Glossary
VPN terms, defined once
Every term this site uses, explained without marketing language.
- AES-256
- A symmetric cipher with a 256-bit key, used to encrypt the contents of a VPN tunnel.
- DNS leak
- When your device sends name lookups outside the tunnel, revealing which sites you visit even though the traffic itself is encrypted.
- IKEv2/IPsec
- A protocol pair built into most operating systems, notable for surviving a change of network without dropping the tunnel.
- Kill switch
- A feature that blocks all internet traffic if the VPN tunnel drops, so nothing leaves the device unprotected.
- MOBIKE
- The IKEv2 extension that lets a tunnel move between networks — Wi-Fi to cellular — without reconnecting from scratch.
- No-logs
- A policy of not recording the addresses you connect to or the contents of your traffic.
- OpenVPN
- A long-established, highly compatible VPN protocol that can be disguised as ordinary HTTPS traffic.
- Split tunnelling
- Choosing which apps or destinations travel inside the tunnel and which use the normal connection.
- WireGuard
- A modern VPN protocol with a deliberately small codebase, known for low overhead and high throughput.