Guide To Getting Started + Links For Advanced Users

[LZ1 672]

Hello !
 

Introduction

Welcome To AirVPN!

This is a guide meant to help new people. Whether you're new to VPNs in general or just new to AirVPN.
I've tried to keep it fairly short, by using bullet points & spoiler tags. This hopefully also makes it more readable and less scary.
I think AirVPN is a FANTASTIC VPN and while I don't own or have any stake in AirVPN myself, I'm a huge supporter of it.
However, it can be quite scary and confusing to use when you first get started, so hopefully my little guide willl help you!

 

This guide also includes links to resources provided by Air and other users, but I don't mean to take credit for these things. So please feel free to scroll to the bottom of this guide! 

Index:

• Introduction
• First Questions
• Getting Started With AirVPN
• After Downloading The Eddie Client   [includes Troubleshooting tips]
• AirVPN Guides Section   [Look here to find guides about: Security/Torrenting/Port-forwarding/Plex/etc.]
• Other Noteworthy resources
• Credits

Why I made this guide:

AirVPN was said to be very technical and thus hard to use. But since it's such a quality VPN, I don't want that to always be the main bad side to this great service. Therefore, this guide is also a response to this problem, so that newcomers can hopefully feel less overwhelmed about the idea of the air to breathe the real Internet.

The Air staff clearly put in a lot of work every day and are extremely knowledgeable people, from all that I've seen. It's just that for newcomers, it can be hard and overwhelming finding all the relevant pieces of information and it can easily be too technical, so I hope my little guide will also be useful in that regard. This is also why, I collect other people's guides and put them in this guide, so that they're easier to find. However, Thank you to AirVPN, Staff and the many knowledgeable members of this community who help out people like myself quite a lot, through their contributions to the site everyday :]

Feel free to leave feedback on this guide, both good and bad, if you want to, because I'll happily read it !
 

First Questions

Do I have to be really technical to use this VPN stuff?

• AirVPN is one of the more technical VPNs out there and this is pretty much its only major drawback, when it gets reviewed. However, it offers unmatched attention to security and privacy. Not all reviews are entirely accurate either, sadly. Which the AirVPN Staff haven't hesitated to remark on though.
• So in short: No. But if you're new to VPNs in general and not a tech-savvy user, you do have to accept that you might be confused in the start. But this forum is here to help :].
• Due to all the marketing and sometimes paid reviews, it can be hard to find out which VPN to trust at all. This is without even getting to the technical features. Air tends to somewhat pride itself on not overselling things however and so on the face of it, AirVPN can seem like it's no match for other, apparently bigger VPNs, but AirVPN has a lot to offer if you take a look.

Will I become totally anonymous or completely secure?

Please be aware that when using AirVPN or any VPN, while signed in to things such as your e-mail or other online accounts, you might get incorrect notices of being hacked. You have not been hacked most likely, it's just that when services see you log in from several different IP addresses, they get suspicious. Simply keep calm and investigate the issue.

• No, definitely not. But in terms of steps you can take to reach very high levels of privacy and security, this is one of the best steps you can take. Privacy and security are hard things.
• To achieve even higher levels involves sorting out things like your operating system, browser, various habits and using networks like Tor, in addition to a VPN like this.
• Security is hard. It's rarely, if ever, just a one-off solution. Often, security is as much a process, as it is about a single good product, like this VPN.
• However. just because a VPN doesn't do everything, it doesn't mean it's useless. A lot depends on what you're trying to do/achieve and who your "enemies" are.
• Yet it should be said, that AirVPN is quite extreme about security. For Air, it's "all or nothing" in many ways. AirVPN is so focused about security, that they even fix issues before they're published!
• However, VPNs and others technologies are becoming more and more important, as new spy laws like the UK Snoopers Charter & US Rule 41 Amendment crop up.
• Please check the question "What does AirVPN do to make it safe to use and does it log or track people?" further down, for more details.

VPNs A & B have features X & Y, how does AirVPN compare?

• For this, check out the forum made specifically for that.
• It's often the case that features from other VPNs are either already included in AirVPN, aren't included because they're unsafe or just aren't as good as they sound.
• For instance, a rival VPN might say "We offer PPTP and many other secure protocols!", while Air doesn't, because Air knows PPTP is unsafe.
• Or they might say they offer a "multi-hop" VPN, which may or may not be useful, according to AirVPN Staff.
• Support for the protocol known as IKEv2 is another example of where Air doesn't support something, but has good reasons for not doing so.
• As a final example, you will sometimes see competitors speak of their super-secret "camouflage", "4Dstealth" or "hidden" protocols or servers. This is just marketing for gullible customers .
• But such aforementioned marketing can greatly confuse efforts to compare Airs product with the competitors. So if in doubt, ask the competitor who is offering "stealth"-something, what it is.

If I use AirVPN, will I be able to use service XYZ with it?

 

Please be aware that when using AirVPN or any VPN, while signed in to things such as your e-mail or other online accounts, you might get incorrect notices of being hacked. You have not been hacked most likely, it's just that when services see you log in from several different IP addresses, they get suspicious. Simply keep calm and investigate the issue.

Please also be aware that it is NOT the main purpose of AirVPN to get access to geo-restricted content because it's a losing battle and Air cannot control how companies such as the BBC and Netflix act.

