What is TLS VPN Encryption

Since people want to use the internet freely, a certain level of protection is needed. VPNs are responsible for ensuring that your browsing is smooth, free of obstacles like hackers and government authorities. VPNs use a variety of security encryption protocols to protect your data from start to finish. One of the protocols used is Transport Layer Security (TLS).

TLS is a cryptographic protocol that provides privacy and data integrity between two communicating applications. It was first introduced in 1999 as an upgrade of SSL Version 3.0. The TLS specification 1.2 was defined in 2008, and today it is considered to be the most widely deployed security protocol.

Features and Technical Details of the TLS Encryption

TLS protocol is used for applications that deal with handling sensitive data or performing critical operations, such as web browsers, VPN connections, email services, VoIP, and instant messaging. All the information you send or receive online will be well encrypted so it cannot be intercepted and read by a third party.

What Is TLS VPN Protocol

The TLS VPN protocol is composed of two layers: the TLS Record Protocol and the TLS Handshake Protocol. The TLS Record Protocol provides privacy and reliability of the connection, while the TLS Handshake Protocol encrypts your shared data and makes it unavailable to eavesdroppers, attackers, and other unauthorized parties.

A TLS stream of communication contains built-in controls to prevent tampering with any portion of the encrypted data. In addition, controls serve to prevent a captured stream of TLS data from being replayed at a later time. However, it should be mentioned here that the above guarantees apply only to data during transmission.

Differences Between TLS and SSL encryption for VPN

SSL refers to Secure Sockets Layer whereas TLS refers to Transport Layer Security. 

How similar are they? SSL and TLS are cryptographic protocols that authenticate the transmission of data between servers, systems, applications, and users. A cryptographic protocol encrypts data exchanged between a web server and a user.

SSL was the first cryptographic protocol of its kind. TLS, on the other hand, was the last updated version of SSL. The major advantages of TLS encryption that make it more secure and efficient for VPN than SSL are:

• HMAC message authentication
• Pseudorandom function (PRF) to generate the key material
• AES cipher suites, which are more secure algorithms
• Simpler way of arriving at the CertificateVerify message

TLS VPN protocols use TCP Port 443. It usually works in just about any environment and is open on most firewalls. Which can be especially useful for remote users and teleworkers when they’re behind another establishment’s firewall. TLS VPN protocol is accessible from any modern computer or device compared to SSL. You can set it up to provide even better protection than IPSec (though this will require certain effort). 

Global businesses often have to manage an extensive network of employees. By using TLS VPNs, they have more control over the network, allowing them to expand safely.

How does TLS Affect Web Application Performance

Recent versions of TLS have little or no impact on the performance of web applications. Setting up a TLS protocol connection is a bit complex, that’s why this type of connection requires some time and calculation capacity. Client and server have to communicate multiple times before any data is transferred, and this requires milliseconds of load time and some memory for both client and server.

But some technologies can help to reduce the latency created by a TLS handshake. One of them is TLS False Start. It allows the server and client to start transferring data before the TLS handshake completes. Another technology to speed up TLS is TLS Session. This TLS protocol technology allows the use of a shortened handshake if the clients and servers have previously contacted. These improvements have helped to make TLS a very swift protocol and reduce its impact on load times. 

Pros and Cons of TLS Encryption Protocol

Pros

• Uses standard HTTPS protocol that’s usually not blocked in public places
• Only needs a browser, no additional apps installation required 
• Requires less administrative overhead and technical support
• Compatible with the most popular web browsers

Cons

• In VPN Unlimited, the TLS extension protects your browser's traffic only - it does not secure your other apps or the system at large

VPN Unlimited and TLS Protocols

VPN Unlimited supports a set of protocols for different purposes and platforms. TLS protocol is available in VPN Unlimited for:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Opera
• Edge