The Proton VPN Linux app officially supports MX Linux 19+.
1. Our DEB package will install the Proton VPN repository on your system
This package contains the repository configuration and keys that are required to install the Proton VPN app.
Download the Proton VPN DEB package
2. Install the Proton VPN repository
Just double-click the downloaded DEB file and follow the prompts given by your default package manager (or right click →Install Deb files on the Xfce desktop).
Please don’t try to check the GPG signature of this release package (dpkg-sig –verify). Our internal release process is split into several part and the release package is signed with a GPG key, and the repo is signed with another GPG key. So the keys don’t match.
If you want to check the repo package integrity, you can check its checksum with the following command:
echo "c409c819eed60985273e94e575fd5dfd8dd34baef3764fc7356b0f23e25a372c protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.3_all.deb" | sha256sum --check -
3. Update the apt-get package list
The following command updates the list of available packages and their versions. Doing this allows you to install the Proton VPN App.
In a terminal window, enter:
sudo apt-get update
4. Install the app
The final step is to enter this command:
sudo apt-get install protonvpn
Linux system tray icon
If you wish, the Proton VPN app for Linux can display a system tray icon that shows your connection status and makes it easy to Quick Connect or Disconnect from a VPN server.
To install the system tray icon, open a terminal and enter:
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1
During the setup process, you may be asked to select your default displays manager. If you don’t know which it is, you can find it using the following command:
grep '/usr/s\?bin' /etc/systemd/system/display-manager.service
Now Restart your system, open the Proton VPN app, and log in with your Proton account credentials (sign up for a Free Proton VPN plan for Linux if you haven’t done so yet).
You are now ready to access the internet while bypassing censorship blocks and preventing anyone from looking over your shoulder.
Learn how to use the Proton VPN Linux app
Notes
1. How to uninstall the Linux app
Open a terminal window and enter:
sudo apt-get autoremove protonvpn
Remove any leftover files:
rm -rf ~/.cache/protonvpn
And
rm -rf ~/.config/protonvpn
2. How to disable the kill switch if you have already uninstalled the app
You should disable Kill Switch before uninstalling our official app. Failure to do so may leave your system unable to access the internet. To remove the kill switch after the app has been uninstalled:
a) Discover the Proton VPN connection names by running the command:
nmcli connection show --active
This will display a list of your PC’s active connections.
b) Look for any connections with the prefix pvpn- This usually includes pvpn-killswitch and pvpn-ipv6leak-protection, and may include pvpn-routed-killswitch. Delete all these connections using the following command:
nmcli connection delete [connection name]
For example:
nmcli connection delete pvpn-killswitch
c) Enter the following command again to verify that Proton VPN connections have been deleted:
nmcli connection show --active
If any Proton VPN connections are still left, delete them as described above.
3. Required dependencies
The Proton Linux app needs one of the following dependencies installed on your system to work (most systems have one of them pre-installed, so you probably don’t need to do anything here). Please note that having both of these dependencies on your system can cause conflicts, and so is not recommended.
- KWallet
- Gnome-keyring
You’ll also need:
- Systemd
(But again, this is probably already pre-installed on your system.)
4. Test run our early access app
Are you willing to try out features not yet available to the public in exchange for helping us find and squash bugs? If so, you can run the early access version of our Linux app instead.
To do this, simply download the following DEB file instead of the one listed in step 1 of this guide. If you want to check the repo package integrity, you can check its checksum with the following command:
echo "caba770e3544a4f33b7d5718dedd8bc1d06cfcd2b2f8c4f33b5a42d15a78e74a protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.3_all.deb" | sha256sum --check -
All instructions are otherwise identical to those for the public release version.
Download the early access version of the Proton VPN DEB package.
Please uninstall the public release version of our app before installing the early access version (and vice versa, should you change your mind).
We only recommend using the early access version of the app if you are an experienced Linux user and your threat model is not a high priority.
