Clarify and expand VPN criteria (#1175)

* Clarify and expand VPN criteria

* Update encryption criteria

* Update vpn.html
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<h1 id="vpn" class="anchor"><a href="#vpn"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Recommended VPN Service</h1>
<div class="alert alert-success" role="alert">
<strong>Our recommended provider is outside the US, uses encryption, accepts Bitcoin, supports OpenVPN, and has a no logging policy.</strong>
<strong>Our recommended provider is outside the US, uses encryption, accepts Bitcoin, supports OpenVPN, and has a no logging policy. <a href="/providers/vpn/#criteria">Read our full list of criteria for more information</a>.</strong>
</div>
<div class="container-fluid">
@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
<div class="col">
<h2>Mullvad <span class="badge badge-info">EUR €60/Year</span></h2>
<p><strong>Mullvad</strong> is a fast and inexpensive VPN with a serious focus on transparency and security, they have been in operation since <strong>2009</strong>. It is the only VPN provider that currently meets our criteria for recommendation. Mullvad is based in <span class="flag-icon flag-icon-se"></span> Sweden and does not have a free trial. Visit <a href="https://mullvad.net/">mullvad.net</a> to create an account.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">281+ Servers</span></h5>
<p>Typically the more servers a provider offers, the better: With hundreds of servers in operation, you are far more likely to find a fast connection.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">409+ Servers</span></h5>
<p>Mullvad has 409 servers in 38 countries at the time of writing this page. Typically the more servers a provider offers, the better: With hundreds of servers in operation, you are far more likely to find a fast connection and a server geographically closest to you.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">WireGuard Support</span></h5>
<p>In addition to standard OpenVPN connections, Mullvad supports Wireguard. Wireguard is an experimental protocol with theoretically better security and higher reliability, although it is not currently recommended for production use.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">Independently Audited</span></h5>
@ -33,38 +33,6 @@
</div>
{% assign eur_to_usd = 1.14 %}
<div class="table-responsive">
<table class="table sortable-theme-bootstrap" data-sortable>
<thead>
<tr>
<th data-sorted="true" data-sorted-direction="descending">VPN Provider</th>
<th data-sortable="false">Website</th>
<th data-sortable="true">Since</th>
<th data-sortable="true">Yearly Price</th>
<th data-sortable="true">Free Trial</th>
<th data-sortable="true" title="Number of Servers"># Servers</th>
<th data-sortable="true">WireGuard</th>
<th data-sortable="true">Jurisdiction</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td data-value="IVPN">
<a href="https://www.ivpn.net/"><img alt="IVPN" src="/assets/img/provider/IVPN.png" width="200" height="70"></a>
</td>
<td>
<a data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" data-original-title="https://www.ivpn.net/" href="https://www.ivpn.net/"><img alt="WWW" src="/assets/img/layout/www.png" width="35" height="35"></a>
</td>
<td data-value="2009">2009</td>
<td data-value="100">$ 100</td>
<td><span class="label label-success">Yes</span></td>
<td>38</td>
<td><span class="label label-success">Yes</span></td>
<td><span class="flag-icon flag-icon-gi"></span> Gibraltar</td>
</tr>
</div>
<div class="alert alert-warning" role="alert">
<strong>Note: Using a VPN provider will not make you anonymous, but it will give you better privacy in certain situations. A VPN is not a tool for illegal activities. Don't rely on a "no log" policy.</strong>
</div>
@ -88,7 +56,7 @@
</blockquote>
<p>We will reevaluate this listing at the end of 2019 or when the aforementioned report has been published, whichever is sooner.
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">442+ Servers</span></h5>
<p>Typically the more servers a provider offers, the better: With hundreds of servers in operation, you are far more likely to find a fast connection.</p>
<p>ProtonVPN has 442 servers in 33 countries at the time of writing this page. Typically the more servers a provider offers, the better: With hundreds of servers in operation, you are far more likely to find a fast connection and a server geographically closest to you.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">Accepts Bitcoin</span></h5>
<p>ProtonVPN does technically accept Bitcoin payments, however you either need to have an existing account, or contact their support team in advance to register with Bitcoin.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">Mobile Clients</span></h5>
@ -109,7 +77,7 @@
<p>IVPN has undergone a <a href="https://cure53.de/audit-report_ivpn.pdf">no-logging audit from Cure53</a> which concluded in agreement with IVPN's no-logging claim. However, IVPN has not undergone a more comprehensive security audit by an independent third party, and therefore cannot be strongly recommended at this time. We have still chosen to list it on this page with the assumption that an audit will be published soon: The IVPN team <a href="https://twitter.com/yaelwrites/status/1161796418220089344">reportedly plans to begin the process in September</a>.</p>
<p>We will reevaluate this listing at the end of 2019 or when the aforementioned report has been published, whichever is sooner.
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">70+ Servers</span></h5>
<p>Typically the more servers a provider offers, the better. IVPN has a decent (but not exceptional) server count that will most likely provide adequate coverage to most users.</p>
<p>IVPN has 70 servers in 29 countries at the time of writing this page. Typically the more servers a provider offers, the better. IVPN has a decent (but not exceptional) server count that will most likely provide adequate coverage to most users.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">Accepts Bitcoin</span></h5>
<p>In addition to accepting credit/debit cards and PayPal, IVPN accepts <strong>Bitcoin</strong> and <strong>cash/local currency</strong> (on annual plans) as anonymous forms of payment.</p>
<h5><span class="badge badge-success">Mobile Clients</span></h5>

