mullvad

insert spiel about how VPNs are generally pretty overhyped as a privacy tool but if you're in US you want one that's not american owned, mullvad is swedish and does actually have very good protection policies for customer data. https://mullvad.net/de/blog/2023/4/20/mullvad-vpn-was-subject-to-a-search-warrant-customer-data-not-compromised they got raided by swedish authorities and due to their no logging policy the data that was sought after simply didn't exist. you can also pay them in various anonymous ways including cash in a postal envelope lol. also it's only 5 euro

A lot of VPNs are owned or connected to Israeli intelligence agencies or other assorted shell companies.

Mullvad is your best bet but VPNs don't make you private. In fact they should just be called Virtual LAN networks. Most of your traffic on the clearnet is encrypted already via HTTPS and VPNs only obfuscate your IP address from the website you're connecting to. A lot of the fuckery comes from the nonfree clientside JS code that is executed on a lot of websites that can track you as well as nonfree web browsers.

VPNs won't protect you against bad digital practices.

A much better approach to digital privacy is to make sure that your org can function entirely on free software that respects your freedoms. Example: instead of organizing via Discord, Social Media, etc. you can organize via XMPP or Matrix which can be deployed by your org if needed. Instead of creating documents via M$ Office or Google Docs you can use a office suite like LibreOffice and store everything locally and only share copies when needed. Instead of meeting over Zoom you can meet over Jitsi Meet.

This in my opinion, is far more impressive and worthwhile task than asking your members to pay for a VPN. It actually educates your org on good computing practices rather than security theatre that you'll have to pay into.

There's a big fucking reason why YouTubers can sponsor VPNs but no one seems to be aware of FOSS.

You're asking the wrong question. VPNs are cool and all, it won't really protect your communication, especially not from a government actor. A VPN can sort of trick a website into thinking you are at a different location and in some ways can mask what you are doing from your ISP. It won't protect you from the government.

What you want is GPG encryption of your communications. GPG can be used in 2 main ways, you can encrypt files/text or you can sign files/text. Each person has a private key and a public key. In the case where you encrypt a message, you would take the public key of the person that you want to receive the message to encrypt the message and then the encrypted message can only be decrypted by the recipients private key. In the case where you sign a message, you use your private key to generate a "signature" string and then other people can take your public key and the signature to confirm that you wrote the message that you signed.

You can set this up with an email client like Thunderbird (equivalent to firefox).

ProtonVPN is okay iirc

Just don't use a free one or the ones being advertised by ytbers

Mullvad.

No US based. Actual decent Swedish protection laws, which is where they’re based. No logging of anything. Accepts cash in the mail anonymously.

Tor and shutting the fuck up

m u l l v a d

Mullvad is paid, tho.

ProtonVPN has a free subscription so maybe that would help less tech-savvy comrades dip their toes 🤷🏼‍♀️ it’s very limited, but might just be what gets them into online privacy. Good luck & be safe out there ☮️

Proton or Mullvad.

Proton has the benefit that you can also get their google replacements in the same package.

Though as said, vpns are overhyped for security.

I suggest the high tech of a pencil and a piece of paper. The NSA can't read shit. If they want to spy on you, they have to pay some guy to do it, and that costs money.

Mullvad fits your criteria. Proton is annoying to use on phones I think but they do have a free VPN.

Really there's very little that a VPN is suitable for over TOR. Probably, if you can't run it over TOR it's not secure over a VPN either.

There’s two ways to do this:

The online organizing way is to use a paid vpn to prevent local WiFi attacks and isp snooping, harden all devices and computers that will be used, only use encrypted communications and develop data security practices compatible with the possibility of being jammed up.

You gotta have real knowledge and awareness to pull this off as an individual, or a huge point of trust/failure in one person who does it for you.

If you do all that then the cops will just use metadata and inference to get warrants or just have someone infiltrate you or turn a trusted member.

The other way, the way the bolsheviks used, is to only organize in person and develop a no-trust framework for interacting with your community.

Then the cops will infiltrate or turn members but you have at least prepared for it and expect it.

You folks are awesome

Proton is great!