Mullvad Browser (no TOR, no VPN)

cross-posted from: monero.town/post/422188

The Mullvad Browser is a privacy-focused web browser developed in collaboration with Mullvad VPN and the Tor Project. It aims to eliminate data collection and provide user-centric browsing services, ensuring online activity remains private and secure. The browser has the same fingerprinting protection as the Tor Browser, but connects to the internet without Tor Network or VPN instead. The Mullvad Browser provides anti-fingerprinting protections.

The idea is to provide one more alternative – beside the Tor Network – to browse the internet with more privacy. To get as many people as possible to fight the big data gathering of today. To free the internet from mass surveillance.

Here: >> mullvad browser official <<

imgonnatrythis,

Mullvad - this 👍. But also Mullvad, blocking port forwarding 😒.

Wave,

Yeah the Mullvad-VPN recently stopped port-forwarding. But this Browser is not a VPN product. Just use it without VPN or use an other VPN provider, if you want.

imgonnatrythis,

Yes. Almost wonder if it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant since many of us are jumping ship.

genoxidedev1, (edited )
genoxidedev1 avatar

On that note, does anyone know a good VPN with port forwarding for torrenting?

netchami,

AirVPN

imgonnatrythis,

Thanks. Can you explain why you like this one?

netchami,

They clearly say on their Website that they don’t care about you torrenting on their service, they are probably the last privacy-respecting VPN that still allows port-forwarding, you can pay with Monero, the entire company is run by privacy-activists, they stand values like net-neutrality and fight against censorship. They also donate to organizations like the Tor Project, Mastodon, PeerTube, OpenNIC, OpenBSD, the EFF and Riseup.

imgonnatrythis,

Sounds interesting. Might try them thank you.

netchami,

Just don’t let the horrible user interface scare you. The service is really awesome though.

LUHG_HANI,
@LUHG_HANI@lemmy.world avatar

Proton

genoxidedev1,
genoxidedev1 avatar

Forgot about that one! Bought the two year plan today.

RandomStickman,
RandomStickman avatar

Sorry I'm not savy in VPN. What's port forwarding and why do people want that feature?

iopq,

Because my program uses a different port

Bipta,

I'd be interested to know what programs actually use port forwarding. I'm guessing quite a lot but you never know which need it until they don't work.

Helldiver_M, (edited )
Helldiver_M avatar

Specifically, it's any peer-to-peer (P2P) connections that utilize a port that's not open by default on your router. P2P connections that need forwarding are used in services like PC gaming (usually in older titles or some indie games), VoIP, torrenting, etc.

Helldiver_M, (edited )
Helldiver_M avatar

If you're doing a peer-to-peer (P2P) related activity, port forwarding is very important for improving speed or enabling the service at all. That's because your router blocks incoming traffic from certain ports by default, ports that are used for a P2P connection. To get around this, you can 'forward' the specific port that is used for the P2P activity you're using, letting your router know that the traffic you expect to see from a specific port is good to let through.

You can simply leave port forwarding to your personal router, but if you want to stay anonymous while participating in P2P connections, then you'll want to use a VPN service. If a VPN service doesn't utilize port forwarding, then any P2P connections you use will either be straight up impossible, or very slow over the VPN. The P2P service you're attempting to use needs to access a specific port on the VPN's router, which needs forwarding to work properly. For example, you wanted to host a gaming server without giving away your actual IP address, then a VPN with port forwarding is desirable. The same can be said for torrenting.

TL;DR: VPNS with port forwarding matter if you want to stay anonymous while using P2P services.

circuitfarmer,
@circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

It seems like they had few options, pragmatically, which is also going to be the story with other VPNs as time goes on.

some_guy,

I keep Mullvad as my backup browser. It’s now the one I go to for any one-off link that I don’t want associated with my primary browser (Safari) or the one that I use as real-backup to check if a page isn’t working because of my various privacy extensions (Firefox). It’s primarily used to watch videos on the old site about once per week, as that’s the only part of Lemmy that’s still missing for me. Which is good, cause I blew way to much time on those videos.

Wave,

I think that’s a very good way to use Mullvad Browser: If you visit websites that you don’t know, or don’t want to get associated with. 👍

Disgusted_Tadpole,
@Disgusted_Tadpole@lemmy.ml avatar

Ok, this is a very very noob question but here it is : is it normal to have the Mullvad’s window is weirdly cropped ? Just like Tor. I guess it’s related to resolution and avoid profiling ?

Wave,

Yes, exactly that’s the reason. To make you appear more equal to others. It is one part of how Mullvad Browser is providing you more privacy.

Disgusted_Tadpole,
@Disgusted_Tadpole@lemmy.ml avatar

I see thanks. Damn I hate that privacy means compromising that much. Not sure I’d get use to it. But I will certainly give it a try

Wave,

I guess that’s how browser window privacy looks like. You also close the curtains a little bit - if you don’t want others to see you naked while taking a shower.

neveraskedforthis,

But just a little bit ;)

Wave,

This guy gets it!

idelo,

in which way is better than firefox with adblocker and anti fingerprinting? honest question

Wave,

You can compare Mullvad Browser with your Firefox Browser. Just do a Fingerprint Test:

coveryourtracks.eff.org

Is your Firefox better? Does it hide more details about you? No.

