OpenVPN is open source, but it requires the use of a third-party client and is more CPU-intensive. IKEv2 can be used natively on various devices (no app required) and runs with less CPU, but it is also not open source. Both OpenVPN and IKEv2 are secure and reliable VPN protocols.

The IKEv2 protocol can be used with iOS and Windows as well. TunnelBear offers good data encryption using the 256-bit AES OpenVPN for Windows, Mac OS, and Android. We discuss this topic more in our post on the best VPN for Chrome. There are also a few other VPNs that offer browser extensions, including VPN.ac, ExpressVPN, and also NordVPN and CyberGhost. In this case, you can simply control the desktop VPN client through the browser.

In other cases, such as with ExpressVPN, the browser extension just extends the VPN desktop client into the browser for easier functionality. In some cases, such as with TunnelBear, the browser extension acts as an additional proxy for the browser itself, changing the IP address and DNS requests within the browser.

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