Since day one, Surfshark is on a mission to provide you with the best VPN on the market. Now, it’s been over three years and we’re happy to announce our biggest project so far that will revolutionalize the consumer VPN industry – Nexus.
What is Nexus?
Nexus is a Surfshark-exclusive consumer VPN innovation based on SDN (Software-defined networking) technology. It connects you to an entire network of servers and then routes you to a chosen location.
It’s different from consumer VPNs that simply connect you to a single VPN server. Currently, each traditional consumer VPN is more like a list of separate virtual private servers and not really a network.
Separate servers create several problems that Nexus aims to address. In short, its main purposes are to:
- Greatly improve your online privacy
- Allow your IP address to change within a network without disconnecting you from a VPN
- Offer new features that will enhance your privacy
- Stabilize and speed up your VPN connection both locally and internationally
*Nexus and all its features will be available to anyone using Surfshark VPN.
Why Nexus? Problems with traditional VPNs
We’ve created Nexus to solve many pressing issues that VPN users face today.
Traditionally, a VPN works by creating an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server. Once you connect, you’re technically accessing the internet through the VPN server that changes your “visible” IP address. This tunnel is then used to enter (connect) and exit the internet, giving you a layer of cyber protection, i.e., hiding your real location by showing a different IP address to the one provided by your ISP and encrypting your traffic.
But there’s a catch. Since you’re connected to the server through a direct tunnel, you’re facing several problems:
- The IP address you get remains the same. When connected to a VPN server, your real IP address is hidden, but your internet activity is still tied to a single IP address. If for whatever reason, someone collects that information, it increases your chances of being identified.
- VPN providers can’t do much for your VPN connection performance. A direct connection means that connecting internationally, and especially over long distances, worsens your connection speed and stability. Also, if you connect to an overloaded server, a VPN provider can’t do anything to unload it without disconnecting its users.
- Server outages, maintenance, or long-distance connections may disconnect you from your VPN. Direct connection makes you completely dependent on the VPN server’s state. If the connection cuts off for whatever reason, it may leave you unprotected and expose your data.
Nexus features address traditional VPN problems
Connecting all of our servers into a single Nexus network will help us roll out new features and benefits that will address common consumer VPN problems:
- IP Rotator (feature) will solve the privacy concerns of having the same IP address when connected to a VPN for a long time. It will periodically change your IP address without disconnecting you from the VPN. You’ll be able to choose how you want your IP address to rotate – in a specific location, country, region, or even globally.
- IP Randomizer (feature) will hide your browsing patterns. When on, this feature will give your device a new IP address every time you visit a different website (or any other internet resource).
- Dynamic MultiHop (feature) will allow you to pick your own entry and exit VPN locations in any way you like. Want to connect through Austria to the US and then change it to Singapore? Go for it. They’ll be all part of the same network anyways.
- Better speeds. Nexus will allow us to connect you to the best performing (most of the time they’re the closest) entry servers and allow you to exit through any location you want. This will solve a lot of the international and local internet speed issues.
- Better connection. Optimizing connection, network performance, or carrying out maintenance will most times be done without disconnecting you from the VPN. So, you’ll experience more stable connections and will receive better protection from DNS and data packet leaks.
- Better VPN performance. A network of servers will allow us to route your traffic based on your traffic patterns like streaming, downloading, or browsing. This will improve your connection performance. Disclaimer: This DOES NOT mean that we track your activity. All we can see inside the network are traffic patterns.
Putting the N (network) into VPN: What will change?
So, a single VPN server network – what does that mean?
Technically, you’ll connect to the Nexus network instead of connecting to your chosen server directly.
In essence, the basics of a VPN won’t change. You’ll still be able to:
- Choose any of our server locations you want to connect to.
- Enter and exit the internet through the same server.
- Hide your IP and encrypt your traffic to stay secure.
On top of that, Nexus will be able to improve your VPN connection performance and, most importantly – privacy and security.
When will Nexus be available?
It’s already there! The groundwork for Nexus has already been rolled out on our servers over the past few months. The first Nexus feature you can already use is called an IP rotator – allowing you to enable an automatic IP change every 5 to 10 minutes without any connection interruptions.
All of the other planned features will roll out gradually over the course of 2022 and 2023. This will ensure a smooth transition and a better user experience.
And if you’re not one of our users yet – what are you waiting for? The future of VPNs is here and it’s exclusive to Surfshark. You wouldn’t want to miss out!
