VPNzo for Linux
IKEv2 over strongSwan, with a kill switch that blocks in the kernel
Download VPNzo 1.0.0 for Linux
A Debian package for Ubuntu 22.04 and newer, Debian 12 and newer, and the distributions built on them — Mint, Pop!_OS, elementary.
Not sure which one? Run dpkg --print-architecture in a terminal — it prints amd64 or arm64.
Install it
Use apt rather than dpkg -i: it pulls in the few system libraries the app needs instead of stopping to tell you about them.
sudo apt install ./vpnzo_1.0.0-2_amd64.deb
What it installs, and why it asks for a password
A VPN has to create network interfaces, change routes and set DNS, and no desktop app is allowed to do that. The package installs a small privileged service that owns exactly those operations; the app itself runs with your ordinary permissions and asks the service over the system bus. The first connection on a remote session asks for an administrator password — a session at the machine does not.
The package also carries its own copy of strongSwan's charon (GPLv2), run as a separate process, so nothing depends on which version your distribution happens to ship.
Updates
The app checks for a newer build on launch and tells you when one is out — come back to this page to install it. Builds we have withdrawn stop working and say so, rather than carrying on with a defect we already fixed.
Verify the download
Compare the checksum with sha256sum <file>:
- vpnzo_1.0.0-2_amd64.deb
- bdbb36bd8e825da3d269c1da8e2d8d109dcc942936db02cc4488f139905cdda7
- vpnzo_1.0.0-2_arm64.deb
- 800d34d8242a3e344e83c97c20c11119a582039091be84a1d211ab485030bc9e