• Being able to get access to a site, generally depends on which service you want and which country it's in. AirVPN doesn't have servers in every country.
• In general, you can get access to everything. Although services like BBC iPlayer and Netflix actively try to block VPNs.
• Even services as normal as payment processors, such as PayPal don't always make things easy.
• This means it's not always possible for a VPN provider to do anything about it. But we do have forums to discuss and notify AirVPN on, so that AirVPN can try to solve it as best as it can.
• But before you post in that forum, make sure to Read This First, as it might help you & will make your posts more helpful to others.
• AirVPN has a very useful tool called the Route Checking tool. It allows you to test access to a website from ALL AirVPN servers.
• Just put in a full link in the search field and click the search button. Then press F5 or hit the refresh button in your browser. Green results usually mean there's access; red results mean the opposite.
• This is useful for seeing if it's only you who has a problem or only the server you're on. As well as which servers don't have a problem, so that you can switch to using those ones instead.
• It's most important that it's green in the "HTTP" column. There's many different HTTP Codes, so here's a list.
• VPNs generally slow down your connection a little. But AirVPN is so good that it's still possible to play Multiplayer games through it, without your connection slowing down too much, in my own experience.

What does AirVPN do to make it safe to use and does it log or track people? 

• AirVPN isn't just safe because it promises to be so in its marketing. Instead, it backs things up with hard technical specifications and high standards, that you can verify yourself.
• AirVPN is logless and can't be forced to log surreptitiously, fully supports P2P on all servers & as per #5 ignores all DMCA requests. Remotely-forwarded ports aren't logged either.
• Here's additional things Air does to increase its security and privacy:

1. AirVPNs infrastructure conforms to a high degree of openness & transparency. This helps show that none of Airs locations are fake, but only bare-metal & lets users compare with one another.
2. AirVPNs encryption standards are military grade and so for all intents and purposes unbreakable. It also only uses the most secure VPN protocol too: OpenVPN. No PPTP/SSTP/L2TP/IKEv2.
3. AirVPN doesn't use any third party tracking on its website, such as Google Analytics or Social buttons, because they leak. Instead, it uses open-source analytics Matomo, which is closed loop.
4. AirVPNs website meets the highest SSLabs security standards: A+.
5. AirVPN takes its mission to fight censorship and manipulation of the Internet extremely seriously. This also means being highly willing to help out journalists and human-rights defenders.
6. AirVPN only uses FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) in its Eddie client. Therefore the software running on your system is not a security "blackbox", but can be independently verified.
7. AirVPNs Eddie client supports a wide selection of protocols. Including SSL and SSH. As well as anonymising services such as Tor; so that you can "partition trust" and need not trust AirVPN.
8. AirVPN fully accepts crypto-currencies. Including to the point where it accepts Bitcoin directly. No middlemen. So if done right, you can use AirVPN with Air knowing nothing about you.
9. AirVPN explains how it doesn't need to inspect or monitor traffic in order to check for breaches of ToS.
10. AirVPN is against security through obscurity, including in its client software Eddie and so shows all the information it can; which leads some users to erroneously think there's logging going on. AirVPN has since then expanded on this point.
11. AirVPN uses in-house support technicians and not outsourced third-party technicians and external packages such as Zendesk. So as with #3, it's closed-loop. No leakage.
12. AirVPN has a strict location policy, so that it doesn't just set up servers in a new, potentially unsafe or questionable, location. One which can't supply the performance required, either.
13. AirVPN has its own DNS servers and "killswitch" feature. With Network Lock on, any accidental loss of connection from Airs servers won't leak anything about you; including WebRTC.
14. AirVPN is run by extremely knowledgeable technical people and not just businessmen. So they're easily able to both explain, defend and attack subjects on a purely technical level.
15. AirVPN supports the auditing of some of the crucial security software that underlies different systems and also supports other projects/groups/services such as Tor, Edri and OpenNIC.
16. AirVPN runs this forum, which can seem like a small thing, but it's actually really important, as it allows for the open sharing of knowledge, providing of technical support and mythbusting.
17. AirVPN already acts as a "multi-hop" VPN and takes many other measures to increase security, such as separate entry & exit IPs, Perfect Forward Secrecy and HMAC SHA1.
18. AirVPN has a strong focus on avoiding marketing fluff and overselling. Which means you know exactly what you're getting and don't need to deal with deceptive use of technical details.
19. AirVPN is highly consistent with staying constantly on top of any security issue.
20. AirVPN is based in Italy and is therefore within the EU. This has a range of other benefits too.

• That's 20+ ways in which Air has extremely high security "by default". All made nice and easy for you to use. If you want more, there's a simple 3 step guide for that.
• But seriously, there's always more you can do yourself.

When will AirVPN add country or server XYZ?

• AirVPN Staff do not usually tell the community when a new country or server will be added. They simply add them. So it's easy to miss. The Eddie client will automatically show them.
• AirVPN frequently adds new countries/locations. This can be seen in the announcement forum, so please try to check this and the Eddie client (if you use it) before asking. Thank you.
• Requests for a specific location or addition to an existing one, are fine. But demands to know when something will happen, are futile, since AirVPN follows a strict location policy.
• The technical specifications regarding security/encryption for the Air servers that are used, can be found here. Further, those technologies and standards allows Air to pursue its Mission.
• Please remember that even if a country you want hasn't been added, you may still be able to get access to the web-content of that country, thanks to Airs micro-routing feature.
• Here's some old posts regarding different locations, so that you may not need to ask. Please note that some, such as Japan as of 2018 & Austria, were already added:
• Italian Servers?
• Japan/Korea Servers? [staff Comment]
• Russian Servers?
• Danish Servers?
• Middle-East/North African Servers?
• Indian Servers?
• Panama Servers?
• Australian/New Zealand Servers?
• Latvian Servers?
• French & Belgian Servers?[uPDATE: French Servers Momentarily Withdrawn]
• Austrian Servers?
• Central/South American Servers?

