Trying to install VPN and these are the instructions Mullvad is giving me. This is ridiculous. There must be a more simple way. I know how to follow the instructions but I have no idea what I'm doing here. Can't I just download a file and install it? I'm on Ubuntu.
It's less complicated than it looks like. The text is just a poorly written mess, full of options (Fedora vs. Ubuntu, repo vs. no repo, stable vs. beta), and they're explaining how to do this through the terminal alone because the interface that you have might be different from what they expect. And because copy-pasting commands is faster.
Can’t I just download a file and install it? I’m on Ubuntu.
Yes, you can! In fact, the instructions include this option; it's under "Installing the app without the Mullvad repository". It's a bad idea though; then you don't get automatic updates.
A better way to do this is to tell your system "I want software from this repository", so each time that they make a new version of the program, yours get updated.
but I have no idea what I’m doing here.
I'll copy-paste their commands to do so, and explain what each does.
The first command boils down to "download this keyring from the internet". The keyring is a necessary file to know if you're actually getting your software from Mullvad instead of PoopySoxHaxxor69. If you wanted, you could do it manually, and then move to the /usr/share/keyrings directory, but... it's more work, come on.
The second command tells your system that you want software from repository.mullvad.net. I don't use Ubuntu but there's probably some GUI to do it for you.
The third command boils down to "hey, Ubuntu, update the list of packages for me".
I would have guessed that Ubuntu would install it by default since its a very common way to get stuff from the internet (when in the terminal), but apparently not (the other option is wget which is most likely installed, but that uses a different way to get the stuff).
You should be able to install curl with sudo apt install curl
Hmm... ProtonVPN team solved this in better way. They put the repo configuration stuff into DEB file, so it's just a matter of double clicking it and clicking install on Debian-based and Ubuntu-based (I know Ubuntu is Debian-based) distros and then installing the ProtonVPN client through either GUI or CLI package manager, whichever you wish to use. More newbie-friendly.
Unfortunately, I also just learned they dropped support for Arch Linux :(
We’d love to support the new app for arch Linux but honestly we’re understaffed and don’t have the bandwidth to be supporting the same distros that we did before with the previous client (4 packages before vs 10 packages now). If anyone from the community is willing to make AUR packages for themselves and publish/maintain them we’re totally fine with that, as long as people keep in mind that it would be an unofficial version because we currently don’t support arch Linux with the new v4 app.
Agreed it's not best practice. But when somebody is saying the individual step-by-step is too complicated, you want to give them the simplest command possible. Even if it is more risky. It's a trade off of accessibility versus complexity
Frankly in this case even a simple bash script would do the trick. Have it check your distro, version, and architecture; if you got curl and stuff like this; then ask you if you want the stable or beta version of the software. Then based on this info it adds Mullvad to your repositories and automatically install it.
So usually people do install Linux software from trusted software repositories. Linux practically invented the idea of the app store a full ten years before the first iPhone came out and popularized the term "app."
The problem with the Mullvad VPN is that their app is not in the trusted software repositories of most Linux distributions. So you are required to go through a few extra steps to first trust the Mullvad software repositories, and then install their VPN app the usual way using apt install or from the software center.
You could just download the ".deb" file and double click on it, but you will have to download and install all software security updates by hand. By going through the extra steps to add Mullvad to your trusted software repository list, you will get software security updates automatically whenever you install all other software updates on your computer.
Most Linux distros don't bother to make it easy for you to add other trusted software repositories because it can be a major security risk if you trust the wrong people. So I suppose it is for the best that the easiest way to install third-party software is to follow the steps you saw on the website.
People seem to be making this a more difficult job than it needs to be. Yeah I get we're powerusers but can't we drop that for 2 minutes while giving advice so a new user can actually get a job done quickly? Windows EXEs don't automatically update either. Sure it might not be the best way to do it but it's fast and not confusing. (EDIT: Apparently this specific program actually has it's own auto updater)
Things take time to learn. Throwing all of the existing knowledge of repo management at a new user at once does not work.
It's funny how quickly Lemmy turns on a dime between "Linux is easier than Windows" in threads about adopting Linux to "spend some time learning the terminal" when presented with a question that should be a single click (installing an app).
Before the hate train starts, I've been using Linux off and on for 30 years now. And I still struggle with making distros do things that shouldn't be that hard because they aren't hard in Windows.
As others have mentionned downloading the .deb and running it will also work, but I feel nobody gave your a tldr of why you may want to follow those instructions instead, so here it is:
Those instructions configure your package manager (apt) with a new repository for this application.
