dVPN (decentralized VPN) is a peer-to-peer network of independent computers operated by ordinary people like you and me. These computers serve as gateways into the unrestricted Internet. Once you’re connected to dVPN, you no longer connect to Internet services directly. Instead, it looks like you’re connecting from one of the many computers around the globe.
What is dVPN?
How does a dVPN work?
A decentralized VPN (dVPN) utilizes a community-driven network of nodes. These nodes are small servers operated by individuals located around the world. Instead of connecting to a VPN through a dedicated server owned by a VPN company, users connect to one of the 11,000 nodes globally. The traffic is intended to be encrypted and passed through residential or data center nodes.
Once connected to the dVPN network, the user’s real IP is designed to be hidden, making their traffic appear indistinguishable from that of many data centers or residential IPs around the globe. This design makes it more challenging for government firewalls to analyze and intercept dVPN traffic that is flowing to another country, as it resembles regular residential traffic, thereby facilitating easier access to geo-restricted content.
Benefits of a dVPN
Superior Privacy: A dVPN aims to obscure your true IP address and location by routing traffic through a randomly-selected shared node rather than a single centralized server. This design makes it more difficult for third parties to track your activities. Additionally, because dVPN technology is intended to make it technically challenging to collect user logs in a central database, it significantly reduces the ability of a dVPN company to store or sell your data.
Better Security: Decentralized VPNs are designed to eliminate the single point of failure present in centralized VPNs. The distributed architecture aims to ensure that, in the unlikely event one node is compromised, it will not impact the rest of the network.
Censorship Resistance: A dVPN strives to make it significantly harder for government bodies to monitor, control, or block your traffic compared to a centralized VPN. With no single point of control to target, it aims to eliminate opportunities for surveillance and to remove restrictions on accessing geo-restricted content.
Stop Centralization: By choosing a dVPN, you support a solution that promotes the future of a decentralized Internet. It seeks to transfer power from centralized corporations to the community and the user. The goal is to prevent any single company from controlling the Internet. The dVPN is your way of standing up to centralization.
What kind of people should use a dVPN
“I want to stand up to Internet centralization”.
Traditional VPNs have, to some extent, become the centralized corporations they once sought to challenge. Large amounts of traffic pass through their servers, contributing to a centralized Internet where a few corporations control much of the online activity. A dVPN aims to mitigate this by placing more power back into the hands of the end user, allowing people to access the decentralized web in a private, secure environment free from corporate oversight.
“I want to achieve privacy and anonymity by default”.
A dVPN is designed for those who prioritize their digital privacy. It strives to safeguard you against tracking and monitoring from third parties. Unlike a centralized VPN, where traffic is routed through a company server, dVPNs rely on thousands of community-driven nodes, making it more challenging for companies and governments to track you.
“I want to prevent companies from selling my data”.
While a VPN provider may promise not to collect and sell your data, it can be difficult to verify this assurance. dVPNs are designed to make centralized storing of user logs very difficult. Traffic is encrypted and sent to a randomly-selected shared node operated by an unrelated party, aiming to eliminate centralized points where data can be collected and used. If you want to put a stop to centralized corporations using your information, a dVPN is your way of fighting back.
“I want to access regional content without being censored”.
VPNs have historically been effective at allowing access to geo-restricted content, but streaming services are increasingly able to block these VPNs by identifying their IP ranges. With a dVPN, user traffic is intended to appear like residential IPs, and the community-driven nodes mean there is no singular point for streaming services and government firewalls to target, aiming to ensure continuous access to regional content.
COMPARE
dVPN and centralized VPN compared
dVPN
- Traffic is passed through independent peer-to-peer network.
- IPs are mostly residential, which are harder (or impossible) to block (censor).
- Harder for country firewalls to make a decision to analyse traffic as it looks like a regular p2p traffic.
- No-logs policy enforced by technology, rather than human-beings.
Centralized VPN
- All your traffic is passed through servers of single company.
- IPs are always the same and known to Internet services. Easy to censor/block.
- Easier for country firewalls to make a decision to analyse traffic as it’s known to be a VPN traffic.
- No-logs policy: black-box, as no-one knows if company or employees are collecting your data.
VPN vs dVPN Summary
dVPNs are positioned as a promising option for anonymous browsing. Unlike centralized VPNs, which can be vulnerable to data logging and IP blocking, the architecture of decentralized VPNs aims to make tracking and censoring more challenging.
