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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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
Download the .deb from their downloads page and run it, just like you would either a .exe on Windows. Their instructions list that as an option further down on the page. Should be higher up imo
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.
That’s why you download the key from multiple distinct domains from multiple distinct locations using multiple distinct devices and veryify their fingerprints match. If the key/fingerprint is only available on one domain, open a bug report with the maintainer.
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.
What are you on about? If you are using the 3rd party repo, you are just as likely to get malware than if you download the deb directly from the wbsite. Its literally the same thing, just adding the repo means that the malware could get installed automatically and without you knowing where it came from.
No, you’re confusing two vectors of attack. I’m saying that if you fan trust the vendor, then you’re still at risk from downloading malicious software that was manipulated between the vendor and you (man in the middle attack), unless you verified a signature using a key stores offline (note https is still vulnerable because the keys are stored online)
Not untrue, and I don’t think that the possibility should be glossed over, but honestly, what do you think is more likely: this specific person getting specifically MitM’ed by a bad actor, or a bad actor taking control of a repo that hundreds of people blindly trust. I have a sneaking suspicion that OP’s threat model isn’t sophisticated enough to need to really, truly, be worrying about that.
This sort of thing happens dragnet. And mullvad users are definitely a group to be targeted. Dont assume OP isnt a refugee or journalist and give them bad advice that could get them killed
Chance that your Ubuntu version already supports OpenVPN and wireguard (check your settings -> network). If so, just download wireguard/OpenVPN config files from mullvad: mullvad.net/account/openvpn-config?platform=linux
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.
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.
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.
That is very bad advice, as that may well not be a solution. There are people who want to use their computers without the ads, data mining and forced program defaults windows is doing.
That’s true that if people switch OS, they’ll need to learn a lot of new things. But don’t forget that not only sysadmins and adventurous people use Linux.
That being said, there are distros that give you a decent GUI frontend to the package manager, for example openSUSE
Well what you said is true but this depends on the person you are recommending it. I didn’t know the op and generally can’t determine how interested they are in computers. I have friends who are just so use to their current understanding of using a computer with windows they wouldn’t be willing to learn anything else at all. They didn’t find yast easy to use because yes you have a gui for installing things but they don’t know all the things they need to install and it isn’t the most simplistic gui. Again you aren’t wrong it’s just that I’m hesitant to recommend people to use it unless they want the benefits of using Linux and are willing to learn.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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