rely on the non-working PIA VPN kill switch anymore!
Ok, I have installed qbittorrent and changed the Network Interface to tun0 - I deactivated the VPN and the torrents stopped downloading.
I've gone back to my default app for torrents (BitTorrent) and set up the Sock5 Proxy there � that, (along with the inbuilt PIA Kill Switch) should be sufficient I'm guessing!
since the qtorrent network binding works for you, you can use the PIA proxy with qtorrent instead of utorrent since qtorrent has the advantage for the network bind.
How do you know or notice? Is there an alert?
The PIA logo in the menu bar turns from black (connected) to light grey (disconnected) � on a Mac that is. I think it's red and green on Windows.
I've had a suggestion on another thread to use an app called ControlPlane to create a rule to quit the torrent app when the IP address changes.
Has anyone had any experience with this, and how would I set the the rule up within ControlPlane?
I just want my BitTorrent program to ONLY use my VPN connection
The best I can think of on unix variants is to have a cronjob running every second that checks if the vpn is up, and if it isn't kills the torrent app.
According to a post on this Age article, Snowden claimed that (some) VPN's are a front for data collection agencies or secret government organizations.
Anyone know if this claim is true? Can you provide a source?
(Google only reveals that Snowden claims to browse with a VPN)
According to a post on this Age article, Snowden claimed that (some) VPN's are a front for data collection agencies or secret government organizations
Don't start that or we will be speculating about government secrets on an International scale. Let's be honest agencies can have front for anything online or in your every day going ons.
As for those idiots in that article, I'm sure they would have tip offs an a lot of other resources besides tracking them online as well.
The best I can think of on unix variants is to have a cronjob running every second that checks if the vpn is up, and if it isn't kills the torrent app.
No need, just setup the firewall rules to block everything and only allow external data out via tun0 (the VPN interface).
This means if tun0 drops, all connections drop until tun0 comes back up.
Slam
No need, just setup the firewall rules to block everything and only allow external data out via tun0 (the VPN interface).
How do I do this? I'm a bit of a newb with this.
Thanks!
No need, just setup the firewall rules to block everything and only allow external data out via tun0 (the VPN interface).
That's a bit tricky as you have to allow one application access to the real interface � namely the VPN daemon.
DId anyone has sock5 proxy working fine utorrent now. I tried that i am getting unknown host error.
yeah that happens to me too. Bloody torrent program just switches to the local ip and keeps downloading . PIA keeps disconnecting. I have found California to do this all the time
yeah that happens to me too. Bloody torrent program just switches to the local ip and keeps downloading .
At least you can stop that happening on Windows ...
If you are using vuze, you can configure it to bind it to the vpn under the connection settings, that way vuze will stop all torrent traffic when the vpn drops out.
I tested it out and it appears to work, when I disconnected my vpn, my torrent download was killed off as well...
I think you can do that with utorrent too, although I haven't used it before.
That's a bit tricky as you have to allow one application access to the real interface � namely the VPN daemon.
I dont need to allow 1 application to the real interface. The firewall rules by default will block all traffic. Only outbound and inbound allowed are on tun0. Other inbound and outbound rules are for machines on my home subnet (other than the router/gateway).
I run ubuntu, not windows. If you want a kill switch for windows. Download the PIA application.
Slam
Mayuri Krab
I tried vuze but i am missing few things in there which i can do in utorrent
1. Auto load torrent files from specific folder. usually i download all torrent files on one location and utorrent picks from there.
2. move completed files to specified location on network.
is this available on vuze
No need, just setup the firewall rules to block everything and only allow external data out via tun0 (the VPN interface).
This means if tun0 drops, all connections drop until tun0 comes back up.
Yep best way for sure in *nix.
I dont need to allow 1 application to the real interface. The firewall rules by default will block all traffic.
All traffic by definition means the VPN traffic itself, which of course goes over the raw interface.
I never said it was impossible, just tricky - blocking everything will stop the VPN connecting, so you have to allow the VPN through.
. If you want a kill switch for windows.
Then use Windows firewall, easy - predictable and allows you to tie an application to specific interfaces.
Yep best way for sure in *nix.
Just need to include vpn port and dns server ip on standard interface to allow vpn to connect.
That's a bit tricky as you have to allow one application access to the real interface � namely the VPN daemon.
