Surfshark is a brand of

VPN service A virtual private network (VPN) service provides a proxy server to help users bypass Internet censorship such as geoblocking and users who want to protect their communications against data profiling or MitM attacks on hostile networks. A wide ...

s offered by a

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

-based company of the same name. The service includes data leak detection, private search, antivirus, and personal data removal tools. In 2021 Surfshark merged with

Nord Security NordVPN is a VPN service provided by company Nordsec Ltd with applications for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and Android TV. Manual setup is available for wireless routers, NAS devices, and other platforms. NordVPN is develop ...

. However, both companies still operate independently.

History

Surfshark was launched in 2018 by introducing its first VPN application for iOS devices. In 2018, a

browser extension A browser extension is a small software module for customizing a web browser. Browsers typically allow a variety of extensions, including user interface modifications, cookie management, ad blocking, and the custom scripting and styling of web pa ...

for the service was satisfactorily audited by

Cure53 Cure53 is a German cybersecurity firm. The company was founded by Dr. Mario Heidrich, a client side security researcher. After a report from Cure53 on the South Korean security app Smart Sheriff Smart Sheriff ( ko, 스마트보안관) is a Sout ...

. In September 2019 Surfshark launched Trust DNS, a

DNS resolver The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned t ...

app for Android. In July 2020, Surfshark announced its entire server network is running on RAM-only servers, introduced WireGuard, and became a founding member of the VPN Trust Initiative. In mid-2021, Surfshark began the process to merge with their competitor Nord Security, parent company of the popular NordVPN. The merger was finalised in early 2022, with both brands continuing to operate independently. In August 2022, Surfshark exclusively partnered with digital rights watchdog

NetBlocks NetBlocks is a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet. The service was launched in 2017 to monitor Internet freedom. Work Projects NetBlocks publishes original reporting on Internet governance ...

for greater reporting on internet shutdowns. Later 2022, Surfshark closed its physical servers in India in response to the

CERT-In The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN or ICERT) is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India. It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and p ...

's order for VPN companies to store consumers’ personal data for a period of five years. That same year, Surfshark released Surfshark Nexus, together with Nord Security gained the Unicorn status, released Linux GUI, reached 100 different server country locations.

Technology

In December 2019, Surfshark implemented GPS-Spoofing for

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

, allowing users to hide their device’s physical geo-location by changing it to one of the server’s locations. In its applications, Surfshark uses IKEv2, OpenVPN and WireGuard tunneling protocols. All data transferred via Surfshark servers is encrypted using an AES-256-GCM encryption standard. That same year, Surfshark launched “Surfshark Alert” & “Surfshark Search.” Surfshark also added a manual WireGuard connection feature in August. Surfshark VPN service features include: Kill Switch, MultiHop, and Bypasser. It also offers an ad and malware prevention feature, CleanWeb that blocks ads on the DNS level. The double VPN Multihop feature routes traffic through two servers instead of one, thereby providing better security. Surfshark's Bypasser is a VPN

split tunneling Split tunneling is a computer networking concept which allows a user to access dissimilar security domains like a public network (e.g., the Internet) and a local area network or wide area network at the same time, using the same or different netw ...

feature. In May 2022, Surfshark announced Linux GUI, added real-time protection to Surfshark Antivirus & added a pause feature to the VPN app. In August 2022, Surfshark added a manual WireGuard connection feature.

References

{{VPN Virtual private network services Internet properties established in 2018 Dutch brands