A VPN for Linux With a Normal Window, Not a Terminal: ProxysVPN for Ubuntu and Debian (deb and AppImage)

In short: on Linux a VPN is usually set up by hand: configuration files, commands, systemd. ProxysVPN for Ubuntu and Debian is an ordinary app with a window and a tray icon: install the .deb package with one command or run the AppImage file, sign in with the eight-character code and press “Turn on”. The system asks for your password once, on the first connection. Below: deb or AppImage, and what to do if the password window does not appear.

deb or AppImage

On an ordinary Ubuntu or Debian computer the .deb package is the more convenient one. The AppImage is for other distributions and for the Steam Deck. For the Steam Frame headset the download page has its own AppImage build for Arm processors.

What the system needs

• A desktop environment with a polkit agent — GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce, Cinnamon or MATE. It shows the password window when the app needs rights for the tunnel.
• The iproute2 package — it is installed by default in Ubuntu and Debian.
• An x86_64 processor — an ordinary Intel or AMD.

Installing the .deb package

1. 1Open the download page and download the Linux file, ProxysVPN_…_amd64.deb.
2. 2Open a terminal in the folder where the file was saved and run the first command in the block below. apt installs everything the app needs.
3. 3Start ProxysVPN from the application menu.
4. 4Get a sign-in code: in your dashboard, open the device card and press “Code for the app”. The eight-character code is valid for 10 minutes and works once. No account yet? Signing up takes a minute with an email address; Telegram is not needed.
5. 5In the app choose “Enter a code from the website”, type the code and press “Connect”.
6. 6Press “Turn on”. On the first connection the system asks for your account password once: the app puts its helper into the system folder /home/.proxysvpn, and after that it connects without a password.

# установить или обновить пакет из папки, куда он скачан
sudo apt install ./ProxysVPN_*_amd64.deb
# удалить приложение
sudo apt remove proxys-vpn

Running the AppImage without installing

1. 1Download ProxysVPN_…_amd64.AppImage from the download page.
2. 2Allow it to run: right-click the file → “Properties” and tick the box that lets the file run as a program (in KDE it is the “Permissions” tab). The command chmod +x ProxysVPN_*_amd64.AppImage does the same.
3. 3Open the file with a double-click, sign in with the code and press “Turn on”. The password window appears once, as with the package.

What the window and the tray do

• The country list with WataFast as the first row — the automatic mode, which picks the country and the protocol by itself and brings the connection back.
• The tray icon: turn protection on and off, pause for 5 minutes, 15 minutes or 1 hour, open the window, quit. In GNOME, tray icons are shown by the AppIndicator extension, which Ubuntu enables by default.
• Ad and tracker blocking — the “Block ads and trackers” switch.
• Updates are offered by the app itself (“Version … is out”).
• Removing everything the app put into the system can be done in the app: More → “Remove system files”. It is worth doing before you delete an AppImage.

What it costs

The app itself is free; what you pay for is the subscription: $1.50 per device per month, taken from your balance, with nothing charged to your card automatically. Top-ups start at $5. An account opened on the Russian site is priced in roubles instead: an account keeps the currency it was opened in, whatever card tops it up. A Linux computer is a separate device in the dashboard, with its own code.