Mozilla will launch Mozilla VPN in the coming weeks
The system-wide VPN solution Firefox Private Networks VPN will be launched in the coming weeks under the new name Mozilla VPN.
The organization launched the product in 2019 under the name Firefox Private Network VPN as a beta in the United States after it launched the Firefox Private Network extension earlier that year.
firefox-mozilla-vpn is provided by the Swedish company Mullvad, uses WireGuard and comes with strong privacy protections that include a strict no logging policy.
The beta exit marks the next step for the product. Mozilla decided to rename Firefox Private Network VPN to Mozilla VPN to "serve a larger audience" and to distinguish it better from the Firefox Private Network browser extension which it also maintains.
It needs to be noted that the two products are different on many levels. Mozilla VPN is based on Mullvad while Firefox Private Network browser extension is using Cloudflare's infrastructure as its backbone. The former offers system-wide protection, the latter only in Firefox.
Mozilla VPN will be launched in the United States initially for an introductory price of $4.99 per month. For comparison purposes, Mullvad accounts are available for €5 (which is about $5.50) per month. It is likely that Mozilla is going to raise the price of the solution at one point in time as it uses the word "introductory" or "for a limited time" when it lists the current price.
Mozilla VPN customers may use the VPN solution on up to five devices, and may be used on Windows, Google Android, and Apple iOS initially. Versions for Mac OS and Linux are in the works and will follow at a later point in time.
Mozilla plans to expand the regional availability of Mozilla VPN later this year but did not reveal which regions it targets initially.
Closing Words
It will be interesting to see how well Mozilla VPN will do from a business point of view. The introductory price is not exactly cheap when compared to other popular VPN solutions. It remains to be seen if Mozilla's name behind the product will entice users to start using it instead of other solutions, even if it lacks some of the advanced features or tools that other VPN solutions offer.
Another factor that is unknown at this point in time is how Mullvad's network will cope with the increase in users if a sizeable number of users signs up for Mozilla VPN in the first weeks after launch.
Mozilla needs to diversify its income as it is too dependent on search engine deals. What makes this even more problematic is that the company's current deal is with its biggest competitor in the browser market, Google.
Now You: Would you use Mozilla VPN if it would be available in your region?
Hmmm
Unless these VPN’s are rigorously, independently and publicly tested by more than 1 independent company on a regular basis using open, accepted and verified protocols and testing procedures, it is impossible to claim they “secure”. And as many point out here, even if they are, the chances that the average user is secure on their end is slim to none.
Having said that, for anyone at this late date to honestly believe that the powers that be would ever allow a truly secure, autonomous method for the common man of accessing the internet in 2020 definitely needs a “VPN”…..
I use NordVPN. It cost me $125 for three devices, for three years. I had a couple of small problems at the beginning. Their support people got back to me within minutes with simple solutions.
@ULBoom, Mullvad has two apps: the one you describe and the Wireguard app. I use the latter. https://mullvad.net/en/help/wireguard-app-windows/
To launch it simply right click the tray icon and choose a server. You can disconnect the same way. The only popup which will appear is a small oblong above the tray icon which briefly appears to confirm that access has been established. http://imgbox.com/10vczFZI
That said I don’t know if Mozilla will use the same options.
I already use Mullvad. May not continue; the client, although greatly improved, stays minimized unless you remember to close it on the second screen; should be next to the disconnect button on the main screen. The client also opens in the middle of your desktop, can’t be moved and auto minimizes the first time you click something. Weird, kind of sneaky behavior but a far cry better than the old one which looked like it was constructed with Notepad using No.6 font.
Wireguard’s very fast, much faster than Open VPN but has a weird characteristic that connection info can’t be deleted immediately. Maybe that will change in the future; I went back to Open VPN
ALL VPN’s know your IP unless you can access the service through Tor, a second VPN, obfuscated proxy or double hop, which is possible with some. One of mine will do all of those but it’s major overkill for my uses.
Best thing about Mullvad is you have a random user account number and they only offer subscriptions one month at a time. Let it lapse and you disappear, then start over with a new number. Totally anonymous payments are possible.
It’s one of the most anonymous VPN’s available; the stuff about 5 eyes doesn’t apply to VPN’s. If complete anonymity is the goal, you wouldn’t be screwing around with a VPN anyway and would know that.
Whether Mozilla tags along with the same services as Mullvad or blows it remains to be seen. I don’t see any point in their version and Mullvad has a lot to lose if Mozilla reduces their privacy even one tiny bit. At least Mozilla VPN is a system level app, not some ludicrous browser add on.
I hope Mullvad doesn’t go Hollywood, there are so few real VPN’s out still out there.
Hi all :)
Hmmmm ….. is this a question of giving all your surfing stats, OS details, and Browser details to Mozilla and no-one else ?
This is all very well if you trust them, Poodle has a similar mode of operation and come to think of it, practically everyone else as well. What a wonderful way to centralize data collection and deny its collection by all other parties, while offering you enhanced security. A captive audience perhaps, or is it more like a Stockholm syndrome ?
