Newbie questions about airVPN

[546595 0]

Hi people.
I wasn't sure where to post all these questions at once so I guess the OT section is safest.

I'm looking into VPN as a newbie and have some questions about airVPN, which indeed seems to be the best alternative. I almost signed up for PrivateInternetAccess because they hade some "loud" marketing, but this place seemed more... real.
Ok, here goes:


1. As a newb I may not be able to set up the VPN properly. If I would spaz out and give up, would I be able to get a refund say within a week or so? How long is a trial?
2. I saw there was a warranty on 4mbps, and my ordinary connection is 100/100mbps. What is the typical speed? Closer to 4 or 100?
3. Is it possible to set up the VPN in the router, so that the traffic from all machines on the LAN automatically go through the VPN? (Asus R-N56U).
4. I heard about DNS leaks. Not entirely sure what they are, but does airVPN protect against this? I read something about VPN over Tor fixes this - Sounds GOOD!
5. I use Ubuntu 12.04 and can set VPN settings directly in the OS (top right). Does airVPN on Ubuntu require special software or can I set it up via the built-in function?
6. If I can somehow select Gateways (GW), would a GW in my country give me faster speeds than a GW in another Geo-location?
7. I understand that airVPN does not keep any forms of logs. But I read somewhere that there are logs that are flushed (deleted) every log-off. What's true? And if logs, then what info?
8. Can I connect to the VPN as normal if I go abroad and bring my machine? What if I don't bring a machine but would like to log on via a hotel comp for instance?
9. I run a webserver, will this be affected by the VPN set up in the router, ie can inbound traffic still be routed to the webserver?
10. When connecting to the VPN, is that initial travel of information unprotected (from my GW to airVPN), or how does that work?

11. The guide to install in ubuntu (which was kindly linked to by gigan3rd) mentioned there should be 4 files in a zip file after generating certs etc. There is only one .ovpn file though and to specify certificate, key etc in VPN settings I cut the tags from that file and saved them as individual files (crt, key). Same situation with another VPN I tried, that's why I knew what to do. It connects A-OK, but can I be sure the settings are right...? (There are two certs in the original file so I just winged it which was which).

12. I tried to generate new settings to be able to set VPN over Tor, and followed https://airvpn.org/tor/ , select socks, port etc but the file that downloads is empty (0 bytes).... Fixable? Am I only allowed one settings file?

Wow, that's a lot of questions. I'm learning a lot here
Thanks so much for replies.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

I'm looking into VPN as a newbie and have some questions about airVPN, which indeed seems to be the best alternative. I almost signed up for PrivateInternetAccess because they hade some "loud" marketing, but this place seemed more... real.

 

I tested PIA, too, and didn't like it.

 

2. I saw there was a warranty on 4mbps, and my ordinary connection is 100/100mbps. What is the typical speed? Closer to 4 or 100?

 

I think you will be able to use most of it. For reference, I personally lose less than 10% of my original speed.

 

3. Is it possible to set up the VPN in the router, so that the traffic from all machines on the LAN automatically go through the VPN?

 

I believe it's possible with DD-WRT (because those "stock" router firmwares don't support OpenVPN as far as I know..)

 

4. I heard about DNS leaks. Not entirely sure what they are, but does airVPN protect against this?

 

The DNS leak problem applies to Windows only as far as I know. (What is a DNS leak?)

 

5. I use Ubuntu 12.04 and can set VPN settings directly in the OS (top right). Does airVPN on Ubuntu require special software or can I set it up via the built-in function?

 

Connecting with Ubuntu Network Manager

 

7. I understand that airVPN does not keep any forms of logs. But I read somewhere that there are logs that are flushed (deleted) every log-off. What's true? And if logs, then what info?

 

Now, AirVPN inevitably know your real IP when you are connected. Every VPN provider knows it. If you disconnect, AirVPN won't keep it.

However, if session history is enabled you can view a list of your previous connections with connection duration, the protocol, which server etc. You can turn it off, of course.

 

8. Can I connect to the VPN as normal if I go abroad and bring my machine? What if I don't bring a machine but would like to log on via a hotel comp for instance?

 

Yes and yes. To connect to AirVPN with a hotel computer the computer need to have OpenVPN installed and I'm not that sure this is the case.

If you are abroad without your own machine make sure to disconnect your own machine first because an account can only be connected to one single server.

 

Not everything answered but I think it's a good start.

[546595 0]

THANKS A LOT!!

 

I signed up for the 3-day variety to give it a try. I also thought of a few more Qs (also added to OP):

 

 

11. The guide to install in ubuntu (which was kindly linked to above) mentioned there should be 4 files in a zip file after generating certs etc. There is only one .ovpn file though and to specify certificate, key etc in VPN settings I cut the tags from that file and saved them as individual files (crt, key). Same situation with another VPN I tried, that's why I knew what to do. It connects A-OK, but can I be sure the settings are right...?

12. I tried to generate new settings to be able to set VPN over Tor, and followed https://airvpn.org/tor/ , select socks, port etc in the generator but the file that downloads is empty (0 bytes).... Fixable? Am I only allowed one settings file?

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

11. The guide to install in ubuntu (which was kindly linked to above) mentioned there should be 4 files in a zip file after generating certs etc. There is only one .ovpn file though and to specify certificate, key etc in VPN settings I cut the tags from that file and saved them as individual files (crt, key). Same situation with another VPN I tried, that's why I knew what to do. It connects A-OK, but can I be sure the settings are right...?

 

Did you tick Advanced mode and then Separate keys from .ovpn file? With this you don't need to separate anything on your own.

How you can be sure the settings are right? If it connects and your IP is AirVPN's server IP, it's alright.

 

12. I tried to generate new settings to be able to set VPN over Tor, and followed https://airvpn.org/tor/ , select socks, port etc in the generator but the file that downloads is empty (0 bytes).... Fixable? Am I only allowed one settings file?

 

You sure you ticked a server? Just kidding.

Just tried to generate config files for Seginus, DE, TCP/443 with the separate option and SOCKS. None of the files were empty. Try again with the separate option.