What is Double VPN?

The online environment around us is not as safe as you think. Despite using a traditional VPN service, you sometimes need to secure your privacy twice against the bad actors on the internet.

In this situation, the role of a Double VPN comes in handy. Continue reading this post to know what is a Double VPN and how it works.

What is a Double VPN?

A Double VPN helps you to connect to two different VPN servers instead of one at a time. For example, a standard VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between users’ devices and the VPN server. 

You have the luxury to route your internet traffic through another secure tunnel and VPN server in simple words. It does not mean that you will use 512-bit encryption if you have secured your privacy through a double VPN. It does suggest that your web traffic will be re-routed twice.  

How does Double VPN work?

If you do not know how a double VPN works, you should understand how does a standard VPN work first. This way, you will be in a better position to grasp the core idea of a double VPN service.

A standard VPN service works on two different fronts. Firstly, it masks your actual IP address through another IP address of your preferred countries like the US, UK, Canada, etc.

The second thing it does that it creates a secure tunnel between your computer and your chosen VPN server. Then it routes your internet traffic from this secure tunnel in the end.

Moving on, let us understand the main concept of a Double VPN service in detail. Like a regular VPN service, it also creates an encrypted tunnel between a user’s device and the VPN server. But, there is one more thing that makes a big difference.

It again creates a second encrypted tunnel between the first and the second VPN server. As per this assumption, your traffic is encrypted and re-routed twice through these two encrypted tunnels.

This is how a typical Double VPN works. Furthermore, it replaces your original IP address through two alternate IP addresses, unlike a normal VPN service that masks your real IP address only once.

When do you need to use a Double VPN?

You have to enable a Double VPN feature on your desired devices when you think your privacy is in danger. It means you should activate this feature before connecting to any public Wi-Fi network.

Hence, you can safeguard your web surfing activities from the prying eyes of hackers and other unwanted people online. Also, you should connect to servers if you want to bypass government surveillance accordingly.

Public Wi-Fi network and government surveillance aside, you must connect to a Double VPN server when sending sensitive data over the internet. By doing so, you can protect your important data from security issues like data theft accordingly.

Why should you use a Double VPN?

You must use a Double VPN feature if you are a human rights activist. Similarly, you have to safeguard your online whereabouts through this feature when disclosing hidden truths and facts related to oppressive societies as a blogger.

Likewise, journalists who are residing in various suppressive countries like China, Russia, etc. should use a Double VPN service to remain secure and protected over the internet.

Comparison between Double VPN and other types of VPN servers

Like Double VPN servers, other VPN server types help you improve your privacy comprehensively. These different types of VPN servers include:

Obfuscated Servers

Obfuscated servers allow you to bypass government censorship if you are residing in countries where online freedom is taboo. When you connect to an obfuscation server, you can evade online restrictions and geo-limitation hassles. Hence, you can surf the internet freely.

TOR over VPN

TOR (The Onion Router) over the VPN server is another way of enhancing your online anonymity. When you use this VPN server type, you can secure your web traffic, including all communications through TOR and a VPN server simultaneously.

P2P Servers

Interestingly, P2p servers protect users’ torrent downloading activities completely. Moreover, VPN providers do have torrenting-supported servers in their arsenals that help users perform P2P file-sharing activity in complete anonymity.

Major Benefits and Disadvantages of Double VPN

You can obtain different benefits by using a Double VPN service. Firstly, nobody, including ISPs and other surveillance actors, can trace your actual IP address. Similarly, you can change your online locations depending on your preferences quite easily.

For example, you can select your first server based in Canada and then select another server located in a neighboring country like the US.

That said, there are some downsides related to this feature as well. If you want to surf the web for casual browsing, do not opt for MultiHop VPN. It can decrease your internet connection speed significantly.

Thus, you should avoid using a Double VPN service to watch TV shows, movies, and other media content if you don’t want to face buffering or freezing issues. Likewise, this feature is difficult to set up manually. Hence, you had better use this feature automatically.

For that reason, you can use apps offered by VPN providers like NordVPN, Surfshark, and others.

Best VPNs for Double VPN in 2021

Surprisingly, there are only a handful of VPN services that offer Double VPN feature to their subscribers. These VPNs are NordVPN, Surfshark, and ProtonVPN. As far as NordVPN goes, the service provides this feature by the same name, i.e., Double VPN.

That said, Surfshark offers the same feature by the name of Multihop. Likewise, ProtonVPN provides this feature by the name of Secure Core to its users. Let us discuss each VPN service in detail:

1. NordVPN

NordVPN mainly operates from a user-friendly country, Panama. The service provides 5400+ servers in 55+ countries globally. Interestingly, you can consider using NordVPN if you want to avail its Double VPN feature.

You can have got its 2-year subscription plan at the cost of $3.49/month with a decent 70% discount during the Christmas deal and a 30-day refund policy.

2. Surfshark

Surfshark is another impressive VPN service in NZ that lets you enhance your online privacy through its MultiHop servers. At present, the service offers 3200+ servers in 65 countries worldwide.

If you want to subscribe to Surfshark, you will need to pay $2.30/month to get its 2-year plan at an excellent 82% discount and a 30-day refund policy.

3. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a Switzerland-based VPN service providing 1000+ servers in 50+ countries worldwide. As already mentioned, you can use its secure core feature to route your traffic through multiple VPN servers.

As far as secure core servers’ presence goes, you will have to connect to servers located in Switzerland, Sweden, and Iceland. Luckily, you can avail this feature on multiple devices such as Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS.

The service offers its yearly plan available at the cost of $8.00 per month at an attractive 20% discount, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Wrapping Up

A Double VPN feature is a must for privacy-conscious people like journalists, human rights activists, bloggers, social media influencers, and others. But, if you are willing to browse the internet for usual online activities, Double VPN providers should not be your go-to choice.

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