Change VPN Protocol in NordVPN: NordLynx, OpenVPN, etc.

Many people are familiar with the concept of a VPN. This is especially true today, with the aftermath of the recent pandemic still vivid in memory. How can one forget the work from home schedule? VPNs are something more prominent, but relevant to the work from home culture, that stood out recently. The consequences of the unfortunate situation have been a boon for the VPN market, which foresaw a sharp increase in customer base and projected profits. In short, consumer VPNs have become the talk of the town.

With names like ExpressVPN, CyberGhost VPN, and NordVPN becoming more or less common, users have adopted the concept of privacy and security and connected them with these providers. Thus, people have become aware regarding certain aspects of this technology. One of those is undoubtedly the VPN security protocols. It is why, today, we will aim to help you figure out how to change a VPN protocol in NordVPN.

What is a VPN protocol?

First, let us talk about VPN protocols in general – what they are, how they work, and why they matter. To answer these questions simply: a VPN protocol is the heart of a VPN service. VPNs are known for providing security and privacy. They do so by creating a tunnel between your VPN client and a remote VPN server. The tunnels allow you to remain hidden behind a server during any communication over the public network, thus ensuring your anonymity. Similarly, the tunnel facilitates VPN encryption that secures data traffic between two focal points and prevents any third party from prying.

But how did this tunnel come into play? What created this virtual tunnel between a client and a server? Yes, you guessed right – VPN protocols. A VPN protocol is a set of rules that determine how the data packets will get encrypted and sent over a private network. Thus, not only are they responsible for the encapsulation of data, but also represent the driving factors behind the whole tunneling method that makes VPNs tick.

Furthermore, they dictate the policies for almost everything a VPN does: how to encrypt data, which data to encrypt, which server to choose, how to reach that server, which encryption method to use, and much more. It is not unfair to stipulate that a VPN protocol can dictate the fate of a VPN. Why? Because some protocols are good at what they do, while others have glaring vulnerabilities.

Most VPN providers support multiple protocols to overcome the shortcomings of individual protocols. Even NordVPN supports and offers a choice of three VPN protocols.

Which protocols does NordVPN have?

When it comes to protocols, NordVPN does have a decent portfolio. The provider supports several security protocols across multiple platforms. Listed below are the various NordVPN protocols you can choose when employing a VPN. Furthermore, within this article, we will aid our readers in how to change the default or otherwise VPN protocols on various NordVPN clients.

OpenVPN UDP – NordVPN has native OpenVPN support. Furthermore, the provider allows you to choose between the traditional TCP or the faster UDP. As we know, when OpenVPN uses the UDP port, it becomes less reliable but much faster. Thus, you can use it for online gaming and or streaming. UDP stands for User Datagram Protocol and is connectionless.
OpenVPN TCP – Alongside UDP, NordVPN supports the traditional TCP ports. It is a more stable and connection-based protocol. Thus, it creates a connection between the sender and receiver and maintains it throughout the transfer. TCP or Transmission Control Protocol ensures the stability of a connection and guarantees that data packets reach the destination without any loss.
IKEv2/IPsec – IPsec is a security protocol that defines the parameter of a connection, while IKE ensures a safe key exchange. Together, they cover each other’s weaknesses and come out as a reliable protocol. We never use IPsec alone and NordVPN uses the latest NGE (Next-Generation Encryption). It utilizes a cipher to generate Phase1 keys (AES-256-GCM) for encryption, coupled with SHA2-384 to ensure integrity, and combines it with PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) using 3072-bit Diffie-Hellman keys.
NordLynx (WireGuard) – NordLynx is a proprietary protocol of NordVPN based on the recent iteration of WireGuard, arguably one of the best VPN protocols out there. It is a modern and fast protocol that consists of 4000 lines of code. Moreover, It makes it worthwhile to manage bugs and errors.

How to change VPN protocol in NordVPN?

Listed below are the respective methods to change your default/recommended protocol in NordVPN across multiple platforms. Here’s what to do:

Switch VPN protocol on Windows

Switching VPN protocols in the Windows NordVPN app requires you to do the following:

First, open the NordVPN app.
- Remember that it is of utmost importance that you already have a Windows NordVPN app installed on your device.
- You also need to make sure that you are logged into your Nord Account and ready for the steps detailed below.
After that, locate the gear icon in the top right corner of the app.
Now, click on the icon to open the Settings menu.
Then, find the Auto-Connect tab on the left side of the screen.
After clicking on the “Auto-Connect” tab, a new menu will appear on the right side.
Locate the toggle button next to the option “Choose a VPN protocol and server automatically.”
Toggle it off.
Now, you can select your desired VPN protocol from the drop-down menu.

Changing VPN protocol on macOS

First, run the NordVPN app on your macOS device. Now:

Locate a cluster of buttons in the top left corner of the app.
Click on the second button. It will show you the Settings menu.
Then, click on General under Preferences on the left side of the menu.
After that, you can find the VPN protocol option on the right side of the screen.
Lastly, click on it to change your preferred VPN protocols.

Switching VPN protocol on Android

First, run the NordVPN app by tapping its icon. After that:

Find the Settings menu by tapping the gears (cogwheel) icon.
You can find the gears icon in the top right corner.
Now that you are within the Settings menu, tap on the VPN protocol option.
From the list of available protocols, choose the one that fits your needs.

Note – NordVPN doesn’t support IKEv2/IPsec on Android devices.

Change VPN protocol on iOS and Linux

Both iOS and Linux methods are straightforward. The former is nearly identical to the one above. Do the following:

iOS. Launch the NordVPN app for iOS.
1. Locate the gears/cogwheel icon in the bottom right corner of the app.
2. Click on it to access the Setting menu.
3. Now click on the Protocol option.
4. Then, select a protocol you like.
Linux. Open the Terminal app by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard. Now:
1. Type the command for changing the protocol:
  nordvpn set protocol xyz