Linked List: October 3, 2024

Thursday, 3 October 2024

Setting Up a VPN Without an App on iPhone 

An important follow-up to yesterday’s item about Russia demanding Apple remove VPN apps from the Russian App Store: you can use a VPN on iOS without an app. It just requires some futzing in Settings and a VPN provider that supports it. Presumably, this technique remains available to iPhone users in Russia. Here are instructions from one such VPN provider, ForestVPN:

  1. Access Settings:
    • Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
    • Tap on General and scroll to VPN & Device Management.
  2. Add VPN Configuration:
    • Select Add VPN Configuration.
    • Choose your desired protocol, such as L2TP or IKEv2.
  3. Enter VPN Details:
    • Fill in the necessary fields like Description, Server, Remote ID, and Local ID. These details can be found on the ForestVPN website.
  4. Save and Connect:
    • Tap Done to save your configuration.
    • Enable the VPN by toggling the switch next to your newly created profile.

VPN apps remove complexity from this process, but it’s worth noting that VPN access doesn’t require an app.

Chili Palmer, reporting for HighSpeedInternet:

Starlink announced on Oct. 2 it will offer one month of free internet in Hurricane Helene disaster areas. The free service will be available to new customers who order through the Starlink website and to customers who activate a kit they already have, whether it was donated or purchased at a retail store. Existing customers may also be eligible.

The announcement comes after more than 500 Starlink kits were distributed throughout the disaster area by private relief organizations.

It’s hard to overstate how differently Elon Musk would be perceived if he weren’t a whackjob on political and cultural issues.

Messages via Satellite Provides Lifeline to iOS 18 Users in Aftermath of Hurricane Helene 

Ryan Christoffel, writing for 9to5Mac:

Hurricane Helene has caused massive damage and taken over 100 lives across several US states. Many thousands of people are without power and/or cell service. But in the wake of the storm, reports have surfaced about a key iOS 18 feature that has been a lifeline for survivors: Messages via satellite.

Apple added Messages via satellite to millions of iPhones via its recent iOS 18 update. And now, according to reports on social media, it seems the feature arrived just in time. Here are a few tweets highlighting how useful the feature has proven.

It’s great that iOS 18 shipped before Helene hit, but a shame that it’s so new that most users haven’t yet upgraded. And once Helene hit and knocked out all comms in the most severely-hit areas, it was too late. (Apple hasn’t yet pushed iOS 18 to the majority of users whose devices are set to install updates automatically, and typically doesn’t do so with new iOS versions until the .1 release in October or November.) Some heads-up people were specifically recommending that iPhone 14 and 15 users in Helene’s path update to iOS 18 before it hit specifically to get this feature. But still: the feature is already making a huge difference.