OpenVPN (in PIA) uploading a ton of data

bkturf

I have used PIA for a couple of years, but can no longer use it on a regular basis since OpenVPN is uploading so much data and it exceeds my 150GB monthly limit from my ISP.

The last two months I got notes from AT&T saying I exceeded my 150GB monthly limit (free the first two times you do it), but from now on they will charge me $10 per 50GB over this. Since I have never used 100GB in a month before this, much less 150GB, I started looking why. I found OpenVPN has been uploading a shitton of data whenever PIA is connected, like around 80GB per month on the four or five days per month I used it So I have been only using PIA on the rare times I torrent and turning it off immediately afterward, and ensuring OpenVPN is killed once I do.

Today, I used uTorrent and downloaded approx 12GB of files with uploads limited to 12kbs. I don't keep any files in my uTorrent directory so it is only uploading the files I am downloading.. uTorrent received 11.7GB of data and uploaded 722MB of data during this time. During this same time, OpenVPN uploaded about 5GB of data (and downloaded about 12 to match uTorrent).

I chatted with PIA asking what's up with this, and they said it was not a problem - it was only OpenVPN doing pings and searching for servers. To me it's a problem if it is uploading more than 1GB per hour.

Is there a fix for this problem? 

OmniNegro

There may be a fix, but the place to look is the OpenVPN forums. Most here, including myself do not know how to do it. But if anyone does know, it would be there on the forums. I hope you find what you are looking for. If you do, I would love to hear about it. (Many here may want to do the same.)
https://forums.openvpn.net/

Osborne_Cox

Are you using the PIA client? If so I'd switch to using the OpenVPN client.

cosmoxl

just curious, what are you using to monitor data sent/received for each process?

bkturf

> Are you using the PIA client? If so I'd switch to using the OpenVPN client. 

  I don't see how to change this. Is it in the PIA settings?

> just curious, what are you using to monitor data sent/received for each process?

Networx

Osborne_Cox

You'll need to download the OpenVPN client and follow the instructions here:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/#windows_openvpn

ssg

This happens for me if pia or internet/WiFi gets disconnected, I can see PIA uploading so much data. Maybe this is a smiliar issue.

I'm facing the same issue (also with v0.46) client. In last 24 hours or so, PIA/OpenVPN has uploaded ~9GB of data. What data is it uploading and to where??? Can someone from PIA respond please?

OmniNegro

*Edit* Duplicate post. Disregard.

edwardbp

You'll need to download the OpenVPN client and follow the instructions here:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/#windows_openvpn

Same problem here. I'm using TCPView. When utorrent and PIA or OpenVPN are both open, massive uploading of data. When it's just utorrent, barely any uploading. I installed and connected with OpenVPN. No improvement. The uploading happens even when there are zero open torrents in utorrent. 8 gigs uploaded last month, without me even knowing it. I also shut down my torrents the moment they're done. 

Juo

I am sorry to hear that brother... it looks like PIA is not doing a good job at all. Who knows what they are doing. 

ray032

A few times pia chat told me also it's a ping to our server and I needed to open a rule in the firewall for ruby.exe

What a crap, 4gb in a few hours for a ping, yeah right.

Now I had a more intelligent guy and he wrote the following:

Our system logs a large amount of data to disk,
which can be of concern for SSD and other flash-based memory devices. We do
offer a way to disable this logging, via the creation of a file in C:\Program
Files\pia_manager\. For this, you just need to create a blank file, with no
extension, named "nolog" in that folder, and this will disable all
logging features of our application. You can remove that blank file anytime to
re-enable logging, in the event you should ever need to do so (for example, if
you needed to derive a debug log for troubleshooting purposes).

To create the file, go to C:/Program
Files/pia_manager, right-click on the screen, and choose "New -> Text
Document". Rename this blank text document to "nolog" (without
quotes).

Next, go to Start -> Programs ->
Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt, and choose Run as Administrator.
Here, enter the following commands, hitting enter after each line: 

cd "C:/Program Files/pia_manager"

ren nolog.txt nolog

exit

Once this is done, all logging will be disabled
in the app.

You may notice that there is still an OpenVPN log
file, that file is necessary for the application to run, but it will delete
itself every time you exit the application.

Soho324

Hello Rayo:

I run ESET Smart Security and finally found your answer for it. I find a lot of the chat support lame to say the least. Thanks for posting.

JoyeuxBlanc

While using a vpn as i know you understand uses more data. you see the openvpn.exe uploading a lot of data because all of your internet traffic is being routed though that process.

take for example, you download 1 MB of data on an aes 128 bit encryption. That automatically becomes 8 MB uploaded by the openvpn process. This process captures ALL internet traffic passed on the computer. it may be a good idea to download a network monitor to see how much is being used by your specific system, if you have the vpn on many systems on your one network it will add up quickly.

ray032 said:

A few times pia chat told me also it's a ping to our server and I needed to open a rule in the firewall for ruby.exe

What a crap, 4gb in a few hours for a ping, yeah right.

