Proton VPN has a Secure Core feature that improves user privacy and data security by mitigating some of the risks from a compromised VPN server.
A common method to expose VPN traffic is to compromise the server that handles your traffic. This risk is particularly acute for servers located in high-risk jurisdictions. To mitigate this risk, Proton VPN has Secure Core servers. This article provides an overview of the attacks and threats that Secure Core mitigates, how it achieves higher VPN privacy, as well as instructions on how to activate Secure Core in Proton VPN.
What does Secure Core protect against?
Proton VPN’s unique Secure Core architecture allows us to protect our users from network attacks that other VPNs cannot defend against. A classic VPN setup involves a client passing traffic through a VPN server en-route to the final destination. If an attacker can get control of the VPN server, or monitor the network of the server, they will be able to match VPN clients with their traffic, nullifying the privacy benefits of the VPN.
Such timing/correlation attacks are not difficult to accomplish. In countries with restrictive Internet regulations (China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, etc), or countries with broad surveillance powers (USA, UK, etc), state surveillance agencies typically have the legal ability to coerce either the VPN provider, or the network/server provider of the VPN provider, to assist with such network monitoring. Therefore, even though Proton VPN is based in Switzerland, we cannot be certain that authorities are not monitoring our VPN servers located in those high-risk countries.
How does Secure Core increase VPN privacy?
Secure Core allows us to defend against this threat to VPN privacy by passing user traffic through multiple servers. When you connect to a server in a high-risk jurisdiction like the US, your traffic will first go through our Secure Core servers. Therefore, even if an attacker monitors our servers in the US, they would only be able to follow the traffic back to the edge of our Secure Core network, thus making it far more difficult to discover the true IP address and location of Proton VPN users.
We have also gone to extraordinary lengths to defend our Secure Core servers. First, servers are located in countries selected specifically for their strong privacy laws (Iceland, Switzerland, and Sweden). We also placed our Secure Core servers in high-security data centers to ensure strong physical security. Proton VPN infrastructure in Switzerland and Sweden is housed in underground data centers, while our Iceland servers are on a former military base. Furthermore, Secure Core servers are wholly owned and provisioned by us (shipped on-site directly from our offices). Finally, Secure Core servers are connected to the Internet using our own dedicated network with IP addresses that are owned and operated by our own Local Internet Registry (LIR).
These measures provide us with a much higher level of certainty that no one has tampered with our Secure Core servers. While there is no such thing as 100% security, Secure Core is just one of the many ways Proton VPN delivers better security and privacy by protecting against complex attacks other VPNs cannot defend against.
How do I activate Secure Core?
Secure Core is a feature available on all paid Proton VPN plans and can be activated as follows:
Windows, macOS, and Linux
1. Open the Proton VPN app, click on the Secure Core button, and select Secure Core On.
2. Select a country and click Connect to connect to it via one of our Secure Core servers. Alternatively, you can click the ∨ dropdown button next to a country and choose a Secure Core server to route your connection through.
Please note that not all countries can be connected to from all of our Secure Core locations.
Android and iOS / iPadOS
1. Open the Proton VPN app and toggle the Secure Core switch on.
2. Tap on a country you wish the VPN to exit from, and then tap the on button next to the Secure Core country you want the connection to be routed through.
Please note that not all countries can be connected to from all of our Secure Core locations.
Related articles
Does Proton VPN store user information?
Installing Proton VPN on Windows
Thanks a lot for iOS version. But is it possible to have an automatic connection when we turn on the iPhone ?
Thanks for the answer
Pierre
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Hello Pierre, Killswitch function work the same way as connect on boot, so enabling it will connect your device to VPN upon boot.
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I’m using a Flash router tomato and while using secure core or non secure core when I check my ip address using one of the whats my ip websites it shows my local ip address for the computer I’m using. Is this normal? Some websites say this a vulnerability. Please explain if this normal or a vuilnerability.
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Hello Stan. That is not a vulnerability and as you understand, its local, so it means it cannot be reached outside your network remotely, if you haven`t tinkered any settings. If you visit IPleak.net and see one IP address, a local address and a single DNS then its a fine connection that you should not worry about.
