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ZDNET's key takeaways

• Surfshark has launched a new VPN protocol that promises better security and barrier-breaking speeds.
• Instead of sharing a tunnel with other user traffic, Dausos provides each user with their own tunnel.
• Initial tests reveal promise, but it isn't quite there, yet, in terms of performance compared to WireGuard. 

Surfshark has unveiled Dausos, a new virtual private network (VPN) protocol designed to improve consumer-grade VPN speeds and security.

What is Dausos?

Named after the Lithuanian word for heaven and as a nod to ascendence, Dausos is Surfshark's proprietary VPN protocol, which the company hopes will set it apart from the likes of WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 as a purpose-built protocol designed for consumer VPN use.

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The company says that while many protocols used by VPN networks today were not originally designed for consumer use -- and were instead simply adapted to be fit for purpose -- Dausos has been specifically built for this task.

What makes it different?

According to Surfshark, Dausos uses AEGIS-256X2 instead of the widely used AES-GCM, but the key difference is that it provides a separate, dedicated traffic tunnel for each user. Normally, you would share these tunnels with other VPN user traffic, but by forging individual paths, the hope is that Dausos creates a cleaner, more streamlined experience and reduces the potential risk of traffic contamination or exposure. 

In a Reddit thread, Karolis Kačiulis, Leading System Engineer at Surfshark, said:

"When users share a tunnel, one user's traffic load can interfere with another's, meaning your packets get handled slower because the server is busy processing other users' packets. With Dausos, each user gets a dedicated tunnel, so that problem goes away."

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Surfshark says this protocol may provide up to 30% faster speeds than other protocols, including WireGuard -- the protocol Surfshark, along with most other VPN providers -- uses by default. 

Furthermore, the use of AEGIS-256X2 encryption is a security improvement and may also help protect against future attacks as a post-quantum solution. 

Backing Dausos claims

Introducing any new major encryption technology or protocol always carries risks, so to back up its claims, Surfshark engaged independent auditor Cure53 to conduct an assessment. 

"With no findings rated at Critical or High severity within the actual Dausos protocol itself, the audit results reflect a stable and resilient platform," the assessment (.PDF) reads. "The Surfshark team demonstrated a significant commitment to security by remediating the majority of the findings immediately following the testing phase."

This doesn't mean it has all been fair winds, however, as upon launch, some testers found Dausos did not perform well with residential connections. Still, Surfshark rapidly developed and deployed a fix, which appears to have resolved the issue. 

Installation, testing, and final thoughts

At the moment, Dausos is only available on macOS, although Surfshark plans to roll out the protocol to other platforms in the future. 

To try out the new protocol, ensure your app is up to date with the latest version. However, it won't appear under your VPN's protocol selection tab if you have downloaded the Surfshark app directly from the VPN provider's website. Instead, go to the Apple App Store and download the Dausos app, which is in beta.

I tested the new protocol against my initial unprotected connection and WireGuard, and found it worked well across the board for browsing the Internet and streaming on both Netflix and YouTube, so it seems the initial teething issues have been ironed out. 

Whenever you use a VPN, you are introducing a middleman between your device and an online service, and so you should expect a drop in speeds -- although when your initial connection is relatively fast, you may not notice the difference. 

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I found that Surfshark with WireGuard enabled reduced download speeds by 35.54% and upload speeds by 6.30%. Compared with Dausos, download speeds decreased by 38.25% and upload speeds decreased by 4.88%.

Overall, WireGuard still performed better for download speeds, whereas Dausos edged ahead in upload speed retention. (As connection and environmental factors all vary, consider this only a snapshot of what you may expect -- as your experience could be completely different.)

Bottom line

Dausos has potential, and given the marginal performance differences compared to WireGuard, I'd recommend trying it out, especially since we are likely to see improvements as the beta protocol continues to be refined. And if it entices you further, it's good to know that it is free and available to all Surfshark subscribers.

Will it ever become open source so the VPN and security industry can benefit as a whole? When this question was posed to Kačiulis, he said that it is not possible during the early launch phase -- but Surfshark "see[s] the benefits of it and it's something we're actively discussing."

"We'll keep you updated as we continue to evaluate our open-source strategy," the engineer added.