131
Why does every VPN need to rewrite their own client? (programming.dev)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/programming@programming.dev
29 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I've been testing VPN services and somehow every one with a client has written their own. Proton, Windscribe, IVPN, Mullvad, AirVPN, NordVPN, and the list goes on.

Don't these services all do the same thing? Connect to a server to get a list of servers, then use WireGuard or OpenVPN to make a connection, and have some fancy stuff like split tunneling or a killswitch. It should just take configuration by adding profiles per service and it should be possible to use the same client.

What am I missing?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 1 point 1 month ago

Followup question: Is there an overview of which VPNs can be used with third party (FOSS) clients and which not? I don't currently use a VPN except a corporate VPN, but may change that in the future.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent