Today, Surfshark announced a major update to their consumer VPN service called Nexus. The innovation’s goal is to improve security and user experience by allowing Surfshark VPN users to seamlessly switch between VPN servers without disconnecting from the VPN itself.
“All in all, Nexus optimizes user traffic to be more private, secure, and stable,” a Surfshark representative said in a statement.
What is Surfshark Nexus?
The basics of the Surfshark VPN stay the same. Users can still choose the server locations they want to use, hide their true IP address, and encrypt their traffic information. The advantage comes from the fact that the user can now switch between servers and IP addresses without ever leaving the protection of the VPN.
With most VPNs, when you switch between servers, there’s a moment when you must disconnect from the VPN. If you don’t have your kill switch enabled, your true IP address and internet traffic are exposed through your regular internet connection.
Surfshark’s Nexus uses software-defined networking (SDN) technology as its base. Instead of connecting to an individual server (or subgroup of servers) that is physically disconnected from the rest of the network, Surfshark will connect you to its entire global infrastructure.
The VPN then routes the user’s internet connection to the website of their choice, and you never leave the protection of the VPN.
When Would You Use Surfshark Nexus?
For example, let’s say you wanted to watch the NBA All-Star game last weekend while you were traveling abroad. You’re want to use your American streaming service, but it’s blocked there. Plus you’re on your hotel’s insecure Wi-Fi.
To unblock the game and also protect your device, you connect to a Charlotte server on the Surfshark VPN network. Unfortunately, the server in Charlotte starts acting up in the middle of the action. Using the new Dynamic MultiHop feature, you can switch your connection to a server in Miami to continue the game. Your device never disconnects from the VPN network so you never expose yourself to third parties that could be lurking on a compromised network.
This not only improves security but speeds up and stabilizes VPN connections while still allowing users to change their IP address to another country. It is important to note that when you use Nexus, you are connecting through a direct tunnel. This means that although your real IP address remains hidden, you will keep the server network IP address instead of the individual server IP address.
That is unless you enable the IP Rotator option. This feature automatically changes the user’s IP address every 5 to 10 minutes without disconnecting from the VPN service itself.
How do Surfshark VPN’s Users Access Nexus?
Using Nexus is easy for Surfshark VPN users. The upgrade is included with all subscriptions of the VPN service. While Surfshark is still rolling out Nexus, the groundwork for the upgrade is already on the Surshark servers. The first feature to be rolled out to users is the Nexus IP rotator option.
The other Nexus features will be gradually rolled out throughout the remainder of this year and during 2023. These include the Dynamic MultiHop feature mentioned earlier and their IP Randomizer feature, which helps users hide browsing patterns by automatically changing the IP address every time they’re connected to a new website.
What is SurfShark VPN?
Established in 2018, Surfshark VPN is a relatively young VPN compared to other providers on the market. However, their commitment to improving their service through strategic upgrades, their user-friendly setup, and their price make them stand out from the pack.
In fact, they are one of our top five VPNs. For the full rundown on all of the Surfshark features, read our Surfshark review.