The upside to that is that anytime you will look for updates, this app will also get updated.
It's a bit more work up front, but it can pay off when you have dozens of app updating as part of normal system operations.
Imagine a world where windows updates would also update all your software, that's what this is.
Also, no, this is not an ideal way to do this. Ideally every package you want is in your distro's repos so you'd just need to do "apt install [package]".
The reason this one isn't is because mullvad wants to make sure you use their tested, secure, and updated version and they don't want to maintain that for every distro. So they have you configure your package manager to use their repos.
This is relatively uncommon to come across in Debian. You'll normally only find it in security applications or very niche ones. The Debian repos aren't the most comprehensive but they'll contain the vast majority of common softwares.
Not one more repository to add, sign, reload at each update. And can get compromised.
Not one more piece of software to run that may, or may not, run properly (looking at you ProtonVPN)
Just download the wireguard or openvpn configs to some desired exit points, load them into NetworkManager as described, and BINGO you have an integrated way of switching desired location, a visual icon in the taskbar confirming your status, and no extra hassle.
Did you know that qbittorrent can be told to only work if the VPN is on? There are places where it matters.
And to answer your question, no, that is not normal. If a piece of software isn't available for your distribution, then consider finding another. Like, here, using NetworkManager to do the job!
This is one of the hardest walls for people to jump over mentally, from scavenging the internet for binaries to using a package manager.
I think ideally one should understand what they're doing, I think that if you did you would realise it's not hard, just different from what you're used to. Usually you install things using the graphical package manager, of which there are a lot, since I don't know which one you are using nor have I used any of them in a long while, I'll use the terminal as an example (same reason the site uses terminal commands), but all of this is almost assuredly possible via GUI.
To install things you usually do sudo apt install , this is a huge advantage on Linux, it works similar to your phone in that everything gets updated together but also it installs dependencies separately, which means that instead of having 10 copies of the same library for 10 programs that use it (like on Windows) you get a single one, which is part of the reason binaries are smaller on Linux.
The problem with this approach is that some programs are NOT listed there, the only programs there are the ones the maintainers of your distro (Ubuntu in this case) can review and approve. So you can have a lot of different solutions for this:
The first and most obvious for Windows users is to download the .deb from the website and just run that like you would a binary on windows, i.e. double-clicking it, or from the terminal you can run sudo dpkg -i . This works, but you lose the advantages of a package installed via your package manager, i.e. you would get the same experience as on windows, so it's not ideal.
The second way is the one they're describing, essentially you're adding a new repository to the package manager, that the people who wrote the program are maintaining (instead of Ubuntu guys), this is a two step process, sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc that command is downloading the file https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc and putting it in /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc, this is needed because repositories are not trusted by default, that would be a security nightmare, you can do this via GUI if your problem is with the terminal , just download the file and copy it to that location, it's just harder to explain than giving you a command. Then it's adding the repository to the repository list, the command is echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list that command has a lot to unwrap, in essence it's editing the file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list and writing a line like deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=amd64] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable focal main" there, but because the guy who wrote this doesn't know your architecture (e.g. amd64) nor your version (e.g. focal) he wrote a command that gets that information from your system, you can instead write the file yourself if you know those. Then install via package manager as normal.
There's a third way which is more recent which is install via snap/flatpak which is similar to install via package manager, except you don't add new repos.
There's a fourth way which is manually, usually when you compile stuff you install them manually.
I know it's a lot to take in, but I'm of the opinion that if you understand what's happening it makes things easier.
The problem is that for most users, when their setup is completed they won't need to play with it for a while so after that any time they need to install something new through the terminal it means losing time to find instructions again.
Nothing is learned, to the eyes of a casual users it's just meaningless entries getting copy/pasted and it's information getting repeated again and again and again just with slightly different entries for each program. Meanwhile "how to install a program on Windows" would basically require one page on the whole internet to cover 99% of situations: "Download the install file, double click it, follow the on screen instructions to automatically install the program".
The problem is that for most users, when their setup is completed they won't need to play with it for a while so after that any time they need to install something new through the terminal it means losing time to find instructions again.
Which is why it's better to understand what you're doing than blindly copying pasting. You won't need to remember these since whatever you want to install if it's not on the repos you'll have to google it same as if you were on Windows.
Also on Windows the steps are: Download the install file, double click it, follow the on screen instructions to automatically install the program, then every week or so go back to the website, check if a new version was released, if so download it and install it again. If the configuration would be destroyed by doing this first, make a backup first, if the new version is not backwards compatible for configuration move the existing configuration changes so that you get the new default after install and can apply your changes afterwards.
