ProtonVPN Popup Pwd Windows & error msgs

[MXRobo]

Thanks everyone for replying.

OK, I'm going to try to organize my images of appearing windows to help in replys too..
1 - Authentication Password Required https://ibb.co/7jdfL33 Main Concern/Problem
2 - Duplicated Bookmarks Brave Browser https://ibb.co/R3nzjfC
3 – Something Went Wrong https://ibb.co/Dg3DH1C
4 – ProtonVPN App https://ibb.co/JFRcJLd

I'm mostly concerned with window #1 - Authentication Password Required. https://ibb.co/7jdfL33
I can show and display the password, it contains 20 characters , my non-browser password manager defaults to using 16 characters, just checked, so it's not auto-filling it.

I show #2 - Duplicated Bookmarks Brave Browser https://ibb.co/R3nzjfC because it may have appeared around the same time – not sure.

I show #3 - Something Went Wrong https://ibb.co/Dg3DH1C for the same reason as above – maybe same time.

Originally, I showed #4 - ProtonVPN App https://ibb.co/JFRcJLd (notice connection error at top of image) "authentication denied"

I'm not attributing the following correlations to causation, just mentioning because they might be related.
Just yesterday I was almost certain that #3-Something Went Wrong was attributed to #4-ProtonVPN App as they appeared almost simultaneously, but then #3 appeared a lot yesterday.
Also, I noticed just now that #4-ProtonVPN App and #1-Authentication Password Required both use the word authentication, but….

@Mauser Which one do you think is the system password dialog box?
I'm not aware of this, what is it. I'm aware of the browser keylog passwords or whatever they're called, but these don’t' appear to be the same. Also, and I don't know, but I thought that Adrian and Stevo would have recognized this in previous replies. I do appreciate the reply.

Jed, I mean @clampett I looked quickly yesterday, I don't know what to look for, but I'll follow Mauser's suggestion and write down the exact times when it happens again, and check that log again - thanks.

@Stevo, and others, sorry, I didn't post my QSI originally or again yesterday, should have posted QSI previously - MX-21.3_ahs Xfce