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hello,
I subscribed to free VPN.
I have DSL router TPLINK Archer 400, that was previosuly used for other VPN service.
Is it possible to use this DSL router with ProtonVPN ?
Do you have manual how to configure mentioned DSL router?
Best wishes,
John
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Hello John. If the router has stock firmware and is not flashed with Tomato or DD-WRT, ProtonVPN will not support it as most likely it has only L2TP option which is insecure. Sadly, we do not provide any router flashing tutorials as that will void your warranty and could brick the device.
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Hi
The free account can filter all the apps in android?
Greetings!
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Hello Alfredo, yes you can filter apps on Free version of android.
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bonjour quel sont les 3 serveurs qui sont gratuit svp merci
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Hello. Japan, United states and The Netherlands.
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Will there be a router level solution available in the future?
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Hello. Depends on what you are speaking off. Secure core servers can be used on the routers already that support OpenVPN connection method. If you are talking about a software for routers, that is not being planned yet.
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Are you guys going to add a way for socks 5 protocol to work?
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Hello John. No, we are not planning on adding socks5 support.
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Hi.
We also wait a Romania server too.
That was the main motif for what we do not activated a subscription yet.
Also for our revenues the prices are a little bit high.
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+1.
Also, I would feel better knowing no logs are kept. Like, no logs at all…
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Hello George, here you can find what we do collect and what our privacy policy is : https://protonvpn.com/privacy-policy
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Hi Team,
When will you add India servers? Eager to unblock the contents there. Then I will be upgrading to Plus for sure.
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Hello, we are planning to add India servers on 4th of September so its going to be soon!
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Is there advantage/disadvantage to using secure core in the US vs just connecting directly to a server in Switzerland or Iceland with secure core disabled?
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Hello John, the advantage is security, since you will get two layers of protection instead of one but the drawback is that you loose quite a bit of speed and get higher latency.
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What do the colors mean?
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Hello Irene. What colors exactly? Sadly we cannot assist for this question as we need clarification.
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Hi again. Can I say I ? you very much?!?
You are best VPN ever. I’ll suggest you to my friends. Keep good work.
But sth is wrong for me. I can just connect to us (free) but Netherland or Japan (free) can’t connect. Why?
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Hello Victoria, we love you too! In this case, it could be that there is something wrong with the servers, but for that we need the connection logs, so the best way to contact us for them would be using this form. https://protonvpn.com/support-form
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Hello, could you increase the protection of servers to mitigate the Denial of Service (DDoS) attack because I use the Proton VPN to play GTA V on PS3 and 4 and I am being easily knocked over, do you have a project for the same? a powerful firewall?
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Hello Gustavo, could you please let us know how do you secure your ps4 and 3 with a VPN connection exactly? You can contact us here directly via this form. https://protonvpn.com/support-form
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I made a comment. Where did it go. Did I do something wrong.
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After reading all the comments, I certainly feel dumb, However, I do have a better understanding how everything works. I am certainly impressed with you as honorable men fighting for freedom. In the US google is capable of causing dangerous abuse too people who disagree with politics, censorship, and numerous other topics. Google meets with all other members of the internet providers and inform them of targeted people. Together they can issue targeted people more grief than satan himself. You are indeed freedom fighters. Keep-up the good work. I served five and one half years in the military fighting for freedom, only to become a slave too massive companies with more power than the the US Congress.
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Hello! We appreciate the kind words and adore customers like you, you are what makes our community strong and united, just like a unit, going for freedom , just only on a different level. We will do our best to keep our honesty and modesty all the time throughout the time! And your comment is here, no worries, you did nothing wrong. :)
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Hi.
I have an very important question!
First of all, I must say that I trust your team and VPN! So please tell me the truth!
Unfortunately for some reason, I can’t pay and upgrade to full services, So I use free plan.
And You give us permission for free access to the vpn.
So I want to know …!
Do you have access to our information?!
Is there enough security for free users?!
Are we safe like others?!
Do you guarantee our security?!
Can we trust you?!
In the end, thank you for your kind service?