Now I had a more intelligent guy and he wrote the following:

Our system logs a large amount of data to disk, which can be of concern for SSD and other flash-based memory devices. We do offer a way to disable this logging, via the creation of a file in C:\Program Files\pia_manager\. For this, you just need to create a blank file, with no extension, named "nolog" in that folder, and this will disable all logging features of our application. You can remove that blank file anytime to re-enable logging, in the event you should ever need to do so (for example, if you needed to derive a debug log for troubleshooting purposes).

To create the file, go to C:/Program Files/pia_manager, right-click on the screen, and choose "New -> Text Document". Rename this blank text document to "nolog" (without quotes).

Next, go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt, and choose Run as Administrator. Here, enter the following commands, hitting enter after each line: 

cd "C:/Program Files/pia_manager"

ren nolog.txt nolog

exit

Once this is done, all logging will be disabled in the app.

You may notice that there is still an OpenVPN log file, that file is necessary for the application to run, but it will delete itself every time you exit the application.

For you @ray032 if you see a large explosion in growth in your logs it is most likely something on your system causing a conflict with the vpn connection and booting into safe mode, re installing the vpn and choking the log while sitting there is a good idea to see fi their is an issue on your device.

myks8383

I had tested other VPN solutions to download torrents and did not experince the same issues as with PIA - I download one torrent last night and noticed that there was as much upload traffic as download traffic.  This is rediculous.   

bkturf

Here it is a year and a half after I made the original email. I do like PIA since it is easy to use, but only run it rarely even though I am now on a data plan with a 300GB cap instead of 150GB like I once had.

I recently recommended it to a coworker who figured he would leave it on continuously and actually protect his privacy whenever he was online. Unfortunately, he also has a 300GB data cap, like me, and went over it for the first time ever due to the 200GB of data PIA/OpenVPN uploaded with "pings". Next month, our data caps rise to 1TB, so perhaps this will be enough to where we can actually use PIA on a regular basis. 

marv111

JoyeuxBlanc said:

While using a vpn as i know you understand uses more data. you see the openvpn.exe uploading a lot of data because all of your internet traffic is being routed though that process.

take for example, you download 1 MB of data on an aes 128 bit encryption. That automatically becomes 8 MB uploaded by the openvpn process. This process captures ALL internet traffic passed on the computer. it may be a good idea to download a network monitor to see how much is being used by your specific system, if you have the vpn on many systems on your one network it will add up quickly.

ray032 said:

A few times pia chat told me also it's a ping to our server and I needed to open a rule in the firewall for ruby.exe

What a crap, 4gb in a few hours for a ping, yeah right.

Now I had a more intelligent guy and he wrote the following:

Our system logs a large amount of data to disk, which can be of concern for SSD and other flash-based memory devices. We do offer a way to disable this logging, via the creation of a file in C:\Program Files\pia_manager\. For this, you just need to create a blank file, with no extension, named "nolog" in that folder, and this will disable all logging features of our application. You can remove that blank file anytime to re-enable logging, in the event you should ever need to do so (for example, if you needed to derive a debug log for troubleshooting purposes).

To create the file, go to C:/Program Files/pia_manager, right-click on the screen, and choose "New -> Text Document". Rename this blank text document to "nolog" (without quotes).

Next, go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt, and choose Run as Administrator. Here, enter the following commands, hitting enter after each line: 

cd "C:/Program Files/pia_manager"

ren nolog.txt nolog

exit

Once this is done, all logging will be disabled in the app.

You may notice that there is still an OpenVPN log file, that file is necessary for the application to run, but it will delete itself every time you exit the application.

For you @ray032 if you see a large explosion in growth in your logs it is most likely something on your system causing a conflict with the vpn connection and booting into safe mode, re installing the vpn and choking the log while sitting there is a good idea to see fi their is an issue on your device.

JoyeuxBlanc, it's obvious that you have not experienced this massive seemingly random uploading that the client is doing.  It uploads at its whim even if I have everything else closed (except regular Windows services).  No applications, torrents, nothing going.  It's inexplicable what it could be uploading but it sends at 145-150kB/s continuously on end forever!  This too caused me to exceed my monthly limit and cost me an extra $30 in surcharges!  Is it sending my hard drive contents?  Because whatever it's sending it is most definitely not pings or log files.  I had to terminate the process with my Firewall but it can start up anytime again.

I have added the "nolog" file but we'll see if this indeed fixes this ridiculous problem in the long run.  Shame on PIA for not being transparent about their shady practices.

bkturf

So, has this problem been fixed?  It's been over two years since this was first reported, and about 9 months since the last response. Since I assume that a lot more people are going to want to use a VPN soon, is it now safe to recommend PIA? It makes me wonder since they never made a statement about this (which would have hopefully been along the lines of "we discovered a memory leak and fixed it!")  Since they never addressed the possibility that they were uploading your hard drive contents continuously (what else could they have been uploading), it makes me nervous using it. 

infinum

It happens with AirVPN/OpenVPN too. It sometimes uploads huge amounts of data when literary no process is using the network. Inexplicable and certainly suspicious.