Code: Select all

Snapshot created on: 20220812_1130
System:    Kernel: 6.6.4-1-liquorix-amd64 [6.6-5~mx21ahs] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1 
           parameters: audit=0 intel_pstate=disable rcupdate.rcu_expedited=1 
           BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.6.4-1-liquorix-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.18.1 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7 
           dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_ahs_x64 Wildflower November 22  2021 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: VivoBook_ASUSLaptop X512DA_F512DA v: 1.0 
           serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X512DA v: 1.0 serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends 
           v: X512DA.310 date: 12/24/2019 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 16.9 Wh (60.8%) condition: 27.8/37.1 Wh (74.9%) volts: 7.8 min: 7.8 
           model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: N/A status: Not charging cycles: 18 
CPU:       Info: Dual Core model: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx bits: 64 
           type: MT MCP arch: Zen family: 17 (23) model-id: 18 (24) stepping: 1 microcode: 8108102 
           cache: L2: 1024 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm bogomips: 20761 
           Speed: 2717 MHz min/max: 1400/2600 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1692 
           2: 1692 3: 1693 4: 1693 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected 
           Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected 
           Type: l1tf status: Not affected 
           Type: mds status: Not affected 
           Type: meltdown status: Not affected 
           Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected 
           Type: retbleed mitigation: untrained return thunk; SMT vulnerable 
           Type: spec_rstack_overflow mitigation: Safe RET 
           Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl 
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization 
           Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: disabled, RSB 
           filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected 
           Type: srbds status: Not affected 
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected 
Graphics:  Device-1: AMD Picasso/Raven 2 [Radeon Vega Series / Radeon Vega Mobile Series] 
           vendor: ASUSTeK driver: amdgpu v: kernel bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:15d8 
           class-ID: 0300 
           Device-2: IMC Networks USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 1-6.2:6 
           chip-ID: 13d3:56dd class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter> 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.14 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: loaded: amdgpu 
           display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.0x11.2") 
           s-diag: 582mm (22.9") 
           Monitor-1: eDP res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 142 size: 344x193mm (13.5x7.6") 
           diag: 394mm (15.5") 
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics (raven2 LLVM 14.0.5 DRM 3.54 
           6.6.4-1-liquorix-amd64) 
           v: 4.6 Mesa 22.0.5 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: AMD Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus-ID: 02:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:15de class-ID: 0403 
           Device-2: AMD ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor driver: snd_pci_acp3x v: kernel 
           alternate: snd_rn_pci_acp3x,snd_pci_acp5x,snd_pci_acp6x,snd_acp_pci,snd_rpl_pci_acp6x,snd_pci_ps,snd_sof_amd_renoir,snd_sof_amd_rembrandt,snd_sof_amd_vangogh 
           bus-ID: 02:00.5 chip-ID: 1022:15e2 class-ID: 0480 
           Device-3: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus-ID: 02:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403 
           Device-4: Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec type: USB 
           driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus-ID: 1-2:2 chip-ID: 08bb:2902 
           class-ID: 0300 
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k6.6.4-1-liquorix-amd64 running: yes 
           Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes 
           Sound Server-3: PipeWire v: 0.3.19 running: no 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wireless 8265 / 8275 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel modules: wl 
           bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:24fd class-ID: 0280 
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: ipv6leakintrf0 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-2: pvpnksintrf0 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-3: tun0 state: unknown speed: 10000 Mbps duplex: full mac: N/A 
Bluetooth: Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 
           bus-ID: 1-6.1:5 chip-ID: 8087:0a2b class-ID: e001 
           Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 3 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 2.1 lmp-v: 4.2 
           sub-v: 100 hci-v: 4.2 rev: 100 
           Info: acl-mtu: 1021:4 sco-mtu: 96:6 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff 
           link-mode: slave accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, audio 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 119.24 GiB used: 76.47 GiB (64.1%) 
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required. 
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: SanDisk model: SD9SN8W128G1102 size: 119.24 GiB 
           block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> 
           rev: 6002 scheme: GPT 
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 24 GiB size: 23.46 GiB (97.73%) used: 13.65 GiB (58.2%) fs: ext4 
           dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 
           ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 1024 MiB size: 1022 MiB (99.80%) used: 440 KiB (0.0%) 
           fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 
           ID-3: /home raw-size: 16.01 GiB size: 15.67 GiB (97.86%) used: 4.68 GiB (29.9%) 
           fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3 
           ID-4: /tmp raw-size: 4 GiB size: 3.84 GiB (96.10%) used: 19.6 MiB (0.5%) fs: ext4 
           dev: /dev/sda6 maj-min: 8:6 
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) 
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 2 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda4 
           maj-min: 8:4 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 59.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 58.0 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 2400 
Repos:     Packages: 2530 note: see --pkg apt: 2518 lib: 1246 flatpak: 12 
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ bullseye main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/librewolf.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] http://deb.librewolf.net bullseye main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/megasync.list 
           1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/meganz-archive-keyring.gpg] https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Debian_11/ ./
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
           2: deb http://mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ bullseye ahs
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/protonvpn-stable.list 
           1: deb [arch="all", signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/protonvpn-stable-archive-keyring.gpg] https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list 
           1: deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
Info:      Processes: 353 Uptime: 1h 38m wakeups: 2 Memory: 9.67 GiB used: 2.84 GiB (29.4%) 
           Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 10.2.1 
           alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06 
Boot Mode: UEFI

My /mnt/DATA partition is approximately 85% full, 84 - 87% depending on tool.

I assume that SDM themes must be a KDE item and not an Xfce item.
Regarding your comment, "That's the only similar thing I have seen that's legit.", that seems concerning as I first noticed it while opening many SearXNG instances and also had LibRedirect operating.
Each SearXNG instance requires some trust, and each SearXNG instance has many links within, so with SearXNG having VERY roughly 20 instances, times VERY conservatively 20 links/sites within each instance, well I may have been open to
++EDIT++ 400 – 1,000 links/sites. I doubt that it would be this many as many of the instances use many of the same links/sites and I don't know that all of the links can be manipulated, or how difficult it may be to do so. END EDIT

I'm still not sure that it's not the ProtonVPN app. Maybe I'll try browsing without the ProtonVPN app or with a different browser to eliminate something.

