Easy-Hide-IP supports the use of 4 VPN protocols; OpenVPN-TCP, OpenVPN-UDP, PPTP, and Classic.  To learn more about each of the protocols offered; please see below:

OpenVPN-TCP (Transmission Control Protocol):
TCP is in general the most commonly used connection protocol on the internet as it offers error correction (and is therefore known as a ‘stateful protocol’). Whenever a computer sends a network packet using TCP; it waits for confirmation that the packet has arrived before resending the packet (if no confirmation is received), or sending the next packet (if confirmation is received).

How much TCP actually slows a connection down in practice can be very dependent on other network factors, with distance being the most important. The further away you are from your VPN server geographically, the further TCP packets have to travel to and from, and therefore the slower your connection will be. If the server is relatively close-by, then you may not see much of a speed loss, while benefiting from a more reliable connection.

• PRO's:
  
• -  Better Reliability:  TCP VPN service offers more stable connections as the protocol guarantees delivery of packets.
• -  Bypass Firewalls:  TCP VPN tunnels are rarely blocked since they run on common ports (80, 443). Usually TCP VPN tunnels can bypass even the most strict corporate firewalls.
  
  CON's:
• -  Slower Speed:  TCP features higher encryption methods that tend to slow transfer rates a little. For higher transfer speeds with OpenVPN use UDP

 OpenVPN-UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

UDP is referred to as a ‘stateless protocol’ as it performs no such error correction, simply receiving packets with no acknowledgements or retries. This makes it much faster, but less reliable.  In general UDP is better for media streaming, VoIP and playing games online.

• PRO's:
• -  Faster Speed:  UDP VPN service offers significantly greater speeds than TCP. For this reason it is the preferred protocol when streaming HD videos or downloading torrents/p2p.
• -  Preferred Connection:  UDP VPN tunnels are the preferred OpenVPN connection method if your network supports it.
• 
  
• CON's:
• -  Lower Reliability: On rare occasions UDP can be less reliable that TCP VPN connections as UDP does not guarantee the delivery of packets.

This means there is ‘guaranteed delivery’ of all data, making the protocol very reliable, but there is a considerable overhead as packets are sent, confirmed, re-sent etc., making it quite slow.

PPTP VPN (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol)

PPTP VPN usually has faster speeds that OpenVPN.  Setup information for PPTP for all devices can be found here:  http://www.easy-hide-ip.com/setup.

Iphone, Ipod Touch, Android, and Windows Mobile are just a few of the many devices that work natively with PPTP. It’s a very easy protocol to setup: just enter a Host Name, your Easy-Hide-IP Login and Password in the network settings fields, and get connected in minutes. With your PPTP settings you can use any computer around the world to connect, even computers in Internet Café’s.

Unfortunately when a PPTP connection has a problem communicating with the VPN server, it will drop the connection. This will expose your computer to the Internet off the VPN.

If you are in a restricted area where the ISP or Government has been known to block ports or protocols, and they block the fixed set ports that PPTP run on, then the VPN will be blocked.