making Mullvad VPN work in Debian // anonymous internet

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making Mullvad VPN work in Debian // anonymous internet

Post by bad_brain »

as in the "bitcoin" thread briefly discussed I am using Mullvad now as my new VPN provider. the initial reason was the possibility of making 100% anonymous payments with Bitcoins....my old provider was only offering Paypal, and such payments can of course always be tracked.

Mullvad rating
to make it short: I love it!
- really fast, those guys seem to have a decent bandwidth
- payment anonymous, account was enabled about 30 minutes after the transfer
- you can chose between different server locations (Sweden, Germany, Netherlands)
- automatic disconnect option in case the VPN connection fails through their own VPN client (beware, openvpn for example does NOT have such a function, so it can happen your connection drops and you keep surfing with your real IP without even noticing!)
- they allow you to use one account from 5 different locations at the same time!

setup VPN connectivity in Debian
ok, that was a bit of a pain in the rear. I am using xfce, but it's the same in every environment using GDM. in the "network-manager" applet (the one in the taskbar you use to connect to networks) there is the "VPN" option, but it's greyed out so you can not add new profiles.
the necessary packages are obviously not installed on a standard setup (which is a bit odd imo when providing the iface for it), and the howtos I found always missed one package.
so here is the complete command to enable all sorts of VPNs in the network manager:

Code: Select all

apt-get install network-manager-openvpn-gnome network-manager-openvpn network-manager-pptp network-manager-pptp-gnome network-manager-vpnc-gnome
when done:

Code: Select all

/etc/init.d/network-manager restart
connect to Mullvad
on the Mullvad site you can download the config files package (make sure you do this either instantly, or keep your customer ID in mind and replace it later in the URL, because the configs are customized for every customer in context with the ID).
extract the package.
in the VPN tab of the network-manager applet press "import" and load the "mullvad_linux.conf" file.
here I ran into a little annoyance on my netbook because the import window was too large so I couldn't access the "save" buttons and resizing wasn't possible... :lol:
if that happens to you too: press "Alt", grab the window with keeping the left mouse button pressed, and you can move it.
when all done you are ready to enable it and can finally surf anonymous! :)
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Re: making Mullvad VPN work in Debian // anonymous internet

Post by maboroshi »

Nice man :D

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Re: making Mullvad VPN work in Debian // anonymous internet

Post by computathug »

Thanks buddy, i wish i had read this before i did some testing last week, ubuntu also has the same problem that the network manager needs more packages installing to run the vpn client.

Any way i will take a look at the option you have provided for a VPN client later this week.
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Re: making Mullvad VPN work in Debian // anonymous internet

Post by bad_brain »

should be the exact same procedure on Ubuntu. if you need a VPN go to Mullvad and make it to the payment screen (for Bitcoins), I have enough BTC at the moment to pay you one for a month....simply send me displayed address then. :wink:
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Re: making Mullvad VPN work in Debian // anonymous internet

Post by computathug »

yes it was the same procedure as you posted above, i managed to get it working last week.

As it is to be payed for i will let you know when i am ready as it is payed fopr i dont want to waste any of the time, cheers bro *thumb*
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
-- William Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice"
https://tshirt-memes.com

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