IVPN is a sovereign, bootstrapped VPN service in operation since 2009. BTC + LN accepted via BTCPay. resist online surveillance.

Last Notes

Over the past five weeks we have upgraded 11 previously WireGuard-only gateways to support other protocols.
List of locations where additional servers are now accepting OpenVPN and IKEv2 connections:
Amsterdam - nl2.gw.ivpn.net
Atlanta - us-ga3.gw.ivpn.net
Chicago - us-il3.gw.ivpn.net
Dallas - us-tx3.wg.ivpn.net
Frankfurt - de4.gw.ivpn.net
London - gb3.gw.ivpn.net
Los Angeles - us-ca5.gw.ivpn.net
Montreal - ca-qc1.gw.ivpn.net
New York - us-ny4.gw.ivpn.net
Singapore - sg2.gw.ivpn.net
Stockholm - se2.gw.ivpn.net
Complete list of gateways available here: https://www.ivpn.net/en/status/

2024-10-31 11:13:24 GMT

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We looked into this previously and made steps towards running a fedimint federation. Operational risks + second order effects (eg. accounting) are tricky. We'd like to make it happen, but can't say when.

2024-10-24 14:55:44 GMT

Cash payments for a digital service sounds insane to some when I mention it in person.
It's an operational hassle for the provider, but should be normalized, adopted and preferred by customers of privacy services.
#normalizecash (yes, this is the first - probably the last - hashtag we ever used on socials)
https://image.nostr.build/337a3844471225a20f7391365e8fd9782143a5d559214fe01edec6a17e443643.png
#nevent1q…3f2u

2024-10-24 14:48:23 GMT

Why you shouldn't pay with credit card or PayPal for a VPN service
Payment methods that support anonymity can help keep your service account (e.g., your randomly generated IVPN Account ID) separate from your personal information tied to CC/Paypal. When paying with cash, Lightning, or XMR a trustworthy VPN provider only sees your IP address, with no ability to link it to revealing payment details. If the provider has no identifying data, they can't misuse it, leak it or share it with third parties.
Paying with a credit card or PayPal exposes personally identifiable information to the service provider. Further, the payment gateway and each participants in the payment processing chain can learn you are using that specific provider. In the event of a leak, official request, or compromise, your use of the VPN service could be tied to you personally, and in the worst case your activities could be directly correlated to you as well.
The above also highlights why you should use providers that don't require an email or other personal information to sign up and accept anonymity-friendly payment methods without an third-party.
Should all of this matter to you?
As we often remark, it all comes down to your personal threat model. What information you want to protect? Who are the adversaries?
If you occasionally use a VPN to watch BBC iPlayer and you trust your provider, the risks are minimal. If you are concerned about potential compromise, or you might be at threat if your personal information is correlated to your activities, it's better to minimize the amount of information you (are required to) share.

2024-10-21 13:24:26 GMT

This should be now fixed. We have not considered that the nostr.json is queried with parameters ie. ?name=nostr so had to disable www redirect for /nostr.json*. Please let us know if our account shows up as unverified in any Nostr client. Thanks!
#nevent1q…yw47

2024-10-21 09:21:32 GMT

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These checks are doable in any network scenario, they were created for universal usage. These guides also include checking for proper obfuscation implementation (obfs and v2ray), which is specifically helpful in restrictive environments like China. Of course Chinese firewall conditions might prevent you to progress at certain steps. On the other hand, our key focus with IVPN is not censorship circumvention that's why we don't manually test/QA from within China.

2024-10-17 21:06:02 GMT

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We'll look into it, thanks for the note!

2024-10-16 20:19:33 GMT

A privacy guide series we recently wrapped up details the steps for self-auditing your VPN.
It's a fairly technical series, but if you rely on a commercial VPN for privacy - no matter the provider - we recommend taking the time to work through these steps. That will help you verify that your VPN connection is working as intended, there are no leaks, and that your provider implemented important features like firewall and forward secrecy properly.
In part one, we cover the initial setup, including installing WireShark for packet capture and analysis. You'll also learn to gather necessary details on your VPN's server, protocol, and port: https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/self-audit-series-part1/
In part two, we show how to verify the details of a WireGuard VPN connection, including checking for leaks. This guide includes verification of v2Ray obfuscation and post-quantum resistant encryption: https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/self-audit-series-part2/
Part three we do the same for OpenVPN and also discuss checking firewall effectiveness and perfect forward secrecy implementation: https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/self-audit-series-part3/
Have you gone through these guides and have feedback or questions? You know what to do.

2024-10-08 16:19:28 GMT

We'll be at Bitcoin Amsterdam on Wednesday and Thursday bearing gifts.
If you are attending and spot someone in this jacket -> don't be a stranger.
https://image.nostr.build/97cce5b8939e38d11e3524f0f1030c1ddaa204616c059cd502d4b221d3b883b2.jpg

2024-10-07 16:20:04 GMT

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Thanks. Can you create multiple channels within your group?