OpenVPN
The long-established open-source VPN protocol, slower than WireGuard but more configurable and more widely supported.
Glossary
WireGuard
A modern VPN protocol, around 4,000 lines of code, designed to be small enough to audit properly.
Why it matters
It is faster than OpenVPN in most conditions and connects almost instantly, which matters more on mobile than any benchmark figure. Nearly every serious provider now ships it.
What most explanations leave out
WireGuard was designed for static point-to-point links and keeps the client IP on the server while a session is active. That is fine for a company VPN and awkward for a commercial one, so providers add a layer to work around it — double NAT, rotating keys, or a proprietary wrapper. That layer is where the differences between providers actually live, and it is usually the part not published.
Related terms
VPN protocol
The set of rules governing how the tunnel is established and how data is encrypted inside it.
NordLynx
NordVPN’s implementation of WireGuard with an added double-NAT layer intended to avoid storing user IP addresses on the server.
Referenced from
Terms are defined here because they appear in our scoring rubric or in provider reviews, not to fill a glossary.