What Is OpenVPN Connect?
OpenVPN Connect is a desktop client for the popular tunneling protocol that comes straight from its developers. It’s a free program that can be used across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android devices as well as routers running the open-source firmware pfSense or OpenWRT. The software includes a feature that automatically stops all network activity if the VPN link fails for any reason.
It uses a combination of SSL and TLS connections with AES encryption to protect the data sent between your devices and the server, so no one can spy on it or steal your information. It supports a variety of ciphers, including AES 256-bit, which transforms your data into a long string of 0s and 1s that’s nearly impossible for anyone to decode. And it offers Perfect Forward Secrecy, which generates new keys for each session to prevent a bad actor from stealing your key from one connection and using it to decode future sessions.
Although other protocols like NordVPN’s custom WireGuard solution, NordLynx, and ExpressVPN’s Lightway have simpler designs that eliminate most of OpenVPN’s functionality, it still offers plenty of features that will appeal to a variety of users. For example, it can choose the fastest server for you or let you pick from a list of locations to connect to. It also features a kill switch that surpresses all Internet activity if your VPN link is lost, and it monitors DNS settings to block software from leaking the VPN’s DNS servers.