Port Forwarding - Should I? and which VPN? - eviltoast

Ahoy! I know this has been asked a lot already, I’ve been following up and doing some research online but I’m still confused. Sorry.

1-I’m not exactly tech savvy. (Ok. I’m thick as a brick) 2-I’m a very casual BitTorrent user. I’ll go months without torrenting.

3-I do stream more frequently.

4-I travel often, meaning I don’t often have admin access to the networks I connect to

I currently have Nord. I heard it’s no longer as trusted as it used to, and since my subscription is ending I’m wondering if I should jump ship.

I read I should be using Port Forwarding, and I get the concept of it somewhat but I’m still not sure if I need it (considering my casual torrent use, so far… I’ve been ok?), and also, I have no idea how to set that up. (would #4 be a problem?).

Now, VPN: Mullvad, AirVPN, and Proton seem to be the most reliable ones. Is that right?

Air has good pricing atm, and port forwarding. I heard it’s not too user friendly though? (#1)

Mullvad seems to have a solid rep. but no port forwarding (It used to? Their website doesn’t say much unless I create an account?)

Proton: has PF, seems good too

Or should I just stick with Nord?

TLDR which VPN should I go for considering 1,2,3,4, and should I consider port forwarding in my decision?

Thanks

  • #!\x4B\x75\x72\x41@noc.social
    42·
    1 year ago

    @Mothra I use Mullvad. It is an excellent service. I buy 12 month scratch off cards for added privacy. Totally unlinking my Mullvad from card details.

    I don’t use the service that often, but I like having the option.

    You are correct that it no longner supports port forwarding. I don’t torrent at all but my understanding is you should still be able to do that fine without port forwarding.

    I would ditch NordVPN asap. They do some shady shit. Switch to Mullvad, use Wireguard.

    • Mosfar@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      I love mullvad and I’m using it for years as I don’t torrent. But beware that mullvad doesn’t support port forwarding since this summer

    • Mothra@mander.xyzOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Thanks. Ok ditch Nord, got it. Why do you recommend Wireguard? Isn’t Mullvad enough already?

      • #!\x4B\x75\x72\x41@noc.social
        1·
        1 year ago

        @Mothra Mullvad supports Wireguard and OpenVPN. Of the two Wireguard I just better and faster. 😁

        If you’re on Linux it’s also super simple to configure Wireguard and have it constantly running in the background, super lightweight. I use it this way for site-to-site VPN of my servers in different hosting environments.