Your Firefox is likely very unique. So your settings and extensions appear to be special; let’s say you stick out of the others. Also your Screen-Size and if its a touchable screen and how much RAM your device has and so on… Mullvad Browser makes all users look much more like the same user - users are less identifiable.

micka190, (edited )

Default Firefox settings with uBlock Origin results in everything passing except the unique fingerprint, and hardening Firefox to do that is easy enough with something like Privacy Badger, some fingerprint anonymization extensions or just disabling JavaScript. From my experience, though, doing that will make the web nigh-unusable for the average user with sites regularly breaking or constantly spamming you with Captchas wherever you go.

I’m curious how “usable” Mullvade Browser is for the everyday user, compared to Firefox with uBlock Origin.

Edit: Fixed typo

Corkyskog,

You can get Mulvad as a Firefox extension FYI. I was just on the page.

What’s interesting is that on mobile Firefox passes less of those checks than DuckDuckgo

Alivrah,

Weirdly enough I got better results with Bromite instead of Fennec and Mull (even when they’re running uBlock and Privacy Badger)

doublejay1999,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

You need to be careful how you promote this.

It does not replace tor for anonymity, or VPNs for privacy. It does not mask your IP address or use onion routing.

It doesn’t offer a a whole lot more that Firefox with ublock.

Wave,

I know that Mullvad Browser not interfering with IP-Addresses of its users. I know that it is not replacing Tor Browser for anonymity.

It increases your anonymity by using it instead of your default browser. And it is hugely increasing your anonymity while using it with a VPN. A VPN is probably still leaking your identity “fingerprint” if you use it with your standard webbrowser.

Mane25,

I was also, initially, a little bit confused with how this was being framed. I understand now having read it more closely, but on first reading of the line “The idea is to provide one more alternative – beside the Tor Network – to browse the internet with more privacy” because of the word “alternative” I thought you were suggesting it as a replacement for Tor.

Wave,

Thank you for pointing this out! I did not read it like that - probably because the concept is already in my mind. It could be some kind of alternative to Tor in combination with other technologies like i2p or Proxy or VPN. The Mullvad webpage also is strongly recommending to use VPN in combination with the Mullvad Browser.

Just see it from the other perspective: Many think that they are anonymously surfing the Web with their standard-webbrowser. But that’s not the case - you have to use proper sanity if you want to surf anonymously. And that’s why it’s good to use Mullvad Browser.

nostalgicgamerz,

What do you seek to gain by posting this everywhere……?

This really screams: advertisement.

Wave,

Just Spread the word. It’s only helpful advice i give. I am in no way related to Mullvad or any other company. And i do not get any compensation for doing this from anyone or anywhere.

CapnMoisesBKind,

I wish it has an iOS equivalent.

refurbishedrefurbisher,

Apparently Apple is legally required to start allowing other browser engines in the future, so there might be hope.

Wave,

It’s available for MacOS. I’d like to see mobile (iOS and Android) support, too.

refurbishedrefurbisher,

For Android, you can use Mull, which is basically the same thing, but less official.

MacOS also allows for other browser engines, along with things like root access and sideloading that iOS does not allow for.

dojan,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

Mullvad means mole in Swedish. Like the digging animal. Also like “we have a mole working on the inside.”

Feels like a rubbish name for anything oriented towards privacy.

transmatrix,

They’ve been an extremely reputable “record-less” VPN for multiple years now.

dojan,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

Oh yeah I know. Name just doesn’t inspire confidence. MetaCubed’s reply makes a lot of sense though.

MetaCubed,

It’s called that because moles are a tunnelling animal… Like a VPN tunnel…

dojan,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

That makes sense.

Wave,

Don’t get confused by the name. Mullvad has a proven trackrecord to not keep any data of their users. Even the payment process is anonymously. They partner with privacy and security advocates like TorProject, MalwareBytes, Mozilla … 100% legit

entropy,

Actually really excited for this - can’t wait to kick the wheels on it.

crashoverride,

Is it any faster than tor?

Wave,

I hope you know the concept of Tor and why it can appear to be slow: Tor is routing the internet-connection through multiple instances of the TorNetwork to hide your actual physical location. That’s strong anonymity technique and Tor users usually do not worry about if it’s slower.

Wave,

Yes, it is faster.

imgonnatrythis,

Man, if it’s slower, good luck with adoption.

Corkyskog,

When I used TOR I just assumed it was slow because my laptop will be old enough to legally gamble in a couple years…

imgonnatrythis,

Well that means it’s old enough to do some other things already - just make sure you get consent.

LetMeEatCake,

First question I had was what it was based on. Based on the FAQ answer of default outgoing connections, it would seem to be Firefox (has two connections to Mozilla for script and domain updates).

Wave,

It is, just like Tor Browser, based on Firefox ESR.

BastingChemina,

You got me interested about this browser ! When I first saw the news I assumed it would just be another chromium based privacy browser, i did not even bother looking into it

I was wrong?

Qvest,

It is basically tor browser without the tor network, but with all the privacy features that one would find in tor browser

Wave,

I am glad i could provide you a second glance. Yes, you’ve been wrong. It’s basically Tor Browser without the Tor stuff - so based on Firefox ESR.

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