About 4 billion people are active on the web, making up more than 55% worldwide. The world wide web has become an integral part of our daily lives, whether in finance, business, education, or communication. So, a day without the internet would affect many damages, including losses worth billions of dollars.
But although the internet is necessary, it does come with a share of threats. Hackers waste no time building and developing viruses to steal your information, files, and money. Therefore, various efforts are put forth to combat attacks online and maintain user security and privacy. One of those methods is the VPN.
If the different VPN choices have confused you, do not worry. TechNinjaPro is here to break down all there is to know about VPNs and double VPNs. A double virtual private network setup works the same as a regular VPN connection with a couple of key differences:
- Internet traffic is encrypted twice
- Internet traffic passes through two servers instead of one
It is also known as multi-hop, nested, chained VPN, or double-hop. So what are the strengths of a double VPN, and when should you use it? Well, TechNinjaPro will answer all these questions in this blog.
- What is a Double VPN?
- Who Needs Double VPN Protection?
- How does Double VPN work?
- Pros and cons of Double VPN
- Is Double VPN safer than a normal VPN?
- Double VPN Vs. VPN over VPN
- Best VPNs for Double VPN
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Double VPN?
As its name speaks, Double VPN is a feature that allows its users to use not one but two VPN servers. It offers advanced security and privacy. Double VPN encrypts your internet traffic twice, and your IP address is masked behind two servers. It comes with double encryption and extra protection for your real IP address. One crucial difference from a regular VPN connection is that you do not get many options between servers and select from the available pairs.
Double VPN is not a regular feature. Actually, the majority of VPN service providers do not have it. The reasoning behind this is comparably low fame due to a notably slower connection. When your traffic runs through two VPN servers located in different countries, the slowdown becomes is predictable. Also, using double encryption is particularly resource-demanding.
Despite all the drawbacks, Double VPN can be a practical choice for certain groups of people. If you are a journalist writing on sensitive topics or a political activist, added security is always a good idea.
Who Needs Double VPN Protection?
Paid VPN providers provide security and privacy features of the highest level. Military-grade encryption, a kill switch, no-logs policies, and DNS leak protection are enough to stop third parties from tracking you. As a result, various VPN users do not need a double VPN.
But people with specific job occupations can use this extra layer of privacy to protect themselves.
Activists
There is nothing nobler than defending a moral cause like freedom of speech or civil rights. But in countries with dictatorial regimes, that could come at a heavy price, like long-term prison sentences. These governments will punish activists, bloggers, protestors, and anyone else who criticizes state officials.
Therefore, online activists who write or post their narratives against the state can protect themselves with a Double VPN. Government officials would not be able to identify them.
Journalists
The freedom of the press is a blessed right that allows the media to do its job without any confinement or influence. But sometimes, the most liberal and advanced communities try to quiet the press. For example, journalists who investigate secret cases and try to uncover the truth in front of the public can face serious dangers.
A Double VPN will protect the journalists’ sources, information, and identity in cases that involve crime, scandal, government corruption, or any other significant wrongdoings.
Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers are people who uncover secret information about an organization’s illegal activities. For example, Edward Snowden leaked critical information about the NSA in 2013. He revealed the news about how the National Security Agency is spying on its citizens with the help of telecom companies. As a result, the US government was charged with surveillance and theft of property and then revoked his passport.
So as you can see, Whistleblowers face various risks and intimidations, which is why they must use a Double VPN for extra privacy and security.
How does Double VPN work?
The primary plan behind Double VPN is to hide your real IP address better and encrypt your traffic twice. Technically, one can broaden the VPN server chain by adding more servers and thus developing triple or even quadruple VPNs.
To better understand how Double VPN works, here is a detailed outline of how the Double VPN works.
- The VPN software in your system encrypts the outgoing internet traffic.
- The encrypted traffic is transmitted to the first VPN server.
- The first VPN server again encrypts the outgoing traffic. The first server also covers your actual IP address.
- The re-encrypted information is then transmitted to the second VPN server.
- The second VPN server decrypts your traffic and sends it to its destination. The destination will see the IP address of the second server.
For external internet traffic, the process is reversed. The two VPN servers will encrypt the traffic twice. The end-user system will entirely decrypt the re-encrypted information from the internet.
Pros and cons of Double VPN
Although Double VPN enhances security, it is still not mandatory, contrary to a kill switch or leak protection. Any service that does not have multi-hop can be named the best VPN. Obviously, some cons stop Double VPN from becoming a must-have.
Pros of Double VPN
Double VPN provides you with added privacy and security. The listing below explains how it does so in more detail:
- Double encryption: Two VPN servers hide the first server’s IP that covers your actual IP address.
- Extra IP: The second server covers the IP of the first server that hides your actual IP address.
- Blinding your internet service provider: While your ISP will know that you have turned the VPN on, the target site will remain a mystery.
- Whereabouts unknown: Double VPN servers are typically in different countries to better cover your traffic. Multi-hop puts extra layers between your virtual location and your actual one.
- Protocol mixture: You can improve your privacy and security by mixing the TCP and UDP versions for the VPN tunneling protocol.
