How I choose and use VPN providers / Rotating strategy

coolhead

I did selfhost VPN and many other things, but last year I decided to reduce amount of things, because It took too much time to keep it updated and secure. I also got annoyed after I switched from OpenVPN to WireGuard and forgot that my shitty router does not support WireGuard. I didn't want to deploy both of them and I had a needed in more locations.

Deploying different VPS for different location which I need maybe once a month, didn't sound logical, so I decided to switch to commercial VPN providers, but I was skeptic and don't trust them that much. No matter how good reputation they got. So, I came up with simple idea and rules for myself. I think it's worth sharing with this community.

Checklist:

VPN company should have registered company and it should not be in USA, Asia or offshore zones. I really dislike offshore zones and they are not good for your privacy. Companies register in offshore zones to avoid paying taxes. That's it.
They should have manual generator for OpenVPN and WireGuard. So, I can use ovpn on router and WireGuard on other devices. I don't care or need their apps.
They should allow/support custom DNS.
They don't have BS marketing on their website like "We gonna protect your banking account, passwords, etc...". And especially military grade encryption is red flag.
Zero tracking on their website. If they have Google Analytics or even self hosted analytics. Fuck that. 💢

Rotating strategy:

Now you have good list with different VPN companies and next step is actually switching them. Do not use the same provider all the time. I prefer to use them 6 months. This plan is usually cheaper than 1 month and I don't need to update my configuration files for router and other devices that often.

After my subscription expires I switch to another provider and use it for another 6 months. In case this VPN provider get compromised, keeps logs or bad news arise I won't worry that much. This VPN provider won't have full profile on me. Perfect solution is to switch every month, but that takes a lot of time.

VPN recommendations:

Privacytools has great list with VPN providers, but quite limited, thus it won't work with this strategy. I would recommend next commercial VPN providers. Admin/Moderators can feel free to remove this paragraph, if it break rules or they don't want this. I am listing only providers I used by myself. No affiliate links.

Azire Swedish based VPN provider. WG and OVPN support.
Xeovo Finnish based VPN provider. WG, OVPN and Shadowsocks support.
BunkerVPN Switzerland based VPN provider. WG and OVPN support.
cryptostorm Iceland based VPN provider. WG and OVPN support.
any other VPN provider from privacytools recommendation or which meets the criteria

P.S Can we have "Guide/Tutorial" tag maybe? I would like to write more guides about self hosting not that well know things. For example Pwnagotchi.

Fox

coolhead Good, I found the VPNs you recommended very interesting, but all of them are paid... I currently use ProtonVPN. Where does Proton rank in your ranking? Could you recommend a free VPN (as good as or better than Proton, I mean, because otherwise it would be of little use for me to change VPNs)?

PrivacyTools

Thanks for your posting your first guide here @coolhead. Did you post a link to this thread anywhere? It's already very popular and got plenty of views. I've created a Tutorial section now and moved this Thread.

Zero tracking on their website. If they have Google Analytics or even self hosted analytics. Fuck that. 💢

This might be hard to find, though. VPN providers are in a highly competitive field where most need to have some kind of tracking for marketing purposes. Not all tracking is evil. There are good privacy respecting / open source / self hosted solutions out there: https://github.com/0xnr/awesome-analytics#privacy-focused-analytics

Apart from that.. I like your strategy!

coolhead

PrivacyTools Thanks, a lot! Posted in some Telegram groups, maybe someone shared it as well 🙂

BerAfk

military-grade encryption!
but Andorra's military, not the USA's. technically we're still right...

Venomancer

Hi OP,

Any thoughts on IVPN to add to your list (if all your boxes check out)? I've done some research, and it does come out on top in several places. The only downfall is it lacks is streaming ability. Thanks.

OpSec

Fox

Well Fox Bro, Sadly we live in the world of money. The best services are paid, But hey atleast it's cheap. The only thing i can say, Probably ask a family member or friend to loan you some money to purchase Mullvad VPN or apply at some jobs. Proton VPN Free Version can only do so much. You can also try Courvix VPN, Which has free VPN & free Email. https://courvix.com

Venomancer

Fox

Hey Fox, Proton seems to do enough for free version. You still get no logs, unlimited vol., DNS leak prevention etc. The drawbacks are limited servers, avg speed, no malware blocker, no T0r, and no streaming.

But as xbdm says, better to get paid one eventually. Think of it as an investment. I wouldn't do anything "big" on free version.

Fox

OpSec I know that the world we live in is driven by money, and I don't see it as a bad thing, on the contrary, I think it's fair to pay and put money for what you use and want, I'm just in a more complex case. I've just finished my high school degree and I haven't found a job yet (in Spain the job market sucks and even more for beginners), and I need to save money to become independent, so if I can save some money it will be great for me. I will pay premium services when I become independent.
Thanks anyway for the recommendation, I will check it out.

OpSec

Fox

No problem, Hope everything works great. Probably will find more free services for people that will respect privacy and such.