# V2Ray knowledge base.

HTML: https://v2rc.app/learn/

Short, sourced articles for people who bring their own servers. Each one says what is established, what is only reported, and when it was last checked.

- [VLESS, VMess, Trojan or Shadowsocks: which one to use](https://v2rc.app/learn/choosing-a-protocol/index.md): How VLESS, VMess, Trojan and Shadowsocks differ on the wire, which holds up on restrictive networks, and what to ask for first. Includes what v2rc can import.
- [Russia: why V2Ray connects but loads nothing](https://v2rc.app/learn/russia/index.md): What is reported about blocking in Russia, including the 16 KB freeze, plus a checklist for “connected but nothing loads” and the legal background.
- [Iran: shutdowns, protocol whitelisting and your configs](https://v2rc.app/learn/iran/index.md): What research shows about Iran's 2025 and 2026 shutdowns, why only ports 53, 80 and 443 worked, and how to prepare your configs.
- [China: how the Great Firewall treats proxy traffic](https://v2rc.app/learn/china/index.md): What peer-reviewed research shows about how the Great Firewall detects proxies and encrypted traffic, and which 2026 claims cannot be verified.
- [What a VPN or proxy hides, and what it does not](https://v2rc.app/learn/privacy/index.md): Who can see what with and without a tunnel, why trust moves to the server operator, the leaks that catch people out, and what v2rc collects.
- [How to read a vmess://, vless://, ss:// or trojan:// link](https://v2rc.app/learn/read-a-config-link/index.md): What each part of a V2Ray config link means, with placeholder examples for VLESS, VMess, Shadowsocks and Trojan, and why a link is a credential.