MaskNet knowledge base
Internet, VPN and security, explained plainly
Practical material on internet speed, VPN, IP addresses, DNS, encryption, privacy and the technology inside MaskNet. We explain how these things actually work, where the real risks are, and what you can do for a faster, steadier and better protected connection.
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The essentials about the internet and a protected connection
- Speed and internet
Why YouTube is slow, even when your internet is fast
At RKN's request, providers throttle traffic to YouTube's servers while the rest of the internet runs at full speed. How to tell throttling from network problems, and what to do.
Why YouTube is slow - Privacy
What websites can learn from your IP address
An IP address can tell a site your approximate location, your internet provider and a few details about the connection. Here is what it genuinely reveals and what it cannot show.
Learn more about IP - Security
How safe is public Wi-Fi
HTTPS already covers a large share of modern web traffic, yet public networks still call for care. Here are the real risks, without the outdated scare stories.
Read about Wi-Fi safety - Privacy
What a VPN does and what it hides
A VPN encrypts your traffic and replaces your IP with the server's address. What it hides from your provider and websites, what it doesn't, and whether it's legal to use.
What a VPN does
Topics
Pick a direction
Not working
Step-by-step checks when a VPN won't connect: the network, the subscription, the app, iPhone settings and provider blocking.
What to checkSpeed and internet
Why a connection sometimes drags, what VPN speed depends on, and why the same plan speed can feel completely different across apps and networks.
About internet speedSecurity
Public Wi-Fi, account protection, a secure connection and the practical steps that genuinely lower everyday risk online.
About securityPrivacy
What an IP address reveals, what sites can see, what a VPN protects, and where network privacy reaches its limits.
About privacyVPN and technology
VPN protocols, encryption, DNS and the other building blocks of modern protected data transfer.
About VPN and technologyUsing MaskNet
How MaskNet technology is built, how the service handles local and international sites, and why you never have to manage network settings by hand.
About MaskNetApps and keys
Installing Happ and INCY, checking an app by its developer, keys and subscriptions.
About the apps
MaskNet technology
How MaskNet works
Smart routing sends the traffic of Russian services — Gosuslugi, banks, marketplaces — outside the VPN tunnel; everything else goes through our servers in 10 countries. We handle protocols and routes; all you do is press one button.
All articles
Everything in the knowledge base
- Speed and internetWhy YouTube is slow, even when your internet is fast
Why YouTube is slow on a fast connection, how to tell throttling from network problems, and what to do.
- Speed and internetWhat VPN speed depends on
Which factors shape the speed of a protected connection, and why the answer changes from network to network.
- PrivacyWhat websites can learn from your IP address
What a public IP address genuinely reveals, and why it does not hand anyone your home address.
- SecurityHow safe is public Wi-Fi
What HTTPS already covers and which risks remain in cafés, airports, hotels and other public networks.
- PrivacyWhat a VPN does and what it hides
How a VPN works, what it hides from your provider, websites and the Wi-Fi owner, what it doesn't hide, and whether it's legal to use in Russia.
- Using MaskNetMaskNet technology
Modern protocols, smart routing, distributed infrastructure and MaskNet's own engineering.
- Using MaskNetHow MaskNet works with Russian and international services
Why banks, Gosuslugi and Russian websites work without turning MaskNet off.
- VPN and technologyVPN and proxy protocols: VLESS, Hysteria2, NaiveProxy, WireGuard, AnyTLS
A protocol settles three things: how the client proves it belongs, how the data is packaged, and what the connection looks like from outside.
- VPN and technologyHow data is encrypted on the internet
How plain data becomes ciphertext, what keys are for, and where TLS and VPNs fit in.
- SecurityThe risks of free VPNs
Someone still pays for a free VPN — here is how those services make money and what it costs you.
- PrivacyBrowser fingerprinting: how sites recognise you without cookies
How sites recognise the same browser by the combination of its settings, and why it works without cookies.
- PrivacyWhat a DNS leak is
Why your provider can still see the list of sites you open with a VPN on, and how to check.
- PrivacyDNS substitution: why a Russian resolver is a leak
How Russian resolvers and the NSDI distort DNS answers, what it looks like for you and how to check where your DNS lookups go.
- Apps and keysHapp disappeared from the App Store: how to find and install the real Happ
The real Happ is identified by its developer: Flyfrog LLC in the App Store, HappDev in Google Play.
- Apps and keysHow to change your Apple ID region: a 2026 step-by-step guide
The Apple ID region is changed in iPhone settings. Before that, the balance must be zero and subscriptions cancelled and expired.
- Not workingVPN not working: what to check, step by step
Seven checks from simple to complex: internet without the VPN, the subscription, a restart, the network, the server, date and time, reinstalling the app.
- Apps and keysVPN keys: what they are, where to get one and why free keys stop working
A key is a string with the server address and connection settings. How it differs from a subscription, where to get one and why free keys stop working.
- Not workingMobile internet whitelists: what they are and what's on them
The list of websites and services available when mobile internet is restricted: what's on it, which operators apply it and why a VPN stops connecting.
- Not workingInternational traffic fee in Russia: what is known as of October 6, 2026
What is known about a fee for foreign traffic on mobile internet in Russia: 15 GB in spring, 50 GB on 5G in autumn, the price per gigabyte, timing and whether it covers VPN.
- Apps and keysWhere to get a key or subscription for Happ
Happ is a free client with no servers of its own. How a key differs from a subscription, who issues them, whether it costs money, and what to check before paying.
- Apps and keysHow to add a subscription to Happ
A subscription or key is added to Happ with the service's button, from the clipboard or by QR code. How to refresh a subscription and what to do when Happ shows an error.
- Apps and keysHapp is not connecting: what to check
No servers in Happ, Timeout, “Connected” but no internet. What each symptom means in Happ and what to check before writing to support.
- Apps and keysWhere to get a key or subscription for INCY
INCY does not sell VPN access: a key or subscription comes from a service. Which formats INCY reads, whether a Happ subscription works in it, and how to choose a service.
- Apps and keysHow to add a subscription to INCY
A subscription is added to INCY through a service link, from the clipboard, by QR code or as a .conf file. How to send it to a TV and what to do if the import fails.
- Apps and keysINCY is not connecting: what to check
An empty server list, a timeout, no internet after connecting, one site that won't open. A walk through INCY's screens: subscription, routing, kill switch, logs.