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Just be aware that - though their security appears to be solid - these protocols haven't been as thoroughly tested in the wild as OpenVPN, so they shouldn't be your first choice for critical VPN use. Switching to one of these other protocols, if offered by your VPN provider, can yield you faster connection speeds through your VPN. And some have even developed proprietary VPN protocols like ExpressVPN's Lightway and NordVPN's NordLynx that claim to offer the best of both worlds. More and more VPN providers are now also offering newer VPN protocols like IKEv2 and WireGuard that promise faster speeds alongside excellent security. It is the most battle-tested protocol, and it offers a nice combination of speed, stability and security - which is why many VPNs use OpenVPN as their default protocol. Today, the gold standard VPN protocol is OpenVPN. Different protocols have different advantages and disadvantages in terms of speed and security, so if you connect via one VPN protocol rather than another, you can potentially boost the speed of your VPN. There are various VPN protocols and most providers give you the ability to choose between a few different options. Sarah Tew/CNET Try connecting via a different VPN protocolĪ VPN protocol is a set of instructions between the VPN app on your device and the VPN server that determines how the secure connection is established. Your VPN will lower the speed of your connection, but you can try to minimize that hit.
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Sometimes, it just takes a little trial and error. If your VPN provider doesn't display the current load on its servers, try connecting to a few different ones to see which gets you the fastest speeds. If you choose one with a lighter load, you'll generally achieve faster speeds. Some VPN providers display the current server load on their servers either in the app itself or on the website. When too many people are using a single VPN server, the server can get overloaded and your connection speed can take a hit. Connect to a server that isn't overloaded If you're looking for a VPN with tons of server locations, try ExpressVPN, which offers servers in 160 locations across 94 countries - so you're bound to find a few relatively close to where you are. Some VPNs will have a speed test feature built into their apps, but you can always use a speed testing website like Ookla Speedtest to check the speed of your connection. But when you need a faster connection, try connecting to a few different VPN servers close to where you're physically located and see which ones yield the fastest speeds. This won't always be practical if, say, you want to stream content from a specific country or access a gaming server from a particular location.
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