I think traffic in/out from/to UDP1194 (or whatever) and one DNS server IP port 53 is easy and pretty safe.
Man PIA is really slow tonight. Last time I downloaded got 1.2mb/s now I can barely make 600kb/s amd dropping to zero.
Tried to find a fix but all I found mostly was "Ive tried everything PIA said and nothing works' to 'I dont know why people cant get fast down loads mine is really fast" then the thread just peters out with no fixes
Brutal
using
udp auto
autp connected to San Jose California
Just a little piece of information for the paranoid people here.
Asked PIA if their program auto updates and it does, the exact response was -
"The client should update automatically, go into settings, and under advanced it will tell you the version of the client you are using. (Currently V.46)
Auto updating programs are not my friend � as things may change.....................
Its nice hAving vpn and all but the networks really lke to make it hard to watch their content n so forth. Just to watch something. Say brickleberry on comedy central u have to be a subscriber to a network and all that jazz. They do it on a multitude of channels. THEn they wonder why people illigally aquire their material. Its super frustrating. People are willing to pay for content no matter where in the world it is.
Just the old dinosours in gov wants us to suffer and watch it two years later on fta with ridiculous amounts of ads. Loud adds at that
So yeah vpn is nice n all byt i dont watch netflix and the only content i have found so far to watch is in the uk the bbc. Wonder when they will do the same
Trying to watch us tv through other sites is useless as they hardly update the links.
Now they wanna try and ban vpns and the media are doing a good job of keeping the circus going and scaring the dosile humans into belivung we are all crooks trying to hide something.
The government and the multi nationals are the biggest crooks
Although sometimes I've noticed certain sites appear to be blocked using a VPN. Just me or?
No, the VPN's IP address could be gray or blacklisted by an organisation. Whirlpool does it (you need to captcha), and Optus graylists mail sent to its SMTP server through most PIA locations (would like to know which ones aren't graylisted)
Hey everyone
Needing some help with this vpn please...
After signing up with PIA do I need to then change any settings on my browser , router, bittorrent etc?
Thanks in advance
Hey everyone
Needing some help with this vpn please...
After signing up with PIA do I need to then change any settings on my browser , router, bittorrent etc?
Thanks in advance
With all this talk about the speed lose using PIA, is there an alternative that is superior like VPN Express. Anybody do some speed tests on both and found one to be quicker overall?
Is using 'Viscosity' reap any speed/safety than the standard VPN software provided?
After signing up with PIA do I need to then change any settings on my browser , router, bittorrent etc?
Not really. If you just want to protect a single computer or laptop, just install the PIA client and connect with it (icon turns bright green).
If you have a home network and want all device traffic to go through the VPN, you can set up your router to connect to PIA instead.
Is using 'Viscosity' reap any speed/safety than the standard VPN software provided?
Unlikely that the VPN client itself makes a difference. Speeds are affected by bandwidth limitations of the server you're connecting to.
Viscosity is built on OpenVPN just like the native clients of many VPN providers, so it shouldn't be any faster or slower, perhaps just visually more user friendly.
Thanks.
Thinking about switching over from Astrill, but does PIA have a site filter where I can make certain domains/ip addresses bypass the VPN and use my normal IP address to access?
but does PIA have a site filter where I can make certain domains/ip addresses bypass the VPN and use my normal IP address to access?
i don't think so.
there is nothing in the app to allow such filtering.
Damn, sticking with Astrill then. Unless it is possible with OpenVPN.. need to check it out.
Cheers
ut does PIA have a site filter where I can make certain domains/ip addresses bypass the VPN
That's something you do on your client, not on the VPN server itself. Adding static routes for certain IP addresses. In Windows/OSX and Linux this is done with the route command (different syntax on each).
Fair enough, astrill has the option to do it in their software and will be far more easier for my needs to add it.
With all this talk about the speed lose using PIA
You need to update your router with enough grunt to handle encryption .
there is nothing in the app to allow such filtering.
You can however flash certain routers with DD-WRT and then configure OpenVPN to allow selected IPs through.
I've joined PIA today and the speeds are amazing from the Melbourne server. I'm losing almost nothing on ADSL2+. Have checked with ipleak and all is good. Softlayer displayed in IP and DNS sections and no leaks.
I'm impressed.