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Hello. Each and every of our customers security is treated the same way, you are not loosing your privacy with free as you would with paid tier, it is all the same for every client. Since the only difference between users is their subscription tier and features that we offer, we guarantee your security using our services.
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Does ProtonVPN protect Playstation when playing if I just download it on my pc?
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Hello. No, it will only protect the device that it is connected on as its not a network wide. If you want secured playstation, you would have to connect your router to the VPN but the router has to support OpenVPN protocol for this to happen.
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Which one is more secure and private in between “secure core” server vs TOR server?
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Hello Albert. We would say that secure core is more secure since the 1st layer servers are owned by us, which adds much more security then just going trough a random TOR node using TOR servers.
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I don’t see why you recomand using secure core, you don’t trust your providers? Secure core causes extra latency and slow down the connection, why you don’t simply use servers that you own?
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Hello John. We do run our regular servers as well and even though we do rent some of our servers, we do that by partnering only with trusted data centers that meet all of our security criteria and are able to provide us with full access to the server itself. Once we get access to the server, a full security/firewall/passwords suite is installed on them along with a custom version of Vanilla OS, also, we do not log anything on those servers at any time. It is important to understand that having our own physical servers across the world would simply be unsustainable for the business, but your concern is completely understandable, that’s why Secure Core is the best solution if you are concerned. Even if the exit server is somehow monitored, the incoming traffic to it will be coming from the Secure Core server first which ensures that it wouldn’t be possible to single out requests from any user.
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Hi,
Novice here. Installed and seems to be working great. Q: How do I implement secure core? Would I install the files specifically in that folder(currently using server folder file) and use that as setup? If so, is the country based on where I am from or browsing from? Looking forward to your app! :p Thanks for your help.
-L
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Hello! Since you have said that you are looking forward for our application, we are assuming that you use iOS device. So the practice is the same , to install the configs of secure core the same way as you did the standard ones. As per names, this should explain the used system a bit – https://protonvpn.com/vpn-servers
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Why not use two technologies together, PGP & OpenVpn? Especially considering the fact that its ProtonMail, so protect dh by pgp, when server sends dh to client, ClientAppOpenVpn+PGP should automatically generate pgp for receive dh, this will be better against hackers and isp. Its 100% decryption protection, also add a sandbox to protect the application, finally, create a Browser that uses the PGP instead of OpenSSL.
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Hello, during the installation I asked for a password, I filled it but it does not work. what password finger to be noted?
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Hello Regis, what exactly does not work and what OS are you currently using? Please contact our customer support team for detailed troubleshooting. https://protonvpn.com/support-form
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I noticed on the server list that there are two U.S. via Secure Core connections available, one being U.S. via Switzerland and the other being U.S. via Iceland. Shouldn’t the U.S. via Iceland instead be Singapore via Iceland? Because the U.S. already has a Secure Core connection via Switzerland and Singapore currently appears to have no Secure Core connection available at all?
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Hello Nathanael, Thank you for the suggestion to add a new secure core server, we will consider that and discuss with our system administrators, thank you for your time!
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How important is secure core? I just speed tested it with Plus trial and it’s really slow here in the USA. Like 10% of my bandwidth without VPN and 20X higher ping. Without secure core on, bandwidth is cut in half, which is still plenty fast. Also doesn’t affect ping much.
I am just looking to use a VPN when on public Wifi for obvious reasons, as well as at home to prevent ISP from tracking me due to latest rulings on net neutrality as well as I get the impression it can provide an extra layer of protection against hackers. With those modest goals in mind, is secure core needed?
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Hello Jason. As secure core does add an extra layer of security, it comes with drawbacks as you can see which are higher ping and slower speeds. This is because the connection has to go trough 2 VPN servers and then exit in to the Internet making the travel time longer and inducing more ping. If you are looking for general use security, single (or standard) VPN servers do that very well and should suit your needs perfectly. The secure core servers are there for the extra security layer, for those who really need it.
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Great thank you for the prompt reply. I am finally ditching Yahoo mail after the latest changes to “Oath” TOS (I am sure many people are laughing reading this- I know it should have been done years ago) and I am strongly considering bundling mail with vpn. I am concerned about the description of secure core still as it makes it sound like you don’t have control over the regular vpn servers. For example Proton claims no log, but it you don’t run the server, how can you guarantee that server isn’t logging everything and what are they doing with that data?