AirVPN now allows 5 connections per account instead of 3, but is it possible to buy more connections?

• AirVPN has increased the limit from 3 to 5 connections. Thus it's unlikely to be possible to buy more connections at any point. But you can use a modified router if you still need more than 5.
• If you change your router firmware(software) to something like DD-WRT or Tomato for instance, you can make all devices on your Wi-Fi/Router go through AirVPN.
• However running a VPN on a router is quite hardwork for most routers. So you either need high-grade commercial ones or computers like the ZBOX Nano, converted into routers.
• That ZBOX Nano PC would be excellent for a VPN to run on, as the hardware is very good; even more than the commercial routers. Only savvy users should consider this.

Who runs AirVPN & moderates the forums?

• The Staff account is the Official voice of AirVPN. Private messages cannot be sent to them.
• Clodo & pj are the most visible AirVPN employees. Clodo is the developer of AirVPNs "Eddie" client software, while pj is a co-founder of AirVPN.
• Community moderators: zhang888, giganerd and LZ1. Note that we are NOT AirVPN employees, have no access to Air infrastructure and do NOT speak for Air in an official way.
• Instead, zhang888, giganerd and LZ1 are a part of what the Air Staff call the Air "forum Staff".
• Note that member profiles can't be accessed by others by default, unless you add them as friends or they made their profile public.
• Air itself is based in Italy and so that's where their staff will be sourced from.

What are some of the "Status" page functions for & how do I use AirVPNs "Micro-routing" feature?

• The first page you see when you go to the Status page, is an overview of Airs servers & service. Useful for seeing if any server is down or very busy, downloads and how many users there are.
• The Ping Matrix shows the latency between Air servers and if there's any (severe) packet loss somewhere. No packets = no connection.
• The Top Users page can help you verify if others are still getting good or bad performance, compared to yourself.
• The Checking Route page is for seeing if Air servers can or can't connect to a website you select. Unlike the Ping Matrix.
• There's also the special AirVPN "Micro-routing" service. To use it, simply make sure you connect to Airs servers & DNS. (Automatic when you use Airs Eddie client).
• Without the micro-routing, if you want to watch French TV for example, you would have to connect to a French server.
• But with micro-routing, you can connect to ANY Air server and still watch French TV, as long as the TV's website is on the "Website support" list.
• It's possible to make requests to get sites added to these lists.
• Anyway, this micro-routing is very very useful ! Because it means that EVEN IF Air takes all French servers offline for some reason, you will still be able to access French content!

Is it free and if not, why should I pay for it?

• AirVPN is not free, but you can get a short trial if you ask nicely. The Trial has unlimited data and full speed. But you can only get a refund if you have used less than 5GB.
• Free services don't offer many of the very nice features which let you get around website/service blocks.
• But it can be hard to market these features to non-technical people, because they're not always easy to explain. Yet once you try them, you will appreciate them.
• AirVPN has quality servers & connections, as well as guarantees a certain speed, with no limits. So it's possible to play multiplayer games through it.
• Free services often have to exploit their users in order to survive. This is normally done by tracking you, possibly undermining your security and selling your data to 3rd parties.
• If a free service is leaking your data due to poor practices and technology by accident or selling it on purpose, what's the point in using it then? VPN means Virtual Private Network.
• Even if a free service doesn't exploit you, you still don't have the same level of security or assurances, because how would a free service pay for that? Real security is hard and costly.
• Would you rather go through 5 bad free services, risking your security and privacy or would you rather take your privacy and security seriously the first time, for a small fee?
• If you only need a VPN 1 time, then it's probably not worth it to use a paid service. But if you know you'll need it often, it's worth the investment. Air has a very cheap 3 day plan too though.
• Free services often have many limits. But AirVPN is logless, allows 5 devices per account, allows P2P and other protocols, has no data/bandwidth limits & very high security.
• So basically, you need to be able to Trust your provider, yet why would a free service be trustworthy? They don't owe you anything.
• But a paid one at least does - not that all paid services are great either though.
• Not all services on the web offer the same level of protection either, whether free or not. Many services, paid & unpaid, lie to you about where they have servers. Fake GeoIP addresses.

Since AirVPN isn't free, is it possible to buy a Lifetime subscription, as with other VPNs? Does AirVPN hold sales at all?

This question has received its own dedicated topic, so please click the link below

• All sales related questions are answered in this dedicated thread.

 

Getting Started With AirVPN

If you run into a problem with Airs software for some reason, then please make sure to check if there's an experimental version of the Eddie client you can download. Experimental versions aren't always available.

How do I start using AirVPN?

There's 3 simple steps:

• Create Account
• Choose a Plan
• Choose your setup

 

Creating an account:

 

You don't need a valid e-mail address. The site software, called IPB, just needs the field to be filled with something. Remember that password recovery will NOT work without a valid address.

• If you can, don't use something which uniquely identifies you. So even if you name your account ninja10834, that's still better than something about your real name, location or even interests.
• With this account, you can also post on the forums. However in the beginning, you won't be able to post on these forums immediately.
• This is because a moderator has to make sure that whatever you post, is both genuine and from a person.
• So when you click the "post" button, your own post will NOT show up immediately; so just be patient, when asking a question.
• After around 5-10 posts being accepted, your account will increase in level and you will be able to post things immediately, without any supervision.
• There's 2 names associated with your account. The first is your login name, which cannot be changed and can't be seen by others. You would need to make a new account, to change it.
• The second name is your forum display name. In my case, it's LZ1. This can be changed by you at any time, but only matters in the forum.
• NOTE: it's your login name  you use for logging into the Eddie software, together with your login password.

