{"id":427755,"date":"2022-04-06T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/"},"modified":"2022-04-06T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T19:00:00","slug":"what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is Shadowsocks, and How Does It Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23f9bfaddf8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23f9bfaddf8\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_Shadowsocks_and_How_Does_It_Work%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What Is Shadowsocks, and How Does It Work?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#What_Is_Shadowsocks\" >What Is Shadowsocks?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#Who_Developed_Shadowsocks\" >Who Developed Shadowsocks?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#What_Happened_to_Clowwindy\" >What Happened to Clowwindy?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#How_Does_Shadowsocks_Work\" >How Does Shadowsocks Work?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#Shadowsocks_and_VPNs\" >Shadowsocks and VPNs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/#Downsides_to_Shadowsocks\" >Downsides to Shadowsocks<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_Shadowsocks_and_How_Does_It_Work%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What Is Shadowsocks, and How Does It Work?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-795392 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_1994144405.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_1994144405.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_1994144405.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A wooden figure blocking connections.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/red-man-acts-contact-mediator-deliberate-1994144405\" data-credittext=\"Andrii Yalanskyi\/Shutterstock.com\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/red-man-acts-contact-mediator-deliberate-1994144405\">Andrii Yalanskyi\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to escape internet censorship, one interesting option is something called Shadowsocks. Not only is its name intriguing, it also promises to get you past any blocks safely. Let\u2019s see what this protocol can and cannot do.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_Shadowsocks\"><\/span>What Is Shadowsocks?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shadowsocks.org\/en\/index.html\">Shadowsocks<\/a> is a connection tool that lets you circumvent censorship. It\u2019s used widely in China by people looking to tunnel under the Great Firewall\u2014the digital barrier that keeps the Chinese internet \u201csafe\u201d from foreign influence\u2014as it\u2019s completely free, though you\u2019ll need some tech know-how to set it up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What to Expect from the Internet in China<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In fact, Shadowsocks is so good at getting past China\u2019s blocks that there\u2019s a good case to be made for it over another tool, virtual private networks (VPNs). Not only is using Shadowsocks free, it also hides traffic a little better than VPNs do. However, before we go into any more detail, let\u2019s first go over where Shadowsocks comes from.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_Developed_Shadowsocks\"><\/span>Who Developed Shadowsocks?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Shadowsocks was developed by a Chinese programmer only known as \u201cclowwindy,\u201d who put the initial commit (a version of a program or <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>) on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/shadowsocks\/shadowsocks\/commit\/418156debaf9f242f3c2bcc4badaa63e6630cb2a\">GitHub<\/a> in 2012. The protocol was a huge success and clowwindy kept working on it for several years, as well as developing a free VPN called ShadowVPN.<\/p>\n<p>In 2015, however, Clowwindy left <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20150822042959\/https:\/\/github.com\/shadowsocks\/shadowsocks-iOS\/issues\/124#issuecomment-133630294\">a message<\/a> on a GitHub thread stating that the police had found him and had asked him to stop working on Shadowsocks and, presumably, ShadowVPN. He also was forced to delete the code on GitHub and he had \u201cno choice but to obey.\u201d He added that \u201cI hope one day I\u2019ll live in a country where I have freedom to write any code I like without fearing.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Happened_to_Clowwindy\"><\/span>What Happened to Clowwindy?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>After this last message, it has remained quiet surrounding clowwindy. According to this <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/prinsss.github.io\/about-clowwindy-archive\/\">blog post<\/a>, after clowwindy had an \u201cinvitation to tea\u201d (a term with about the same level of threat as the KGB\u2019s infamous \u201cfriendly chat\u201d), they briefly surfaced to show they were okay, and then faded away.