VPN configured correctly? problem with Gnome Ubuntu 16.04

Bendicion wrote...
I recently installed OpenVPN on Ubuntu 16.04, following instructions here: https://riseup.net/en/vpn/vpn-red/linux, and then configuring to connect to riseupvpn

I then added the VPN network and I can connect using the Gnome network connections (at least I am told I am connected to riseup network), however all webpages just hang and nothing loads.

I can seem to connect using command-line sudo openvpn --client --dev tun --auth-user-pass --remote vpn.riseup.net 1194 --keysize 256 --auth SHA256 --cipher AES-256-CBC --ca RiseupCA.pem , and I am judging the success of connection to the fact that my public IP seems to change. The command prints: Mon Oct 9 23:05:18 2017 Initialization Sequence Completed ....but then I don't see any other log info.

I am wondering if the problem is the VPN autoconnect problem discussed in the literature?

I don't mind connecting via commandline, I'm just not entirely sure if the VPN is functioning correctly.

Also, some related questions: I have riseup black account and bitmask successfully installed. I seem to be able to connect; is bitmask far superior to openvpn and riseup server? What happens if I run openvpn to connect to riseup server but then also run bitmask?

I've also been thinking about running my own vpn?? per these instructions https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-an-openvpn-server-on-ubuntu-16-04. Can anyone help me understand the benefits and drawbacks of these 3 options?

1. Bitmask
2. OpenVPN configured to Riseup
3. OpenVPN configured to my own server.

Am trying to base my decision on a balance between anonymity and ease of use. For instance I know if I use a VPS to create VPN it in some ways defeats the purpose of anonymity because I have to pay for the VPS and payment channels can be traced.

If I use RiseupVPN seems like a great solution, except sometimes maybe the server is down...and it doesn't seem like I can change the location of the IP that I connect to (it's easy to see that my IP is a Riseup server)

Bitmask seems really cool, I'm just not sure if I actually understand the tech behind it. The thing just connects but I don't really understand what's happening behind the GUI, and it seems like I only have 3 options of servers to connect to.

Thanks in advance for any advice and info that will help me make a more informed choices about my digital privacy, and I'm very appreciative and inspired by the work you do.
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Bendicion replied...
Update: It seems with this configuration I am getting a DNS leak: https://dnsleaktest.com There are IPs coming up that aren't associated with RiseUp network in Seattle. Or am I missing something?
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Crossbill replied...
Hi,

What IPs are you seeing when you do the DNS leak test? We have a few different VPN gateways, not all of them are in Seattle, so its possible you see one of those?

Regarding VPN choices... the bitmask GUI is designed to be as simple as possible. It does auto-configuration of the openvpn pieces behind the scenes using pre-tested configurations to ensure there are *NO* dns leaks at all. If you use the other VPN, the one that does not use bitmask, you will have to take care of these details yourself. Often people get them wrong and are leaking information, so we recommend strongly that you use bitmask whenever possible (there is a command-line version as well!)

crossbill
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Bendicion replied...
Wow, I didn't realize there was CLI Bitmask I will look into that. Will also try to load the VPN and see the IPs again that I thought were being leaked. I'm ok using the regular OPEN VPN configuration except I am having the 16.04 specific bug where I can only connect through command line. The problem with this seems to be the VPN can go out of sync and I won't realize it unless I check the terminal it's running from
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Bendicion replied...
I don't know if it would be more appropriate to open up a new topic, but I am in Mexico at the moment and Open VPN configured for Riseup will not access any pages. I have the same issue using Bitmask. I haven't figured out what the ISP is; I also think it would be helpful in troubleshooting the problem is someone could tell me how to access log for bitmask and Open VPN, because right now I just know that no websites will load when the VPN is connected and the second I disconnect I can load everything fine.
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Crossbill replied...
There is a log file in ~/.config/leap that might have some information, but it sounds like maybe your ISP is restricting VPN access. Do you get an error when you try to load pages, or does it just never load?

Could you open a terminal and do a few network tests to see if packets get out, such as doing:

$ mtr -l -c 10 -r 4.2.2.2

when on the VPN, and when off?
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Huemanatee replied...
I'm using RiseupBlack (Bitmask) on Ubuntu 16.04 as well and cannot connect to any webpages while the VPN is active. The up/down values in Bitmask are between 0-150 Bytes. Barely a trickle. Is this an Ubuntu issue or ?
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Medium
Crossbill replied...
Hi,

Could you open a terminal and do a few network tests to see if packets get out, such as doing:

$ mtr -l -c 10 -r 4.2.2.2

when on the VPN, and when off... please send the results!
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65763991
Vireo replied...
Bendicion,

This ticket is being closed due to inactivity. Please respond and reopen the ticket if you still desire assistance with this topic.


In Solidarity,

-vireo


PS: We need your help to continue our work – please consider donating to riseup – https://riseup.net/donate
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