- Surfshark’s Dausos promises greater reliability on restricted networks
- The update fixes connectivity issues with school and corporate networks.
- It is the latest modification of a young protocol that claims speeds up to 30% faster.
Surfshark has released a new update to Dausos, the proprietary VPN protocol it created in-house, and this time the work is aimed at one thing: getting you to reliably connect to networks that block everything.
If you’ve ever tried to launch one of the best VPN apps on a school or office connection only to see it crash, this is the kind of solution you’ve been waiting for. The problem comes down to how tightly some networks are managed.
Academic institutions and corporate environments tend to run strict firewall configurations that can block or interfere with VPN traffic and, previously, some Surfshark users hit exactly that wall when they connect to the Dausos protocol.
The update is the latest in a series of improvements to a protocol that is still finding its feet, having already been patched once after a TechRadar investigation flagged problems with residential broadband lines.
What the update changes and who benefits
The goal of the update is to ensure that Dausos connects reliably on restricted networks, such as those found in academic institutions and corporate environments.
“We want as many people as possible to experience the power of Dausos, so continuous improvement is our priority,” says Karolis Kaciulis, Lead Systems Engineer at Surfshark.
Kaciulis explains that by directly responding to user feedback, the update addresses connectivity issues that some experienced in certain network environments.
The first VPN protocol designed for the user. No big deal, we’re just setting industry standards, as always. Dausos is now available on macOS. Read more about Dausos at the following link. pic.twitter.com/sqhlbb99xOApril 13, 2026
For everyday users, the practical benefit is clear. Whether it’s students trying to access content on campus Wi-Fi or employees working over a tightly managed corporate connection, this update directly addresses one of the biggest friction points Dausos users have encountered.
Surfshark’s reasoning is that a protocol built for everyday people has to work in the places where everyday people actually connect from.
Why use Dausos by Surfshark
Dausos is Surfshark’s proprietary VPN protocol, and the company’s argument is that it was built from the ground up for individual, everyday use rather than being an adaptation of older shared tunnel technology.
The main difference is how it handles traffic. where protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN route each user through a single shared tunnel, Dausos gives each connection its own private, dedicated data channel.
By isolating each user’s data, it aims to eliminate slowdowns caused by other people sharing the same server, especially at peak times, and Surfshark claims the protocol can be up to 30% faster than its rivals.
For security, Dausos uses AEGIS-256X2 encryption optimized for modern hardware and is designed with post-quantum protection in mind, combining a hybrid ML-KEM and X25519 key exchange with an ML-DSA self-signed root certificate system so that connections remain secure against current and future quantum threats.
The protocol also relies on post-commitment security, which generates a new key for each connection so that a leaked key cannot expose future sessions, and port randomization that obscures the connection path. It has also been independently audited by cybersecurity firm Cure53.
To turn it on, open the Surfshark appgo to Settings, VPN settingsopen the Protocol menu, choose dausosand connect to a server.
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