How do you feel about “Giving yourself away” for the promise of another function, conveniently built into a free piece of software, which promises to increase your security, and to add insult to injury, is also a subscription service ?
Is this the state of the World now, where we have to PAY to keep our lives private, and even then have no guarantee that our lives will be. This is a state of affairs that strikes me as extortion, banditry, and or a protection racket.
I’ll say one thing, its ingenious, the way it serves to rob you of another couple of bucks, in addition to all the other services you may be subscribed to. How much does a year’s worth of subscription fees add up to ?
What saddens me is the number of people whom will use it, because of its convenience.
Windows 10 users please take note.
Peter Newton [London UK]
Seems like you may not understand how this works.
Well I have yet to really consider any sort of VPN service but I doubt this one from Mozilla will sway me to consider it. $60 a year for a service I still wonder if I need is not on my radar right now.
I see so many offering a VPN service I am not sure Mozilla branding will make there service any more appealing?
I think the thought is that the Mozilla branding (and, in theory, oversight) probably makes the service seem trustworthy to a greater number of people. A lot of folks have no idea what to make of a large number of VPN offerings from companies that they have never heard of, but do know that by funneling all their traffic through them, they would make it exceedingly easy for those companies to steal their identities, credit card numbers and other financial information, log-in details, etc., along with misusing access to their personal conversations, etc.. They know Mozilla is not a criminal enterprise, so they won’t have to worry about their VPN doing stuff like that if they go with Mozilla. Also, many of them are already trusting Mozilla by using it’s Firefox browser (Though the VPN now appears like something people could subscribe to and use any browser with if they wanted as a device level thing), so if they go with the same company as their VPN, they aren’t widening the circle of companies they are trusting to have access to parts of their online experience.
I would be interested if there’s a trial period (a couple of hours would do) which can be used to test it. I’m very cautious when it comes to another company using Mullvad’s network because they developed their own app last year which can run both OpenVPN and Wireguard. However, it causes overheating issues on my Windows 8.1 system. So if Moz is going to use the same app then that’s no good to me.
If however they allow Wireguard as an independent app which can then be run by a VPN then I’d like to have a look at it. That’s how I use Mullvad at the moment.
A nice way to make the slowest browser on the market even slower. Yaaayy!!
No, they think offering various services that nearly nobody will bother to use will reduce their dependency on Google. Needless to say, it won’t work.
Another FF red herring. It’ll slow any internet traffic, the stuff OS’s request, program updates, etc. Kinda like all VPN’s do, nothing new there.
Unless you are just trying to evade censorship, why would you ever use a system wide VPN on your primary PC, or your Primary Mobile device? It just doesn’t make sense. You sign in to Apple, facebook, google, or youtube, or do a windows update and immediately the biggest tracking companies in the world know your account is associated with a VPN, defeating the whole purpose. What you should do is create a virtual machine dedicated to your favorite VPN and use it exclusively for online accounts exclusive to the VPN use, if you really value your privacy; If you are avoiding censorship and whatnot, well thats another story. If you are using the same browser when you enable your VPN as when you disable your VPN, all the cookies and data associated with your VPN identity will leak your two identities and tie them together. That is why TOR always deletes all user data after each use and doesn’t offer an option to remember anything.
@yuliya.
Not the slowest but has become slower.
User > Mozilla VPN > Mullvad > SÄPO > N S…
Be careful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Security_Service
I used many over the years and they are all about the same. They suck. I am not saying they don`t work but, all the problems they cause is not just worth it to me.
Your link contains nothing to support your accusation.
@ Name,
As far as Mullvad is concerned it doesn’t matter that Sweden is part of the 14 Eyes Intelligence Alliance because they don’t require your personal details when you sign up. All you need to do is create an account on their site and remit payment by anonymous means including cash in an envelop quoting your account number and you can start using the VPN straight away. Nobody, including the site’s administrators will know who you are.
TelV, they know your IP. and I think your ISP knows who had which IP allocated at which interval.
Mullvad is one of the best if not the best VPN on earth, as far as I have been able to determine, and EFF.org recommends referring to the top VPN chart here https://thatoneprivacysite.net/#simple-vpn-comparison, it is number one, minus one factor, its in Sweden. Why use cash? You can sign up over TOR with a gift-card/prepaid credit card anonymously and then you are set. The more users that use their services the higher the anonimity.
@Yuliya. You are right. ISP and VPN service logs everything. VPN service > ISP > user. It is easy identifying user: VPN service and ISP share information.
@Yulliya, that’s true, but they can only determine that my machine connected to Mullvad not which sites I visited after the connection was established.
Mullvad also offers an optional SOCKS5 proxy to increase security: https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2016/11/29/increased-security-socks5-proxy/
TelV, sure, but if someone really wants to track you they can contact both entities and work together. I don’t buy the “we store no logs” phrase every VPN provider shouts out loud, nor the occasional sensationalistic article about how XYZ governmental agency got no data in whatever court case once they have contacted the VPN provider somebody used to do whatever.
Sweden in part of 14 Eyes countries. This VPN is decrypted at the source and everything is shared with other Eyes countries secret services :FBI, NSA, GCHQ…