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@ -20,6 +20,118 @@ description: "Find a no-logging VPN operator who isn't out to sell or read your
{% include sections/vpn.html %}
<hr>
<h1 id="criteria" class="anchor"><a href="#criteria"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Our VPN Provider Criteria</h1>
<p><strong>Please note we are not affiliated with any of the providers we recommend. This allows us to provide completely objective recommendations.</strong> We have developed a clear set of requirements for any VPN provider wishing to be recommended, including strong encryption, independent security audits, modern technology, and more. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this list before choosing a VPN provider, and conduct your own research to ensure the VPN provider you choose is as trustworthy as possible.</p>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-12">
<h3><span class="badge badge-info">Jurisdiction</span></h3>
<p>Operating outside the five/nine/fourteen-eyes countries is not a guarantee of privacy necessarily, and there are other factors to consider. However, we believe that avoiding these countries is important if you wish to avoid mass government dragnet surveillance, especially from the United States. Read our page on <a href="/providers/#ukusa">global mass surveillance and avoiding the US and UK</a> to learn more about why we feel this is important.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Operating outside the USA or other Five Eyes countries.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Operating outside the USA or other Fourteen Eyes countries.</li>
<li>Operating inside a country with strong consumer protection laws.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3><span class="badge badge-info">Technology</span></h3>
<p>We require all our recommended VPN providers to provide OpenVPN configuration files to be used in any client. <strong>If</strong> a VPN provides their own custom client, we require a kill-switch to block network data leaks when disconnected.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>OpenVPN support.</li>
<li>Kill switch built in to clients.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>OpenVPN and Wireguard support.</li>
<li>Kill-switch with highly configurable options (enable/disable on certain networks, on boot, etc.)</li>
<li>Easy-to-use mobile clients, especially open-source.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3><span class="badge badge-info">Anonymity</span></h3>
<p>We prefer our recommended providers to collect as little data as possible. Not collecting personal information on registration, and accepting anonymous forms of payment are required.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Bitcoin or cash payment option.</li>
<li>No personal information required to register: Only username, password, and email at most.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Accepts Bitcoin, cash, and other forms of cryptocurrency and/or anonymous payment options (gift cards, etc.)</li>
<li>No personal information accepted (autogenerated username, no email required, etc.)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3><span class="badge badge-info">Security</span></h3>
<p>A VPN is pointless if it can't even provide adequate security. We require all our recommended providers to abide by current security standards for their OpenVPN connections. Ideally, they would use more future-proof encryption schemes by default. We also require an independent third-party to audit the provider's security. Ideally in a very comprehensive manner and on a repeated (yearly) basis.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Strong Encryption Schemes: OpenVPN with SHA-256 authentication; RSA-2048 or better handshake; AES-256-GCM or AES-256-CBC data encryption.</li>
<li>Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS).</li>
<li>Published security audits from a reputable third-party firm.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Strongest Encryption: RSA-4096.</li>
<li>Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS).</li>
<li>Comprehensive published security audits from a reputable third-party firm.</li>
<li>Bug-bounty programs and/or a coordinated vulnerability-disclosure process</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3><span class="badge badge-info">Trust</span></h3>
<p>You wouldn't trust your finances to someone with a fake identity, so why trust them with your internet data? We require our recommended providers to be public about their ownership or leadership. We also would like to see frequent transparency reports, especially in regard to how government requests are handled.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Minimum to Qualify:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Public-facing leadership or ownership.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>Best Case:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Public-facing leadership.</li>
<li>Frequent transparency reports.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-12">
<h3><span class="badge badge-info">Additional Functionality</span></h3>
<p>While not strictly requirements, there are some factors we looked into when determining which providers to recommend. These include adblocking/tracker-blocking functionality, warrant canaries, multihop connections, excellent customer support, the number of allowed simultaneous connections, etc.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<h1 id="info" class="anchor"><a href="#info"><i class="fas fa-link anchor-icon"></i></a> Further Information and Dangers</h1>
<div class="container">
@ -67,17 +179,6 @@ description: "Find a no-logging VPN operator who isn't out to sell or read your
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6">
<h3>Our VPN Provider Criteria</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Jurisdiction:</strong> Operating outside the USA or other Five Eyes countries.<br>More: <a href="https://www.bestvpn.com/the-ultimate-privacy-guide/#avoidus">Avoid all US and UK based services.</a></li>
<li><strong>Technology:</strong> OpenVPN software support with strong encryption and Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS).</li>
<li><strong>Anonymity:</strong> Accepts Bitcoin and/or cash as an additional payment method. No personal information is required to create an account: Only username, password and email at most.</li>
<li><strong>Security:</strong> Has been independently audited by a third party to validate security claims.</li>
<li><strong>Trust:</strong> Has public-facing leadership and/or ownership.</li>
</ul>
<p>We're not affiliated with any of the above-listed VPN providers. This way we can give you honest recommendations.</p>
<h3>More VPN Providers</h3>
<ul>