Since the ProtonVPN app is very new (~1month), maybe I'll contact them - hint at some form of notification identification.

Still can't believe a legitimate notification doesn't include some form of self-identification.

Thanks all, and I'm still open to more suggestions if something strikes anyone.

[Mauser]

@Mauser Which one do you think is the system password dialog box?

This one you posted is the system password dialog box. https://ibb.co/7jdfL33
What is strange is that it has the option to show password and has a password saved in it which in both cases it shouldn't. That system password dialog dialog box should also state what it's requiring your authorization like mine, this is what mine looks like and yours should look the same. https://imgur.com/E2mmFHl I recommend you first disconnect from the Internet and then check to see what password it has stored by clicking show password. It should show your MX Linux administrator password. If it isn't then I would be really concerned. Only reconnect to the Internet after you turn off show password. Please report back your findings.

[MXRobo]

@Mauser I'm familiar with the window that you linked, definitely not that, plus it says thunar.

And yes I looked at the already filled in password a few times trying to figure out if it was related to anything that I might recognize.
It's not my user or administrative password, I doubt that it's related to my non-browser password manager as it filled with 20 characters, not it's default 16 character auto-fill.

I viewed the password while connected to the internet, but I suspect it's either malware and likely already filled with a password possibly to replace some existing password, or it's associated with newly released ProtonVPN app – but again nothing really provides anything to identify what it's related to.

Thanks for replying.

[Mauser]

@Mauser I'm familiar with the window that you linked, definitely not that, plus it says thunar.

And yes I looked at the already filled in password a few times trying to figure out if it was related to anything that I might recognize.
It's not my user or administrative password, I doubt that it's related to my non-browser password manager as it filled with 20 characters, not it's default 16 character auto-fill.

I viewed the password while connected to the internet, but I suspect it's either malware and likely already filled with a password possibly to replace some existing password, or it's associated with newly released ProtonVPN app – but again nothing really provides anything to identify what it's related to.

Thanks for replying.

The reason why mine said thunar is because I was in thunar to open that box to give you an example of what the box should look like. I could of opened that in Synaptic and it would of said that, same for anything else to open that requires permission. Perhaps it's like you said it might be ProtonVPN. Strange. Nothing matches up in the log files with the precise time that box appears? The only other option is when all ideas are exhausted is to re-install MX Linux doing a full reformat which would wipe everything clean but all data will be lost unless you save only what you need to save to another drive.
Your welcome.

[fehlix]

I received - at least what seemed to me - to be a suspicious password window.
I've attached a link to an image: https://ibb.co/KNLvBxb

Seems a common (or better known) issue with Proton VPN.
Searched with "protonvpn popup Authentication is required",
gives quite a number of hits, including some proposed fixes.
Good luck

[MXRobo]

Thank you @fehlix! - Stupid me, never thought to search for the error message even though I have recommended others on the forum do the same.

The only excuse I might be able to give is that the app is so new (~1 month - Nov 8th) that I didn't think I'd find much.

That's good news and reassuring!

I'll get to it later and marked as solved – if things turn out positively.

[MXRobo]

Looks like it's not related to the new ProtonVPN linux app only but to ProtonVPN in general.
I've generally been doing what some sites suggest anyway, re-establish connection and maybe try with another server.

My popup is very similar to this one from last year: https://github.com/ProtonVPN/linux-cli/issues/82
I should've originally done a reverse image search.

And long as I know that it's Proton and not some malware, then I'm not really too concerned and it's only happened two times in about a month,
but it would've been nice for the popup to identify itself as originating from Proton.

Now to find the cause of the "Something went wrong" popup.

Thanks everyone for replying - and fehlix for solving.

SOLVED - at least my concern of it being malware.

[MXRobo]

I can confirm - both of the error notifications were/are from ProtonVPN.
A password is required
Something went wrong

This may require systemd, the ProtonVPN site states that systemd is required, but it does not state so in the new ProtonVPN app sections.
Instructions are not explicit, may be vague.

