[throwanem]

I use (and really like!) Mullvad, but have never tried the app, preferring to use my existing OpenVPN clients with the profiles Mullvad provides.

This isn't because I have any reason to mistrust their app, but just because if I've already got a perfectly serviceable client on my device, why add another binary to do the same thing?

But I would be interested to hear, from folks who have used the app, what you like and don't like about it. In particular, I've had some headaches setting up split tunneling/proxying via OpenVPN - I was never all that good at its config language - and I'm wondering if the Mullvad app might make those easier to achieve.

[_rend]

I've found their apps to be (subjectively) higher quality than most OpenVPN clients on platforms I care about (macOS, iOS, Windows). It's nice to have a consistent UI, and not have to think or care about specific profiles — it's easy for me to jump between servers much more easily (I typically connect relatively locally, but occasionally find that certain out IP addresses have been blacklisted from specific sites; it's trivial to "refresh" the connection to hop over to a different server and not have to think about it).

And, of course, easier (for me) to set up and configure. Maybe no _huge_ incentive to switch over to it if your setup works, but might be worth trying out if you're curious.

[windexh8er]

I would agree with a couple additional points. The first is that the app has a nice GUI that works across all platforms I'm interested in (mainly Linux) - but it also has a very handy CLI.

I've also found that the client devs respond to issues. This is great as well as I feel as though I'm getting a complete solution with Mullvad.

While I have no doubt Mullvad is great as a vanilla VPN without their client - I feel as though I'd be missing out on a few features and convenience items if I were forced to bring my own.

And to be clear - while Multihop is new, it's not new as in today. It's been out for a while in beta (if I'm remembering right) and landed in GA about a month ago. I don't see much need for it in my use case, but it's nice they're continually enhancing the overall product.

[seanw444]

I'll +1 your anecdote with mine: that Mullvad's app is pretty great. It's very simple, isn't buggy, has just what's needed, and has a good UI. I'm pleased with it. Better than the others I've used.

[anakaine]

I'll also +1 your anecdote that the Mullvad app is simple, convenient and stable.

[DenseComet]

If you don't want to switch to the Mullvad app, it's still worthwhile to switch to their wireguard profiles. Connections seem more stable and wireguard is far easier to configure.

[postingposts]

Hey I’m curious about the terminology you guys are using here. Is there a manual or a page which I can read to learn more about wireguard profiles and what mullvad has done for them perhaps?

[dempedempe]

Wireguard is the latest VPN protocol. Check out the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WireGuard) or it's homepage (https://www.wireguard.com/). Not all VPN providers support it yet (notably Proton VPN), but it is generally faster and more secure than OpenVPN.

It was made by Jason A. Donenfeld.

[wolverine876]

Search HN re Wireguard. It's a much more secure, efficient, and very widely respected. Linus has integrated it into the kernel, for example.

[postingposts]

Linus has integrated more than a few questionable things into the kernel so that’s not a ringing endorsement for me. Perhaps it’s a good implementation for the new standard, perhaps not. Regardless, I want to say to you that I appreciate your comment and I’m going to go off and do some further research before I begin to have an opinion.

[nodja]

I don't use OpenVPN but wireguard, but I do use split tunneling and my setup is a bit complex but not hard to achieve.

I wanted to have a VPN up 24/7 but certain sites apps don't really like VPNs. I basically have steam and privoxy set as my split tunneling apps. Steam because it seems their website's CDN breaks half the time and privoxy so I can access specific websites without a VPN.

For privoxy to work properly I use a browser extension called SmartProxy[1] which lets me setup a proxy and then I can quickly add/delete sites from using that proxy, I just add 127.0.0.1:8118 and I can basically have any site either use the VPN (default) or whitelist it so it goes through my home connection.

[1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smartproxy/jogcnpl...

[twojacobtwo]

I've been using the app for a couple of years now and I have mostly enjoyed the experience relative to the few other VPN solutions I've tried (OpenVPN, Nord (old version), ProtonVPN).

Things I mostly like:

- The relative simplicity of the app interface (though 'advanced' settings should just be a sub-section of 'preferences')

- How quickly/easily I can get connected (download, paste in account #, click connect - or change location.

- Relatively easy split-tunneling

- Easy switch between OpenVPN and Wireguard protocols

- Easy local network sharing (preference toggle)

- Tracker and ad block options (have not tested efficacy, appears to be DNS-based)

- Internet kill switch (will not fall back to non-vpn connections if set)

Things I don't like:

- Can cause issues on boot/reboot if kill switch is enabled (Windows - disable kill switch, restart app, re-enable kill switch)

- Limited options for mobile apps (and some unexpected disconnections on android)

- No configuration of app layout or color scheme

- Somewhat annoying upgrade (not bad, just no in-place upgrade solution)

[CPAhem]

The Mullvad app is huge ~100MB which is odd for what it needs to do.

[silizium]

My mullvad installation on Windows has 258MB but memory footprint is low. I find 5 entries in the task manager with a total of 14.6MB with active connection.

[throwanem]

Maybe not Electron, then. Perhaps I'm confusing it with ExpressVPN's first-party app, which definitely was Electron when I tried them a few years back.

[Foxboron]

It does use electron. The source code is available on github.

https://github.com/mullvad/mullvadvpn-app

[throwanem]

I believe it's Electron-based, which is another reason I've hesitated to try it out. I like Electron - from the developer's perspective, it's great! - but I do still try to avoid its resource impact until there's a compelling reason to take the hit.

[twojacobtwo]

That is one of the nitpicks that I missed, along with their downloads being excruciatingly slow when already connected to the service, for whatever reason (I may just be doing something wrong).

[maxwelldone]

I've noticed that as well. The trick as I found (and even recommended by their support) is to download from their GitHub repo.

[uneekname]

The app is great in my opinion, giving less-technical users a simple interface to toggle their VPN connection and see at a glance where their chosen server is on a map.

If you're comfortable setting up OpenVPN profiles, the Mullvad app doesn't have much to offer you as far as I can tell. I don't recall seeing split tunneling options, though that would be cool to see

[lighttower]

Split tunneling an app to NOT GO THROUGH the tunnel is easy

Setting split tunneling to ONLY TUNNEL A SPECIFIC APP is hard

[cycomanic]

My main application is to get passed region block to keep up with news/TV in other places I've lived previously. The app makes changing your exit node very straight forward and I've not encountered any bugs, so it does what it should.

[neurostimulant]

Why not use a wireguard client instead? Connection is instant (unlike openvpn which can take a few seconds to connect) and drains less battery as well. Their app uses wireguard as well, and you can use other wireguard client too.