Key Takeaways

  • WireGuard is the modern standard: extremely fast and secure.
  • OpenVPN is the old reliable: slower but works through tough firewalls.
  • IKEv2 is perfect for mobile devices that switch networks often.
  • Avoid PPTP and L2TP. They are obsolete and insecure.

A VPN is only as secure as the protocol it uses. Choosing the wrong one can expose your data or slow your connection to a crawl.

1. WireGuard (The New King)

WireGuard is the latest protocol that has taken the world by storm. It uses state-of-the-art cryptography and is incredibly lightweight (4,000 lines of code vs OpenVPN's 100,000+).

Pros: Blazing fast speeds, instant connection, battery-efficient for phones.
Cons: Privacy implementation requires dynamic IP handling (most good VPNs handle this effectively now).

2. OpenVPN (The Old Standard)

For over a decade, OpenVPN was the gold standard. It is open-source and audited thoroughly.

Pros: Extremely secure, can bypass "Great Firewall" censorship via TCP port 443.
Cons: Slower speeds, heavier processing power needed (drains battery).

3. IKEv2 / IPSec (The Mobile Choice)

Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) is popular on iOS and Mac.

Pros: Great at "MOBIKE"—switching from Wi-Fi to 4G without dropping the VPN connection.
Cons: Closed source implementations exist, slightly harder to audit than WireGuard.

Avoid These!

PPTP: Cracked years ago by the NSA. Extremely insecure.
L2TP/IPSec: Slow and easily blocked by firewalls.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which protocol should I use for gaming?
WireGuard. It offers the lowest latency and packet loss, making it superior for gaming.
Why does OpenVPN have TCP and UDP?
UDP is faster (good for streaming). TCP is more reliable and can look like regular HTTPS traffic (good for bypassing censorship).

Check if your VPN is leaking.
Run Leak Test