That's closer to the truth, and you need to do that weekly for every one of the dozen or hundreds of programs a person has, no wonder people don't update their programs on Windows and become susceptible to lots of exploits over time.
Also, read my option 1, which is what most websites offer you first, i.e. download a .deb and run it which is the equivalent of Windows, with all of its downsides. For example if you go to that website that OP posted and click on downloads you can select Windows, Mac or Linux, and you can download an installer that way and be done with it. But only Linux has a better option that takes a couple more steps but saves you lots of time in the future.
Just as an addendum to your answer. In the command writing to mullvad.list the | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list is using two helpful linux utilities to modify the command. The first is the | which is called a pipe and connects the text output of one program to the text input of another. The pipe is connecting the output of echo which simply prints a string, in this case composed of the outputs of several other commands to the program tee. Tee which is given admin privileges by the sudo takes an input stream and splits it between two files. In this case those are mullvad.list and since no other was provided stdout the output pipeline of the terminal running the command.
EDIT:
In the interest of further completeness. Another utility used in those commands is the command substitution operator of sh. So when the terminal is interpretting text $(some command) gets substituted out for the text output by the command in the parentheses. It is another common way of connecting commands on the shell to allow for more flexible and powerful commands.
You got that right. So many contradictory comments for such a simple question.
That said, Linux for home use is a hobby and hobbyists expect a certain level of interest and basic commitment to learning. Also, the Linux community is a bit anti-Windows. So, coming on a Linux forum and complaining that a simple Linux task is too hard, basically because it isn't Windows and you didn't bother to read any documentation, pushes ALL the Linux nerd buttons, LOL.
Imagine going on a boardgame forum to complain that some super popular game is dumb because it isn't like a video game, and too complicated even though you didn't bother to read the game rules.
As a board game hobbyist, that happens all the time. Our community generally makes an effort to direct them to games with a lower weight and easier rules and encourages them to keep playing to grow the hobby.
They have the .deb at the top of their download page, no need to install the PPA repository if you don't want. You can't get any more than "just downloading and double clicking an exe deb" than that on Ubuntu.
I will admit though, I wish there were an easier way to install PPAs.
This comment here is a prefect example of being unhelpful and inflammatory.
You added nothing to the conversation but instead tried to be "clever" by doing the same tired old "angsty Linux vs. Windows shtick" that's been around for as long as GNU/Linux was a thing.
Other people at least offered an explanation or suggestion.
My favorite part of this thread is everyone just saying copy and paste the commands so it will work. Like we should totally get users into the habit of running random commands off the net as root.
"I have no idea what I’m doing here" <- Happens in the beginning.
How about you start by trying to know what exactly you are doing?
Let me give you a fasttrack...
The first command you get in the instructions is curl. It is generally used to download stuff from a networked server.
1.1. To understand the -fsSLo in the command, I strongly advise you to check out the manual of curl using man curl in a terminal.
The second command in the instructions is echo "something" | sudo tee some/file
2.1 Here you see 3 commands echo , sudo and tee.
2.1.1 Again, you can use man command-name to check the manual pages for these commands
2.2 There is a | symbol over here. It is called the "pipe symbol", which is what you can use to search for it. It is usually difficult to search for the symbol itself and I haven't found a man page for it, but open man bash and look for "Pipelines" and you'll know what it is about. Use Link, Link and Link to help yourself understand this.
The commands in "Install the package" use the apt program. This is a Package Manager. Its job is to read package information that package developers have made and try to not let the system become unusable.
e.g. If you have a program called Xorg from 5 years ago, and a program called mesa from 5 years ago and Xorg depends upon mesa to work. Here, if you replace your mesa with a new, recent mesa yourself, there is a good chance Xorg will not work. The Package Manager prevents that from happening.
The gist of what the instructions are making you do is, telling the Package Manager that there is another place from where you want it to look for packages.
To understand man pages better, check out this link.
Don't think too badly of people dissing you in the comments. They are tired and fed up of help vampires. Hopefully, you can try not to become one.
Try and build your own process of understanding the commands you see on the internet before entering them into the terminal.
The comments telling you to just follow the instructions, are coming from the perspective that you don't have the patience and determination to understand them yourself, which, a lot of people don't. I will leave it upto you to determine which one you decide to be. It is, however, a bad idea to follow instructions on any website, just because it "seems legit". You can't really say you "trust" the site until you have the ability to find out for yourself whether you want to trust it.
