Questions and answers

Answers to the questions people ask most often before installing the client.

Is the source code open, and where can I look at it?

The source code is open. It is published on GitHub.

github.com/navlink-net

What tunnelling technology is used, and how well does it hide traffic from DPI?

The connection uses a browser-like TLS handshake, traffic is framed as ordinary HTTPS requests, and the client sends decoy traffic while lightly loaded. In our view this is considerably stronger than common setups such as VLESS with Reality. No circumvention method is guaranteed to stay undetected; how well it holds depends on the network and the DPI in use.

Read the technology overview →

Can I run my own server? I don't want anyone to intercept my traffic or follow my browsing history.

Running your own server is not part of the design. Traffic to HTTPS sites is encrypted end to end with TLS, which only the destination site can decrypt. Tunnel Cat is not an anonymiser: we do follow browsing history, so that a lawful request can be answered. If you need anonymity, use Tor, or run another tool on top of Tunnel Cat. Tunnel Cat is a tool for reliable circumvention of blocks.

Probing systems like MAX, Yandex and Sber detect blocked IPs. If a probe succeeds, the client is on a VPN and the IP is reported. How long can this VPN last?

Client traffic goes to control nodes in the same region, so a user's traffic does not leave for another country. No circumvention method can promise how long it will last. Blocking systems change, and we work to keep up.

How do sites and apps open in Russia: through a foreign IP or a Russian one?

Russian sites and services open through your own Russian IP. Foreign sites open through exits abroad. Exits inside Russia also let people outside Russia reach Russian resources as if they were in Russia, and that is the same route used to administer our own Russian servers.