Most users know that when you connect to a reliable VPN service, your device establishes a secure, encrypted tunnel between itself and the VPN server for your data. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone with access to your ISP’s records to tell which sites you’ve visited or even what type of content you’ve accessed like streaming video.
Still, even if your ISP or network manager can’t spy on your data, it’s fairly easy for them to detect that you’re using a VPN in the first place. This can be problematic if you’re connecting to a network that restricts VPN usage. This is where a ‘stealth’ VPN protocol can come in useful.
How does a stealth protocol work?
Network admins and ISPs can make use of DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) to examine data ‘headers’. This makes it fairly simple for them to work out you’re using a VPN and try to block you from connecting in the first place.
Stealth protocols are used by some VPNs to try to disguise your web traffic. This is known as “obfuscation”. There are different ways to do this but the usual method is to try to encrypt your VPN traffic again to remove any ‘metadata’ that would identify it.
Most stealth protocols also make use of port 443, which is used by regular HTTPS web traffic. This means if someone is monitoring your connection, it would be very difficult to work out whether you’re using a VPN or just connecting to a secure site such as your bank.
When should you use a stealth protocol?
Stealth protocols can be useful when you’re trying to connect to your VPN service on a network that usually blocks such connections. They’re also useful in countries that try to restrict VPN usage.
Will a stealth protocol improve my VPN connection?
If your ISP, network manager or site you’re visiting is actively trying to block VPN usage, then using a stealth protocol can make it easier to establish and maintain a connection to your VPN service.
Do I need a stealth protocol to watch Netflix?
Some platforms like Netflix try to detect and block devices using VPNs. A stealth protocol may help if they use DPI to do this. However, many sites simply compare the IP address from which you seem to be connecting against a list of known VPN servers. If your VPN server is listed, a stealth protocol is unlikely to help.
What is the best stealth protocol?
Many VPN providers offer their very own “stealth protocols” or “obfuscated servers”, which they’ve designed themselves. However, you don’t need to use a proprietary solution. The OpenVPN protocol now supports TLS-crypt. This means if you use a correctly configured VPN service like hide.me each OpenVPN data packet is encrypted using a pre-configured static key. In other words, your VPN data is encrypted twice to resemble ordinary TLS traffic over Port 443.
As stealth is now built into OpenVPN when correctly configured, there’s no need to use a custom solution.
Which is better? Stealth or Wireguard?
Using a stealth protocol means your data has to go through an extra round of encryption, which can slow down your connection speed. Using Wireguard alone is likely to be faster, though it will be easier for ISPs/network managers to work out you’re using a VPN.
What’s the difference between a stealth protocol & UDP?
Most standard VPN protocols use UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which makes them fairly easy to detect and block. In theory, stealth protocols can use UDP. But using OpenVPN over TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) with TLS-crypt makes it easy to mimic HTTPS traffic, making it a popular ‘stealth’ implementation.
Is stealth the same thing as a Double VPN/Multihop?
Connecting by using two or more VPN servers at the same time (Double VPN) can be a great way to hide your IP address but isn’t the same thing as a stealth protocol: someone monitoring your connection can still detect you using a VPN, even if it’s harder to trace your location.
Can I use a stealth protocol to bypass censorship?
If you’re in a country which tries to block VPNs using DPI, then a stealth protocol can help you to connect. However, they may use other methods to try to detect and block VPN usage.
Are stealth protocols always undetectable?
Not always. For instance, China’s “Great Firewall” censors the web using various methods. This includes DNS filtering to block the IP address of certain websites or redirect them via a ‘DNS tunnel’ attack. This includes VPN services, so people struggle to sign up in the first place. If your devices are physically seized and examined, your VPN ‘client’ software can still be found.
In some countries like China, VPN services must also provide the government with a ‘backdoor’ to access VPN traffic, meaning a stealth protocol wouldn’t be much use.
I’m using a stealth protocol to visit a site but it still says a VPN is detected
Stealth protocols only disguise the traffic between your device and the VPN server. If you’re still seeing a message saying VPN usage is detected, it’s likely because the website recognizes the VPN server’s IP address.
Is using a stealth protocol legal?
No country has specifically forbidden internet users from using stealth protocols. However, states like North Korea, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Belarus have banned VPN usage altogether including stealth protocols.
Is using a stealth protocol safe?
Provided you’re not in a country where VPN usage is illegal, there’s no risk to you or your devices in using a stealth protocol. However, given the extra encryption used, it’s likely your connection may not be as fast as when using a standard VPN protocol like OpenVPN or Wireguard.
What are the disadvantages of using a stealth protocol?
As we’ve learned, using a stealth protocol will likely slow down your connection relative to using a standard VPN protocol given the extra encryption involved. You also may see a slowdown on your Windows PC or mobile device due to the extra system resources required.
If you’ve chosen a customized stealth protocol from a specific VPN provider, then you’ll also need to keep your subscription active to make use of it.
How do I use a VPN with stealth protocol?
Some services like hide.me have obfuscation built-in to their OpenVPN configuration, so to use it, you just need to choose the OpenVPN protocol using your VPN client.
Other providers may have their own customized stealth protocols, meaning you may have to select them specifically by configuring your client and/or connecting to a specialist server.
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