It's not difficult. I've installed several apps that way already. I just don't like blindly following instructions while having zero understanding of what I'm actually doing here. Also, in this case the instructions are unhelpful because nowhere it tells me to install curl first and because of me not having it the first command just comes back with an error.
cURL is a very commonly used program to download individual files from the command line and worth installing to have it around in the future.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install curl
The first command tells your package manager to update its list so you ask for the latest version. You can skip it if you've already updated today. The second command tells your package manager to install cURL.
This will happen every now and then, especially when building a package from source. You won't have some common utility that the documentation writer assumed you had, and you will need to find what package provides it and install the package.
The way to solve that problem is to read the commands and look up what they do. The installation method they describe is pretty standard and inoffensive. And provides automatic updates. The commands used aren't complicated and they're some of the system fundamentals for Debian/Ubuntu systems so it's a good idea being familiar with them.
Yes people would assume you have curl. Curl is often used to install programs. And curl is definitely one of the things that can do malicius things this way. So you are right to be hesitant to use commands that you don't understand. Most Linux users have forgotten how hard it is to learn the first stuff with no preaquired knowledge.
If you have googled "what is curl and how is it used" you may have found some relevant info.
I have given up on Linux because installing was hard in the past
There are some tools that make installing software easier. Like "appimage" files that are single files that (after you make executable) are completely self contained.
Flatpacks and snaps have an "store" like experience.
.deb files are also sometimes simple (also need to be made executable) (depends on the distro)
In the time it took you to write this shit post and respond to all the comments you could have spent a couple of minutes reading and educating yourself on the process. It’s legit pretty simple especially if you’re willing to do a little research.
And if you read a few paragraphs more, there’s a Download and install the app section too, rather than add their repos. Which is what the OP wanted anyway…
"follow an installation wizard" <-- I know people just out of uni (having completed BTech), who can't even do that.
Keeping that in mind, I can have way more patience towards OP.
You can verify the signature of the manual download as well. Either way, you are trusting the files you download over HTTPS from mullvad.net. There's no real difference, except that when you use the repo, you are trusting it indefinitely, whereas if you download the deb directly, you are only trusting it once.
Using the repo is less secure, because it opens you to future attacks against the repo itself.
There's nothing wrong with installing a .deb manually.
Personally, I'd hesitate to add any third-party repos unless there is a very good reason. In this case, the only real difference is that you won't get the updates automatically with sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade without the repo. Either way, the desktop app will notify you when updates are available. There's very little advantage to using the repo.
Adding a repo is very rarely required. It has deeper consequences than simply installing an app, and requires a higher level of trust. If you don't understand the security implications of adding a repo (and its associated key), then my advice is: just don't.
This is not the only way to install apps but as a Linux user there will be times when you will need to use the terminal. Might as well know that from now.
The instructions they gave are really simple and straightforward. If you struggle with that, you may want to learn a bit about the terminal.
But since you're on Ubuntu there is a much easier way: go to Mullvad downloads page and download the deb file. Double click it and the Ubuntu App Store should open and install it. If not, open the App Store and search for gdebi and install it.
Now right click the deb you downloaded, and click "open with..." and choose gdebi from the list.
It should check dependencies and give you an "install" button. Click that and wait for it to finish. Then simply launch Mullvad as normal.
In general on Linux you install apps by looking in the distro repo: either by searching the App Store or by using the terminal.
To do it from the terminal type:
'sudo apt update'. Enter your password.
After it's updated type 'apt search [name of app] and press enter. It will give you a list of apps with that name. Eg apt search lollypop (a music player).
Then if you see it listed, you know it's in the repo.
To install it type 'sudo apt install lollypop' and press enter. It will tell you how large it is and if you want to install it. Type "y" and press enter. It will finish it in a few seconds.
Done. Launch the app as normal.
There is also something called Flatpak's which you can get from flathub.com
You will also find instructions there on how to install flatpak on your system but typing a few commands.
Welcome to Linux. You'll either embrace and love it or abandon it.
The average Windows user doesn't know what a terminal is, let alone use it. Whereas in Linux every user knows what a terminal is and has used it at least a handful of times.
Some distros don't have an app store, just the terminal.
The same MFs on here that rush to tell someone that Linux is easy and intuitive are the same ones that can't keep a small talk conversation for more than 5 mins, a social activity that humans have been doing for thousands of years.