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Hey Jason, We do run our regular servers as well. Even though we do rent some of our servers, we do that by partnering only with trusted data centers that meet all of our security criteria and are able to provide us with full access to the server itself. Once we get access to the server, a full security/firewall/passwords suite is installed on them along with a custom version of Vanilla OS, also, we do not log anything on those servers at any time. It is important to understand that having our own physical servers across the world would simply be unsustainable for the business, but your concern is completely understandable, that’s why Secure Core is the best solution if you are concerned. Even if the exit server is somehow monitored, the incoming traffic to it will be coming from the Secure Core server first which ensures that it wouldn’t be possible to single out requests from any user.
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Very cool. That seems reasonable and a good solution. That’s better than I originally imagined. Thanks, I appreciate the explanation!
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How do I access the Tor browser on Pvpn mobile app? I have the Plus plan. It’s clear on how to access the Secure core. Just hit the button. The product description page says you can access Tor by clicking a button. So… Ok… Where is it??
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Hello. Please disable the secure core server option and search for a server in a country list with a little onion symbol near it.
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Hello,
I would like to make payments with coins but Bitcoin transactions are too expensive.
So do you have other coins for payment? Such as NavCoin?
Best Regards.
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Hello Raz, for now, we do only accept bitcoin payments, sorry about that. But in the future, we are sure to accept more type of coin payments so stay tooned.
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Ich teste z. Z. protonvpn plus. Leider kann ich secure core nicht öffnen und wie komme ich ins tor- netzwerk?
Vielen Dank
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Hello Felix, please contact our customer support team with all of the information that you can gather about your issue and we will do our best to help you out! https://protonvpn.com/support-form
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Конфигурации не скачиваются.
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Hello. Secure core servers are only available for Plus and Visionary account users. Other subscription plan owners cannot download or connect to these servers. Even though you have a trial, you are not able to download these servers due to the fact that you do not own the subscription.
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Thank you very much, for your great work.
In my country, the government begins to strictly control the Internet and citizens. But protonvpn makes people free! Thank you.
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Hello we love donating to proton please give us a way to do privately anonymity
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Hello, you can donate to Proton using bitcoin as a payment method. :)
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hello, i see your article, and know the basic principle of secure core,
for anonymity, is secure core the same as a Iceland(Switzerland, Sweden etc with strong law protect ) server?
can i use Iceland(Switzerland, Sweden) server replace secure core?
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Hello, For security, its up to you to decide, which of the following you feel more comfortable surfing with, VPN over Tor, or Secure Core servers. For maximum anonymity, we would suggest our TOR servers,as you will always exit through the random TOR node when connected through the VPN server, providing un-tracable connection. Secure core protects you from anyone that would try to retain information from the exit server, that would leave the second server secure and you information un-trackable. Single VPN connection servers are also great for security, as it provides strong encryption and since we do not keep your connection logs information, it`s also secure on all levels.
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thanks a lot
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Hello you diligent personality protector,
my review of Protonmail is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE!
The program works, starts reliably with the start of the laptops / PCs, is reliable at all times and the most beautiful, it is REALLY SAFE!
Keep it up!
However, there is a disadvantage, if you want to have the payment version you have to order this information from bank data – there should be possibilities of “anonymous” payment.
Otherwise continue much success and happy work!
Greetings from Germany and THANK YOU!
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Hi. Работают ли одновременно с ProtonVPN другие VPN сервисы? При соединении с ProtonVPN мой (another) отсоединился.. TOR работет с вашим ProtonVPN, а почему бы не сделать дружественными и другие VPN сервисы? Всё для клиента-тогда защищённость была бы выше, не так ли? Значит конкуренция? С уважением и thank’s за “свободный” (бесплатный) plain от россиян :) страны несвободного Internet!
Best regards!
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Hello George,
We are happy to hear that you are satisfied with our services but we cannot justify that ProtonVPN will work with other VPN services as they might be configured in a specific way, so that means that we would have to investigate all of the VPN providers and change our services according to theirs which could induct security flaws.
