Amnezia VPN is a free and open-source application that allows users to create a personal VPN using their own server. It uses the OpenVPN, WireGuard, Shadowsocks, IKEv2 and Cloak protocols.
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| Repository | https://github.com/amnezia-vpn/ |
|---|---|
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | |
| Available in | English, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Arabic, Burmese |
| License | GNU GPL 3.0 |
| Website | Official website |
The setup takes place using a graphical user interface.[1]
History
editAmnezia VPN is a project by Internet activists from Russia, who are searching for solutions to resist state censorship. The first version was designed during the Demhack hackathon in 2020,[2] held by digital human rights activists from Roskomsvoboda.[3][4]
Features
editAmnezia VPN supports modern blocking bypass protocols and works even where other VPNs don't work - in China, Iran, and Turkmenistan. For countries with low internet censorship, Amnezia supports WireGuard and OpenVPN. In 2022, Amnezia VPN successfully passed the security audit conducted by 7ASecurity. Amnezia published free access to not only the source codes of the client part, but also the source codes of the server part.[5]
Amnezia introduced its own AmneziaWG protocol, a latest addition, which is an improved version of a popular WireGuard protocol and was designed to be used in the world's harshest internet climates.[6] AmneziaWG is a hardened version of WireGuard that removes several key aspects used to identify WireGuard using traditional DPI methods. It changes the header values from the static ones I outlined earlier to random values, which makes it harder for DPI to identify the WireGuard packet.[7]
Amnezia VPN does not require users to register, allowing all features to be accessed anonymously. It does not keep any logs of user activity and does not track users or use their personal data for any purposes.[6]
Technology
edit- OpenVPN (AES-256-GCM; AES-192-GCM; AES-128-GCM; AES-256-CBC; AES-192-CBC; AES-128-CBC; ChaCha20-Poly1305; ARIA-256-CBC; CAMELLIA-256-CBC). You cannot use encryption at all (this is separately disabled). There is support for TLS authorisation.
- OpenVPN over Cloak (for OpenVPN you can use the same encryption types written above); Cloak (ChaCha20-IETF-Pole1305; XChaCha20-IETF-Poly1305; AES-256-GCM; AES-192-GCM; AES-128-GCM) + setting up a Fake-Website for Cloak; Shadowsocks (ChaCha20-IETF-Pole1305; XChaChaCha20-IETF-Poly1305; AES-256-GCM; AES-192-GCM; AES-128-GCM)
- OpenVPN over Shadowsocks (for OpenVPN you can use the same encryption types written above); Shadowsocks (ChaCha20-IETF-Pole1305; XChaChaCha20-IETF-Poly1305; AES-256-GCM; AES-192-GCM; AES-128-GCM)
- AmneziaWG and WireGuard use the standard encryption method used in regular WireGuard.[8]
AmneziaFree
editAmneziaFree is a Telegram bot for free access to blocked media and social networks websites. The developers launched AmneziaFree in March 2022, when Russian authorities started blocking media and global social platforms based on military censorship.[9][10] One year after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, AmneziaFree had almost 100,000 active users.[3]
Reception
editIn April 2023, Wired magazine featured Amnezia VPN as an open-source VPN out-maneuvering Russian Censorship. It described that Amnezia VPN being a service that allows users to set up their own servers, it is making it harder for Moscow to block this portal to the outside world.[11]
Mike Williams of TechRadar stated that Amnezia's website has simple and clear setup instructions, starting with some suggestions on where to buy your own server.[12]
References
edit- ^ Williams, Mike (September 11, 2021). "I built my own VPN server - and this is what I learned". TechRadar.
- ^ "Privacy Accelerator". Privacy Accelerator. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Borak, Masha. "The Open Source VPN Out-Maneuvering Russian Censorship". Wired – via www.wired.com.
- ^ https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/09/29/87288-bratstvo-koda-na-hakatone-demhack-programmisty-i-aktivisty-ob-edinilis-dlya-resheniya-sotsialnyh-problem
- ^ "Amnezia-wg - alternative to WireGuard, OpenVPN, Shadowsocks". Cloudron Forum. 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b Vainilavičius, Justinas (December 7, 2023). "Amnezia VPN adds new protocol to evade censors more easily". Cybernews. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ https://www.techradar.com/vpn/amnezia-vpn-review-year
- ^ amnezia-vpn/amnezia-client, Amnezia VPN, 2024-04-12, retrieved 2024-04-12
- ^ "VPN-сервисы предоставят россиянам бесплатный доступ к заблокированным медиа и соцсетям". Meduza.
- ^ "VPN-сервисы дают россиянам бесплатный доступ к СМИ – DW – 29.03.2022". dw.com.
- ^ Borak, Masha. "The Open Source VPN Out-Maneuvering Russian Censorship". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ Mike Williams (2021-09-11). "I built my own VPN server - and this is what I learned". TechRadar. Retrieved 2024-04-03.