My words might be a little broad, harsh, and even hurtful, but just a reminder that not all of us are good at learning the same things.
We didn't all come out of the womb knowing how to socialize or use Linux, but if we look back far enough, we can all relate to the struggles it takes to learn something new, and how much it sucks when someone treats you like you're stupid just because things sometimes don't click
Yes, it is. You can achieve the same usung GUI of course, but this would be more difficult to describe because there are multiple GUIs and they change with new distro versions.
This is more convenient than "downloading and intalling" a file because you don't have to track updates manually, the package manager will do this for you. You have to read something about what package manager is and how does it work. It is the main concept of all linux distros except LFS.
The instructions on that page make it so that every time you run a system update, mullvad automatically updates as well. If you're happy doing the updating yourself, you can download the deb file from here: https://github.com/mullvad/mullvadvpn-app/releases
I just don't get why on windows and mac I can download the app from their site, install it and it just works but on Linux I have to do everything thru terminal. It's not that I can't get it done but it just seems insane to me that it has to be this difficult.
You don't have to do everything through terminal. You can use synaptic for example. What you have to do is to learn new concepts. If you want to do everything like in windows, use windows.
I don't know about Mac, but on Windows the Mullvad app doesn't auto update. If you want to do it Windows style you can look for deb files (which are like installers) or AppImages (which are like standalone executables).
Most pieces of software give terminal instructions for Linux because different people might use different package manager frontends, but literally every Linux user has a terminal. It might seem daunting at first, but giving users commands to run in their terminal is a lot more simple than trying to walk them through repo management through the GUI, or just telling them to figure it out themselves.
I can totally understand why the terminal seems confusing and scary right now, but it’s actually awesome for this kind of stuff because you can just copy and paste commands to do pretty much anything to your computer. Using a GUI often means having a bunch of screenshots that you have to follow manually to do something that a single command can do. Once you’re used to the terminal for these kinds of things GUIs can seem barbaric. Of course it seems scary before you know much about it because it seems like the fucking matrix, and you should only run commands from sources you trust (because they can do anything)… But it’s worth giving a chance, I think.
For this particular instance… often you can just download an application on Linux from a website and run it, but this is almost never the preferred way of doing things. Usually you install applications from your package manager, which is kind of like an App Store (but free), and the advantage of this is that 1) you don’t have to hunt down sketchy executables on the internet, you have a vetted source of safe packages from your distribution, and 2) you can easily update all of your packages. Having a one stop shop for all of your applications (or at least most) is really great, but it can be a little annoying when something you want isn’t in the official repos (like this), though it’s usually a fairly rare occurrence.
One reason is that different distributions of linux do things slightly different. Would it be better if there was only one linux os? For some devs of third party software, probably, but diversity and freedom to fork software has been good to linux, and no one could decide what everyone else should use anyway.
So, each distribution takes the available software and package it to fit their distro specifics, and those packages go into their repositories. The benefit of using official repositories is that someone has gone through the trouble of making sure it will work on your system safely. There's accountability and hopefully a bug tracker etc. When you download from a random website you have to trust them instead.
Then... you have companies working outside of this model, usually they provide a flatpak or their own third-party repositories. Then you get all these extra steps, but it's not how most distros prefer to handle software.
You can, it's up to the software vendor to make it simple.
Most of the software are FOSS and can be installed directly from your package manager. That works like the iOS app store/Android Play Store except it existed 10 years before mobile stores.
Google Chrome is an example of proprietary software (so not in distributions repos) that is as easy to install on Linux than Windows. Because Google managed to get a deb that will also update your repos.
Bottom line, most of the time it's way easier to install software on Linux than Windows (as easy as on iOS) but occasionally it's slightly more complex.
I don't understand. If I go to their site at https://mullvad.net the obvious choice to download their software is to click at 'Downloads' at the top of the page. It already autodetected I am running Linux and has me on the Linux tab.
Sure there are two download options but the first one says it works on Ubuntu and the second says it works on Fedora. You get a file you can just double click and install. Windows installation works the same way. You download a file and double click it.
You don't have to use the terminal you don't really have to know more about sudo than you need about Windows UAC, you don't have to know what a package or .deb is anymore than what a win32 executable or an Windows' .msi file is.
People giving you more complicated answers either did not check the website (because they presumed you did) or if they did they think you want more features such as auto-updating which in Windows also requires a more complex install than downloading a file and opening it.
Because it's an asinine practice from which windows is moving away through winget, and which made the open source community to write a package manager for mac from scratch -- homebrew.
