Shadowsocks, OpenVPN, Vmess, VLESS: Which Protocol Will Win in the Age of Digital Censorship?

[Man]

In the modern Internet, many people face the question of how to bypass blocking and protect personal data. And while VPN applications are well-known, solutions such as Shadowsocks, VLESS and VMess often remain behind the scenes. I would like to share my experience of working with different protocols for those who are also looking for ways to protect their privacy and access closed content.

Briefly about each protocol​

Shadowsocks is a lightweight proxy protocol designed specifically to bypass blocking. It does not use complex encryption, which helps it be faster. It is often used in countries with strict censorship.

OpenVPN is a VPN protocol aimed at strong encryption and flexibility. A good choice for security, but requires more resources and is sometimes slower.

VLESS and VMess are protocols from the V2Ray ecosystem. They provide flexibility and allow you to bypass advanced blocking by pretending to be regular HTTPS traffic.

VLESS is a lightweight version designed to minimize latency, while VMess is more versatile.

What difficulties can you encounter when setting up?​

Each of these protocols has its own nuances in configuration. Here are the main difficulties that I encountered:

1. Shadowsocks Shadowsocks is the easiest to configure: it works on the proxy principle, which does not require complex configurations. The main task is to choose a good encryption algorithm. But for stricter protection (especially in countries with active censorship), you may need to update the configurations more often, since Shadowsocks is not as strong at bypassing blocks as V2Ray.

2. OpenVPN OpenVPN allows you to configure everything - from encryption methods to using different ports, but this is also what makes it difficult for beginners. Just installing the client and server is not enough; you need to understand the certificates to prevent hacking of the connection. OpenVPN also works better over UDP (faster, but can be unstable on mobile networks), although TCP adds stability.

3. VLESS and VMess (V2Ray) These protocols provide more flexibility and masking, but require an understanding of how V2Ray works. You'll need to think about your encryption choices, obfuscation methods, and traffic configurations. VMess is handy if you need to adapt to changes in blocking, especially in regions where certain types of traffic are banned. However, beginners may need time to master V2Ray's configurations.

How to choose a protocol based on speed and latency​

It all depends on what is more important to you: speed or safety. Here are my personal observations:

• Shadowsocks is great if you need maximum speed. It has virtually no latency and is “transparent” to the network, which allows you to maintain speed. But for high protection, you will have to additionally think about encryption and obfuscation.
• OpenVPN — due to heavy encryption, it can “slow down” in networks with poor connection quality. However, it is more flexible and secure. If, for example, you are on a corporate network and reliable encryption is important to you, OpenVPN is a better choice.
• VLESS and VMess (V2Ray) — suitable for environments where locks are dynamic. These protocols provide a good balance between speed and security, especially if encryption parameters are configured correctly. VLESS is faster due to its lower load than VMess, so if minimal latency is important, VLESS is a good choice.
  
  

  How to Optimize Each Protocol for Better Performance​

  Each of these protocols can be customized to your needs. Here's what I recommend to improve performance:
  1. Shadowsocks
  • Encryption choice: Use AEAD (Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data) such as ChaCha20 or AES-256-GCM. This will provide the best balance between security and speed.
  • Server Location: Place the server as close to the user as possible to reduce latency. If you frequently work with geographically distant nodes, speed may decrease significantly.
  • 2. OpenVPN
  • UDP or TCP? UDP is better because it reduces latency if the network allows it. TCP is more reliable but slower due to additional data acknowledgements.
  • Keep-alive settings: To avoid connection interruptions, set up periodic keep-alive packets, which is especially useful on mobile networks.
  • Compression: Disabling compression can improve safety and increase stability.
  • 3. VLESS and VMess (V2Ray)
  • Obfuscation: If anonymity is critical, it is better to enable obfuscation. However, it is worth remembering that this can slow down the connection, so only configure it if necessary.
  • Multiplexing: Use to increase throughput, especially useful when latency is high.
  • Server Location: As with Shadowsocks, being close to a server will help improve performance, especially during lockdowns.
    