Cons of Double VPN
Double VPN was never planned to be used by default. That is why various providers do not have or even are not planning to apply it. For example, if you want to unblock a streaming platform like Netflix, you can do just fine without multi-hop. However, if you decide to use it, do not forget about these disadvantages:
- Slower speeds: This is the major disadvantage of Double VPN. You may know that a regular VPN connection decreases speed, so those Mbps can get low when you add a second server and added encryption. Therefore, if you want to watch 4k videos and download big files faster, leave Double VPN turned off.
- No Onion over VPN: You cannot use these features together. While it is possible to surf the internet with the TOR browser and Double VPN turned on, the speed will be slower.
- Power use: This disadvantage does not apply to the plugged-in systems, but you should expect a faster battery drain on mobile.
- Server alternative: Top VPN networks provide at least 50 countries to select from. With Double VPN, the available server catalog is significantly reduced.
Is Double VPN safer than a normal VPN?
A Double VPN connection is safer than a usual VPN, even if the provider does not use double encryption. To start with, your real IP address is hidden behind not one but two VPN servers. Double encryption makes any brute force attack virtually pointless.
Another reason why Double VPN is safer when compared to a normal VPN is the data splitting. When you are connected to one VPN server, it has your real IP address and traffic destination. With Double VPN, one server has the actual IP but not your location, while the other server has your destination but not the IP. That is why the best idea to select a provider that has been independently audited.
Double VPN Vs. VPN over VPN
Generally, Double VPN and VPN over VPN are very similar. In both cases, you connect to two servers rather than one. The only dissimilarity is that Double VPN uses two servers of the same providers, and VPN over VPN uses one server from each provider.
However, there are some occasions when this small difference can prove to be essential. Imagine a VPN provider that logs data is attacked by law enforcement, demanding user information. So, when you join two servers, all of your data, including the real IP address, is up for grabs.
Enter VPN over VPN. In this scenario, the compromised VPN provider has only a piece of your information. It can be either your actual IP address or your destination.
Running two VPNs at the exact moment is not a bad scheme. While it will cost you more, this provides you the power to keep your eggs in separate baskets. Except both VPNs are in the same country, it makes it easier for the government to spy on your traffic.
There are several issues with using two services for multi-hop. The VPN providers are not building their software to work this way, so you might be incapable of launching different VPN customers simultaneously.
Best VPNs for Double VPN
There are numerous premium VPN services out there, but only a handful of them provide Double VPN functionality. And since this is such a protected and somewhat unique feature, these VPN providers advertise the Double VPN right, left, and center. VPN services are used around the world by all kinds of users and are not reserved for only business applications. Let’s have a look at the best VPN services to consider.
Nord Double VPN
NordVPN is one of the best VPN service providers as it is affordable ad has a proven by 3rd party audit no-log policy. NordVPN also has a huge network of servers worldwide, so you have many choices to select from, fast connection speed, and properly secure encryption.
Nord’s Double VPN is helpful when it comes to finding the best-suited server that fits your needs and makes it easy to establish a connection in a few clicks only. This means that it is simple to set up a Double VPN with NordVPN as it is so user-friendly.
Price: $11.90 per month, $9 per month for a six-month plan, and $3.70 per month for a 2-year plan
ProtonVPN Double VPN
ProtonVPN is also one of the best services that emphasize the security and privacy it offers to users. It allows users to stream and features a safe and secure core and kill switch privacy elements for advanced users. You can easily find it on Windows, Android, and macOS.
Price: $30 per month for ten VPN connections or $11.90 per month for five VPN connections
Surfshark Double VPN
Surfshark Double VPN is full of exclusive features and is based in the British Virgin Islands. It operates more than 1700 servers spread over 62 countries and allows streaming and P2P connections. Surfshark Double VPN is a highly transparent VPN service with various advanced features such as kill switch, ads blocker, multi-hop capabilities, and a camouflage mode. Surfshark always claims that its Double VPN can increase privacy and your connection speed.
Price: $11.90 per month, $1.99 per month for a 2-year plan, or $5.99 per month for one year plan
Frequently Asked Questions
It might be an option if you ultimately make sure that no one is snooping on your information. Although it is a bit overkill, it should add a reasonable degree of safety barrier that should be impenetrable by your internet service provider or hackers.
With default configurations using a double VPN service with a kill switch will stop the connection when one of the servers goes down. It means that you will not be exposed and can consistently stay safe.
Double VPN works by using two servers to encrypt your internet traffic. This method provides better protection and ultimate privacy. Your internet traffic will bounce through the two servers, which will cover your IP address. Hence, you get to be anonymous when browsing the internet via the VPN.
Double VPN service offers excellent privacy and security than a standard virtual private network. However, due to double encryption, it is a bit slow. A standard virtual private network offers enough protection and a relatively fast VPN speed than a double VPN.
Conclusion
Double VPN is a great feature that provides you with added security and privacy. It is not that popular because of the toll it takes on your connection, but double encryption makes you much safer on the internet. Therefore, if you exist in a country where internet liberty is limited or a journalist writing about a critical topic, Double VPN may be your perfect stake on staying anonymous.
Even if you have nothing to cover, turning on this feature on the public internet is recommended.