Guide to SafeShell's VPN Protocols

1. What is ShellGuard Protocol?

ShellGuard is SafeShell's self-developed VPN protocol that balances speed and security using Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3. TLS 1.3 is the latest standard for internet encryption, offering faster connection times and stronger protection compared to older versions. It removes outdated cryptographic methods and ensures your data stays private from third parties, making ShellGuard both efficient and highly secure for everyday use.

2. What is SafeShell's Stealth Protocol?

Stealth Protocol is designed to help users bypass censorship by disguising VPN traffic. It encrypts both your data and connection details using QUIC, a modern internet transport technology developed by Google. QUIC improves connection reliability, especially on unstable networks, and makes VPN traffic harder to detect through deep packet inspection. While this makes it very effective against censorship, some internet providers may throttle QUIC traffic, which can occasionally reduce speeds.

3. Which VPN Protocol should I use?

If you are in a country with strict censorship, we recommend using Stealth Protocol as it disguises VPN traffic and helps you access restricted content. If you are in a region with relatively free internet, ShellGuard is usually the better choice, as it delivers faster, more stable performance while still maintaining strong security. You can always switch between protocols based on your needs.

4. Why is Stealth Protocol harder for governments to detect, but more susceptible to ISP speed throttling?

Stealth Protocol disguises VPN traffic by wrapping it in QUIC, which makes it appear like normal web traffic. This makes it highly resistant to techniques such as deep packet inspection, which governments often use to detect and block VPNs. Because of this camouflage, Stealth is a strong choice in regions with heavy censorship. However, some internet service providers treat QUIC traffic differently than standard protocols. Since QUIC is newer and often used by data-heavy apps like video streaming, ISPs sometimes throttle it to manage network load. As a result, Stealth is excellent at staying hidden but may occasionally run slower compared to ShellGuard.