ProtonVPN

About ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN routes a machine's traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server elsewhere, which changes both what the local network can see and where the traffic appears to originate. The client keeps that simple: a map and a list, a connect button, and a set of profiles for the configurations that get used repeatedly.

The kill switch is the feature that matters most and is the one people most often forget to enable. When the tunnel drops, traffic is blocked entirely rather than falling back to the ordinary connection, so nothing leaks during the seconds before a reconnection completes. A permanent variant holds that block through a reboot until the tunnel is back.

Split routing handles the cases where sending everything through the tunnel is wrong. Applications or destination addresses can be excluded, so a local network share, a printer or a service that refuses tunnelled connections keeps working normally while everything else stays inside the tunnel. The rules are per application, which is the useful granularity.

The server side offers a large list across many countries with load shown per server, secure core routing that passes traffic through a second hop before leaving the network, and specialised servers for high throughput transfer. Protocol selection covers the modern fast option and the older reliable one for networks that interfere with the former.

What is included in this build

• Encrypted tunnel with a large multi-country server list and per-server load shown
• Kill switch blocking traffic entirely when the tunnel drops
• Permanent kill switch variant that holds the block through a reboot
• Split routing with per-application and per-destination exclusions
• Secure core routing through a second hop before leaving the network
• Protocol selection between the modern fast option and the older reliable one
• Profiles saving frequently used server and protocol combinations
• Automatic connection on untrusted networks at startup

Changed in version 5.1.5

• Faster reconnection after a network change
• Improved throughput on the modern protocol
• Additional servers added across several regions
• Better split routing behaviour with applications that spawn helpers
• Lower idle resource use for the background service

Installation walkthrough

These steps assume a clean machine. If a previous release of the same application is present, deal with that first, since an overlapping install is the most common cause of a setup that stops halfway.

1. Extract the archive to a folder with a short path.
2. Run the installer as administrator so the network adapter can be created.
3. Allow the virtual adapter installation when the system prompts.
4. Enable the kill switch from settings before relying on the connection.
5. Add any local devices or services that must stay reachable to the split routing exclusions.

System requirements and file details

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