Mozilla VPN hardened with multi-hop, blocking, and custom DNS features
Mozilla introduced new privacy features to its VPN service, Mozilla VPN, earlier this week. The organization launched Mozilla VPN in June 2020 in select regions and has expanded availability since then.
Mozilla has partnered with Mullvad, a Swedish company, and uses the company’s infrastructure for its own Mozilla VPN product.
Mozilla VPN lacked some of the features of Mullvad’s own VPN client, such as support for multi-hop connections or the built-in content blocker.
The update Mozilla released this week introduces support for these features in the VPN client.
Official Mozilla Blog Highlight the three new privacy features.
Multi-Hop
Multi-hop is a cool feature, as it routes the connection through two VPN servers instead of just one. The main idea behind the feature is simple: the user’s IP address is protected even if a VPN service is compromised.
User Device> Inbound VPN Server> Exit VPN Server
This powerful new privacy feature appeals to those who think twice about their privacy, such as political activists, journalists writing sensitive topics, or anyone who is using a public wireless network and wants that extra peace of mind by duplicating their VPN servers.
Mozilla VPN users can select inbound and outbound VPN servers after choosing Multi-hop in Location; this gives them flexibility in choosing these servers. It is recommended to select servers in different jurisdictions to maximize privacy.
Mullvad notes that using multiple hops can also improve latency or performance, because sometimes, different servers can be used in that case they work better together.
NordVPN, another VPN provider, which supports the feature, does not offer its customers options to select the incoming and outgoing server when the feature is selected.
Custom DNS
Mozilla VPN clients can configure custom DNS servers on the client in Network Settings> Advanced DNS Settings.
Options include enabling content blocking of DNS servers, blocking certain types of unwanted content at the DNS level, or selecting a custom DNS server to be used instead.
Three special purpose DNS servers can be selected:
- Adblock DNS to block advertising.
- Anti-tracking DNS to block tracking of harmful domains and domains.
- A combination of adblock and anti-tracking.
The blocking is carried out at the DNS level, which is effective as it blocks connection attempts from the servers immediately.
Many VPN services support blocking functionality. Private internet access has its MACE Content Blocker feature, NordVPN calls it CyberSec.
Closing words
The new features add value to the Mozilla VPN offering. Both features enhance privacy when enabled.
Most may prefer to subscribe to Mullvad directly, as it offers all the features of the service. Mozilla can reach markets that Mullvad cannot, and Firefox users may be more inclined to support Mozilla by subscribing to Mozilla VPN.
Now you: Do you use a VPN service?
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