Today we added a lot of protocols to our VPN service. But what is the difference between these protocols and which one is the best for you?

I’ll try to explain these protocols a little bit and hopefully simplify the decision making process for you.

OpenVPNOpenVPN

OpenVPN has been around for a long time and is based on open-source technology. It uses OpenSSL and SSL v3/TLS v1. OpenVPN is supported by more or less all systems like Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, iOS, but also devices like routers, satellite receivers, tv boxes and more. Unfortunately OpenVPN is not normally included by default, so you usually need to download additional software to connect. Your connection is secured by strong encryption (AES 256 bit). The network speed is good, due to using UDP on port 1194, however it may be blocked by some networks, such as free wifi.

Pro:

  • Fast
  • Widely supported
  • Secure encryption
  • Open-Source, so it can be checked for backdoors

Con:

  • No native support
  • Mobile apps are not as good as the desktop clients
  • Blocked by some networks.

Softether

Softether is quite a new VPN solution developed at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. It is similar to OpenVPN as it is also open-source based, uses OpenSSL and has a very good encryption. It supports a new type of encryption method, ECDHE, which is thought to be more secure than RSA. In comparison with SSTP/IPSec and PPTP it may be much faster but unfortunately is only available on Windows right now. A big pro is that port 443 is used, which is the HTTPS port and commonly open in many networks, such as free wifi and corporate environments, and it also uses automatic UDP acceleration if your supported by your network.

Pro:

  • Very fast
  • Secure encryption
  • Open-Source, so it can be checked for backdoors
  • Uses HTTPS port 443 for compatibility with most firewalls and UDP for speed if available.
  • Authenticated Proxy Server support

Con:

  • No native support
  • Only available for Windows

L2TP / IPSec

L2TP does not have any encryption by default, that’s why we use it in combination with IPSec. Setup is very easy and the protocol is supported by all major operating systems (unfortunately our VPN service does not work with Windows and L2TP). If you want “perfect privacy” you should not use L2TP because there are some concerns that the NSA could have weakened the standard, but no one knows for sure and even so, this shouldn’t be a problem for normal usage. If you are behind a firewall you might have to set portforwarding to port udp 500. Furthermore the speed is quite lower than with OpenVPN because the traffic must be converted into L2TP form, and then encryption added on top with IPsec. It’s a two-step process.

Pro:

  • Widely native support by all major operating systems and devices
  • Secure for now
  • Easy setup

Con:

  • Slower
  • Might be weakened by NSA
  • Might not work behind a firewall (depends on configuration of the firewall)

PPTP

PPTP is a common protocol because it has been implemented in Windows in various forms since Windows 95. Unfortunately there are a lot of security bugs so Apple have already removed PPTP from their latest macOS and iOS. On the other side PPTP has native support by nearly all major operationg systems, it is easy to setup and fast. If you just want to change your IP address to watch a clip on Youtube or a stream on CBS or Zattoo PPTP is still good. If you want to secure your connection, we cannot recommend this protocol.

Pro:

  • Fast
  • Widely native support by all major operating systems and devices
  • Easy setup

Con:

  • Insecure
  • Definitely compromised by the NSA
  • Obsolescent

SSTP

SSTP, like PPTP is a protocol developed by Microsoft and there are no open-source clients. Because it uses SSLv3 it has more or less the same advantages as OpenVPN. SSTP uses the HTTPS port 443, so this protocol is perfect if you are behind a firewall. It is very secure due to using SSL underneath (besides the client being proprietary code owned by Microsoft) and is very easy to setup.

Pro:

  • Secure
  • Built into Windows systems, easy to set up.
  • Microsoft support
  • Uses HTTPS port 443 to bypass firewalls

Con:

  • Only really works in Windows
  • Proprietary standard owned by Microsoft so clients cannot be independently audited for backdoors and such

Conclusion

To conclude you can say that OpenVPN is still one of the best protocols and widely supported. If you are using Windows, Softether is also a very good tool. As you can see we cannot just say: “Use protocol xyz, this one is the best”. That doesn’t work out. You need to check your requirements and operating system and select a protocol on your own.

But if you are still not sure and doesn’t care about all the encryption stuff, etc, we would recommend the following:

Softether (or OpenVPN) for desktop clients and OpenVPN or L2TP/IPSec for mobile devices

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our customer support. We are happy to answer your questions. And read here more about our VPN service.