And if you think about it for a second, you will realize that it doesn't exist on Android and iOS at all. E.g. 99% of users only install from a centralized repository called "appstore" and nobody is ever downloading an executable installer.
Basically, you're uninformed, and blatantly defending your uneducated way of installing software.
Chance that your Ubuntu version already supports OpenVPN and wireguard (check your settings -> network). If so, just download wireguard/OpenVPN config files from mullvad: https://mullvad.net/account/openvpn-config?platform=linux
Many, perhaps even most, installation guides for software use commands because the graphical alternatives can vary wildly between desktops and distributions. So using commands in guides is usually the more likely to work.
That said, what Mullvad does is stupid. The downloadable deb and rpm files should just initialize the update repository. That is what Google does with their Chrome download. Basically download the file, double click on it, confirm installation. That's it. Users don't need to do that manually for Chrome.
Luckily, there are only a few cases remain for this type of installation. Most regular things should be either in your distribution's regular repository or on Flathub.
Normally you'd just run sudo apt install ... but in this case you are adding a new repository so you have to follow the extra steps of adding the signing key and so on first.
And click the "download .deb" button (It says underneath "Works on Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+ (64bit only)". As long as your Ubuntu is up-to-date, this will work fine)
you get a file ("MullvadVPN-2023.6_amd64.deb") you can run just like on Windows (similar to MullvadVPN-2023.6.exe)
opening the file should open a GUI for installing the file
Keep in mind, to update Mullvad VPN, you would need to download a newer .deb file (after an update is released). It shows the latest version above the download buttons, below the "Mullvad VPN for Linux text"
This is the same as how it is on Windows
Edit: This is not intended as good advice, just a simple way to install Mullvad VPN. The smartest solution would be to add the repo.
2nd Edit: While this is how Mullvad provides their software, it is never ideal to install random .deb packages or add third party repos without being sure that the ones who provided the package/repo is trustworthy.
It might not be good advice, but that was not what OP asked for.
My comment was meant as a beginner-friendly way to install Mullvad VPN on Ubuntu, and not unsolicited advice telling them to learn something that should not be needed for daily computer usage. And while adding the repo might be the better solution, that would require the use of the terminal, and as multiple people have proven to me, that wouldn't be a friendly way to introduce Linux to someone just starting out.
You don't teach someone to swim, by dropping them in the middle of the pacific.
As a side note, dealing with adding repos and keys and all that is something I will never miss from apt. I use Arch and installing things is usually as simple as.. well let me check.
$ yay mullvad
...
2 aur/mullvad-vpn-bin 2023.6-1 (+86 1.36)
The Mullvad VPN client app for desktop
1 aur/mullvad-vpn 2023.6-1 (+126 2.10)
The Mullvad VPN client app for desktop
==> Packages to install (eg: 1 2 3, 1-3 or ^4)
==> _
And it's option 1. So easy. Type 1 and press enter and you're done.
Also note that Mullvad has a pretty technical user base and target audience, and thus their documentation is likely geared towards them. You could also consider using Mozilla VPN, which offers pretty much the same advantages (they use Mullvad's servers), at the same price if you pay annually, and is easier to use.
Oh actually, looking at the Ubuntu installation docs, that doesn't really seem to be much easier - that's a disappointment :/
Although if you don't mind running one terminal command (specifically, sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillacorp/mozillavpn), I think after that you should just be able to use the Ubuntu App Center to install software - which usually is the way to install software in Ubuntu, and works similar to app stores on phones.
it's just a fuckin step by step guide on how to add their repo to the sources.list
What's so technical about it? It's how you install everything on Ubuntu.
No knowing how apt works, is equivalent to not understanding why grandma_pics.zip.exe is probably a virus. If you're that uninformed, we can't help you.
Hello new Linux user! So yes, your correct when installing apps on Linux sometimes you might need to do it via command line other times you'll get a nice install file you can double click. It's really down too the software manufacturers on how they choose to package it.
In general with Linux you'll find there's still a lot of command line usage compared to Windows or osx. On those platforms for most users they would barely touch a terminal except in some kind of bug fixing emergency.
Some distros come with their own app store built in (like the windows or osx app store) and allow you to install a bunch of apps via the gui.
What version of Linux did you go for out of interest? Some are much more beginner and use friendly than others.
There indeed is an app store from where I installed few apps before. I need to check if they have Mullvad there. I do much prefer installing apps thru a GUI. While I know how to follow instructions and copy & paste these commands into terminal, it's frustrating as I have no idea what any of these does. I might just aswell be unknowingly installing a keylogger or something.