 

Choose a plan:

• At this stage, you pick both how you wish to pay and how much. It's possible to pay in currencies known as "cryptocurrencies".
• These cryptocurrencies, most famously Bitcoin, have a range of benefits when it comes to things like security and privacy, if used correctly.
• If you want to pay using a cryptocurrency, there's some guidance on what to do, further down, in the guides section.
• However if you're just starting out, it's fine if you just use your credit card or whatever method which suits you.
• It's also possible to ask for a short trial. You can also scroll back up to the "First Questions" section and look for the information on Air's sales, if you want to wait for a discount.
• After paying, you will be a "Premium User" and will be able to see how many days you have left of your subscription, at the top of the screen, when you're logged into your account.

 

Choose your setup:

 

AirVPN provides a mobile version of its Eddie app for Android. An iOS version is NOT available due to Apple's restrictive policies.

• This stage is pretty straightforward. Just make sure you select the right versions and hit Download.
• Your OS: Find out which Windows Operating System you're running or which GNU/Linux you're running. Mac users must use either Mavericks or something newer.
• Your Architecture: Most will be locked into 64-bit here, as 32-bit is outdated.
• Your Format: Windows users should select "Installer" & MacOS users select "PKG Package Installer". Ubuntu/Linux users pick according to distro; adding a PPA will enable auto-updates of Eddie.
• Your User Interface: Most people should pick Graphical UI.  Unless you want to run some kind of headless install, as some technical users do.
• Then click the big blue Download button and follow regular installation procedures. Now you will be downloading the AirVPN software.
• DONE.  No further reading is required from here. Just open Eddie and click "Connect to Recommended Server". Unless you need a guide for something or want to know some of the finer details.
• This software is called a "client". This "client" is called "Eddie", because that's what AirVPN calls it. So when you hear talk of "Eddie", it's referring to the software you downloaded. 
• If you don't want to use Eddie for some reason, there's ways of getting around it. But for new and casual users, it's recommended that you use it.
• If normal Installer Formats create problems, you can sometimes fix them by using the portable formats. A portable download is also useful if you want to store Eddie on a USB stick.
• If the latest Stable or Experimental release doesn't work for you, then you can download an earlier version, by clicking the "Other versions" link under the blue download button.

How and where do I manage my AirVPN settings?

You do that in the Client Area

Some of the most important things in this area include:

• Configuration Generator
• Ports
• Referrals

Number 1 is where you automatically generate the files that your VPN needs to work (if you don't use the Eddie Client, such as if you use Android), after you tick some boxes.

Number 2 allows you to tell the VPN which "ports" or "virtual doors" to open, which can speed up things such as your Bittorent client (qBittorent, uTorrent, Vuze, Transmission, etc.)
Even though it looks confusing, the only thing you actually need to change, is putting the right number in the "Local Port" field. So if your torrent program uses port 7634 for instance, then
you put 7634 into the "Local Port" field and simply click the green add button. Then a number will automatically be generated and put into the big white box at the top. All done.

 

Number 3 shows you the link you can share with other people. If they buy an AirVPN plan, you get 20% of what they pay. Then you can use this money to pay for your own plan.
 

What if I need help during the process?

• If you need help from Air, you can easily contact them. If you're wondering why AirVPN doesn't have "Livechat" or might take a little longer to reply than other providers, then this is why.
• However you can also just come to these forums. If you can't post yet, then you can read the various guides which exist.
• In the AirVPN program called Eddie, there's a tab called "logs", which lists various information about what's happening. You can copy this and post it on the forums so we can help.
• But when you post your logs, MAKE SURE you post them inside "spoiler tags".
• If you don't use spoiler tags, you will annoy and make things more difficult for everyone, including yourself. I've used untold numbers of spoilers in this guide, as an example.

What are logs, where are they and how do I use spoiler tags?

• When the AirVPN Eddie software is running, it creates a list of what it is doing. What's connecting, when, where, if something went wrong and so on. A log of events.
• So when you ask for help on these forums, we will often ask about your logs, because without logs, we do NOT know what is happening, in your specific situation .
• If you open the AirVPN "Eddie" client software, you will see a "Logs" tab. On the top right-hand side of the window, the 2nd button from the top, lets you copy your logs quickly.
• After copying the logs from Eddie, paste them into your posts when you need help. Do so by typing the short codes necessary; which we call using "Spoiler tags".
• This makes it much more convenient for everyone; just like this question and answer, is inside a spoiler . Please try to do it, thank you!

Is there anything in my AirVPN account I should change?

• Go to the top-right corner of the screen and click your account username. Then click "My Settngs" in the drop-down box.
• Under "Profile Privacy", you might wish to un-check the checkbox, if you want others to be able to view your profile when clicking your name.
• Under the "Notification Options" tab and then under the header "Topics & Posts", check the box which lets you auto-follow things you reply to.
• This is very useful. Because then you'll get a little notification in the top-right corner, every time someone replies to a thread you made.
• This makes getting help more convenient. It's also good for following what's happening in threads that you post in.
• Remember to check the boxes on the right-hand side, so that you can choose if you want to be notified via the forum or via E-mail .
• You can also enable notifications for when people "like" your posts, since that can be quite encouraging!
• Under "Profile Settings", you might be curious about who visited your profile. So you can make it show the last 5 visitors.
• Everything else such as signatures, allowing others to add you as a friend and so on, are up to you. Enjoy!

