Technologies

Surfshark Just Dropped a Next-Gen VPN Protocol That Could Be Faster and More Secure Than Other VPN Connections

The new Dausos connection protocol has been independently audited and includes a few key innovations not found in other VPNs.

Surfshark on Monday released its brand-new Dausos VPN connection protocol, which the company says elevates three key elements for VPN users: 30% faster speeds than industry-standard protocols, enhanced security with a hybrid post-quantum encryption and dedicated, private server-side tunnels for each individual session.

This means that Dausos should give Surfshark users smoother connections, improved privacy and faster performance to benefit data-heavy activities, like streaming and gaming.

VPN protocols are essentially the rules that determine the encrypted connection between your device and the internet while on a VPN. Long gone are the days when OpenVPN dominated as the hotshot of the VPN protocol world. It’s still a fine protocol with airtight security that can be great when you need stable connections on any network or want to bypass firewalls, but it’s a lumbering hulk that wasn’t built for the speed or security requirements of today’s VPN users.

Modern times call for modern VPN protocols, and Surfshark is the latest of CNET’s top VPN picks to spin up its own proprietary next-generation VPN protocol. Dausos sounds poised to challenge WireGuard as the protocol of choice for Surfshark users who want speedy connections without compromising security.

One of the biggest innovations that Dausos brings to the table is its ability to deliver a dedicated tunnel for each individual user session, which Surfshark says can optimize performance by dynamically adapting to network conditions and device capabilities for each individual connection.

Isolating user’s data traffic is a key element here. «While the risk of cross-traffic exposure in modern VPNs is very low, our unique protocol design goes the extra mile to ensure a clean, private, and secure path for each user’s data,» Surfshark’s lead systems engineer Karolis Kaciulis said in a statement.

Surfshark representatives told me via email that this isolation happens on the server side, and every time a user connects to a server, the server creates a new network interface specific to that user and VPN session. The representative explained that each user gets their own server-side tunnel, so no network space logic or other resources are shared when a user connects via the Dausos protocol. This differs from the traditional method, where the server side has a single network interface that all users of a particular protocol share.

That’s all very technical, but it’s almost like creating a highway specifically for your internet connection, instead of having to share that highway with other users.

«The protocol’s unique design avoids unnecessary and redundant checking of data packets, which enhances connection performance and even further prevents the theoretical possibility of data packets interfering with each other,» Kaciulis said in the press release.

Surfshark also incorporates post-compromise security with its Dausos protocol, which the company says takes the concept of perfect forward secrecy to the next level. With PFS, every time a user connects to a VPN server, a fresh set of ephemeral encryption keys are generated. Every few minutes, a new set of keys is regenerated so that an attacker wouldn’t be able to decrypt a user’s past VPN session data from a single key compromise. However, the new encryption keys are generally derived from the old keys, which means that it could theoretically be possible for an attacker to derive future keys from a past compromised key.

But Surfshark told me via email that with Dausos’ post-compromise security, the new encryption keys are unique and entirely unrelated to any other key, which makes it virtually impossible to decrypt future keys from a past key compromise. Essentially, post-compromise security gives Surfshark users an added layer of privacy.

Dausos also incorporates post-quantum encryption, which can help protect against potential decryption threats from quantum computers in the future. Much like ExpressVPN, Surfshark’s hybrid post-quantum approach helps protect user data simultaneously from today’s threats as well as future threats.

«We introduced numerous steps, some of them never seen in any VPN protocol before, to maximize the security of our protocol,» Kaciulis said in a statement.

To help validate its claims, Surfshark commissioned German security firm Cure53 to run an independent audit of Dausos’ security. Cure53’s source code audit took place between February and March 2026 and focused on the connected architecture and cryptography of the Dausos protocol. The audit flagged eight findings within the Dausos protocol’s scope that Cure53 rated a medium severity or lower — most of which Cure53 says Surfshark immediately addressed.

«With no findings rated at Critical or High severity within the actual Dausos protocol itself, the audit results reflect a stable and resilient platform,» Cure53’s audit summary states. «The Surfshark team demonstrated a significant commitment to security by remediating the majority of the findings immediately following the testing phase.»