That is a good mindset and you should hold on to it. Of course a gui can install a keylogger for you just as easily if not more so.
Trusted install sources, usually called repositories, are the way. Chances of malware exist, but they would require some spectacular shenanigans or conspiracies to set up.
With a GUI you also don't know what it does. Its the same situation, you just click a button that runs the code instead of copying and pasting the code in the terminal. (And I would say the latter is safer because it is more transparent (for those who want to figure it out)).
I have no idea what any of these does. I might just aswell be unknowingly installing a keylogger or something.
This actually applies to windows GUI installers just the same. You really don't know what you're installing either, although you do usually give it administrator permission to make changes to the system. In some way it's even worse, it's "running commands" and hiding it from you.
I think if you read through this you have pretty much everything you asked about. As for understanding what these sorts of commands do in the future I think ChatGPT is actually really useful for stuff like this with good documentation. Just ask what the commands do and it is usually quite helpful. Someone already said it but you have to want to learn this. If you want something easy to use and you don’t have to learn buy a Mac, you want great software compatibility buy a windows pc. If you want something that is more private and a community effort use Linux but unless you are using steam os on a steam deck it is not even close to being as user friendly as the others. I hope this changes but the current goals and mindsets of people in this community will prevent Linux from becoming easy to use and in the case of steam os you just need lots of money to make it an easy experience. There are a million other reasons that Linux’s current state is this way but this is the gist.
I made this thread because I try to learn/understand
I have a Macbook, it's what I use the most. I used to have Win7 on my gaming rig but Steam dropped their support for it so my options was either to go with a newer Windows or try Linux. As all of the games I play seemed to work on Linux with just minor tweaks I thought I'd give it a try. So far I'm really happy with how to OS works once it's set up but it's the setting up part that's really confusing to me.
They asked how to do it, I wanted to make sure that they knew that an application not existing in the repo doesn't mean the application isn't actually available.
Not specific to Mullvad, but you can use flatpak or your distro's package manager (probably apt) to install programs, On Ubuntu, you can open the software program and search the programs to install it, that should be the first thing to do when you want to install something rather than going to the website.
It's copy and pasting 5 lines into the terminal and hitting enter. It's not that hard. If it's not worth the 15 seconds of 'work' you probably don't need the software that badly.
And it's not the default. Usually you shouldn't add random software sources and download software from some websites. Your Linux package manager should be the source for software. (Software Manager / Store / Synaptics, ... whatever Ubuntu calls it) It installs software with one or two clicks with the mouse, the software there is tested and tied into the rest of the systems and tens of thousands of packages are available. No malware guaranteed, and updates are handled automatically.
And with other Operating systems it's also ridiculous: You need to find the website of some software, avoid malware and copycats that advertise similar software with ads, click download, click 'yes' I accept a download with a harmful extension. Then you need to open the file manager and double click on it. Then a window opens and you need to click 'next'. Accept the terms. Give permission to install and maybe remove a few ticks and choose a location. I'd say it's about the same amount of work and the downside is it doesn't necessarily handle updates and security fixes.
I think Ubuntu doesn't have Mullvad available in their own repository. I took another approach and imported their settings/profile into the VPN/network manager that is available per default on many Linux distributions. No install required at all. But importing the settings isn't easier, so YMMV here. And I think you have to create a profile for each and every country/endpoint which is a bit cumbersome, depending on what you're trying to do with the VPN.
It’s copy and pasting 5 lines into the terminal and hitting enter. It’s not that hard. If it’s not worth the 15 seconds of ‘work’ you probably don’t need the software that badly.
Telling people to just run random code they found on the internet and don't understand is really bad advice.
But how do you think you install software on Windows? You download a random installer from the internet and double-click it. The installer is an executable file and runs some code on your computer to set up the software. I'd argue it's exactly the same.
In the one instance you copy and paste code and run it. In the other instance you execute an installer that also contains the random code. And you can't even have a look what happens.
The real issue is: You have to trust the vendor. If you don't trust Mullvad, don't run their 5 lines of code. But you then also shouldn't install their software and not run their windows installer. I don't see a way around this 'trust' issue.
The proper way of course would be a standardised process that also confines the software into containers with minimal permissions. Something like Android Apps. In theory you could add a default update process so the vendor just needs to define an update server in the (apk) installer file. Google didn't do this, but they want people to use their Play Store. And I don't think we have a permission system that is actively used on any of the major desktop operating systems, anyways.