Привет, Джордж,
Мы рады услышать, что вы удовлетворены нашими услугами, но мы не можем оправдать, что ProtonVPN будет работать с другими службами VPN, поскольку они могут быть настроены определенным образом, поэтому это означает, что нам нужно будет исследовать всех поставщиков VPN и изменить наши услуги в соответствии с их требованиями, которые могут привести к нарушениям безопасности.
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Hi, could you tell me what the percentage numbers are next to the coloured dots in the server list
Also does a red dot mean a heavily loaded server and vice versa, thanks
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Hello Neil,
You can see how loaded the server is by observing how much filling the circle has. The less its filled (green circle) – the more free space there is on it and vice versa.
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Hi…
Is there any possibility that Secure Core will be offered in the future for the free accounts? :-)
Regards…
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Hello,
We are sorry to say but there are no current plans for doing so. If you have any further questions feel free to contact us using our support form:
https://protonvpn.com/support-form
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Hello,
Can ProtonVPN provide a static IP address attached to our own domain name. We want to be sure that our internal mail server never looses a message and has a secure path to it.
Regards
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Hello Nicolas,
All of our servers have public static IP addresses that do not change. If you have any further questions feel free to contact our support:
https://protonvpn.com/support-form
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love the product guys – especially the core connect option. I think speed is lacking just a bit however I’ve only tested for a few hours. The deal killer is no netflix compatibility. I want to keep this core connect functionality so bad however my family is Youtube and Netflix all the way.
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Hello, we appreciate your kind words! Regarding Netflix and streaming services, we are working on a potential resolution of the case. At this time we are focused towards privacy and security, therefore our main priority is providing the most secure connection to our users.
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Is it possible to split the signal? I’m sorry if this is a stupid question (or not the technically correct way to describe it) but I remember a computer tech we had at the house talking about a way to do something like this.
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Hello, Currently we do not provide such of a feature if I understood you correctly.
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From the best impression ever made to the biggest let down for a VPN ever. Why is it so slow? I know it has to bounce around servers so do other vpns and they aren’t this slow. Modern VPN tech allows users to access Netflix so what’s up? If you aren’t going to do it best don’t do it at all. Where are the dedicated TOR servers? Dedicated p2p servers? This has been a great expectation that lead to a great disappointment.
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Hey Justin, if you have any issues with connection speeds, please contact us via https://protonvpn.com/support-form and our support team will help you out. Regarding dedicated TOR and P2P servers – both are available with a Plus plan. Regarding streaming services – as you may now, most popular streaming services tend to block VPNs heavily. We will be working on it, but right now our main goal is to release a stable and working service across all main operating systems, then we will see what we can do with the entertainment part.
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“Regarding dedicated TOR and P2P servers – both are available with a Plus plan. ”
I have a plus plan, how do I choose a dedicated TOR or P2P server?
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Hello. The specialty servers are marked with specific icons. When opening our application, you will see different logos by the country name. For example, TOR servers are indicated with a little onion icon. P2P servers are indicated with Two arrows facing opposite ways logo.
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Dear Justin, ProtonMail/VPN is not “just another pvn/email service”. It is targeted for people with special needs, SERIOUS needs, not for downloading porn and watching Netflix. If you have ANY kind of principles, STOP using Netflix! If no one is using because they don’t agree with their rules, they will open up or go broke.
Now, it is like you want to enter in MY house, and I only want Swiss people. WHY DO YOU TRY ? Desperate? …
Keep up the good job @protonvpn & @protonmail.
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This vpn is very easy to use and it completely free. But how do you know that people won’t hack the tunnel and see what we are browsing? But I still trust Protonvpn. Thank you for making it free!
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So server load is lower (green) is the best for speed ?
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This is just a color indicator to show which server is currently least loaded.