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, though, clowwindy\u2019s work has not been relegated to the dustbin of history. Instead, a team of enthusiasts has carried on their work and kept working on Shadowsocks. At the time of writing in March 2022, it\u2019s a powerful piece of communication <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> that has gotten even better at getting past blocks.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Does_Shadowsocks_Work\"><\/span>How Does Shadowsocks Work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Shadowsocks is interesting because it\u2019s like a lot of other things, but just different enough that it deserves its own category. Technically, it\u2019s just a proxy: it reroutes an internet connection through a third server, making it appear like you\u2019re in a different location.<\/p>\n<p>In a regular network connection, like the one you\u2019re likely using now, you connect to your internet service provider\u2019s server and then to the website you want to visit. If the authorities want to block a site, the internet service provider (ISP) is usually told to prevent access to its IP address. Using a proxy means you go from the ISP to an unblocked server and then to the site you want.<\/p>\n<p>However, regular proxies are notoriously unsafe: there\u2019s no good way to secure the connection, for one, and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly speaking, most sites can figure out quite easily that you\u2019re using one. Shadowsocks, however, is based on a proxy protocol called SOCKS5 that secures the connection using an AEAD cipher\u2014roughly along the same lines as an SSH tunnel.<\/p>\n<p>Though AEAD ciphers are generally considered not quite as secure as the more common AES encryption (here\u2019s one <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.anrdoezrs.net\/links\/3607085\/type\/am\/sid\/795336\/https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007\/978-3-642-22185-9_1\">academic paper<\/a> if you\u2019d like to know more), they\u2019re a big step up from regular proxies. They generally either use an HTTP-based protocol\u2014pretty much just a rerouted unsecured connection\u2014or an earlier SOCKS version which also isn\u2019t encrypted. Using either one means you\u2019re leaving yourself open to possible spying by, well, almost anybody.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Shadowsocks_and_VPNs\"><\/span>Shadowsocks and VPNs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Reading the above, you may think that Shadowsocks sounds an awful lot like virtual private networks, which also reroute connections, but secure them as well. However, because Shadowsocks\u2019 encryption is a little more lightweight, it doesn\u2019t offer the same security as a VPN does.<\/p>\n<p>However, the lighter encryption does mean that Shadowsocks can fly under the radar better than a VPN can. If they wanted to, an ISP could clearly identify VPN traffic, but a Shadowsocks connection is a lot harder to identify because it looks practically identical to a regular HTTPS connection.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Downsides_to_Shadowsocks\"><\/span>Downsides to Shadowsocks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Because of these reasons, Shadowsocks is a great choice to dodge censorship blocks. However, it\u2019s not perfect and there are some downsides, especially if compared to VPNs or even Tor.<\/p>\n<p>For one, Shadowsocks requires a bit of setup and you need to understand a little how computers and connections work. VPNs generally just need to be installed and you\u2019re good to go; using Shadowsocks means you need to sit down and read through <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shadowsocks.org\/en\/config\/quick-guide.html\">the documentation<\/a> and set up a server.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on how you set it up, there\u2019s a chance that Shadowsocks might take a good whack out of your internet speed. Any rerouting technology will reduce your speed, but some are worse than others. A good server will reduce the pain, but generally speaking, using Shadowsocks means a much slower connection. Also, unlike VPNs, you can\u2019t use Shadowsocks to change your Netflix region or even to torrent files.<\/p>\n<p>However, you could also argue that none of that matters: Shadowsocks was developed as a way to circumvent the blocks placed on free speech by a despotic regime and to do so for free. At that, it succeeds admirably and we recommend anybody looking to escape internet censorship at least look into it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/795336\/what-is-shadowsocks-and-how-does-it-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What Is Shadowsocks, and How Does It Work?&#8221; Andrii Yalanskyi\/Shutterstock.com If you\u2019re looking to escape internet censorship, one interesting option is something called Shadowsocks. Not only is its name intriguing, it also promises to get you past any blocks safely. Let\u2019s see what this protocol can and cannot do. What Is Shadowsocks? Shadowsocks is a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_1994144405.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}