I've joined PIA today and the speeds are amazing from the Melbourne server. I'm losing almost nothing on ADSL2+. Have checked with ipleak and all is good. Softlayer displayed in IP and DNS sections and no leaks.
I'm impressed.
It's a good service that has 60 gigabits of capacity in Melbourne and a further 22 gigabits in Sydney. That works out to 4.96 gigabytes of traffic every second. Unfortunately PIA doesn't have load graphs, but VPN providers that do run about 70% capacity in Australia at the moment in peak times.
People complaining about slow speeds are either using old PCs or old routers (or both).
If you have slow speeds the fastest way to prove yourself wrong is to connect your android phone to PIA (with UDP) on 4G/LTE and download just the one 200mb file.
You need to update your router with enough grunt to handle encryption .
can you recommend one ? or would any recent ones would do?
Yes sure, I have a Netgear Nighthawk r7000 configured to use AES-128 and it handles the encryption without any appreciable loss of speed.
A fantastic router for OpenVPN
Be careful to select a router than can be flashed with DD-WRT not OpenWRT - the newer routers are not yet compatible.
Yes sure, I have a Netgear Nighthawk r7000
The newer Asus models that support OpenVPN seem to be well regarded as well. I assume these are the Asus equivalents to the recent Netgear models
The newer Asus models that support OpenVPN seem to be well regarded as well.
Yes I agree, best to visit the DD-WRT site and check their supported router database before making a purchase.
At first I made the mistake of buying a TL-WDR4300 although it accepts DD-WRT the processor can't handle the encryption well enough and the speed drops by approx 50%.
Yes sure, I have a Netgear Nighthawk r7000 configured to use AES-128 and it handles the encryption without any appreciable loss of speed.
thanks. isn't this a wifi router only and needs to be connected to a modem? then you need a modem that can handle encryption well?
then you need a modem that can handle encryption well?
i wouldn't think so.
the modem only keeps the connection to your ISP alive hence only the flow of the information.
the router processor is the one that is key here to do all the heavy lifting required for the encrypted tunnel.
the modem only keeps the connection to your ISP alive hence only the flow of the information.
the router processor is the one that is key here to do all the heavy lifting required for the encrypted tunnel.
do you have to set your modem to delegate all the tasks to the router though ?
I don't know if this will help anyone, but the way I have set up PIA for myself and for my friends is by creating a Stripped down Windows 7 VM with just Firefox (with the peer function disabled), a free av program , utorrent and the PIA application. I then created a new shared folder on the host machine for the torrents and mapped a drive to it in the VM.
This way I can have the killswitch enabled on the PIA application and not have to worry about it causing issues on the main pc. Then when I help set it up with a friend, I just install the free VMware player on their computer, copy the vm over, setup the shared folder and key in their VPN user and pass. So far they like it as it is simple to use and they know that anything they do in that vm is through the VPN.
For the more paranoid ones, I put a link to the ipleak website so they can doublecheck it is going through the VM.
I then created a new shared folder on the host machine for the torrents and mapped a drive to it in the VM.
So you have overridden the remote gateway use in the VPN client ?
This way I can have the killswitch enabled on the PIA application and not have to worry about it causing issues on the main pc.
There is a more reliable way of doing this � by blocking the relevant apps (e.g. uTorrent) from using other than the VPN in the WIndows 7 firewall.
Yes sure, I have a Netgear Nighthawk r7000 configured to use AES-128 and it handles the encryption without any appreciable loss of speed.
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 ?
So you have overridden the remote gateway use in the VPN client ?
Windows knows to use the Ethernet interface, rather than the VPN interface. I didn't need to change anything. While the Default gateway would be through the VPN, the 192.168.43.x address range has its own gateway.
There is a more reliable way of doing this
While you are most likely correct, I found doing it this way was a lot easier to manage.
Is there a clean way to disconnect from PIA before switching off the computer to avoid missing up the adapter settings. This morning on switching on my computer I had to let windows fix up certain settings before PIA would work again. Also I had Vuse working yesterday, today it refuses to function.
Windows knows to use the Ethernet interface, rather than the VPN interface.
Windows 7 doesn't know to do this unless you turn off the default gateway, routes all traffic over the VPN.
Windows 7 doesn't know to do
Just an FYI. This is from Microsoft themselves.
Routing for VPN
Routing for remote access and site-to-site VPN connections is described in the following sections.
