Advice Request Mullvad DNS Blocking

[n8chavez]

It seems that Mullvad, the VPN service, has added the ability to filter ads, trackers, and malware using DNS lists. According to their Github, they offer lists like EasyList, AdguardDNS, adaway, and AdguardDNS-mobile-ads. I was wondering what, if anything, people thought of this new feature. It's included for free with a VPN subscription. I know it''s not quite like NextDNS, because there's no gui for it. But is it worth paying for NextDNS, ControlD, or AdGuard Home when this is an option? Thoughts?

 

[Shadowra]

Hello

Function that all vpn have mostly (Surfshark with CleanWeb, Windscribe with ROBERT, Proton with SecureCore etc)

To test. I know that the one of Proton and Surfshark works well

 

[n8chavez]

Hello

Function that all vpn have mostly (Surfshark with CleanWeb, Windscribe with ROBERT, Proton with SecureCore etc)

To test. I know that the one of Proton and Surfshark works well

That's true. But the things that differentiates Mullvad from the others you mentioned is that Mullvad says what lists they use, whereas the other do not. Also, with Mullvad you can use DoH, syestem-wide or on a mobile device without the VPN being installed. That would be great, if it filters correctly. The lists used are what I want opinions on.

 

[Kongo]

That's true. But the things that differentiates Mullvad from the others you mentioned is that Mullvad says what lists they use, whereas the other do not. Also, with Mullvad you can use DoH, syestem-wide or on a mobile device without the VPN being installed. That would be great, if it filters correctly. The lists used are what I want opinions on.

NextDNS offers way more than just blocklists.
It has TLD blocking, typosquatting protection, AI Driven Protection. So its attack surface reduction capabilities are actually its main strength.

 

[n8chavez]

NextDNS offers way more than just blocklists.
It has TLD blocking, typosquatting protection, AI Driven Protection. So its attack surface reduction capabilities are actually its main strength.

Oh good call! From what I can remember, ControlD doesn't even offer some of these features.

 

[Kongo]

Oh good call! From what I can remember, ControlD doesn't even offer some of these features.

True. So NextDNS can cause some false positives but can also protect you from potential threats even if its blocklist like Threat Intelligence Feeds or Google Safe Browsing don’t block them.

 

[AG3S]

I personally would recommend to be careful about using external DNS services. It is recommended that if you use a CPN service such as Mullvad (which in my opinion is one of the most transparent and private VPN services) you should not use an another DNS service as it will expose your ISP's DNS and IPs.

And be aware that all the DNS service are earning money by selling the data of those who use their services. (more info in the following video).

In general if you want a good privacy you should choose a good and transparent VPN provider such as Mullvad. Even Proton VPN has a negative point in their history by decrypting the email addresses of an activist and providing it with authorities and yet they claim END-to-END ECNRYPTION!!!!! I always say if it happens once ... it can happen again!

As I said Mullvad IMO is the best possible choice at the moment as they are at least trying to be transparent by publishing the source of their apps, giving detailed information about their servers and not to pushing the market with crazy ads and pricing (such as NordVPN, SurfShark, Express VPN and such). I was talking to one of the developers of a really large VPN company and they were saying that 80% of their company is data-analysis department...!!! you judge!


In the below video one of the main founders of QUAD9 which is a well-known DNS service provider is saying that all the free DNS providers are selling the data of their users (even none-anonymized) and they are doing too however, they anonymize those data first. All said... there is no free service! and lifetime VPN subscriptions are also the same story as it is impossible to maintain a large VPN service by charging 20 bux or even 50 bux! When I see such things Mullvad's pricing makes more and more sense to me!

 

[Arequire]

Even Proton VPN has a negative point in their history by decrypting the email addresses of an activist and providing it with authorities and yet they claim END-to-END ECNRYPTION!!!!! I always say if it happens once ... it can happen again!

Let's not twist facts: Proton didn't decrypt anything. They logged the activist's IP address (which isn't encrypted and wasn't being logged until Proton were compelled to do so) and handed it over to the Swiss authorities after being served a valid court order, which they were obligated to comply with.

 

[n8chavez]

I personally would recommend to be careful about using external DNS services. It is recommended that if you use a CPN service such as Mullvad (which in my opinion is one of the most transparent and private VPN services) you should not use an another DNS service as it will expose your ISP's DNS and IPs.

And be aware that all the DNS service are earning money by selling the data of those who use their services. (more info in the following video).

In general if you want a good privacy you should choose a good and transparent VPN provider such as Mullvad. Even Proton VPN has a negative point in their history by decrypting the email addresses of an activist and providing it with authorities and yet they claim END-to-END ECNRYPTION!!!!! I always say if it happens once ... it can happen again!

As I said Mullvad IMO is the best possible choice at the moment as they are at least trying to be transparent by publishing the source of their apps, giving detailed information about their servers and not to pushing the market with crazy ads and pricing (such as NordVPN, SurfShark, Express VPN and such). I was talking to one of the developers of a really large VPN company and they were saying that 80% of their company is data-analysis department...!!! you judge!


In the below video one of the main founders of QUAD9 which is a well-known DNS service provider is saying that all the free DNS providers are selling the data of their users (even none-anonymized) and they are doing too however, they anonymize those data first. All said... there is no free service! and lifetime VPN subscriptions are also the same story as it is impossible to maintain a large VPN service by charging 20 bux or even 50 bux! When I see such things Mullvad's pricing makes more and more sense to me!

I like how this whole post pretty much had nothing to do with the topic, even though it seems it does at first glance. The three DNS services mentioned, NextDNS, ControlD, and AdGuard Home are all paid services. Meaning that your whole point about using external free DNS services is not valid, because, well, no one was talking about free DNS services. Yes, it's important to use a good and trustworthy VPN (read: mullvad), but that was not what this was about. This thread is about the DNS filtering capabilities of Mullvad and how it compares to other paid DNS filtering services. Thanks for playing!