Is there an Experimental or Beta version of the AirVPN Eddie Client I can try? If so, where is it and why would I want to try it? 

 

Note that whenever you download the Beta/Experimental Client, you'll always receive the latest one. You can check your version number after you open Eddie and go to its "About" page.

 

There aren't always any Experimental clients to download and new clients are continuously released. So keep an eye on the announcement section, for Beta/Experimental clients.

• Just because a release is called the "Stable" version, it doesn't mean the Beta/Experimental client is "Unstable". However don't be surprised if you run into issues .
• You can find the Beta versions [if one is available] on the download page of your OS, under "Other versions":

 

• If for some reason an Eddie client doesn't work, try downloading a "portable" version on the OS download page, under "Format".
• Being Beta/Experimental, you might run into some bugs. However I use the latest all the time, with no problems really.
• For more information on what features are added and bugs taken away, go straight to the changelog
• The Beta/Experimental client often includes fixes for bugs which the "Stable" version of Eddie has, as well as various extra features and changes. This helps all platforms.
• For example, for Windows, a prior Beta release used WFP (Windows Filtering Platform), instead of Windows Firewall, which meant it became easier to use 3rd party security software.
• 3rd party security software, are things such as Comodo firewall or Avast anti-virus. Things which you install yourself.
• In addition, it also comes with the latest software updates "out-of-the-box", such as the latest TAP drivers and OpenVPN patches, so you don't have to update them yourself.
• It may enable some things by default, which a current Stable version requires you to change yourself (as explained in the next section of this guide).
• By using the Beta, you can also help AirVPN by providing feedback, which means Air can then make things even better . Each Beta release has its own feedback thread.
• Just remember to describe the problem, tell us which system you use (Linux/Windows/MacOS/etc.), the client version (Go to Eddie client "About" page) and some logs in spoilers! : D. Thanks!

 

 

After Downloading The Eddie Client

Please remember to share your Eddie logs and use spoiler tags, when you need help from the community. How to do so, is answered in the previous section, thank you!

What's "Network Lock" & should I use it?

Please be aware that using Network Lock with Tor can be contradictory to try. It's not currently planned for.

Please also note that it's expected that Eddie turns off Network Lock, when Eddie is shut down.

• Network Lock in AirVPN, is what many other VPN providers normally call a "killswitch". So this is Airs own "killswitch".
• Network Lock (NL) is a way for the AirVPN software to force all of your computers network communications through the AirVPN service, so that nothing "leaks out" about your identity.
• For new users, I don't recommend using it too soon. I recommend waiting a few days and just getting comfortable with the day-to-day running of the software and then using it later.
• With NL on, your internet connection will stop entirely, if you lose connection to the Air servers. This is great for preventing information from leaking & is a feature, not a bug.
• Why is this important? Well, I don't want to name & shame other providers, but one poster showed that his last provider leaked his real IP address during server changes. This shouldn't happen.
• But with NL on, this won't happen to you, because changing servers in Eddie will mean disconnecting from server A to go to server B. Thus the connection is stopped first & then resumed. No leaks.
• But if you want maximum security right away and aren't afraid of small technical issues, you can start using it right away. It can always be changed back..

How can I test that AirVPN is hiding my IP and DNS addresses correctly?

Turning on Network Lock in the Eddie client will protect you from WebRTC leaks.

• You can use AirVPNs own service called ipleak.net. Make sure it's .net and NOT .com.
• Since ipleak.net is run by Air, it has now received its own sub-forum, where you can ask questions, give suggestions and receive information on any changes made to ipleak.
• Un-configured, browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome will "leak" (show) your real IP address through a technology called "WebRTC".
• To stop WebRTC, scroll to the bottom of the ipleak page and read the very short and simple instructions on how to fix it. It's not overly technical, don't worry.
• If you torrent files, there's also a torrent on the same website, which you can download in order to test which IP other torrenters would see if you torrented a real file. It's recommended you use Free & Open Source Software(FOSS). With this client, you can make it bind itself to whichever network adapter is using the VPN, which is convenient, so that it only torrents when using a VPN.
• I can recommend setting ipleak.net as your browser start page, so that every time you start your browser, you'll quickly be able to see if everything is working as intended.

Eddie can't connect or is very slow, what can I do?

If none of the below solutions work, then it's time to ask the forums or Air support. In BOTH cases, please supply your logs, as detailed before. Otherwise no one can help you.

• First, please make sure your client is updated to the latest Stable or Beta release. You can see your version number in Eddie>Top Left Corner Menu>About. Head to download page if not.
• Please try different protocols, at Eddie>Menu>Preferences>Protocols>Uncheck "Automatic">Select a protocol, such as SSL or TCP 443> Save>re-connect to an Air server.
• Please try connecting to not just different servers, but different countries too. Proximity to your location does not automatically mean better connections; due to routing technicalities.
• If you're an online gamer, you may benefit from changing the buffer sizes, as mentioned by Staff.
• If you're a Linux, MacOS or Windows user and webpages aren't loading fully or there's less than optimum speed, you can try the so-called "mssfix".
• If it's simply a problem with connecting to airvpn.org, then please try the alternate entry: airvpn.info - note that sometimes Air comes under attack from within and so you get an error page.
• If Eddie, such as in its Logs, says there's problems with route checking, please refer here for a solution. Note: disabling Preferences>DNS>Check Air DNS can be tried at the same time too.
• If you enabled Network Lock and can't connect to the web without Eddie turned on, then please disable Network Lock or reset your firewall and/or DNS, as shown in the two posts here.
• If torrenting speeds are slow, then please remember to port-forward and configure your torrent client correctly. For detailed guides on this, please go to the Guides Section below.
• For some ISPs, such as Virgin Media, please check the Guides Section below, for specific tutorials on how to optimize speeds.
• In some cases, especially if you run Air directly on your router, it's possible that your computer hardware isn't new enough to handle the encryption quickly enough.
• For Windows users, updating or downgrading the TAP adapter may work. But this shouldn't be tried as the first thing, as it's often not necessary now.
• For Windows users, you can try downloading a program called TCPOptimizer.