    

    How often should configuration and encryption be updated for different protocols?​

    Updating the encryption configuration and methods depends on two main factors: the level of risk of blocking or attack and the frequency of technology updates.
    1. Shadowsocks: Since this protocol is easily blocked when DPI (deep packet inspection) is active, it is worth updating the configuration quite often. For example, you can change the encryption parameters or ports every few weeks. This will increase the chance of bypassing the blocking.
    2. OpenVPN: OpenVPN's stability means that you don't have to change the settings too often. However, if the server is used for access in regions with active DPI, it is recommended to regularly (every 3-6 months) review the configurations and update the encryption keys. Additionally, it is important to check for OpenVPN client and server updates, as new versions often include security improvements.
    3. VLESS and VMess (V2Ray): V2Ray protocols offer more options for obfuscation, but are also susceptible to blocking. It is recommended to update their configurations especially often if you work in networks with active traffic monitoring. It is useful, for example, to periodically change ports or activate additional encryption and obfuscation methods, especially if your connections suddenly start to be blocked.
    4. Recommendation: Ideally, make sure your encryption is up to date and update your keys whenever conditions change or your connection quality deteriorates. This is also a good practice to prevent possible hacks.
    
    

    Which protocol is suitable for use in strict DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) environments?​

    DPI is a powerful traffic monitoring tool that can analyze and recognize patterns specific to VPN and proxy protocols. DPI bypass protocols can vary in effectiveness:
    1. Shadowsocks: DPI is able to detect and block Shadowsocks, especially if the traffic is not masked. Shadowsocks works better in countries where DPI is not strict. To bypass DPI, you can further configure Shadowsocks using plagiarisms such as obfs (obfuscation).
    2. OpenVPN: DPI is often able to detect OpenVPN traffic, especially in TCP mode. It is possible to bypass DPI on OpenVPN using Stealth VPN mode, but this requires additional settings and complicates the configuration. In addition, performance may decrease due to additional overhead.
    3. VLESS and VMess (V2Ray): These protocols are primarily designed to bypass DPI and effectively disguise themselves as regular HTTPS traffic. VLESS, in particular, is more efficient due to the smaller amount of metadata, making it difficult to analyze. V2Ray allows for the use of obfuscation methods such as WebSocket, which helps to bypass advanced blocking.
    4. Conclusion: If you need to bypass advanced DPI, it is best to use V2Ray protocols (VLESS or VMess), as they are more flexible in terms of masking and resistant to detection.
    
    

    C. What are the pros and cons of multiplexing in V2Ray, especially when used in high-load networks?​

    Multiplexing is the ability to transmit multiple connections over the same transport channel, which can be very useful for increasing throughput. But in highly loaded networks, it also has its own peculiarities:
    1. Advantages of multiplexing:
       • Saving traffic and resources: Connection aggregation reduces the overhead of establishing connections, as one channel is used to send multiple packets. This helps reduce the load on the network and speed up data transfer.
       • Reduced Latency: When configured correctly, multiplexing can reduce latency because new connections are established more quickly by using an already active channel.
    2. Disadvantages of multiplexing:
       • Vulnerability to blocking: In highly loaded networks, the use of multiplexing can be detected by monitoring and DPI systems, which increases the risk of blocking. The more flows go through one channel, the easier it is to detect their abnormal traffic.
       • Reduced stability: If the primary multiplexing channel is blocked, all connections are lost at once, which may result in temporary service unavailability.
    3. Recommendation: Use multiplexing with caution in heavily loaded networks, combining it with masking methods (e.g. WebSocket). It is best to limit the number of connections per channel or periodically restart the connection to reduce the likelihood of detection.

Conclusion​

So, if we were to pick a winner in the battle for survival in the era of digital censorship, it would undoubtedly be VLESS and VMess. These protocols from V2Ray are like real masters of disguise, which make DPI systems wonder what kind of traffic it is. Unlike Shadowsocks and OpenVPN, which, although they perform well, can be caught blocking, VLESS and VMess offer the best balance between speed, security and stealth. So if you want to stay one step ahead of censors, these protocols are definitely worth adding to your arsenal.

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