ALGO

[Nnyan 3]

Friend of mine pointed this one out to me just curious to see what others thought about this.

 

https://blog.trailofbits.com/2016/12/12/meet-algo-the-vpn-that-works/

[Keksjdjdke 35]

It only supports IKEv2. I would only trust openvpn because it is open source.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

If you want a VPN for torrenting, self-hosting a VPN server is nonsensical.

[Tink 0]

Algo VPN has some nice properties that make it worth considering, depending on your use case. As Treiberschreiber pointed out, if you want anonymity for torrenting, using a self-hosted VPN is a bad idea.

 

However, the IKEv2 protocol has an advantage over OpenVPN on iOS devices: it's built into the operating system, so you can use a config file that the Algo VPN script generates, and by default the option "Connect on Demand" is checked. This means that your device will only connect to the Internet via the VPN. What I've found using the OpenVPN client software for iOS is that the connection to the VPN server often fails silently. That is, the VPN connection fails without warning, and your device is still connected to the Internet. The IKEv2 protocol seems to be much more robust in this respect, and it maintains the VPN connection as you switch from WiFi to LTE.

 

It's also possible to use Algo VPN over AirVPN by running AirVPN on your router and Algo VPN on your device(s).

[fursday 3]

I use it for a specific niche purpose.

Now first of all it's critical to point out that if you're interested in even basic anonymity, self-hosting your own VPN on a major cloud platform won't give you that. Especially since you're likely paying with PayPal or Credit card, they likely log your IP address and store other things (not least your VM images) and could easily trace any traffic straight back to you via the IP address they have assigned to you. And, of course, your traffic cannot be 'lost in the crowd' of all traffic going through a particular endpoint as it can be on a conventional hosted VPN such as this one. I wouldn't dare use this setup for tormenting, for instance.

 

That said, so long as you are aware of this major point, this set-up can have its uses. In my case it is to access a major streaming platform from overseas. The last time I checked this wasn't possible to do on many VPNs including this one because from a large web platform owner's point of view, discovering a VPN endpoint is pretty trivial exercise in identifying unusual traffic patterns. Or even just googling for VPN services and taking a note of the exit-points. Of course, the admins here have worked tirelessly to make a great many geoblocked sites work (including going so far as to reroute traffic between different countries to make particular services work from all servers) but with an attentive website owner this is always going to be an uphill struggle of cat-and-mouse.

 

On the other hand, by hosting my own VPN, I can connect to this particular streaming platform with a traffic pattern that need not look much different to that of a domestic UK broadband connection. Of course, they might identify the IP range as being suspicious (who uses a cloud provider for browsing the web?) but it's going to take them that little bit more work if they want to identify and block me.

 

And as for anonymity, I am willing to make a conscious decision in this case that the risk of the said streaming platform finding out who I am and doing something about it is sufficiently low.

 

For everything else, I use AirVPN.

 

 

Tink writes:

 

It's also possible to use Algo VPN over AirVPN by running AirVPN on your router and Algo VPN on your device(s).

 

Yes, but so long as you are aware that you're loosing anonymity here not gaining it. If somebody wanted to trace you from your IP address, they would contact the cloud provider you are using who could in theory then look up your account details. This doesn't change if you're connecting to your cloud-hosted VPN via AirVPN or your own ISP.

[corrado 100]

I really don't like the derogatory and arrogant language of ALGO's creators while praising their own software with superlatives:

 

 

Don’t bother with commercial VPNs

They’re crap.

Really, the paid-for services are just commercial honeypots. If an attacker can compromise a VPN provider, they can monitor a whole lot of sensitive data.

 

Furthermore, I don't like how they seem to be putting convenience and user experience above everything else and I seem not to be part of their target audience:

 

We made Algo with corporate travelers in mind.

 

They mention compatibility with Apple, Azure, AWS, Google. Good for them that ALGO works nicely with Apple devices and on proprietary clouds, but if you really care about privacy GNU/Linux is the way to go. And as fursday has rightly remarked:

 

if you're interested in even basic anonymity, self-hosting your own VPN on a major cloud platform won't give you that.

 

So what's the point, really? This seems to be a glorified installer for your own VPN server. Besides, have a look at their installation instructions on github - atm this is really not suitable for the average user, it's definitely harder and more time-consuming than subscribing with AirVPN and installing Eddie. No, thanks.

[fursday 3]

I really don't like the derogatory and arrogant language of ALGO's creators while praising their own software with superlatives:

 

Quite. To the less experienced user the way they advertise what they're providing could be dangerously misleading to the point that people think they're getting something they're not. For my part I was actively seeking out a solution like theirs before I came across their site (for the reasons I described above), but I can see others coming across this site and being mislead and coming away just thinking conventional VPN providers = bad.