How to compare VPNs?
Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 3:39 am
While VPNs all boast about being ultra-secure, the way they provide you with this protection isn't necessarily always the same, but there are two main factors to consider when judging the security of a VPN:
The technological limitations imposed by a VPN provider.
VPN provider legislation and policy may affect the technologies used on that same VPN: The laws in force in the country that hosts your VPN provider are of course overriding for the latter. Some legislators may force your VPN provider to provide them with certain information, but these laws are, of course, largely avoided by VPN providers.
Data encryption
To put it simply, data encryption involves three steps:
Retrieving data to send via the Internet
Applying an encryption key to transform data
Sending encrypted data to the VPN server
When the VPN server receives the information you requested, it will go through an equivalent encryption process before being decrypted by your VPN software on your machine, which redistributes this information to you as if nothing had happened. The real "secret" of VPNs therefore lies in the complexity of their encryption mechanisms and the protocols used by your VPN.
VPN protocols
Protocols describe how your VPN service will transmit information, once it has been encrypted. Here's a quick overview of the different protocols that allow information to be transported over the web:
PPTP (Point-To-Point Tunneling Protocol). This protocol is the oldest of the protocols still in use. Originally developed by Microsoft, this protocol has the advantage of working on old computers, and it is easy denmark whatsapp list to configure. On the other hand, it cannot be said that it is the most secure encryption protocol. If your VPN uses this protocol, we advise you to avoid it…
L2TP/IPsec (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol). The principle used by this protocol is simple: it uses a key to establish a secure connection at each stage of the information transport tunnel. But its execution does not seem very secure, this protocol is often questioned, notably by the NSA a few years ago. Also to be avoided.
SSTP (Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol). This protocol, also created by Microsoft, is one of the most secure and widely adopted to date. The connection is established using SSL/TLS encryption, which is the standard on the web today. The particularity of this system is that only the two parties involved in the data transfer have the key to decrypt the message. If your VPN uses this protocol, you can rest assured.
IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange, Version 2). This is also a Microsoft protocol, which builds on previous protocols while providing more secure solutions. It is one of, if not the, best protocol today.
OpenVPN. OpenVPN is, as its name suggests, an open source VPN project, which is based on SSL/TLS processes while recovering the best of what has been done in terms of data transfer security, and packs it into a single solution. OpenVPN – open source obliges – is constantly evolving, which makes it the most versatile protocol on the market . In short: a very effective solution.
The technological limitations imposed by a VPN provider.
VPN provider legislation and policy may affect the technologies used on that same VPN: The laws in force in the country that hosts your VPN provider are of course overriding for the latter. Some legislators may force your VPN provider to provide them with certain information, but these laws are, of course, largely avoided by VPN providers.
Data encryption
To put it simply, data encryption involves three steps:
Retrieving data to send via the Internet
Applying an encryption key to transform data
Sending encrypted data to the VPN server
When the VPN server receives the information you requested, it will go through an equivalent encryption process before being decrypted by your VPN software on your machine, which redistributes this information to you as if nothing had happened. The real "secret" of VPNs therefore lies in the complexity of their encryption mechanisms and the protocols used by your VPN.
VPN protocols
Protocols describe how your VPN service will transmit information, once it has been encrypted. Here's a quick overview of the different protocols that allow information to be transported over the web:
PPTP (Point-To-Point Tunneling Protocol). This protocol is the oldest of the protocols still in use. Originally developed by Microsoft, this protocol has the advantage of working on old computers, and it is easy denmark whatsapp list to configure. On the other hand, it cannot be said that it is the most secure encryption protocol. If your VPN uses this protocol, we advise you to avoid it…
L2TP/IPsec (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol). The principle used by this protocol is simple: it uses a key to establish a secure connection at each stage of the information transport tunnel. But its execution does not seem very secure, this protocol is often questioned, notably by the NSA a few years ago. Also to be avoided.
SSTP (Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol). This protocol, also created by Microsoft, is one of the most secure and widely adopted to date. The connection is established using SSL/TLS encryption, which is the standard on the web today. The particularity of this system is that only the two parties involved in the data transfer have the key to decrypt the message. If your VPN uses this protocol, you can rest assured.
IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange, Version 2). This is also a Microsoft protocol, which builds on previous protocols while providing more secure solutions. It is one of, if not the, best protocol today.
OpenVPN. OpenVPN is, as its name suggests, an open source VPN project, which is based on SSL/TLS processes while recovering the best of what has been done in terms of data transfer security, and packs it into a single solution. OpenVPN – open source obliges – is constantly evolving, which makes it the most versatile protocol on the market . In short: a very effective solution.