Which VPN Protocol to Use? 5 Common VPN Protocols Explained

VPN (Virtual Private Network) software has the main job of concealing your Internet browsing data, along with other matters. That is carried out by altering your internet protocol address, encrypting your data, and ensuring that your data is imperceptible. Most of this can be done as a result of the VPN protocol. But this is sometimes an extremely confusing issue because we’ve quite a few protocols and every one of them is acceptable for several kinds of internet tasks.

Having said that, we will discuss the very common VPN protocols, including their strengths, along with its own benefits. The very first thing we strike this is that — what’s just a VPN protocol? Well, this term covers many technologies which are a mixture of transmission systems and security standards.

If you make the decision to utilize a VPN protocol, then you educate your own VPN client to deal with your sensitive data is really a certain manner. Because you can anticipate, different protocols handle your data in various ways, using some prioritizing operation over security, and vice-versa.
Here is we are explaining five different protocol.

VPN Protocol list

1. PPTP: PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol)

PPTP is a point-to-point protocol (PPP) based on the broadband data layer protocol (WAN) developed by Microsoft, which allows network traffic to be aggregated and routed over insecure public networks such as the Internet. Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) allows you to create virtual private networks (VPNs) that tunnel TCP / IP traffic over the Internet.

How Does a PPTP Work?

When used for dial-up Internet access, PPTP uses TCP port 1723 for communications, which uses Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) to encapsulate PPP packets. PPTP tunnelling does not require devices such as routers, etc. when the client initiates PPTP tunnelling.

Why is PPTP a Popular VPN Protocol?

PPTP is not only very easy to configure but also compatible with most desktop and mobile operating systems. This is why people use PPTP when speed is more important than security. But sometimes you have to try another protocol because PPTP can vary in speed, but it has many well-known vulnerabilities.

Why Should You Use PPTP?

Thus, PPTP has become obsolete as a technology of privacy and security. If you are looking for the best protection for your data, stay away from it. However, if you just want to unlock blocked websites, it might be worthwhile to look for a VPN provider that offers PPTP. However, in this case, it would be better to use another technology, such as Smart DNS or Proxy, which does not claim to offer privacy and security but offers geographical unlocking.

PPTP Pros and Cons

2. L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol)

The L2TP stands for Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol and does not provide encryption by itself. L2TP VPN usually uses the IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) authentication protocol for strong encryption and authentication, which gives it a huge advantage over other commonly used protocols such as PPTP. L2TP uses UDP ports 1701.

How Does L2TP Work?

L2TP / IPSec data is normally authenticated double. Every data packet sent via the tube comprises L2TP headers. Consequently, the info will be demultiplexed by the host. Double statistics authentication reduces performance nevertheless provides the greatest security.

Why is L2TP a Popular VPN Protocol?

One of the many reasons L2TP has become a popular protocol is the lack of known vulnerabilities. Double encryption also gives users the confidence to use the Internet. Moreover, both Mac and Windows operating systems support the protocol.

L2TP Pros and Cons

3. OpenVPN

OpenVPN is a popular SSL-based tunnelling protocol used to implement virtual private networks. Offering the perfect combination of security, speed and compatibility, it is one of the best VPN protocols out there.

The Open VPN can be used with a lot of the leading and most powerful os’s being used now. It gives strong security standards and is excellent for preventing prohibitive firewalls and restrictive Geo-blocking.

The open-source VPN protocol can be configured to use TCP or UDP and supports encryption up to 256 bits. Because it is open-source, security vulnerabilities are usually addressed by the open-source community as soon as they are discovered.

OpenVPN is often used because of the various benefits it offers. First of all, unlike other protocols, it is compatible with Android and iOS. It can also bypass any locks it encounters. It can also access many communication ports.

How Does OpenVPN Work?

To put it simply, Open VPN builds an exclusive connection — or tunnel — involving your VPN client and the VPN server. The traffic passing through it’s fully shielded using encryption, keeping your data safe in ISP’s, hackers, as well as additional third parties.

Info packets are encoded with the Open VPN client till they go away your apparatus or computer system. All these are acquired from the Open VPN server, which employs a top-secret cryptographic key for decryption. The aggregated info packs are delivered into the planned server.