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protonvpn 公司，你好。你们能把你们的protonmail 能有中国的语言的版本吗？如果你们没有请迅速更新你的技术，如果你这样搞下去的话，你会丢掉很多很多潜在中国的客户。还有最要命的是花了48欧元买了你们的protonvpn，发现竟然是个阉割版的VPN,没有secure core ，就像人丢失一支手臂，那买你的VPN,就毫无意义。因为从价格来讲你比GOOGLE公司的蓝灯VPN,\setupvpn\nordvpn\tunnello vpn都要贵很多，而且他们一个账号可以提供5个设备连接.。而你的只有2个设备连接，而且网络速度是4K。综合上述情况，请你把你的SECURE CORE功能快速补充上来！我期待你的好消息！
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Hello,
We are working on the Chinese translation for ProtonMail. Regarding the Secure-Core feature, we do have it but only our Plus and Visionary subscribers have access to it. Also, with the Plus plan you get 5 simultaneous connections, and with the Visionary plan you get 10 connections and ProtonMail Visionary plan included, with the highest features.
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Can I use the Secure Core VPN together with Tor browser? Or, for the Tor, I need to use only ch-09-tor.protonvpn.com.XXXXXXX.ovpn ?
Thanks for fast answer!
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Hello, you can use Tor browser while connected to VPN, just keep in mind that Tor browser will use the IP address you will get assigned from TOR network on top of the IP address you will receive from the VPN server. Hope this helps!
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RE: ProtonVPN August 3, 2017: “The dedicated Mac application is already in the works (internal testing has begun as well) which will include all the advanced features. Stay tuned for more information towards q4 2017”
Now that we are into 2018 and had changed from ExpressVPN to ProtonVPN – Plus for 2 years…. It would be nice to have a full featured product that loads Bank of America, using Secure Core, without having slow loading problems and having to use “Tunnelblick” for an iMac, we are paying for this anticipated service. Other household Users would like me to switch back to ExpressVPN, that has a Kill Switch.
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Hey, currently our macOS application is in closed beta. Please write us an e-mail via https://protonvpn.com/support-form and we will send you an invite.
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Does the “Fastest” profile use SecureCore by default ?
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Hey Nelson – no, “Fastest” profile will always connect you to a server which has least load and is closest to your current location. You can set up your preferred Secure Core server as a profile and Quick Connect will use it instead.
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Does securecore count as two device slots? How are device slots counted? By tunnel, or by device? IE: 4 tunnels from one device counts as one device, or 4 devices?
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Hey,
The secure core connection is counted as one connection, not two. You can set-up ProtonVPN on numerous devices, but you can simultaneously connect the number of devices according to your plan. If you have a Windows PC, smartphone and a Mac connected at the same time, that’s 3 simultaneous connections that you have active at that certain period of time.
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For mac users, can we benefit of all features even if there no specific app !?
Because with tunnel blick we can not access directly to features like kill switch, dns leak, etc.
thanks
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The dedicated Mac application is already in the works (internal testing has begun as well) which will include all the advanced features. Stay tuned for more information towards q4 2017
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Do I still have access to Bank of America page with the VPN on? If not, can I access this page, after I did certain adjustments to my VPN? If not, do you think I should close my Bank of America account in the USA? Thanks a lot.
And what do I use on the phone as an app to access the VPN and turn it on and off or on a ipad? (Might have been asked before…) But thanks for repeating.
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Hi xcvbsugi, whether third party sites work with the VPN is up to the setting of said site. We do not restrict access to any pages. It is also not our place to recommend financial institutions. What we can help with is mobile VPN access: check out protonvpn.com/support/ios-vpn-setup
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Something does not add up with the SecureCore servers:
All the configs used were freshly downloaded from the protonvpn.com login interface again, no matter if macos or linux udp/tcp:
1) Entry server ips in the configs are in the exit destination. Final exit ip equals entry ip. E.g. IS-DE = DE entry ip and exit ip = same ip. IS-NL = NL entry + same as exit. Shouldnt both have IS entry ips?
2) Latency equals latency through only the exit ip e.g. i got 40ms through IS-DE although the latency to IS is already much more and through IS alone about 130.
3) Throughput also equals going directly through the exit server but not through the multihop. 40mbit through IS-DE while 4mbit through only IS.
