What is Obfuscation and How it Bypasses a VPN Block

May 16, 2020 By Christine Margret No Comments 4 minutes

Techniques like obfuscation can help users maintain web anonymity while using a VPN. Obfuscation is used primarily to circumvent VPN blocks that are often imposed by ISPs and the Government. It hides VPN traffic so no one can identify that you’re using a VPN. Find what obfuscation is and how it works below.

What is Obfuscation

What is Obfuscation?

Obfuscation is a technology that disguises VPN traffic. It creates a mask that makes it impossible to identify or detect a VPN. Obfuscation hides traffic in a way that no one knows that it is encrypted.

It only hides the original form of data into a discrete form so that no VPN signature can be identified.

Various VPNs use OpenVPN as the default VPN protocol. It protects data through encryption but uses some distinctive signature, which can be identified through some techniques.

Obfuscation transfers data under VPN protection but hides its encrypted nature to circumvent VPN blocks.

Get FastestVPN

Why is Obfuscation used?

Obfuscation is one of the most advanced privacy features. It is used to bypass internet restrictions in regions where access is limited.

When you use a VPN, it encrypts all your data. It means ISPs and the government cannot view your online activities and hence fail to spy on you. ISPs and Government can block VPNs through Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) to limit content, spy on your activities, and impose the internet throttling.

One of the main reasons to use obfuscation is that it finds common open ports and transmits data through these ports. Government use software that detects and blocks commonly-used VPN ports.

Obfuscation adds additional layers of security for your data and continues transmitting data securely while bypassing all the obtrude restrictions.

Does Obfuscation Decrypt My Traffic?

VPN obfuscation doesn’t decrypt internet traffic. When you use a highly-secure VPN, all your traffic remains private. Obfuscation just camouflages the encrypted internet traffic into regular traffic without actually decrypting it.

Why is Stealth VPN Technology Used?

Stealth VPN refers to a VPN that makes VPN traffic looks like regular web traffic. It disguises VPN traffic as normal HTTPS traffic. A VPN’s stealth mode is designed in a way that it makes it harder for the firewalls and applications to detect or identify traffic.

How does VPN Obfuscation work?

Obfuscation works when both client and the server are set up for it. One example of obfuscation is Obfsproxy.

Obfsproxy is designed to unblock Tor traffic, but it can also work with OpenVPN. Obfsproxy only works when it is set up on both the VPN app and the chosen server.

Another method used for the VPN obfuscation is Stunnel. It is open-source software that is responsible for representing OpenVPN traffic as the regular HTTPS traffic. It transmits OpenVPN traffic from the TLS/SSL tunnel, and ultimately the traffic appears to be a regular HTTPS traffic.

OpenVPN XOR is also a popular method used for the VPN obfuscation. It uses XOR cipher to alter the bit of data and disguise OpenVPN traffic. This method ensures that no DPI techniques can identify OpenVPN under OpenVPN XOR.

XOR is quite simple and, therefore, not highly recommended for bypassing Government blocks. XOR had been increasingly used by malware attackers to hide the identity of the code, so no detection tool can identify malicious codes.

What are the Benefits of VPN Obfuscation?

VPN obfuscation offers two primary benefits. The first and the most important benefit is its added layer of privacy through which no one can ever detect that you’re using a VPN.

When you use a VPN, hackers know that there is something suspicious and private. These intruders always look for a security flaw to exploit VPN and steal sensitive information.

VPN obfuscation kills all their curiosity because it never reveals if you’re using a VPN. Another benefit of VPN obfuscation is safety from the government’s oppression. Countries like China, where VPN is strictly not allowed, can rely on VPN obfuscation to safely browse the internet with freedom.

Conclusion

VPN obfuscation is an advanced proxy feature that not only gives you complete internet freedom but also saves you from unfair ISP throttling. Authorities cannot block stealth or obfuscation modes so you can safely circumvent internet restrictions from anywhere.