Upon accessing these, the internet server sends your asked data on the Open VPN server, even at which it’s encrypted yet more. The info can be subsequently sent right back into your own device or pc working the Open VPN consumer, which decrypts it.

Why Should You Use OpenVPN?

Open VPN has become easily the most adaptive and protected protocol it’s possible to obtain now. Provided that your VPN supplier understands the tech and implements it’s generally the main one to choose for. At least, in case Open VPN can be found, then you ought to take to it before continuing for another alternative.

What is UDP?

UDP can be a abbreviation for User Datagram Protocol and can not fix errors. Like a consequence, concessions are obtained without re-try or verification. That creates UDP quicker, but much less reliable than TCP.

What is TCP?

TCP is your acronym for Transmission Control Protocol. Not like UDP, TCP performs error correction. In addition, its own retransmission mechanism guarantees ends might get pliers. Nevertheless, greater reliability contributes to elevated latency.

OpenVPN Pros and Cons

4.SSTP (Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol)

SSTP, or safe Socket Tunneling Protocol, is intended to protect PPP targeted traffic working with the SSL/TLS station. It is much safer and better for Windows Customers Rather than L2TP/IPSec or PPTP. It truly is tough to the dam and also will be offering good rates only as long as you’ve got the bandwidth.

We saw SSTP together with all the launch of Windows Vista Support Pack 1 ). Since you could have figured, SSTP can be just a proprietary protocol entirely possessed and manufactured by Microsoft. This may possibly be an issue for a few people, due to the fact the workings of this norm have been shut away.

What this means is that there is certainly obviously an opportunity that Microsoft might have assembled back doors in their normal in the behest of the government. As common, there is absolutely no true evidence with the, nevertheless, you ought to ensure that it remains at heart based on why you would like VPN coverage.

How Does SSTP Work?

A customer’s system links into a host by way of a TCP (Transmission Control Port). SSL employs the 443 interface to attach into this host. To validate the bond, it takes user authentication. Also, it’s ordinarily backed by your customer. The protocol employs exactly the host certification for authentication.

Why Should You Use SSTP?

You’ll find a number of explanations as to that support the prevalence of SSTP. For example, SSTP gives the largest degree of stability, i.e., 256-bit AES encryption. Moreover, the interface it employs might ruin just about all sorts of firewalls. As it’s really a Micro Soft owned land, it’s wholly harmonious with Windows.

SSTP Pros and Cons

5.IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange)

The IKEv2 can be really a request-and-response encryption protocol designed by Cisco and Microsoft. It builds in addition to handling that the protection Association (SA) feature, that will be utilized to encourage secure conversation between two system factors. It can thus within a authentication package, normally the IPSec to guarantee traffic. It’s stable, steady, and simple to install. It’s likewise certainly one among the speediest VPN protocols available on the market.

IKE is still among the latest protocols, yet published at the mid-2000s plus it’s not become widely accepted or supported. The most recent variant is IKEv2 of course in the event that you should be at a company environment which still is dependent upon Blackberry tech for security, then you are going to really like this particular protocol. Blackberry techniques possess native support for IKEv2.

How Does IKEv2 Work?

Even the IKEv2 protocol enables the VPN apparatus at both endings of this tube encrypt in addition to decrypt the packs making use of possibly pre-shared keys, either Extensible Authentication Protocols (EAP) or even electronic signatures.

The encryption and decryption utilize uneven Authentication so either conclusion of this tube doesn’t will need to agree on a single authentication system.

Why Should You Use IKEv2?

Therefore whilst this routine offers amazing balance and exceptional rate, it’s lean service, is exposed to VPN obstructing, also is affected with protection doubts. Thus, finally, a protocol like Open VPN is more preferable if it plays somewhat worse compared to IKEv2.

IPSec (Internet Protocol Security)

IPSec is a protocol package that provides IP packets for transport and tunneling. IPsec is readily designed for some cellular apparatus and protects most of the application traffic within an IP network. But unlike Open VPN, PPTP along with other forms of relations, IPSec will not itself specify a specific encryption algorithm or authentication work – it only offers a framework for secure transport.