I know you're on ubuntu, but installing programs depends on your distribution. Some programs are in your software library, some aren't. But there will always be a way to get the program. For instance, I use Gentoo and Mullvad. The way I set it up is with Wireguard so I control it through the terminal, this is because Gentoo has no mullvad app. Otherwise, you can often add new libraries to your system. Again, on Gentoo Steam is not in my repository by default. So, I added the steam repository to my system so I could get it. For Mullvad, I'm pretty sure they offer a deb package, which Ubuntu can use. Otherwise, some other distributions offer a mullvad app in their repository by default. Try other distributions and see what clicks. A lot of linux is experimentation. I personally prefer doing a lot of things fairly manully, so I use Gentoo with essentially only a terminal for control. Linux Mint, Devian, Arch, Void, Nix, Gentoo; there's tons of choices so there's going to be something that you click with.
If Mullvad is not available as a Snap or Flatpak (2 ways of installing self-sufficient auto-updateable packages without dependencies on other packages) then youre probably stuck with either adding this 3rd party repository (something which isn't always recommendable either) which gives you automatic updates or using a .deb installation file like you would probably prefer and then manually retrieving updates when needed.
Anyways, others have told you as much already anyways. What I'd like to add is that it is definitely worth it to learn to work the terminal. I get that there are many people looking for an alternative to Windows or just an open approach to computing in general without looking for added complexity. Who wants complexity right? Whether such an experience exists in the Linux world is probably subjective. Ubuntu has definitely been a safe bet for the flattest learning curve required since its inception in 2004. But its still a niche thing that won't experience user-friendly support from everyone (ie Mullvad).
So one could conclude that in order to truly be "free" (as in Free Software freedom) one needs to claim that freedom. You will fuck things up. You will learn from your mistakes. You will regroup and you will grow as a user and dare I say PC-curious person.
Horseshit. Why do people endlessly promote Linux only to turn around and express smugness, gatekeeping, and hostility to new users?
You're not even correct. The Everything as a file philosophy isn't an antivirus program. Like it's impossible to get malware by blindly pasting script into a terminal.
This attitude is a bigger obstacle to adoption than games compatibility.
Am not promoting Linux, I don't know where you got that idea from.
How is it hostility when am letting OP know that's exactly what's included in the package when he chose Linux? And that unlike Windows where you install downloaded files as programs, things work differently over here?
You can install malware by blindly copypasting commands on any terminal, the OS doesn't matter.
Yes, this could've been a script (I hate when install instructions use curl+sh) that does who knows what and maybe 5% of users would bother to crack it open. Adding the repo and key means a hacker would have to replace at least two things in order to slip in malware.
My advice is get zorin or popos and see if there is installer in their software store. I am a new user like you are well and this sense to be common, i resroted to keep it on old laptop ,as server so in install and thin necessary things and then dinner user it at all.
Linux Community on Lemmy is humbug, they will downvote as soon as you say Linux is not for regular person
Yes and I do and while it is great for infrastructure, magnitudes better than anything Microsoft ever offered as a reasonable desktop it's a fucking a joke.
Yeah no, generally you just copypaste the software website's instructions. Many programs can be installed through the app store (or equivalent install commands) but a lot of aoftware you just gotta copypaste the code. Many also just provide an inataller.
The meme about linux software being much easier to install is true in some cases, but mostly bullshit. even if its just sudo apt install vlc you generally still want to check the website to make sure its the best way, or you end ip with an out of date version.
Updating software on linux is better pretty much automatic without annoying popups most of the time though.
Yeah, well, linux is great, but people seem to rarely give the full disclaimer. So people end up disappointed, go back to windows and end up thinking you need to be hackerman to be able to use it. Or they do end up learning everything, think they're hackerman and tell everyone in the world how linux is just sooo much better and easier because theyve been using it since 1969 or whatever.
My view: Your grandma could comfortably work on linux. It's when you need stuff beyond the most basic aoftware that there's a much steeper learning curve than windows. You fuck up, your system implodes.
Once you're balls deep into computers, lets say software development, linux becomes easier and more useful again.
Its that middle group of average users who have the hardest time.
Yeah, how Ubuntu is supposed to be noob friendly and continues to be recommended blows my mind. Seems like every stupid app you want to install needs you to add a ppa that is almost guaranteed to break on the next major update. And ugh snaps ...
Change your distribution to MX Linux and use MX Package Installer there. Select Mullvad VPN from "Popular Apps" tab there and MXPI will do all these steps for you.