Nord vpn v cloud vm
reddit / selfhosted

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Stunning-Tailor-4948 · 2023-12-24 10:09

Hi,

Noob question so go easy on me. I’m thinking of putting a vpn on my
Unifi dream machine to tunnel all traffic for internal clients.

What’s the difference between me setting up open vpn/wireguard with a
cloud supplier such as Digital Ocean compared to going to someone like
Nord for the service?

Appreciate you get client app with something like Nord but I don’t
really need that as have it already…

Cheers guys

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NikStalwart · 2023-12-24 11:09

Three words: Points of Presence. A commercial VPN provider will offer
servers in multiple countries. You would need to spend considerably
more than the cost of a commercial subscription if you want more than
3-5 exit nodes.

Two more words: plausible deniability. A VPN exit node is shared
amongst multiple customers and some providers claim not to keep logs.
How much you should trust those claims is up to you — I don't trust
*any* such claims — but the general idea is that when 40 random dudes
are using the same IP, it is hard(er) to correlate activity with a
particular customer as compared to a Digital Ocean droplet where you
are the only tenant.

Those are the *only* two advantages of commercial VPNs as I see them,
everything else is better done on your own infrastructure.

One of the problems with using a commercial VPN is that you need to
trust them with your traffic and, often, with having low-level access
to your computer if you are using their client.

Some things to keep in mind with a VPN provider:

 * Don't go with any providers who have large-scale advertising or
referral programs
 * Consider providers who offer WG/openVPN configs instead of forcing
you to use their client.
 * A commercial VPN is for *traffic out*. If you want to acceess your
own network, you should self-host your own VPN server.
 * Don't be stupid. Practice good OPSEC.

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Stunning-Tailor-4948 · 2023-12-24 12:24

Thankyou so much. Some great points for me to consider. Thankyou for
taking the time for such a detailed reply.

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SenritsuJumpsuit · 2023-12-24 18:06

VPS is worth looking into it allows for multiple identifies per
program