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Seeking a more stable VPN connection? Surfshark Everlink may be the answer
With all the bombast and grandeur that greets the launch of a new tech product – whether that be a smartphone, laptop, TV or any other device – there often follows the somewhat deflating feeling that it’s yet another iterative update on the model that had immediately preceded it.
And when a feature is revealed that appears to offer something fresh and exciting, it’s sometimes hard not to feel that it’s been developed with the aim of capturing headlines rather than benefiting users.
The inevitable outcome? Not long after the delirium of the initial announcement, the next big thing is quietly taken out back and put out of its misery… yes, we’re looking at you MacBook TouchBar.
It’s not a dissimilar situation in the world of VPNs. The fanfare that surrounds big software updates often boils down to a few extra server locations, a slightly more intuitive user interface or a feature that 99% of everyday users are never going to use anyway.
That wasn’t the case earlier this year, however, when Surfshark announced the launch of Surfshark Everlink.
What is Surfshark Everlink?
Everlink isn’t merely a feature or tool – it’s an overhaul of Surfshark’s very infrastructure, with the aim of giving users a more stable and secure VPN connection.
The provider describes the technology as a “server backup system”, which goes above and beyond the usual way that you would normally connect to the internet through your VPN.
In addition to a single encrypted tunnel between your device and the server, any user that connects to Surfshark using the WireGuard protocol automatically gets the benefit of the Everlink backup.
The Surfshark app or client persistently monitors the strength of your VPN connection.
Then, if it drops for any reason, Everlink instantly and seamlessly reconfigures your private tunnel through an alternative operational server. The result is that your private connection will be maintained.
Like any good infrastructure system, you’ll only know that Everlink is doing its job effectively if you don’t notice its effect at all.
Why would my VPN connection drop?
It's very possible that you've used a VPN for years on end and never experienced a drop in connectivity.
And yet there are myriad reasons why you could be disconnected at any given time, regardless of what provider you’re with. Here are just a small sample:
- Unstable internet connection
- Server maintenance being carried out by provider
- Server overload
- Reached the provider's device limit
- Conflict with your antivirus software/another VPN
- Protocol issues
- Software and operating system bugs
The dangers of being disconnected from your VPN
To understand why Surfshark has invested in engineering and rolling out Everlink, it’s crucial to consider the potential peril awaiting the VPN user whose connection drops.
For many, this will be merely an inconvenience. If you’re using a VPN to watch NFL live streams when you’re overseas or watch BBC iPlayer when away from the UK then the stakes are relatively low. You might miss a touchdown or have the Strictly dance-off interrupted, but nothing more serious.
However, we know from TechRadar's own research that the majority of people use a VPN to stay more private online. While many others wish to hide their online activity from their internet service provider (ISP).
Everlink ensures continuous VPN connectivity by seamlessly recovering dropped VPN connections. This technology allows users to enjoy a stable VPN connection and minimizes the risk of IP address exposure.
Justas Pukys, Senior Product Manager at Surfshark
If their encrypted VPN connection drops unexpectedly, they become immediately exposed to the kind of prying eyes they have specifically been trying to stay hidden from.
And this becomes even more pertinent where online anonymity is paramount to the safety of the user. Take a journalist or campaigner working within the borders of a country where internet freedoms have been severely restricted and their online activity would land them in hot water if their identity was breached.
That’s a high price to pay just because a VPN provider happened to be carrying out routine server maintenance at the wrong time.
By attempting to ensure that the VPN connection always has a robust backup, Everlink seeks to prevent that protective cloak from dropping.
Everlink vs Kill switch: what's the difference?
If you’re thinking: “Well, that just sounds like a kill switch that most other VPNs already have,” you’d be justified; both Everlink and kill switches spring into action when a VPN connection goes south.
The difference is that a kill switch does exactly what the name suggests – the tool completely terminates your connection to the internet if it detects a drop in your VPN connection. That’s a relatively safe device in terms of a defence against data leaks, but infuriating if you’re disconnected from the internet at seemingly random intervals.
“Everlink is a proactive, self-healing system,” explains Senior Product Manager at Surfshark, Justas Pukys.
“Instead of terminating the connection, it revives it by reconfiguring the VPN tunnel without disconnecting and reconnecting you from the VPN service.”
As such, users aren't actually disconnected from the internet. Instead, their traffic is simply rerouted through an active secure tunnel.
“You don’t get disconnected, and your VPN protection stays intact," adds Pukys. "It’s all automatic, and you won’t even notice it happening.”
Is Everlink the future of VPN stability?
“On the surface, this feature might not be as flashy and exciting as, say, a whole host of new servers, but we're still happy to see Everlink make its debut,” wrote River Hart, TechRadar’s Tech Software Editor, in their in-depth Surfshark review earlier this year.
“VPN connection quality is an important metric in our in-house testing and for real-world use… Nobody likes troubleshooting constant VPN dropouts, after all.”
That's why a solution baked into the service's infrastructure has such clear advantages.
While kill switches will undoubtedly remain the go-to tool for most VPN providers in the immediate future, Surfshark is leading the way in terms of presenting an alternative for data leak prevention.
And the provider is clearly confident that other companies will try to imitate this industry first. Having successfully secured two patents protecting their innovation, their competitors will have to get creative if they wish to follow Surfshark's lead.