The Dausos protocol is currently only available on Surfshark’s MacOS VPN app. However, Surfshark told me via email that the team is actively working toward rolling out Dausos on other platforms «soon,» but cannot yet share a specific timeline.

For more information, check out the VPN settings to enable for optimal privacy, why VPN jurisdiction is critical for your privacy, how to speed up your VPN connection and why VPNs can’t make you completely anonymous online.

Technologies

Roblox Will Pay $12 Million to Settle Nevada Child Safety Lawsuit

The deal with the Nevada attorney general will require Roblox to have stricter safeguards to protect children online.

Popular gaming platform Roblox agreed to pay more than $12 million and implement new safety features as part of a settlement with the state of Nevada. This settlement comes amid several lawsuits accusing the company of an alleged lack of protection of children on the platform.

The agreement resolves potential litigation over allegations that Roblox failed to adequately safeguard children while they played the online game, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a press release on Wednesday.

As part of the deal, Roblox will spend $10 million over three years to encourage children to engage in non-digital activities, as well as institute age verification for all users. This will include «facial age estimation technology and government-issued ID for age assurance, and will use behavioral monitoring to identify users who may have been aged incorrectly,» according to the press release.

«The injunctive relief that Roblox has agreed to will give parents the tools they need to protect their children on the platform; institute default protections to block predators from engaging with children; and ensure that messages involving minors are not encrypted,» Ford said in the press release.

Roblox also committed to spending $1 million over two years on a campaign to educate minors and adults about online safety and another $1.5 million to develop a law enforcement liaison position to work with state law enforcement agencies over concerns about the platform.

Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said it’s part of the company’s «work to establish a new standard for digital safety.»

«This resolution creates a blueprint for how industry and regulators can work together to protect the next generation of digital citizens,» Kaufman said Thursday. «We have no finish line when it comes to safety.»

Roblox is under significant legal pressure amid more than 140 lawsuits, according to Reuters. The suits, filed in 2025, allege the company knowingly created a gaming platform that allowed child predators to target minors.

The company also faces lawsuits from state attorneys general in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and Florida over similar accusations.

Age-based accounts coming soon

Two days before the settlement announcement, Roblox CEO and founder David Baszucki revealed new accounts for younger Roblox users.

Roblox Kids will be available for children between the ages of 5 and 8, and Roblox Select is for those ages 9 to 15. Roblox is reportedly used by nearly half of US children under 16. Children who are older than 16 will be in their own age group, simply called «Roblox.»

Kids and Select accounts would be available in those age groups as determined by Roblox’s age-check technology or by a verified parent.

Unmonitored chat in the game has been a point of criticism for the platform, as it allows predators to chat with children. Kids’ accounts will have chat turned off by default, with limited access to Minimal or Mild games as determined by the platform. Select accounts will have chat with safeguards and access to games with Moderate content, which is described by the platforms as having «moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humor, unplayable gambling content, and/or moderate fear.»

These new age-based accounts will roll out sometime in early June.

Technologies

Opera Adds Browser Connector Feature to Integrate AI Chatbots Into Browsers

New feature will allow users to include the AI tools of their choice.

Opera announced Thursday the launch of a new tool that allows users of its browsers to include more AI chatbots in their browsing experience.

Browser Connector is a free feature for Opera One and Opera GX browsers that allows users to integrate AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude into their live browsing sessions via Model Context Protocol. MCP is an open standard developed by Anthropic that allows for a secure two-way connection between AI models, external data sources and tools such as search engines.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Last month, Opera introduced MCP compatibility to Opera Neon, its subscription-based agentic AI browser. Opera says the new feature willallow a user’s AI of choice to provide real-time context of open tabs and active content.

«With Browser Connector, Opera ensures users aren’t bound to a single company’s ecosystem, but are instead free to combine the best tools for their specific needs,» Mohamed Salah, senior director of product at Opera, said in a statement.

To enable the feature, which is now available in Early Bird mode, users need to go to Settings in the browser, search for «AI Services» and install the Browser Connector feature. They then have to connect ChatGPT or Claude to the feature.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 17, #571

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 17 No. 571.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tricky one, especially the purple category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: «Yer out!»

Green group hint: They score goals.

Blue group hint: Daddy dearest.

Purple group hint: Home, home on the…