
Show HN: Fortressa – Create Your Own Private VPN in Minutes - justinmayer
https://fortressa.com/
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plg
Forgive me perhaps I read the landing page too quickly but it looks like any
other VPN service... I pay a stranger money and my traffic goes through that
stranger’s servers?

No offense but why would I trust that stranger?

Isn’t the best choice for the privacy conscious to set up a VPN on a machine
they themselves have physical control over?

~~~
leetcrew
> Isn’t the best choice for the privacy conscious to set up a VPN on a machine
> they themselves have physical control over?

perhaps I am missing something, but it seems like having physical control over
the machine breaks several important use cases for VPNs.

if I understand correctly, the privacy that you get from a VPN comes from
encrypting the traffic itself, hiding your actual IP, and mixing your traffic
with other clients using the same exit point. although it is a matter of
record that you are a subscriber, no intercepted traffic can actually be
traced back to the IP you own (assuming your provider doesn't keep logs, of
course).

I don't really see how these qualities could be retained by operating your own
VPN server. unless you are doing some black ops shit, your identity would have
to be connected to the VPN server itself, so the fact that it masks your
computers IP doesn't matter. plus you probably don't have many other people
using your server, so you lose that plausible deniability.

I would be quite glad to be corrected, as I certainly don't love trusting my
provider when they say they don't keep logs.

~~~
earenndil
A VPN can also be useful for security -- for instance, if you're on an
unencrypted wifi and someone wants to sniff your packets. Or if you're in
countries such as the UK or china and want to circumvent censorship.

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justinmayer
Hi folks. Fortressa creator here. Friends and family kept asking me about
VPNs, and I didn’t have any good suggestions to offer, so I built a solution I
felt comfortable recommending. You can learn more about my motivation in my
announcement post:

[https://justinmayer.com/posts/introducing-
fortressa/](https://justinmayer.com/posts/introducing-fortressa/)

I wanted to share this with the community in hopes of getting constructive
feedback. Many thanks in advance, and please be kind! (^_^)

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joshstrange
What does this give me over PIA? Other than over double the price? I can't
seem to see any features this offers me over any of the other VPN's.

It says it works on "Ready to protect your Mac computers, iPhones, and iPads?"
how does even work? It would be one thing if they provided apps but I can't
seem find links to their apps so why would this be limited to Mac/iOS?

~~~
justinmayer
* the VPN is yours, and only yours -- not shared with thousands of other users

* VPN detection is becoming a problem, and Fortressa is harder to detect as a VPN (unlike other providers)

* uses stronger, more trusted protocols than OpenVPN and others commonly used by most providers

* no software to install, so no apps are necessary

The VPN service itself is not limited to Mac/iOS in any way. The configuration
steps on Android, Linux Desktop, and Windows are a bit more involved, so I
simply haven't had time to properly document those steps. Thank you for
reminding me that I need to add that to the FAQ, which is here:
[https://fortressa.com/faq/](https://fortressa.com/faq/)

~~~
borplk
> more trusted protocols than OpenVPN

Can you elaborate on that?

