On January 30, 2023, the WireGuard VPN protocol became the new VPN protocol to get a wide adoption and is becoming more and more popular among mainstream VPN services being offered by many providers.
But what is Wireguard, how does it work, how secure is it and how does it compare to historical protocols such as OpenVPN?
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about the WireGuard protocol.
What is WireGuard?
Wireguard is an open source VPN protocol that uses a combination of elliptic curve encryption and symmetric key cryptography. It was designed to be more powerful (faster) than existing protocols while remaining highly secure and resistant to attacks.
It weighs about 4,000 lines of code. That’s tiny compared to OpenVPN, which reached over 100,000 accounts at last count.
Wireguard is able to stay thin because it is less flexible than other protocols. It uses a specific combination of encryption ciphers. The consumer cannot customize it to support other encryption schemes like AES-256.
Advantages and disadvantages of WireGuard
Wireguard has some advantages over older protocols, but there are also trade-offs. Here are the most important things to consider:
- Performance – In most scenarios, WireGuard outperforms both OpenVPN and IPSec protocols when tested on the same hardware. This performance advantage is even greater on low-spec CPUs like those found on wireless routers and older smartphones.
- Security – Wireguard has never had a security flaw published CVE, although its code base is open source and has been audited by dozens of cryptographers. OpenVPN by comparison has several CVEs.
- Easy to deploy – Since Wireguard has fewer configuration options than OpenVPN, it is easier to deploy securely and with less risk of a serious configuration error.
- Rapid adoption – Wireguard has been embraced by the consumer VPN industry (but not yet enterprise). The Wireguard protocol is available on most (if not all) of the 10 most popular VPN services. It is even supported on modern routers running DD-WRT, OpenWRT and ASUSWRT.
- Hot swapping – Wireguard can effectively renegotiate IP addresses with the client without ever disconnecting. This means that some VPNs will support live server switching without disconnecting / reconnecting.
- Flexibility – Wireguard uses a specific set of encryption ciphers and does not support standard encryption algorithms such as SHA-2 and AES-256.
- Durability – Wireguard is relatively new and has not yet been time tested like OpenVPN, which has survived for over a decade as a near impenetrable protocol.
- Ofuscation – since Wireguard uses UDP transport, it is not as useful for cases in which you need to mask the traffic source as non-VPN data.
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Cryptography and encryption
Wireguard includes all the security features needed to create a secure VPN tunnel, it just implements it differently from lesser protocols.
Wireguard is a relatively new VPN protocol that offers state-of-the-art security features. Here is a list of Wireguard’s security features compared to OpenVPN:
- Tunnel encryption: Wireguard offers built-in tunnel encryption, while OpenVPN requires the use of TLS to encrypt traffic.
- Data encryption: Wireguard uses ChaCha20 for data encryption, while OpenVPN uses AES256.
- Data authentication: Wireguard uses Poly1305 for data authentication, while OpenVPN uses SHA-2.
- Key exchange / handshake: Wireguard uses Curve25519 for key exchange and handshake, while OpenVPN uses TLS.
- Transmission Secrecy: Wireguard uses a method called Forward Secrecy to ensure that old keys cannot be used to decrypt data.
In summary, Wireguard is a VPN protocol that offers state-of-the-art security features, such as built-in tunnel encryption, ChaCha20 data encryption, Poly1305 data authentication, Curve25519 key exchange and Forward Secrecy. Compared to OpenVPN, it uses more modern security methods to protect users’ data.
For additional security, Wireguard also comes with memory overflow protection and data encryption.
What is the level of security offered by WireGuard?
Wireguard is equally safe and secure, although there are specific vulnerabilities in the vendor’s implementation, all of which have been patched.
In addition, Wireguard was specifically recommended as a VPN protocol by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who serves in the United States Congress.
Best uses for WireGuard
Wireguard is acceptable for most VPN uses, but it is best suited for use cases that prioritize speed and performance over security.
Here are some examples of WireGuard VPN uses:
Streaming – WireGuard is great for video streaming over VPN, especially on remote servers when unblocking geo-restricted sites like Netflix or Hulu. This is especially impressive for low-spec mobile devices that may not work well with OpenVPN.
Torrenting – Fast speeds and dynamic server switching make Wireguard an ideal choice for torrenting. It is compatible and works on all major operating systems.
Types of use of Wireguard :
– Online gaming – WireGuard’s speed makes it ideal for online games such as Fortnite, PUBG, etc. Games won’t slow down with a constant connection.
– Anonymous Browsing – If you’re searching the web and want to remain anonymous and hide your online traffic, WireGuard’s encryption is strong enough to do so.
– Performance on remote connections – WireGuard is an ideal protocol for large-scale remote connections. It allows you to share files, printer and data, or retrieve important documents remotely.
– Secure money transfer – WireGuard is also perfect for money transfer, as the encryption provides additional security when transferring funds.
– P2P exchanges – WireGuard is especially useful for peer-to-peer, as it not only offers additional security, but also greater data transfer speed between users.
– Instant messaging – WireGuard can provide additional security for instant messaging and group chats.
– Secure file exchange – WireGuard allows multiple people to share files securely and privately.
– Internet packets – WireGuard is perfect for wrapping and encrypting Internet packets as they are sent from one provider to another, while being faster and more secure than with other protocols.
– Videoconferencing – WireGuard can provide additional protection against information leakage when using videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom or Skype.
– VoIP calls – WireGuard VPN is very useful when using VoIP calls, and WireGuard’s encryption allows conversations to be completely confidential.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the WireGuard VPN protocol offers many benefits and can be used for a variety of applications, including video streaming, anonymous web browsing, money transfer and secure file sharing, among others.
WireGuard’s encryption and ciphering are robust and its performance is unmatched. However, the protocol is not as flexible as others and may not be suitable for some use cases.
WireGuard VPN is an open source, low-code protocol that offers superior performance over existing protocols such as OpenVPN and IPSec, as well as robust levels of cryptography and encryption.
The protocol can be used for various applications, such as video streaming, anonymous web browsing, money transfer and secure file sharing. However, it is less flexible and may not be suitable for some use cases.
WireGuard VPN Protocol FAQ:
What is the WireGuard protocol?
Wireguard is an open source VPN protocol that uses a combination of elliptic curve encryption and symmetric key cryptography. It was designed to be more powerful (faster) than existing protocols while remaining highly secure and resistant to attacks.
What are the security features of WireGuard?
Wireguard includes all the security features needed to create a secure VPN tunnel, it just implements it differently from less powerful protocols. It includes ciphers, memory overflow protection and data encryption.
How big is WireGuard?
Wireguard is tiny compared to OpenVPN, which reached over 100,000 accounts at last count. It weighs about 4,000 lines of code.
What are the best uses for WireGuard?
Wireguard is acceptable for most VPN uses, but it is best suited for use cases that prioritize speed and performance over security. It is perfect for VPN video streaming, online gaming, anonymous browsing, money transfer, P2P exchanges, instant messaging, secure file sharing, internet packeting and video conferencing, among others.