Which other steps can I take to increase my privacy and security?

• Using AirVPN with Tor is a strong answer, among many other good ones. Here's a further explanation of how AirVPN & Tor work, when together.
• There's also many other ways to handle privacy and security on multiple fronts.
• If you're looking for a technical challenge, you can install pfSense on a very powerful computer, to make it act like a router, so that all devices connected to your Wi-Fi will be covered by the VPN.
• Why not just use an expensive commercial router? Because even expensive ones struggle to handle the protocol known as "OpenVPN" efficiently enough to give excellent performance.
• You can change the software & hardware you use & support the organisations which try to make things better; such as the FSF/EFF.
• If you're a geek or networking enthusiast, you can also check out things such as the Turris Omnia router, which offers very powerful hardware & software.

 

 

AirVPN Guides Section

Make sure to check the date of the posts you read below.

Hope you like it !
 

Guides, How To's & Troubleshooting

• Amazon devices like the Fire Stick, Fire TV Cube and others can be used with Android Eddie without sideloading, according to Staff.
• Mini-guide by Staff on how to test if your connection is being shaped/throttled
• [How-To] Use AirVPN with Network Manager on Ubuntu/Mint
• [How-To] AirVPN via SSL/stunnel on Android 6/7/8
• [How-To] fix Virgin Media Connection Drops/Bandwidth Issues
• Plex Server Guidance (Until someone makes an actual Plex guide)
• Paying with Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency Guidance. (Until someone makes an actual Cryptocurrency guide)
• Mini-guides On How To Improve Torrent Speeds
• Mini-guide On Torrenting With Tixati Client
• How To Autostart AirVPN As Root With No Password (Linux) Note: security risk & What Staff Says(OSX/MacOS)
• How To Setup The Eddie Client On Raspberry Pi 3
• How To Port-Forward & Use A Torrent Client
• Guide To pfSense 2.3 For AirVPN
• Guide to pfSense 2.1 For AirVPN
• Firefox Extensions Guide
• Guide To Setting Up VPN For Torrenting On Windows
• Guide - What To Do When A Site Is Blocked
• AirVPN Forum Styleguide
• How To Improve Smartphone Security
• How To Block Non-VPN Traffic With Windows Firewall
• How To Connect To AirVPN With Your Fritz!box Router
• Using AirVPN Through Stunnel On Android
• Using AirVPN Over Tor
• Using AirVPN on iOS
• Check Your TAP Driver Version
• Explaining The Use Of AirVPN With Tor
• How To Configure A Synology Device For AirVPN
• AirVPN & iOS

 

Other Noteworthy Resources

Links

Please be aware that AirVPN, unlike most, does NOT buy or otherwise use paid-for reviews.

• An alternative VPN client to Eddie, for Linux.
• Best VPNs 2016 & AirVPNs results
• Advanced Networking & Computing
• How To Break The Internet (Cory Doctorow) (Recommended Watch)
• Why the OpenVPN protocol that Air uses is good
• Guide to all things privacy
• Five Eyes Countries
• Schneier on Encryption
• CGP Grey explaining Encryption
• 10 Myths About VPNs (Ignore the self-advertising) (Recommended Read)
• The Eternal Value Of Privacy (Recommended Read)

Credits

Thank you to:

• AirVPN & Staff for their excellent service and explanations.
• inradius for his guide on how to use Air with Network Manager on Ubuntu/Mint
• Omninegro for his pertinent guide on extensions.
• The always crazily knowledgeable and helpful zhang888, whom I owe a lot to for all his work here. Thanks man.
• Omniferums excellent guide on securing Windows.
• pfSense_fans guide on how to use the excellent pfSense firewall software.
• The always very friendly and helpful giganerd!
• NaDre for his excellent torrenting guide.
• neolefort for his Synology guide.
• sheivoko's guide on using AirVPN through stunnel on Android
• bigbrosbitch for starting a guide on mobile security
• Zensen for his guide on how to autostart Eddie on Linux with Root
• sagarbehere for his nice guide on how to set up Eddie on a Raspberry Pi 3
• rainmakerraw for his mini-guides on improving torrent speeds and how to torrent.
• lewisisonfire for his guide to fixing out Virgina Media-related issues and with nice pictures too.
• Khariz, giganerd and ~Daniel~ for their helpful posts.

I hope the guide was of use! If you find any inaccuracies, feel free to tell me. I worked hours on this tiny guide, so I want it to be perfect haha.
I hope your experience with AirVPN will be a good one! Mine certainly has been. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Thank you for reading :]

P.S. I consider myself pretty savvy, but I remember being confused when I got here. So I can only imagine how it is for less savvy individuals.
P.P.S. I know it lacks images, but images do evil things to my spoilers, lol.

