Hi! So I have had surfshark for a while and been generally quite satisfied. They do everything I need them to do this far with no fuss and bundle in some handy other services as well.
My annual plan expires in a couple of months and I’m curious what else is out there, as I only started SF because it was heavily discounted at the time. From a new provider, I just need privacy, the ability to torrent totally public domain content, and a static IP. Do you have any suggestions for other options worth considering? I just like to have options. Thanks in advance!
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and a static IP.
O_o but why
Isn’t this a subreddit about selfhosting? How is no one talking about OpenVPN?
I run an IPSEC vpn between me and my server. OpenVPN for the SSL vpn when I’m on the road. Split-tunnel is the default, but if I log in as a different user then I routes all traffic out the VPN.
Try self hosting WireGuard instead of openVPN it’s much faster.
PIA. Supports port forwarding.
I’ve been using PIA for a good few years now, never had a problem with them, slightly concernced that I appear to be pretty much the only one, does everyone else know something I don’t?
They were acquired by some VPN megacorp and AFAIK, all their credible postings and court stuff happened prior to that, so their credibility is unknown today
You can read more about the acquisition here.
I switched to PIA very recently after my Nord subscription ended. Also Nord doesn’t support port forwarding and I wanted to improve my seeding. But PIA has been a disappointment. Using their app on my Win11 desktop, I often see messages on Reddit and elsewhere that I’ve never seen before about “no internet”. It also seems like responses are delayed and sometimes my screen just remains blank after clicking on a link. I’ve never experienced any of that before switching to PIA. And perhaps the biggest gripe, I intended to use PIA with Wireguard on my NAS but after much searching, I cannot find anywhere that PIA releases their WG keys. So I can use WG on my Win11 app but not on the NAS. Oh, and port forwarding? Yeah, apparently that has to be ‘renewed’ periodically so that too, is a PITA on the NAS. Luckily I’m still within the 30 day refund window, just have to figure out where to go next. Maybe AirVPN. In fact, that would be a no-brainer for me except for one thing – Air doesn’t have a server in Mexico and I do need that occasionally. PIA has one that’s incredibly slow but at least they have one.
I use protonvpn due to me getting it with my proton unlimited bundle, and on the plus side with some scripting I can use the proton NAT-PMP forwarding with my qbittorent to get port forwarding while… distributing and acquiring Linux isos.
PIA
Reason = Transmission
I am collecting Linux.iso :)
Windscribe
same
I signed up years ago when they had a lifetime license for like $6. So happy they still honor it and constantly stay up to date and add new features. Super happy with them and their mobile VPN is great too.
I did the $40 lifetime years ago, still works.
OVPN. They have dedicated ip with port forwarding
I have Proton Unlimited, so got the VPN included. Otherwise I would use Mullvad
My own Ubiquiti VPN on the USG I have in my rack. #selfhosted
I don’t think you can go wrong with NordVPN, Proton or Mullvad. I find Nord and Proton have better speeds.
Defintely not you asked, but have you considered switching from torrents for your linux ISOs to Real Debrid?
Made the switch last week, can’t be happier. It even comes with mega and usenet downloads for cheaper than a VPN. Doesn’t solve the static IP issue, but you might want to check it out.
I manily use Mysterium as I like having resedential IP addresses that are (usually) not detected for being a proxy but I also have Mullvad
I came across a provided that offered a static IP at a “data center” rate, which is essentially a known VPN server but a static IP for it, and a separate “residential” option that was slightly more expensive. I’m assuming the latter is less likely to be assumed to be a proxy by other machines/domains. Neat concept!
Kaspersky because it’s part of my $3/month antivirus… split tunnel kills my self-hosted docker stuff, and essentially isn’t really split tunneling, but yeah
Very happy for quite a few years now. Before that rotated through quite a few.
Reasons=
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Romanian court over ruled EU’s 6 month data retention policy.
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6 wireguard connections.
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~€46 per year.
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Small team of good dudes. I can’t stand the support vibe from big companies.
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