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[Guest]

Does a VPN connection get a dedicated ipv4 while it is up? Do the addresses come from the same pool as Sonic residential connections? I.e. if I use the VPN while travelling would it look like the traffic was coming from home in terms of geolocation, reverse DNS etc.? Thanks.

[diamondhaber]

I love having the VPN as an option, and I use it regularly from home.

When traveling overseas, it's been a bit spotty in terms of usability, and I wonder if anyone has theories about the following:

1. I often am unable to connect. Period. (this is using the client on a laptop). It usually occurs with a slow/overloaded connection, but not always. Is there a minimum bit rate before OVPN will connect? Similarly, with slow connections, there are times that the connection is usable without the VPN connected, but completely unusable with VPN on. I understand that there is some overhead associated with routing everything two ways, but usable-->unusable seems startling.

2. On my last trip, I experimented with Opera's build in VPN. There were times that OVPN would not work, but the Opera VPN would work. That's counter intuitive. It seems like the overhead should be similar, and if someone is trying to mess with VPNs, the Opera one is more of a known quantity.

3. In one instance, while connected to OVPN, the local ISP or host (this was at an Australian airport) blocked at least one site (via a filter). I thought that was the point of OVPN--that traffic was not disclosed. Again, via Opera, I was able to access the site.

I'd much prefer to use OVPN rather than Opera, since, in part, I don't trust Opera that much, and I also think the exit points are probably well known.

Thoughts?

[mediahound]

I love having the VPN as an option, and I use it regularly from home.

When traveling overseas, it's been a bit spotty in terms of usability, and I wonder if anyone has theories about the following:

1. I often am unable to connect. Period. (this is using the client on a laptop). It usually occurs with a slow/overloaded connection, but not always. Is there a minimum bit rate before OVPN will connect? Similarly, with slow connections, there are times that the connection is usable without the VPN connected, but completely unusable with VPN on. I understand that there is some overhead associated with routing everything two ways, but usable-->unusable seems startling.

2. On my last trip, I experimented with Opera's build in VPN. There were times that OVPN would not work, but the Opera VPN would work. That's counter intuitive. It seems like the overhead should be similar, and if someone is trying to mess with VPNs, the Opera one is more of a known quantity.

3. In one instance, while connected to OVPN, the local ISP or host (this was at an Australian airport) blocked at least one site (via a filter). I thought that was the point of OVPN--that traffic was not disclosed. Again, via Opera, I was able to access the site.

I'd much prefer to use OVPN rather than Opera, since, in part, I don't trust Opera that much, and I also think the exit points are probably well known.

Thoughts?

I used it while in Europe last month and it worked, but was indeed slow. If you travel a lot, I would think a multi-region VPN provider would be in order. That way, for example when you're in Europe, it would connect to a Europe located VPN. Maybe the Opera VPN does this, I don't know.

[drew.phillips]

One thing that's worth a try when traveling that might help in some situations would be to re-configure the connection to use TCP instead of UDP. While UDP has less overhead, the port it uses might be affected by some carriers, and you may experience more drops. Switching to TCP has helped me with some problems in the past.

To do that, you have to edit the VPN config file that gets installed (at the moment, I don't have the exact location it gets installed on Windows) but in the file are a number of lines like:

Code: Select all

remote ovpn.sonic.net 1194 udp

You can comment those out by putting a # at the beginning of the line so that "remote ovpn.sonic.net 443 tcp" is the only "remote" line.

Since it uses port 443 (like HTTPS websites) and the TCP protocol which establishes connections and does better to ensure packet delivery it might help. If it works next time you are having issues, it'd be great to know.

[diamondhaber]

I used it while in Europe last month and it worked, but was indeed slow. If you travel a lot, I would think a multi-region VPN provider would be in order. That way, for example when you're in Europe, it would connect to a Europe located VPN. Maybe the Opera VPN does this, I don't know.

I had Opera configured to a US VPN exit, in part b/c I wanted to use services that care that the user is in the US (or at least proffer a different offering if not). Other than a possible speed advantage, why would one want a VPN provider in the area where one is located?

[diamondhaber]

One thing that's worth a try when traveling that might help in some situations would be to re-configure the connection to use TCP instead of UDP. While UDP has less overhead, the port it uses might be affected by some carriers, and you may experience more drops. Switching to TCP has helped me with some problems in the past.

To do that, you have to edit the VPN config file that gets installed (at the moment, I don't have the exact location it gets installed on Windows) but in the file are a number of lines like:

Code: Select all

remote ovpn.sonic.net 1194 udp

You can comment those out by putting a # at the beginning of the line so that "remote ovpn.sonic.net 443 tcp" is the only "remote" line.

Since it uses port 443 (like HTTPS websites) and the TCP protocol which establishes connections and does better to ensure packet delivery it might help. If it works next time you are having issues, it'd be great to know.

Drew, I'll try that next time around.

[bkellarx]

Just got back from Shanghai. The Sonic Android VPN worked perfectly on the Marriot Courtyard Hotel WiFi. It had a little problem connecting over another restaurant's WiFi but worked after three tries. BTW Facebook and Google were not blocked by the Great Firewall at the hotel like they were two years ago, but The New York Times and Pandora were blocked. NYTimes and Pandora worked fine over the Sonic VPN.

[mediahound]

This just in:

From The New York Times:

Broadband Providers Will Need Permission to Collect Private Data

The new rules require broadband providers to get permission to collect data on a subscriber’s web browsing, app use, location and financial information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/techn ... wrsm=Email





Sent from my iPhone

[netllama]

One annoyance with the new VPN vs. the old one used on the Mac --the new one times out faster, and requires using the user's Sonic password to restart it each time. It's a temptation to change to a simpler and easier password that I can remember, instead of a complicated string I have to copy and paste. Password managers don't recognize the VPN prompt.

I suspect something is misconfigured on your end, as none of what you've described is normal behavior. Are you using the OpenVPN official software, or something from a 3rd party?

[ankh]

I downloaded the ovpn software from the link Sonic provides

While up in Oregon, this past week, I used the vpn and it did time out or drop the ovpn connection intermittently without warning. I'd just notice it in the top bar on the screen with an X instead of a checkbox.
I was connecting through a passworded Linksys at a bed'n'breakfast for four days.

(I'm now back in Berkeley)

It's also done that unannounced drop of the vpn from here in Berkeley on a Sonic Fusion connection.