[mehāniskākaravīrs935 24]

Thanks for putting this guide together, I certainly hope that it gives new users a running start to the service

 

PS: I would add something regarding the fact that server geolocation, particularly with Google is almost never accurate due to the nature of VPN's and Googles shitty IP database system (as well as some errors with maxmind and other services aka server vendor country instead of physical location etc.)

[Guest]

Useful guide, I'm sure it'll come in quite handy for new users 

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

FAQ'd. Should be stickied somewhere.

[LZ1 672]

Thanks guys.

 

@giganerd It's an honor!

@mehāniskākaravīrs935  Maybe that's a little too advanced, hahaha. But thanks for adding it.

@EdenSpire I hope so! I'll probably be updating it as I go along, to add more details. I hope it'll help make it easier for new people.

[Revelead 16]

Should really be stickied Thanks for the guide! That will definetly help newbs haha.

[PinoPrince 0]

Super guide to start with VPN. When i choose the connection mode TOR how can I test if it is connected ?? Where do I find the Test button?

 

...AirVPN client needs access to Tor Control to works properly. To check if it already works, use the Test button in Preferences > Mode...

 

Thanks, PinoPrince

[LZ1 672]

Super guide to start with VPN. When i choose the connection mode TOR how can I test if it is connected ?? Where do I find the Test button?

 

...AirVPN client needs access to Tor Control to works properly. To check if it already works, use the Test button in Preferences > Mode...

 

 

Hello !

Thanks, PinoPrince

Welcome to AirVPN. Thank you for the compliment :]

 

That confused me too. But if you download the Tor browser bundle, go to the Eddie settings and click "tor", you're fine.

 

At the end there's a Test button. I've attached an image. Oh and Tor has its own testing service:

 

https://check.torproject.org/?lang=en_US

 

Then you can check if an AirVPN server IP shows up or not.

[CultureVulture 30]

LZ1 - sensational work. I wish I'd had this when I first starting looking into VPNs! For some time I've been thinking it would be sooooo useful for so many people to have a guide like this. And now it's here! N00bs will be very grateful, as will the rest of the community, which won't have to be reading the same newbie questions, repeated over and over again. This needs to be stickied for sure.

 

Hat's off sir.

[Lee47 23]

Awesome work cheers and thanks for mentioning pfsense_fan and his latest 2.3 guide, without his hard work and dedication many of us could not enjoy full speeds on air servers !

 

Not sure if its my end but these links here:

 

http://https//airvpn.org/topic/17747-why-we-should-abandon-google-their-services-and-broken-apis/

 

http://https//airvpn.org/topic/18229-firefox-extensions-how-to-guides/

 

Did not work, maybe the sites are down or just my end.

[LZ1 672]

@ocelot

Thank you very much! :]. That was very much the intention as well. Sorry I couldn't be there for you, lol. I'm honored that it did in fact get stickied!

 

@refresh

Thank you doubly bro! I fixed it. I appreciate the feedback :]. His guide is indeed very comprehensive too. Can't afford to let these things slide into oblivion.

[cantonadan 0]

Awesome work cheers and thanks for mentioning pfsense_fan and his latest 2.3 guide, without his hard work and dedication many of us could not enjoy full speeds on air servers !

 

Not sure if its my end but these links here:

 

http://https//airvpn.org/topic/17747-why-we-should-abandon-google-their-services-and-broken-apis/

 

http://https//airvpn.org/topic/18229-firefox-extensions-how-to-guides/

 

Did not work, maybe the sites are down or just my end.

Firefox, https everywhere, u block, nosuite, self destructing cookies, badger, and most importantly WEBRTC.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

By the way, @LZ1, we discussed browser addons in the past and listed many of them.

 

About funding browser extensions

[LZ1 672]

@giganerd

Thank you, I added it. I've already added a ton of links since I first started the thread 2 days ago. Mostly at the later stages of the guide. I'm almost satisfied lol. Almost...There's so many good threads which have relevant and interesting content, which have been left to die. So it's nice to be able to list some of them. It's great that Air funds various other projects. I really like that they run their own Tor nodes.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

They run relays, and fund nodes. See their mission page.

 

(Sent via Tapatalk - this generally means I'm not sitting in front of my PC)

[fourpoint7 1]

I mostly just lurk, but wanted to mention that this guide should prove to be a pretty useful index for individuals who are new to the topic of VPNs and their usage generally. Thanks for putting it together.

[LZ1 672]

I mostly just lurk, but wanted to mention that this guide should prove to be a pretty useful index for individuals who are new to the topic of VPNs and their usage generally. Thanks for putting it together.

Well I thank you for breaking the silence to tell me this, as I put a lot of effort into making it. I'm glad the number of edits don't seem to show, as it's criminally high lol. I hope the guide

helps more advanced users too, in terms of finding stuff, since it easily gets lost around here. Anyhow, thanks a lot !!

[stef_wilvpn 0]

Hello and thank you for posting this.

 

As I get more familiar with the options and configurations, I do have one more question in addition to the great summaries above. When using the configure generator and selecting individual servers vice countries, what are the most important stats to look at to determine the how fast the connection would be if a particular server is selected? There is a wealth of data available on each server and not sure I am paying attention to the right things as I try to evaluate what might work best.

 

Right now I tend to default to those with a higher in/out bits per second average rating in the traffic graph, but have know idea if this really means anything as far as the speed of that connection.

