Privacy

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Decentralized VPNs - clueless edition (feddit.org)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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EDIT: sorry for the rambly post here's a quick clarification I wanted a decentralized/open source variant of something like NordVPN etc.

Crypto-based options I found: Sentinel, Mysterium , Orchid All of those are on the Blockchain and use their own coins as a payment system, both to pay usage fees and to pay out node-hosts. Not sure if that's my jam.

I tried to use the search and came up short - so point me elsewhere if there's already a discussion.

Let me preface this by saying I'm pretty green when it comes to a lot of the deeper aspects of FOSS privacy tools. Meaning that i'm probably more clueless about this topic than I realise.

Had a bit of a shower thought moment earlier and googled if decentralized VPNs are an option for the occasional torrent.
Did a bit of a google and came up with a couple of options, seemingly all tied into a blockchain with their own coin for payments - either using or hosting a node.

I'm a bit allergic to cryptobros and their blockchain-everything-mentality but I suppose it's not a terrible system for the usecase?

So are there people on here who have hands-on experience with this? Is it a valid tool for safer browsing and torrenting?

Are there any obvious alternatives I should look into?

Are there any obvious risks I'm not aware of?

Is the concept flawed altogether?

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Tor for browsing is similar to a VPN. I2p and Tribbler for downloads is also similar. You could also just rent a cheap VPS and set up your own VPN. There's a high chance people will be doing illegal shit through a VPN-like services, so I don't think a p2p VPN-like service where everyone is like an exit node is viable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I use tor as a VPN (the tor org has finally realized and accepted people use it like this and welcome it now) via the tor network layer. I'll run a few instances and run my stuff through them. (Easier to set up a conjure or webtunnel bridge and exit node to a specific country than rely on the randomness of tor browser where some countries have restrictions or are restricted from accessing certain sites.)

If I need that extra sense of anonymity, I'll use the tor browser.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Tor isn't really VPN. Its much slower, and is far more likely to get blocked compared to a VPN.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

True. Technically just a proxy.

But, I'm broke. And it's fast enough (with the right node)

So tor and protonvpn are what I use.

I've had issue with proton being blocked though, too. But a quick server change and everything is OK.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah I was thinking of TOR when I read about the concept, but I did read a lot in the past how a lot of the nodes aren't really secure anymore.
I'll check out the other suggestions. The sidebar doesn't mention piracy, so I'll just come out the gate and say that that's my usecase via torrents.
Which can get pretty expensive where I live due to absurd legal definitions. My thought process was if a P2P VPN gets me through another country where it's not persecuted as much I'd be safer than going with the proprietary big names.