The math and entry ips tell me im clearly not being routed through IS but stay in DE or NL (doesnt matter if you use IS-DE or IS-NL or CH-UK etc)
Am i missing something? OpenVPN + macos or linux UDP/TCP configs downloaded from protonvpn logged in interface.
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Hi John, we are unable to reproduce at this point. Example:
IS-NL secure core remote IP start with 185.xxx.xxx.xxx, NL server IP’s start with 64.xxx.xxx.xxx.
Connecting with the IS-NL config file, an ip check reveals the exit node IP.
If the issue persist for you please drop us a line via the support form with detailed log output of your OpenVPN connection and a traceroute from the CLI (e.g. traceroute google.com -n on linux)
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If the same protonvpn’s openvpn account is used Linux workstation and iPhone and the iPhone gets compromised (attacker gets openvpn username and password and config) does this affect user’s privacy on the Linux workstation usage?
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It should not because we don’t log.
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Could I just ask a noob question please? I am using a IOS device and was just wondering do I leave the VPN on 24/7 or just when I need to connect to the internet? Also does this use up data in your phones data plan?
Thanks :)
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When using the Windows ProtonVPN app with a secure core connection, my IP listed in the ProtonVPN app when connected is often different that what a website reports is that because the App reports the first core server and the external website shows the second? If so, it would be nice if the app could be updated to include the external IP we will be seen as in addition to the IP assigned at the first server (e.g. Connected to Iceland->Germany core server). App shows Iceland IP, external connections see Germany IP. Would be cool to see both somewhere.
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thanks for the feedback. This is currently being worked on and will be included in future updates!
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im planing to use vpn for streming video(kodi) .are basic offer secure enough?
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Sounds almost like a dual-VPN tunnel with the multiple servers use. How is Secure Core different from a dual-VPN connection?
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So does secure core serve the same purpose as running through a proxy/SOCK5 before connecting to the VPN. I also thought it would be good to list what programs tend to leak your IP. Because I recall someone from one of the hacking groups got popped because he logged into IRC without logging into TOR. Then the cops convinced them they had flipped on each other.
Could you add one to explain what ProtonMail Visionary is I can’t quite figure it out. I can infer that Plus Servers are better servers? I also wasn’t aware that not all VPNs cover TOR and I was thinking you could still be compromised by malicious Tor exit nodes and there is a way to mitigate that if not solve it completely somehow. I understand this is aimed at privacy advocates but I was wondering how you intend to prevent abuse without logs? Correct me if I am wrong but if someone was to torrent using this VPN with Tor would that slow down the VPN or how fast Tor will go? If I am going through the core do I need to obfuscate my Tor traffic to avoid correlation attacks or simply because the network admin doesn’t allow it.
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Tor will generally see performance drops due to the nature of how its implemented. When connected through ProtonVPN Tor node, your information stops at the TOR server and we pass on the traffic for you. ProtonMail Visionary info can be found here https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/paid-plans/
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AirVPN in my opinion, is top rated as far as tech is concerned. It appears you might be giving them a run for our money. great job Proton.
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just signed up for Plus. thank you for all you are doing. re:speed of secure core in US. i have 80 mbs up and down without vpn and close with your basic vpn without secure core. however, with secure core i drop to 12 mbs down and 1.5mbs second up. i am in between Phila & NY in the US. can anything be done about that speed which is just not workable?
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Unlikely dude because the Core is in Sweden since it’s “Privacy Friendly” the most they could do is find somewhere closer to NA that is equally privacy friendly but it will still be across the ocean where as their VPN service has servers all over the world. You could look into a SOCK5 or something similar but there are similar issues where the privacy friendly one’s are all in the EU. I think it’s best to use Core only when browsing sensitive material and use the VPN without Core for things where your speed matters like playing games in browser, facebook or streaming video.
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generally, users have reported speeds of around 75% of their full speed, even with secure core (however the ping will be impacted, due to the nature of rerouting through two countries instead of one)
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With Core, can you route through more than 2 servers? i.e. 4 hops (servers) for ultra secure?
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so with secure core download speed will go lot down even I pick a server closest to me? I’m an located in east coast USA. I want to have maximum security and download speed. which plan should I choose?