A dVPN is designed for those who believe that digital privacy and anonymity are fundamental rights rather than mere aspirations. It is for those who want to access the Internet as it was intended to be accessed—free from restrictions and censorship. It is also for those who wish to challenge centralization and take control of their browsing experience. If you seek enhanced privacy, improved security, unrestricted access, and a community-driven network that aims to put power back into your hands, a dVPN is the right choice for you.
Privacy and Security
Privacy
With a dVPN, traffic is intended to be disguised by a randomly-selected shared node. This design makes it significantly more difficult for any third party to track your online activity, as the traffic flows through different nodes on each connection, and the user remains unknown to the node provider. This architecture is designed to make it technically challenging for a dVPN provider to collect logs, even if they wanted to.
Security
The benefits of a dVPN also extend to security. dVPNs utilize robust encryption standards, such as military-grade AES-256, which are designed to make it considerably harder for attackers to intercept and decrypt data. Even if one node in the peer-to-peer network is compromised, the rest are intended to remain secure. This serves as a prevention mechanism to help stop any malicious actor from gaining access to your data.
CAUSE
Stop Internet centralization
As centralized VPN providers are getting bigger and bigger, enormous chunk of Internet traffic goes through their servers and it’s up to them what they do with this information.
“No single company should posses such huge power.”
This is NOT how the Internet was intended to operate. Our goal is to stop Internet centralization into hands of few.
The Future of Decentralized VPNs
The future of dVPNs appears promising. As awareness grows about the detrimental effects of a centralized Internet controlled by big corporations, more users are recognizing the impact on privacy and data security. Alongside other decentralized applications, dVPNs are expected to gain popularity as users appreciate the potential benefits of a more fair, more secure environment that aims to return control to the individual.
As this paradigm shift progresses and dVPN providers gain more resources to support their networks, we anticipate improved cross-network interoperability, enhanced user experiences, better interfaces, and increased incentives for users to join the dVPN community.
These advancements are likely to support the growth of substantial peer-to-peer networks, aiming to provide a secure, private environment for millions of users worldwide—a thriving ecosystem designed to give control of the Internet back to its users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are dVPN and DPN the same?
Yes, they are essentially the same. You might hear it referred to as a dVPN, DPN, or even a d VPN. All of these terms refer to a decentralized VPN—it just depends on who you ask.
Are dVPNs legal?
dVPNs are generally legal anywhere VPNs are permitted. Many countries acknowledge your right to a secure, private Internet connection that protects you from cybercriminals and safeguards your online activity from monitoring. However, the legality depends on where you live. Some countries, such as Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Iraq, ban VPNs and dVPNs entirely. Other countries like China, India, Egypt, and Russia only allow government-approved VPNs. It’s important to check your local data privacy laws to understand the rules that apply to you.
How does blockchain technology support dVPNs?
Blockchain technology supports dVPNs by creating a secure, transparent environment for community-driven networks to thrive. It aims to empower users with decentralized identity management, contributing to enhanced user privacy. Additionally, smart contracts can be used to reward users who contribute their resources to the VPN network.
What are the disadvantages of dVPN?
One of the traditional disadvantages of a dVPN is that it can be harder to understand. The setup process is often more involved than that of a traditional VPN, which can be off-putting to beginners. However, Portals is addressing this by combining the benefits of dVPNs with the easy setup offered by centralized VPNs. You can set up Portals dVPN in just a few clicks.
How can I trust a dVPN provider?
With a centralized VPN provider, you typically need to rely on their assurance that they won’t use your data for malicious purposes. However, with a dVPN, collecting or storing the data of a particular user is designed to be very difficult. Traffic is sent directly to a random shared node operated by an unrelated host. This eliminates a centralized server where data can be collected. Trust is, therefore, largely enforced by the technology itself, reducing the need to rely solely on the VPN provider’s word.
Are dVPNs more expensive than centralized VPNs?
Not necessarily. As with any dVPN or VPN service, the cost can vary depending on the solution you choose. On average, a dVPN solution is designed to be comparable in price to any other VPN solution on the market.
How to choose the right dVPN?
All dVPNs should offer a base level of privacy, security features, and different server locations to cater to various needs. What sets the best decentralized VPNs apart from the good ones is ease of use and responsive human customer service. Choose a solution like PortalsVPN, which strives to provide a simple setup process, outstanding customer support, and an intuitive interface to make your dVPN easier to use.
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