PIA MACE not functional
Hi. I am running PIA v 1.2.1 build 02688 on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, accessing the internet over a WIFI connection from the built-in NIC on my Dell Latitude E5xxx laptop. I recently tested PIA MACE (internet kill switch) to see if it did what is claimed for it, and it apparently does not. With it switched on in Settings|Privacy I can still access live web pages when I am logged out of PIA, as well as when PIA is inactive (exited.) Is this a bug in the current version? If not, what settings can I look to determine the cause of the problem and a possible solution? Thanks!
-NYB
Comments
Thank you for contacting our support team, I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues with your Killswitch.
If the Killswitch appears not to be working, there are a couple of common causes for this:
Do you have more than one network adapter on your system, such as both a wireless card and an Ethernet card? If so, please make sure the one you don't typically use is disabled. You can use the following instructions to disable any extra network cards:
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Device Manager
2. Click on Network Adapters
3. Right click on the Network Adapter you do not use (i.e., if you connect using WiFi, disable the Ethernet card, and if you connect with an Ethernet cable, disable the wireless card. DO NOT disable the TAP adapter).
4. This will give you a warning that the device will stop functioning. Click OK.
If the above does not resolve your issue, another possible cause of a killswitch failure is security software interference. Please add the following exceptions to any security applications or firewalls you may be running, to prevent them from impeding the functionality of our application:
- C:\Program Files\pia_manager\openVPN.exe
- C:\Program Files\pia_manager\pia_manager.exe
- C:\Program Files\pia_manager\tapinstall.exe
- C:\Program Files\pia_manager\installer_win.exe
- C:\Program Files\pia_manager\pia-openvpn.dll
- C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\tap0901.sys
- C:\Program files\pia_manager\pia_tray_bin\nw-win\pia_nw.exe
A reboot and re-installation is required to establish these security changes; please use the following instructions to reinstall the VPN software:
https://support.privateinternetaccess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/32
If you are still unable to use the killswitch successfully, please use the following instructions to obtain and submit your debug log:
1. Right click on the icon in the system tray and choose Disconnect.
2. Right click on the icon again and select Settings
3. Click on the Advanced button.
4. Click into the Local Port box.
5. Hit CTRL+L on your keyboard.
6. You'll see a window pop up, asking to send a debug log, along with a 3-digit ID.
7. Send the debug log to us, and let us know what the ID number is.
However, please note that MACE and the Killswitch are 2 different services in the VPN application. MACE is a system developed by Private Internet Access (us) to help protect our customer's privacy and security. Private Internet Access MACE returns IP addresses of unwanted domain names as an address that's not routable on the public internet. However, The internet kill switch activates VPN disconnect protection. If you disconnect from the VPN, your internet access will stop working. It will reactivate normal internet access when you deactivate the kill switch mode, exit the application, or reconnect to the VPN. The killswitch can only affect one specific internet adapter; if your system has more than one network adapter installed (i.e. both Ethernet and Wi-Fi), then you would disable the unused adapter so the killswitch does not "kill" the incorrect connection.
If you have further issues please let us know! - PIA CS TEAM