55UNLOCK YOUR VPN’S FULL SPEED & SECURITY
Switch your VPN’s protocol to get a faster and
more stable connectionChange your default
VPN protocol
VPNs usually offer a choice of ‘protocols’,
which are sets of rules and instructions
that determine how data is routed
between your computer or mobile device
and the VPN’s servers. This includes
authenticating that your device is
communicating with a trusted server,
and encrypting the data you send and
receive. Different protocols use different
means of authentication and encryption,
and changing the default protocol set by
your VPN can boost your speed and
security, and fix problems such as
dropped connections.
Some VPNs offer their own protocols,
such as ExpressVPN’s Lightway, but the
most common option is the open-source
protocol OpenVPN (https://openvpn.net).
This is fast, secure and reliable, supported
by the majority of VPN servers and often
gives you access to extra features – such
as a ‘stealth’ mode for hiding VPN traffic
from your ISP (see page 51).
A newer and even speedier option is
WireGuard (www.wireguard.com), which
requires less bandwidth and processing
power than OpenVPN to encrypt your
data, so is less likely to slow your browsing.
It’s certainly worth trying if your VPN
provides the option – ExpressVPN
doesn’t, while NordVPN’s NordLynx
protocol is based on WireGuard – though
you may find that WireGuard servers
aren’t available in certain countries.
To switch your protocol to OpenVPN,
WireGuard or another good option such as
IKEv2 or L2TP, go into your VPN’s settings,
look for a section called Connection,
Auto-Connect or similar, and select your
preference in the Protocol menu (see
screenshot above right). For OpenVPN,
you can choose between TCP, which gives
you a more stable connection, and UCP,
which provides a faster one.
Install a VPN on your
Wi-Fi router
Many VPNs can be added to your Wi-Fi
router, which allows them to protect all
the devices connected to your home
network without you having to install the
VPN’s apps on each one. It also beats the
restriction on the number of devices you
can use. Some routers come with a
built-in VPN client, but you can also
upgrade your current router’s firmware
with DD-WRT (https://dd-wrt.com), to
give it VPN support through the
OpenVPN protocol (see previous tip).
However, this may not be possible on the
router supplied by your ISP.
Search for your router’s manufacturer
and model in the DD-WRT database
(www.snipca.com/41682), and follow the
instructions to install DD-WRT on your
router. ExpressVPN makes things easier
by providing its own firmware for routers
(see screenshot below), but only for
Linksys, Netgear and Asus models (www.
snipca.com/41683).
Once you’ve installed DD-WRT, you’ll
need to follow your VPN’s own guide to
setting up its service on your router, so
that it connects to the right servers via
OpenVPN. For example, you can find
NordVPN’s instructions at http://www.snipca.
com/41684 and Surfshark’s at http://www.
snipca.com/41685.
Although there are privacy benefits to
installing a VPN on your router, it may
make your internet connection noticeablyslower. Switching the OpenVPN protocol
from TCP to UDP should help speed things
up, and you can disable the VPN when you
don’t need it via your router’s settings.Exclude apps from your
VPN’s protection
In our VPN reviews on pages 52 and 53,
we mentioned ‘split tunnelling’ as a
desirable feature, but it’s important to
know when and how to use it. The main
benefit is to exclude apps from your
VPN’s encryption when spoofing your
location may cause problems. For
example, you may have trouble logging
into online banking, getting directions in
Google Maps or watching BBC iPlayer in
the UK. You can either specify which
apps are always shielded by your VPN,
which is what split tunnelling actually
means, or whitelist apps to exclude,
which is known as ‘inverse split
tunnelling’.
To use split tunnelling in ExpressVPN,
click the menu button and choose
Options then General. Select ‘Manage
connection on a per-app basis’, click the
Settings button and you’ll be given the
options: ‘All apps use the VPN’, ‘Do not
allow selected apps to use the VPN’ (see
screenshot below) and ‘Only allow
selected apps to use the VPN’.
For privacy reasons, it’s sensible to
protect your main browser using your
VPN, but you can exclude a secondary
browser so you can use that to access
sites that need to know your real location.
Some VPNs let you apply split tunnelling
to specific URLs, so you can choose
which websites go through the VPN and
which you connect to using standard
HTTPS encryption. Surfshark’s Bypasser
option performs this function (www.
snipca.com/41699), as do NordVPN’s
extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge
(www.snipca.com/41700).Issue 631 • 11 – 24 May 2022ExpressVPN provides its own firmware for
installing its VPN on specific routersUse ExpressVPN’s split tunnelling to exclude
specific apps from its protectionVPN
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