HI. I have been using PIA and Surfshark and was wondering whether there are other good options beside these 2. Because it is now time again to renew subscription. Would like to hear suggestions.

I am looking for a providers that has fast Malaysian and Singapore servers. And able to be used in China. With at least 10 devices.

Thanks

Proton VPN
https://protonvpn.com/

I'm using Kaspersky VPN. Up to 5 devices with RM89.99 annually.

What else can VPN do other than watching movies for netflix, Disney+, etc.?

PUREVPN

Two most trusted VPN service provider, #1Mullvad and #2ProtonVPN. Mullvad don't have Malaysia server while the latter does.

Used Mullvad before migrating to ProtonVPN. Now using ProtonVPN and so far happy with the service. BTW, my threat model is to conceal my IP and not for streaming purpose.

Consider also Mozilla VPN, which is basically just rebranded Mullvad

I would NOT consider any of the youtuber sponsored ones like nord, express

Personally I am using windscribe, its ok, cheap

I'm using Windscribe too.... their SG / MY server are good low ping

I moved to IVPN from Mullvad. They recently deployed a MY server. Performance has been good. IVPN has a privacy rating to Mullvad (I consider Proton one step below them), with numbered accounts, Monero payments, yearly audits, fully open source, etc. Their support is also more receptive to complaints and suggestions. Only downside is that it’s more expensive and doesn’t support streaming.

If you want to use inside China, then most VPNs are tikam-tikam one. One day might work but then kena block already. You either buy from a China-based VPN provider (who will log you and report to CCP anyway if you talk about Winnie the Pooh or freedom for Tibet) or you find a provider that supports some sort of v2ray implementation (eg: Shadowsocks or VLESS) or TrojanGFW.

Check out Xeovo (see their Stealth Proxies section); https://xeovo.com

Your 10 devices requirement is quite high, so I think it’d be better to use two providers to cover all your needs. Use a more general provider for your usual streaming/torrenting needs, and when you travel to China can sign up for short term plan with a provider that provides proxies that work in restricted countries.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Feb 13 2023, 11:28 PM

I believe IVPN comes with two plans, standard and pro. Which plan you're using? How is the stability? Speed? Any downtime? I am a big fan of Mullvad, but since their SG server always down, I have to opt for another alternative, which is ProtonVPN.





Unlike Mullvad, I never experienced issues with ProtonVPN apart from some IPs were blacklisted. As per the bolded statement, I just scan through their site and found out that they are issuing alphanumeric-character accounts, slightly advanced compared to Mullvad. This is great approach, tbh.

Also, I recommend TS to avoid nord, express, surfshark, cyberghost, and any other paid vpn services advertised by youtubers out there.

Currently using the Pro account. Previously used Standard, but I had a Mullvad account running alongside, but Mullvad over the past couple of years has had lousy peering with Unifi (traceroute to their M247 SG servers identitify the PCCW hop as the problematic hop, this is more TM’s fault, tbh) so I’ve since switched full-time to IVPN after my Mullvad credit ran out.

Unlike Mullvad, IVPN’s SG M247 server relies on Level3 instead of PCCW as a peering/transit partner, and performance is a lot more consistent throughout the day. Plus, IVPN also just deployed a MY server, so now even if the SG route has issues I still have a backup server with equally low latency.

IVPN also has better DNS ad/tracker blocking compared to Mullvad (oisd-full vs oisd-lite) although I’m hoping they improve on that front a bit more. Already made the request (I was also the one who requested MY and TW servers, which they added after other users upped my post on reddit, so they really do listen) for a second blocking option that uses a stronger filterlist (like 1Hosts Pro) and they say it’s on the roadmap. Lastly, their mobile apps are more polished compared to Mullvad, which is important for me since my main browsing device is my iPad these days. Some other technical benefits, but too long to explain in this post.

Possible downside of IVPN is that they’re a smaller provider (which I prefer, because they don’t have a huge target painted on their back) and only use 1Gbps servers, whereas Mullvad (and I assume Proton as well) has 10Gbps servers, so I guess theoretically you’d get lower speeds from IVPN.

It’s fine for me though. Here’s a screenshot. Note that this is using multi-hop, with MY as first hop and SG as second hop, so there’s some additional latency overhead and bandwidth decimation compared to a single-hop connection. My Unifi connection is 500down/100up.




My last experience with Proton was a couple of years ago, so things might be different now. Back then, they had email requirement for account creation, didn’t support WireGuard, and didn’t accept Monero. They also had trackers on their website, which they removed only after they got called out. Maybe now they’ve improved. I know some privacy communities like r/privacy or privacyguides.org love Proton a lot, but for me their main appeal is the whole Proton suite (VPN + Mail + SimpleLogin + Calendar) and that’s not what I’m looking for, because I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket.

This post has been edited by dev/numb: Feb 13 2023, 11:26 PM

Thank you for the time taken by you to share your experience using Mullvad and IVPN here. Much appreciated. I will keep IVPN in mind, so the next time my ProtonVPN subscription ends, I will give IVPN a try. This service provider has the least controversy if not, null. My concern is not on speed, privacy and security is my focus with zero-downtime. Based on the graph reading, this is very good already. I am amazed of this small vpn provider. I don't use bundled proton app. My focus is to use a reliable VPN service. So, I only subscribe to protonvpn as a standalone service, with free proton.me account.

May I know usually y'all use VPN for what purpose ah?
seriously asking.

Different people got different uses. For some, it’s because they want to access content blocked by their ISP/Telco. Some people use a VPN to access geo-restricted content, like Netflix-US or BBC iPlayer UK. For others, it’s having better security and privacy when they join public wifi networks (eg: Starbucks). Others want to prevent authorities from finding out what they’re torrenting. It differs depending on the person’s needs, and different VPN providers promise different things. Note that a VPN will not magically make you anonymous on the web.

want to be able to use in China better set up your own.
have an internet plan here with public IP, get something like a raspberry pi and run a wireguard, v2ray, shadowsocks server and connect to your own home for the purpose of bypassing GfW.
commercial plans wont be too reliable in China.

Saw a post on reddit that china’s firewall just blocked wireguard and he was looking for alternatives. Seems v2ray is another option just slower

Thanks for all the suggestion. ProtonVPN seems to, on paper, to suit my need. Got MY and SG server. 10 devices.

My primary need is security, speed and geolocation. China, only occasional need, nice to have but not a deal breaker.

I run my own VPN server, one at home and one on VPS in SG. Both using Wireguard.

Cheers.

I think that is beyond my technical ability.