Stumbled upon post by D.O. asking what VPN forum members use, replies suggested that many VPNs require systemd.

I also found a section for installing in MX Linux: https://protonvpn.com/support/official- ... -mx-linux/

Later.

[MXRobo]

I contacted ProtonVPN with some questions – as well as stating that the communication if the error messages and instructions could be a little more explicit - and these were the responses -generally.

Are these your error messages? Possibly.







I later almost positively confirmed that they were error messages from ProtonVPN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This may be my stupidity, but for clarification, I asked if the dependencies must be met because it they were not really listed in the same section as the application(s), the main one being systemd.

I received this response: "Additionally, systemd is required for our application, but while MX Linux uses sysVinit by default, systemd is also supported: https://mxlinux.org/wiki/system/systemd/"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I asked if I should install via the newer ProtonVPN App, ?the Debian install?, or the MX Linux install because it states that the preferred method is to install the ProtonVPN App.

My actual text:

And many of the following pages could be construed to be the "starting" page, or "where to start", or "start here" page.

There is no way to determine where to start, and Proton directed us/me here.

Example, I want to test the free ProtonVPN version, and I'm using MX-Linux which uses SysVinit by default instead of systemd. Follow the links:

https://protonvpn.com/

Free VPN - We believe privacy and security are fundamental human rights,

so we also provide a: https://protonvpn.com/free-vpn/linux

Install on Linux: https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-vpn-setup/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: the APP does have a "report an issue" selection in the menu.

The official Proton VPN Linux app lets you protect your Linux devices with Proton VPN while controlling the VPN via an intuitive and easy-to-use graphical interface. We support the latest stable versions of the following distros. Click on a link for full setup instructions:

Debian https://protonvpn.com/support/official- ... pn-debian/

Other ways to use Proton VPN on Linux

Where possible, we strongly recommend using our official Linux app. However, there are certain situations where you may wish to use an alternative method of using Proton VPN on Linux.

Our official app is the best way to use Proton VPN on your Linux PC.

If this is the BEST way, then why does this exist? https://protonvpn.com/support/official- ... -mx-linux/

I received this response:

"We'd love to hear what you think of our customer service. Please take a moment to answer one simple question by clicking the link below:"

If you are referring to the following link https://protonvpn.com/support/official- ... -mx-linux/ please make sure to follow it in the process, however, also note that the latest v4 version of the Proton VPN app is currently supported only on Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora distros, meaning that there is limited support that I could provide regarding any other distros available.

You can find more information about the currently supported Linux distros in the following support article: https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-vpn-setup/

Additionally, systemd is required for our application, but while MX Linux uses sysVinit by default, systemd is also supported: https://mxlinux.org/wiki/system/systemd/

Furthermore, if you experience any issues in the process, please keep utilizing the manual connection methods for your device.
We have dedicated guides which you can check through the following links: • https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-openvpn/ • https://protonvpn.com/support/wireguard-manual-linux/

If there is anything else we can help you with feel free to let us know. We are at your service at any time.

They were courteous, but didn't answer all of my questions specifically.

Infrequently, I get this message every minute and when doing certain things with the computer, it's a li (got one again) ttle annoying.

So, I'm still not sure (another msg.) if I should install the newer ProtonVPN App, the MX Linux install, the manual connection methods:
• https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-openvpn/
• https://protonvpn.com/support/wireguard-manual-linux/

I certainly like to hear how others have installed and if they had to use systemd?

FYI – I didn't find the MX-Linux installation link until months later, so there site doesn't seem overly organized.
https://protonvpn.com/free-vpn/linux
https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-vpn-setup/
https://protonvpn.com/support/official- ... pn-debian/
https://protonvpn.com/support/categorie ... and-setup/
https://protonvpn.com/support/official- ... -mx-linux/
https://protonvpn.com/support/protonvpn-setup-guide/
There are also browser extensions.

[richb]

@MXRobo
Are you sure you want this topic marked as solved? It appears you are still having a problem. If not you can remove Solved by click the check mark again.