Routing for Remote Access VPN Connections
Conventional routing occurs between routers over either LAN-based shared access technologies, such as Ethernet or Token Ring, or WAN-based point-to-point technologies, such as T1 or frame relay.
Default Routing
The preferred method for directing packets to a remote network is to create a default route on the remote access client that directs packets to the remote network (the default configuration for VPN remote access clients). Any packet that is not intended for the neighboring LAN segment is sent to the remote network. When a connection is made, the remote access client, by default, adds a default route to its routing table and increases the metric of the existing default route to ensure that the newest default route is used. The newest default route points to the new connection, which ensures that any packets that are not addressed to the local LAN segment are sent to the remote network.
Under this configuration, when a VPN client connects and creates a new default route, Internet sites that have been accessible are no longer accessible (unless Internet access is available through the organization�s intranet). This poses no problem for remote VPN clients that require access only to the organization�s network. However, it is not acceptable for remote clients that need access to the Internet while they are connected to the organization�s network.
- Technet
I don't know if this will help anyone, but the way I have set up PIA for myself and for my friends is by creating a Stripped down Windows 7 VM with just Firefox (with the peer function disabled), a free av program , utorrent and the PIA application. I then created a new shared folder on the host machine for the torrents and mapped a drive to it in the VM.
This is almost exactly how I've been using PIA and it works like a charm. The only difference is that I'm using MS Virtual PC 2007 (SP1) with an old Win XP VM. I use Firefox and uTorrent with PIA in the VM so this is a simpler fix than any alternatives I've seen. I'm using Win 7 as the host.
MS Virtual PC 2007 (SP1) is getting a bit long in the tooth though so I may look into VMWare player eventually and possibly a Win7 VM.
Not really. If you just want to protect a single computer or laptop, just install the PIA client and connect with it (icon turns bright green).
Is this all I need to do when torrenting ?
i.e Choose the PIA server via the client, connect, and then turn it off once I finish torrenting ?
Is this all I need to do when torrenting ?
i.e Choose the PIA server via the client, connect, and then turn it off once I finish torrenting ?
This is what I do, only use pia when torrenting.
No need to keep on all the time.
This is what I do, only use pia when torrenting.
No need to keep on all the time.
+1
I use their proxy as well for another layer of "protection"
deleted
Fixed, seems a recent Windows update in my VM did something funky to my local network.
do you have to set your modem to delegate all the tasks to the router though ?
Yes - you achieve this by plugging an Ethernet cable from your Modem into the WAN port of the Router.
TIC
ian
thanks. isn't this a wifi router only and needs to be connected to a modem? then you need a modem that can handle encryption well?
You may find this information useful � http://www.netgear.com.au/hom
ian
You may find this information useful
Interested that such a powerful device doesn't have an OpenVPN client.
Interested that such a powerful device doesn't have an OpenVPN client.
it will if you flash it with DD-WRT
Has anybody experienced any drop outs ? If so, does PIA eventually reconnect of its own accord or do you have to manually reconnect yourself?
Questions about this. Is it one account/subscription per computer? Does that mean I should only install it on say my laptop and use it as my downloading machine so i can take it anywhere to other peoples places who may have faster internet than me
Im really just going to be using it when torrenting
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/b
Where the guide talks about the "torguard openvpn bundle" substitute with this file:
https://www.privateinte
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)
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?
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.privateintern
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.privateinternetac
Hope this helps
ian
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.privateinternetac
ian
Also for anyone interested in a 2 year subscription?
Here tis � https://www.privateinterneta
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
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.
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.
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...
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
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
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,
https://www.privateinterneta
and this is on their website too.
https://www.privateinter
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.
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
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.
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.
----------------------------------------------
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
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,
https://www.privateinterneta
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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! :)
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)
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
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.
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)
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 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
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.
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
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
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.privateinternetac
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?
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.
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.privatei
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.
http://www.softlayer.com/about-softlayer
I'm also not sure what to make of an IP address so close to home though.
I don't remember Sydney having 62 servers.
https://www.private
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.
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
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,
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.
http://www.softlayer.com/about-softlayer
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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*)
Don't use the OpenVPN software linked in the guide above, more recent versions here
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 ?
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?.
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....
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 ?
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.
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 ?
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?
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
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.
M.
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