{"id":1015,"date":"2022-07-20T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/?p=1015"},"modified":"2022-07-20T04:34:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T04:34:24","slug":"decentralized-vpns-a-trustless-alternative-to-centralized-vpns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/decentralized-vpns-a-trustless-alternative-to-centralized-vpns\/","title":{"rendered":"Decentralized VPNs, A Trustless Alternative to Centralized VPNs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

tl;dr Summary:<\/strong> Decentralized VPNs bring the concept of trustlessness and decentralization to the world of existing VPN solutions and promise better privacy and security to its users.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual Private Networks or VPNs are a way users can obtain online privacy and anonymity by encasing their internet traffic in a private network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, when you access a website, a link is established between your computer, the server of your internet service provider, and the server that houses the website. When using a VPN, this link gets redirected through a secure tunnel which diverts your traffic through different areas, effectively hiding your location and making it difficult to trace your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even while using a public network (cafe or a hotspot), a VPN’s encryption technology prohibits anyone who might be listening in on your activity from reading your data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although VPNs hide your online behavior from intermediaries like your internet service provider, the VPN operator itself can see everything. Most top-rated VPN providers have no-log policies that guarantee otherwise but you’re ultimately taking them at their word<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, even with multiple locations around the world through which they route traffic, existing VPNs are not sufficiently decentralized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is a Decentralized VPN?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A decentralized VPN (dVPN) replaces centralized data centers used by traditional VPN service providers with a peer-to-peer network of nodes. A node could be a server, a person’s phone, laptop, or even a desktop computer running inactively in an office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ultimate goal is to build a “trustless network” where users connect to specific distributed nodes using encrypted protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source: https:\/\/hackernoon.com\/a-decentralised-blockchain-based-vpn-network-could-be-the-future-of-private-communication-ee93b664a604<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because of the distributed nature of dVPN, there is zero chance that user data will ever be collected or logged in a centralized fashion. It makes them more trustworthy (or trustless) than their centralized counterparts. In addition, like with most P2P networks, the network grows more secure, resilient, and robust as the number of nodes increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most dVPN companies offer two plans: those that let you pay for access like a regular VPN and those that let you earn credit by allowing others to route through your devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, this sounds a little dubious, as you’re allowing total strangers access to your devices. But this is not true. Users can only use your machine or phone to route their internet traffic through, and at no point do they have access to your device. In return for sharing your bandwidth, you get compensated with the native token of the network, and this is the incentive structure built into the model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

dVPN vs. Tor vs. VPN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A decentralized VPN is not a brand-new concept. The US Navy first created the Tor project to safeguard internal intelligence communications. It was made available to the general public in 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to understand Tor, which stands for “The Onion Router,” is to look at an onion. An almost-onion-like layer of security is applied as data is routed through a volunteer network of relay servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n