A new protocol has caused a stir recently. Praised by "big names" in technology such as Linus Torvalds, it has proved to be a VPN protocol that connects much more quickly than the other, earlier protocols (according to an initial review by Ars Technica). Moreover, it appears that its choices in terms of cryptography also make it more secure.
Although the existing VPN protocols such as IPSec and OpenVPN work very well for most people, they are not perfect. The older protocols can be slow, because relying on outdated cryptography is difficult to secure. WireGuard has already shaken up the world of VPN protocols, and will continue to do so.
This article will therefore give you the opportunity to discover WireGuard and how it can help you protect your browsing.
Advantages and disadvantages
Even though WireGuard is still recent, it nevertheless has many advantages.
- Smoothness: WireGuard connects and reconnects quickly, even when you are roaming across networks. It stays connected in situations where other VPN protocols would fail. Other VPN protocols sometimes seem fragile or clumsy in comparison.
- Security: Compared with other VPN software, WireGuard chooses smart, modern cryptographic primitives with secure defaults. Moreover, it is very small and simple compared with the older protocols, which means that security researchers can review it much more easily.
- Speed: WireGuard uses fast cryptography code. In addition, its low-level component resides in the Linux kernel (on Linux servers and workstations), which makes it faster than user-space VPNs.
- Ease of deployment: The client and server parts of WireGuard are really easy to install. You can download ready-to-use client applications for desktop computers and mobile devices from the platform's app store. On the server side, configuring WireGuard is not much more difficult than configuring SSH, a task that almost every IT professional knows.
Nevertheless, despite these many advantages, WireGuard also suffers from certain problems:
- Need for built-in support:Even though WireGuard offers client applications for all the major platforms, it does not work without additional software, except on certain Linux distributions. If you want to use a VPN on a device on which you cannot install applications, you will have to use a different protocol.
- Obfuscation: Although WireGuard does not focus on obfuscation, obfuscation can nevertheless be applied on a layer above WireGuard. For example, if you try to get through the great firewall of China, WireGuard on its own will not do the job. However, it is entirely possible to add different forms of obfuscation on top of your WireGuard.
What is WireGuard?
WireGuard is a VPN protocol that allows a client (such as a computer or a phone) to communicate with a VPN server. "WireGuard" also refers to the application/software that you can use on your devices.
It supports only UDP, which does not use any handshake protocol. That is one of the reasons why it is so fast. It can skip the checks that OpenVPN TCP has to carry out.
How does WireGuard work?
WireGuard uses modern cryptography and network code in order to create an encrypted tunnel between two devices. By using smart strategies, it works even when the IP address of the client device changes. For example, you can switch between mobile data and Wi-Fi without having to wait an hour for the VPN to reconnect.
Is WireGuard secure?
Because it uses very advanced cryptography, WireGuard is one of the safest VPNs in the field. Unless the VPN server or the client device is compromised, an external threat will not be able to get much out of your browser.
What guarantees its safety doubtless lies in the fact that it uses very lightweight code and therefore uses fewer lines of code than OpenVPN, for example. The simpler the configuration, the less chance there is of any errors occurring. And all of that adds to the overall security.
Why is WireGuard important?
The previous VPNs were bulky and complex to configure. More importantly, IPSec and OpenVPN were enormous code bases, poorly reviewed and audited, which could have contained all sorts of security bugs hidden below the surface. The benefit, and you will probably notice it as an end user, is that with WireGuard the connection is faster and roaming is simpler.
Is WireGuard better than the other protocols?
Yes. Since it uses faster cryptography and runs with Linux, WireGuard can be faster at transferring data than other protocols. However, you will be more likely to notice the fact that WireGuard connects more quickly.
→ To find out more : Comparison between WireGuard and other protocols
The VPNs that support WireGuard
- Mullvad: As one of the first financial contributors to the WireGuard project, Mullvad supported WireGuard at an early stage. WireGuard is now the best method for using Mullvad.
- IVPN: Just like Mullvad, IVPN financially supported WireGuard and supports it in its software. You can easily use the WireGuard protocol from the IVPN applications without additional software.
- NordVPN: The first "big" VPN to adopt WireGuard was NordVPN. To do so, they modified the open source WireGuard software and created their own protocol: NordLynx.
One last point:
PIA, cryptostorm and a number of other VPN providers were early supporters of WireGuard. As the WireGuard protocol and software matured, more and more commercial VPN providers began to support WireGuard. Search for WireGuard on the website of your preferred provider; chances are that the provider already offers it.
Create your own VPN
Of course, if you want to create your own VPN server, using WireGuard, which is already ready to use, all you will have to do is configure it. If you take this route, a major advantage of using WireGuard is that there are far fewer configuration options to change for maximum security.
We hope this article has helped you; if you want to stay at the cutting edge of technology with a next-generation VPN experience, look no further and choose WireGuard.
M.B