SoftEther VPN Explained: Bypass VPN Restrictions Using This Useful Tool

As online privacy and security become increasingly important, more internet users are turning to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to protect their data. While many opt for well-known VPN services, the open-source SoftEther VPN platform offers advanced flexibility and customization options.

This guide provides an overview of SoftEther VPN, how it works, key features, and how to set up your own SoftEther VPN server on Linux.

What is SoftEther VPN?

SoftEther VPN is an open-source, multi-protocol VPN software developed by the University of Tsukuba in Japan.

It functions as an alternative to proprietary commercial VPN services. SoftEther allows creating a virtual private network to route and encrypt traffic between devices and networks.

As an open-source VPN, SoftEther is transparent, flexible, and highly customizable. It can be deployed on your own servers without relying on a third-party service provider.

Some key capabilities offered by SoftEther VPN include:

• VPN connectivity using SSL, OpenVPN, L2TP, EtherIP protocols

• circumventing firewalls and traffic blocking with VPN over HTTPS

• 256-bit AES encryption and RSA-4096 certification

• Accessing Censored Network Systems with SoftEther's NAT Traversal ability

• Cross-platform server and client apps for Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD, Solaris and more

• Source code auditing for security validation

• VPN load balancing, redundancy, and bandwidth control

SoftEther VPN is designed to provide strong security along with deep technical controls for advanced users.

How Does a SoftEther VPN Work?

Like any VPN service, SoftEther works by creating an encrypted tunnel between the client device and VPN server. This protects traffic from surveillance and manipulation.

SoftEther's architecture consists of:

• VPN Server - Hosted on your own server or VPS to route encrypted VPN traffic.

• VPN Bridge - Optional controller and load balancer for multiple VPN servers.

• VPN Client - Installed on user's devices to connect to the VPN tunnel securely.

The VPN server has a virtual network adapter that securely encapsulates and transfers data between the server and clients.

SoftEther uses strong encryption protocols like AES, RSA, SHA, and DES to authenticate and encrypt all VPN traffic.

An administrator configures user accounts, protocols, encryption, and access rules on the VPN server. Users then connect via the VPN client using domain credentials.

Once connected, all traffic is routed through the encrypted VPN tunnel securely between the client device and server.

What Makes SoftEther VPN Unique?

Unlike most VPN services which rely on IPsec and OpenVPN protocols, SoftEther supports an exceptionally wide range of protocols:

• SSL VPN - Uses HTTPS to bypass firewall blocks.

• OpenVPN - Popular open-source VPN protocol.

• L2TP/IPsec - Native VPN in Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.

• EtherIP - SoftEther's custom VPN protocol.

• Microsoft SSTP - Proprietary VPN protocol by Microsoft.

This VPN protocol flexibility allows SoftEther to evade firewalls using SSL while leveraging the performance of other protocols like OpenVPN for general use.

SoftEther also uniquely offers:

• VPN over ICMP - Tunneling over ping packets.

• VPN over DNS - Using DNS traffic for tunneling.

• NAT Traversal - Traversing restrictive NAT firewalls.

These make SoftEther incredibly robust against Deep Packet Inspection, throttling, and restrictive network environments - both domestically and overseas.

Benefits of Using a SoftEther VPN

As an open-source self-hosted VPN solution, SoftEther offers the following advantages:

• Avoid VPN Blocking - SoftEther's use of SSL and other evasion techniques can bypass firewalls that block standard VPN ports.

• Enhanced Security - The open-source code allows you to fully audit the software for vulnerabilities. And you remain in full control of the VPN encryption and infrastructure when self-hosting.

• Flexibility - Supports all major protocols, works cross-platform across devices, and integration with LDAP, Active Directory, RADIUS, and OAuth.

• Cost - You only pay for your own VPN server costs rather than recurring commercial VPN fees.

• Customization - Tailor the VPN to your specific needs since you control the entire stack.

• Scalability - SoftEther makes it easy to add multiple VPN servers and load balance traffic across them.

For advanced personal VPN setups or for businesses, organizations, and developers needing a highly adaptable solution, SoftEther shines.

How to Create Your Own SoftEther VPN

One of the best features of SoftEther is the ability to install it on your own server or virtual private server (VPS) to create a personal VPN.

Here are quick steps to deploy SoftEther VPN on an Ubuntu 20.04 Linux VPS instance:

1. Get a VPS - Sign up for a Linux VPS with a hosting provider like Vultr, DigitalOcean, Linode etc.

2. Install Dependencies - Log in and install gcc, make, build-essential packages.

3. Download SoftEther - Get the latest release tarball and extract it.

4. Compile Source Code - Run make to build the SoftEther executable.

5. Install SoftEther - Copy the vpnserver directory to /usr/local/.

6. Configure SoftEther - Run the vpncmd tool and follow the prompts to set up admin password, users, protocols etc.

7. Open Firewall Ports - Allow relevant ports like TCP 443, 992 and 1194 through the VPS firewall.

8. Install VPN Clients - Download and set up SoftEther client apps on your devices.

9. Connect to Your VPN - Use your VPN username and password to connect your devices.

And that's it! You now have your own private SoftEther VPN server deployed on VPS infrastructure that you fully control.

Conclusion

For those seeking an open-source alternative to commercial VPN services, SoftEther VPN is a compelling option. It provides the flexibility to create your own self-hosted VPN on a server or VPS with complete data privacy and advanced customization.

SoftEther's ability to avoid VPN blocking using protocols like SSL VPN over HTTPS is a huge advantage in restricted network environments. And the wide protocol support allows tuning the VPN for optimal security or performance.

While more complex to setup than app-based VPN services, ultimately the control, transparency, and adaptability of SoftEther makes it worth consideration for advanced home and business VPN uses.