Exploring Surfshark VPN’s Protocol Options: OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2 (2024)

FAQs

Exploring Surfshark VPN’s Protocol Options: OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2? ›

Conclusion. In conclusion, Surfshark VPN offers a variety of protocol options including OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2, each with their own unique features and benefits. OpenVPN provides strong security, WireGuard offers faster speeds, and IKEv2 is known for its stability.

The best Surfshark VPN protocol largely depends on the device you're using or the reason you need a VPN: WireGuard® is good all around, especially when speed is the issue. IKEv2 is on par with WireGuard® and is really good with mobile. OpenVPN usually works best for routers.

The Surfshark app will automatically configure and set up a secure WireGuard VPN connection for you.

IKEv2 is easier to block than OpenVPN due to its reliance on fixed protocols and ports. OpenVPN can be easily configured to run on any port using either UDP or TCP thereby easily bypassing restrictive firewalls. WireGuard® uses the UDP protocol and can be configured to use any port.

IKEv2 and OpenVPN are both solid choices when it comes to speed, security, and reliability. IKEv2 has the edge when it comes to speed and is a better choice for mobile devices due to its stability. However, OpenVPN is the stronger option if security is the top priority, and it still offers a fast connection.

Based on these findings, if you're looking for the fastest secure tunneling protocol, you should go with NordLynx (or WireGuard). The second fastest will be IKEv2, which can confidently hold its own even when connecting to the other side of the world.

WireGuard's performance advantage over OpenVPN is greater with nearby (low latency) servers in comparison to long-distance (high latency) server locations. To get the fastest VPN speeds, use WireGuard on the closest server to your physical location.

IKEv2 is suitable for streaming because of its fast connection speeds and ability to maintain a stable connection.

So, for macOS, iOS, and Android users, the instructions can be as simple as this: Subscribe to Surfshark; Download and install the app; Switch to IKEv2 by going to Settings > VPN settings > Protocol.

All VPNs use encryption, but the quality of the encryption depends on which VPN protocol is used. OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP support AES encryption, considered the gold standard, while WireGuard uses ChaCha20, which is also secure. PPTP uses the least secure encryption standard, MPPE.

Why is Surfshark blocking my internet? ›

The Surfshark application and every other VPN modify your connection settings, which antiviruses sometimes consider a security threat and block the connection or the app altogether. Also, simultaneously using different software that changes your internet connection (VPNs, proxies, network management tools, etc.)

IKEv2 uses non-standard UDP ports so you need to ensure that these ports are not blocked on the user's firewall. The ports in use are UDP 500 and 4500.

AES-256 is one of the most widely used and trusted encryption standards for business VPNs. It provides a high level of security with a 256-bit key length, making it almost uncrackable by current computing power. AES-256 is often considered the gold standard for encrypting sensitive data in transit.

In fact, you can choose which mode to use with Surfshark! Why? Because TCP sends and receives data packages all while keeping the computer equivalent of direct eye contact with the recipient. On the other hand, UDP is faster as it sort of just labels the packages and chucks them at the recipient.

In terms of speed, WireGuard and PPTP are the fastest, but OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP offer decent speeds as well. WireGuard is fast because it's lightweight. The protocol can be implemented in very few lines of code, so there's much less going on in the background.

What Surfshark protocol is best for torrenting? WireGuard offers the best upload and download speeds. The OpenVPN alternative is the most secure, but WireGuard has better speeds with decent security. You can configure the protocol you want to use in the settings panel.

SUMMARY: If your VPN gives you a choice out of UDP or TCP, try UDP first. UDP is faster than TCP, and you can still use TCP for activities such as web browsing inside your UDP VPN tunnel. Using TCP with your VPN can help if UDP is blocked by a firewall or you have an unreliable connection.