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Which plan is the best to use when within China? And what servers should be used?
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Testing 0.9.7 on Win10.
What is the meaning of the partial Yellow in the “Countries” tab?
Some have no Yellow, some more…
Thanks.
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the yellow country tab represents the current load of the VPN server, if you hover over it with your mouse, you should see the numerical value
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I am on a steep learning curve with this stuff. Thanks Jim White for the webopedia link. Are there any other specific resources that cover these topics or do I have to piecemeal stuff? What exactly is considered a ”high-risk jurisdiction’…? I’m currently switching from iPhone to Galaxy s8…are there specific concerns to be addressed with doing so…? Thanks!
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Wouldn’t a “high risk jurisdiction, be considered a member of the so-called” 14 Eyes” countries?
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How do I ell the location of a server in a country, so that I can connect to the closest server?
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For now, this information is not yet available. We’ll be adding server region information in the near future, stay tuned on that.
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Secure Core terminating in USA is no longer available on server list, so I switched to another country. I use online services in the USA, and this does cause some inconvenience when I connect to websites that are sensitive to the apparent origin of a user’s connection. I now need to do a lot more two-factor authentication for services I use. Will USA be coming back?
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Secure Core in the US is still available. We just added Swiss Secure Core servers and have shifted the US connection to run via Switzerland. Look for ch-us connection
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I will always support Proton. I have enjoyed the mail and will utilize the VPN religiously. Just a thought. Mobile VPN for android or iOS would be great for those of us always on the go!
Loving the Beta so far.
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Mobile apps are in the works! In the meantime, you can already connect using third party clients, check our guides for Android: https://protonvpn.com/support/android-vpn-setup ; and iOS: https://protonvpn.com/support/ios-vpn-setup
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Your explanation of “Secure Core VPN” is a bit vague.
If I use, say, the config file named “is-nl-01.protonvpn.com.xxxxxxx.ovpn”, I end up in the Netherlands (NL).
I understand that the “is-” part means that I first go to Iceland, but what security-related tasks are you doing there?
Are you terminating my tunnel on Iceland and establishing a new tunnel from Iceland to the Netherlands – or are you simply routing the tunnel via Iceland?
What other security-tricks are you doing, that makes this trip via Iceland more secure than going directly to the Netherlands?
Please explain a little more about what “Secure Core VPN” is and how it works?
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More technical info will be published as we progress with beta and move closer to launch, stay tuned!
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Now that we are launched with ProtonVPN… Can we get more info on how the Secure Core works?
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Yes, I am also interested in what security measures you take at the first location. What if someone monitors the first server? Is there a double encryption at the end? Do you run the Service on RAM disks? Thanks for helping! I love the Service please give some more information on secure core.
Are you planning to do something against DPI and other actions? This is Important for all in restrictive countries.
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The measures taken are described in the article actually if you read through it entirely. And yes, we are working on things to foil DPI.
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Any plans to support IPSec VPNs in addition to OpenVPN?
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Very nice layout and design.
Does it have a fail safe? Like lock the computer if it losses the VPN connection?
Don’t want to wait to find out !!!
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+1 on that one. would be great if that would be implemented.
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It says in faq that there’s a built in kill switch that prevents IP leak
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the built in killswitch is available in the native clients. At launch it’s available on Windows with other platforms coming soon. (more info in Q4 this year)
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Now all you guys need is a drop box alternative!
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Mega.nz do the job
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try Mega, I’m very pleased with that service
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Try the swiss zeroknowledge tresorit.com
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I too have a turris and would like to add protonvpn to it. The process to add your vpn to my Ubuntu was documented perfectly, thank you.
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Awesome will be a user of your service forever.
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For those (like me) not as verbal on what a vpn is : I came across this update which explains partly the vpn. Seems to me they have (yet) to define the forward thinking and service your providing. Salutes. jpw http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/virtual_private_network_VPN.asp?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEBO_NL_WN_20170303_STR2L1&dni=400003344&rni=262152059
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Humbled to MS load your invention in Beta! Best to all, jpw.
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Will it be possible to use this service taking into account for example turris omnia router on devices?
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