 

Thank you

[after_lunch 4]

Thanks for posting this guide! As a newbie (7 days), I've been working with the default settings. Following your advice, I've decided to implement the "Connect at Startup", "Activate Network Lock at Startup" and "Start with Windows" options, and I've also increased the TCP/UDP send/receive buffer sizes to 256 KB. More importantly, perhaps, I've fixed the leaky connection in Firefox, so my true IP address is now properly hidden, as confirmed by the test page. As you say in your guide, the instructions are very simple to follow! Now I need to check whether my default browser - Internet Explorer - is leaky. (I know... but I grew up with it, and I'm still fond of it.)

[LZ1 672]

@stef_wilvpn

Apologies for taking so long. I recommend just picking a category, such as a region of the world and going with that. The Air client will then automatically select the best server at the time (it fluctuates).

It should be said that it's hard, if not impossible perhaps, to give precise numbers for speeds.But in general, you would want to:

• Pick the server/region or country closest to you, because distance matters. However there's also cases where some countries simply have better infrastructure than others. Korea might have good internal networking for instance,
• Yet still not be a country which is good to connect to or via, speed-wise, due to how they and their various companies, like ISPs, handle connections.
• Then you should look at the load/state of a server, if you're picking individual servers; although I don't recommend this. Go for ones with lower amounts of load.
• Time of day also plays a part, since many ISPs have bottlenecks during daytime, while at night the connection might improve a lot.
• You also select the server with more bits per second (usage), when you should be doing the exact opposite .
• Do also pick the UDP protocol to start with and check out the other tips for optimizing the connection, as seen in the "After downloading Eddie" section.
• Naturally there's also your own hardware setup & internet speeds to consider. Things like whether or not your router is good enough; especially if you run the VPN on it directly.
• There's also the software. Windows has a lot of issues with TAP drivers. So do check out the section on if Eddie is slow.
• At any rate, I urge you to just go for it. You can always change your confirguation later. Especially after having done a few speedtests on the site .

I hope this helps. Welcome to AirVPN

 

@after_lunch

Hello ! I'm very pleased to see that! I did hope that it was simple to follow. Also, you could disable IE entirely if you wish, haha. Then just run Windows in a Virtual Machine, for when you miss it haha!

Although you might be interested in knowing there's actually a Firefox extension that apparently makes FF look like IE, haha. Something to consider!

Do feel free to share your experiences later on, as I hope it's smooth sailing for you, here on out. Welcome to AirVPN, enjoy the ride!

[after_lunch 4]

@LZI

According to ipleak.net, IE is not leaky, so I won't have to abandon it just yet! I will certainly check out the Firefox extension, though.

I had my first "connect to Air VPN at startup" this morning, which went very well. I was expecting to see a blank screen for ages, but the system went straight to the Windows (8.1) desktop as quickly as before, and only then was there a slight delay while Air VPN launched. Definitely safer, given my poor memory!

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

If I read this recommendation in my first weeks at AirVPN, I would definitely go with the servers closer to my location. Today I would connect to servers with the least hops to my ISP, because the less hops you've got in between the better your latency is. Geographic distance (I think it's called euklidean distance?) does not play a very important role in times of fibre cables.

 

(Sent via Tapatalk - this generally means I'm not sitting in front of my PC)

[LZ1 672]

@LZI

According to ipleak.net, IE is not leaky, so I won't have to abandon it just yet! I will certainly check out the Firefox extension, though.

I had my first "connect to Air VPN at startup" this morning, which went very well. I was expecting to see a blank screen for ages, but the system went straight to the Windows (8.1) desktop as quickly as before, and only then was there a slight delay while Air VPN launched. Definitely safer, given my poor memory!

Haha, this is good to hear! I'm glad it worked out for you! :]

Have you done a speed test yet? The results can be quite positively surprising.

[after_lunch 4]

@LZ1

Actually, I found the speed test on the first day of my trial. I was impressed with the test results, and they've held up in the real world! With VPN off, I get a fairly constant 55 Mbps from my up to 70 Mbps service. With AirVPN on, I can download from filehosts at a top speed of about 45 Mbps. That's almost twice the speed I was getting from HMA, and, since I've recently been starting with 40-50 GB in the download queue, it is a very welcome improvement. An unexpected bonus, too: I switched to Air just for the added security.

 

As regards Internet Explorer, the Firefox extension is a bust - it's not updated for the current Firefox version. However, I've decided to dump IE anyway: two sites I visit regularly are written for Firefox; several others seem to become unstable with IE (frozen screens; disappearing tabs). I've even discovered that the AirVPN forums don't work properly with IE: I can't copy and paste text into posts when using IE, but there's no problem when using Firefox. So I've set Firefox as my default browser, imported my IE favourites, and synced my two main PCs - only a temporary measure while I'm still constructing Bookmarks Menu folders.

[LZ1 672]

Oh damn, that's excellent. It's quite funny when reading articles on VPNs and they're like "Your speed will suffer" and then you do a speedtest here and it's almost better than your non-VPN speeds lol.

I don't know which version of IE you use, but it's generally a hated browser; especially old versions. In the old days, it was a complete nightmare coding for IE. Windows 10 has the next evolution of

IE, called Edge. Maybe you'd like that. Although you'll rarely get much support for using any browser from MS I think. Most people are either firmly on Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox these days.

For the maximum amount of privacy, it should go without saying that Google should be avoided whenever possible, generally speaking . You could set ipleak.net as your FF start page too if you want,

so that you'll be able to confirm everything is likely working fine; just a suggestion. Enjoy.