The ultimate guide For VPN Protocols by RapidVPN| PPTP vs L2TP vs OpenVPN vs SSTP vs IKEv2 Explained!
Some days ago we posted a brief comparison of different VPN Protocols on our Facebook page. If you have not checked it out, check out now.
So let’s Get started.
PPTP à Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a method for implementing virtual private networks. PPTP uses a control channel over TCP and a GRE tunnel operating to encapsulate PPP
The intended use of this protocol is to provide security levels and remote access levels comparable with typical VPN products available at RapidVPN.
Pros: Fast, Easy
Cons: Not Secure
L2TPà Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol or IPSEC: Internet Protocol Security
In computer networking, Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is a tunneling protocol used to support virtual private networks (VPNs) or as part of the delivery of services by ISPs. It does not provide any encryption or confidentiality by itself. Rather, it relies on an encryption protocol that it passes within the tunnel to provide privacy.
Pros: Wide Support, Easy to use, Secure
Cons: Bit slower than others, less stable
L2TP & IPSec Both are used interchangeably.
OpenVPN à OpenSSL Encryption Based Technology
OpenVPN is an open-source software application that implements virtual private network (VPN) techniques for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It uses a custom security protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS for key exchange. It is capable of traversing network address translators (NATs) and firewalls.
This protocol is widely recommended at RapidVPN since it is fast and easy to setup.
Pros: Most secure, high speed
Cons: Less support, Unable to bypass blocking & Firewall
SSTPàSecure Socket Tunneling Protocol
Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) is a form of VPN tunnel that provides a mechanism to transport PPP or L2TP traffic through an SSL 3.0 channel. SSL provides transport-level security with key-negotiation, encryption and traffic integrity checking. The use of SSL over TCP port 443 allows SSTP to pass through virtually all firewalls and proxy servers except for authenticated web proxies.
If you are in one of these countries: Iran, China, Pakistan, Syria & Brazil. Than this is the best protocol for you.
Pros: Very Secure, Bypass firewall
Cons: Works only on windows
IKEv2à internet Key Exchange (version 2)
Internet Key Exchange (IKE or IKEv2) is the protocol used to set up a security association (SA) in the IPsec protocol suite. IKE builds upon the Oakley protocol and ISAKMP.IKE uses X.509 certificates for authentication – either pre-shared or distributed using DNS (preferably with DNSSEC) and a Diffie–Hellman key exchange – to set up a shared session secret from which cryptographic keys are derived. In addition, a security policy for every peer which will connect must be manually maintained.
This is our second choice at RapidVPN if you are willing to get the highest possible security available.
Pros: Highly stable, Secure
Cons: Low support, Slower than OpenVPN
Softether: SoftEther VPN is a free open-source, cross-platform, multi-protocol VPN solution developed as part of Daiyuu Nobori’s master’s thesis research at the University of Tsukuba. VPN protocols such as SSL VPN, L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN and MicrosoftSecure Socket Tunneling Protocol are provided in a single VPN server.
Pros: Highest firewall penetration and data security
Cons: Slow speed and somewhat less used.
Socks: This is not a VPN Protocol rather just a proxy. This is very helpful to bypass strict firewalls like China. However this is not designed for privacy. Thus it is not used as much as above explained protocols.
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