- AdGuard has opened its custom VPN protocol
- TrustTunnel uses HTTP over TLS to mimic normal web traffic
- Open source code allows for in-depth auditing and broader adoption
AdGuard has open-sourced its custom VPN protocol, TrustTunnel, which is designed to improve privacy and bypass censorship by resembling normal web traffic.
As VPN adoption continues to grow around the world, governments and organizations have stepped up efforts to more easily identify and block VPN use, implementing increasingly sophisticated censorship measures. In response, the best VPNs are also upping their game, beefing up their censorship-resistant features as they rapidly innovate to stay ahead of the market.
AdGuard does the same and promises to make your VPN traffic virtually invisible thanks to its proprietary TLS-based cryptographic protocol. While TrustTunnel is already used in AdGuard VPN applications, it is now available open source to “use, run, modify, extend and develop,” the provider said.
How does AdGuard TrustTunnel work?
Unlike traditional VPN protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN, TrustTunnel uses HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 over TLS to mimic normal web traffic, reducing the likelihood of detection and throttling by ISPs and content providers, AdGuard explains in a blog post.
Governments, websites, and services are becoming more adept at identifying VPN-related traffic in widely spread VPN protocols, even if the actual data remains hidden.
As a result, they can more easily impose traffic restrictions and limit speeds to discourage VPN use for a variety of reasons, from bandwidth to licensing and censorship. This makes it more likely that your traffic will be limited when you use a VPN to share files or access restricted content.
AdGuard’s HTTP Tunneling aims to make VPN connections look less like distinctive VPN traffic and more like normal web browsing, allowing users to access content that is subject to regional restrictions, blocked by governments, or censored.
AdGuard’s move is more relevant than ever at a time when censorship is increasing around the world, with countries like Russia enacting laws that criminalize the dissemination of information related to circumventing censorship, including the use of VPNs.
From a technical point of view, the VPN provider also claims that by using HTTP2 and HTTP3 as transport layers, AdGuard can ensure faster and more uninterrupted connections, as each connection gets its own HTTP/2 (or HTTP/3) stream, reducing back-end congestion.
Additionally, TrustTunnel allows users to create very specific routing rules: a user can decide which apps or websites to route through the VPN and which not to (for example, send work traffic in one direction and personal traffic in another), increasing user control and customization over how their Internet data is handled.
Other features include a real-time request log that provides full transparency into where the device sends traffic, how routing rules are applied, and which connections use the tunnel.
An open source movement
The protocol has been active with AdGuard for over a decade, but by making it open source, the ad blocker specialist is now looking to increase transparency and accessibility in the developer community.
Users can inspect TrustTunnel’s code, modify it, and incorporate it into their own projects, allowing the program to be audited, verified, and refined, strengthening trust among its users, and potentially allowing other VPNs to adopt the tunnel.
The VPN provider also launched a client app for iOS and Android that offers power users the ability to connect to their home servers while protected by the TrustTunnel protocol.
The app is currently available on Google Play, where it has already racked up hundreds of downloads since its launch on Monday.
With the launch, AdGuard joins the list of VPNs offering similar technologies, such as Nord VPN, which last year launched its “revolutionary” NordWhisper protocol, designed specifically to bypass strict network filters. And we hope others will join the list soon.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
