Re:Mullvad exit IPs are surprisingly identifying
by TheDong on Thursday May 14, 2026 @11:57PM
(#48144386)
It's a lot easier to implement because it's more stateless, and it's a better user experience.
If you get a new exit IP each time you connect, you need something like a NAT table to look up "key 0xabc exits ip 1.2.3.4", and that grows to be the size of the number of users you have active, so fairly large.
With a static mapping derived from the key, you don't need a table like that.
It's also better UX since it means reconnecting your VPN software (say you switch wifi hotspots) doesn't give you a different IP address, so things like SSH sessions can resume, which wouldn't be possible if it were a different public IP each time.
If you get a new exit IP each time you connect, you need something like a NAT table to look up "key 0xabc exits ip 1.2.3.4", and that grows to be the size of the number of users you have active, so fairly large.
With a static mapping derived from the key, you don't need a table like that.
It's also better UX since it means reconnecting your VPN software (say you switch wifi hotspots) doesn't give you a different IP address, so things like SSH sessions can resume, which wouldn't be possible if it were a different public IP each time.