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Decentralized VPNs - clueless edition (self.privacy)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by shapesandstuff to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

20 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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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[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 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.

[–] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

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

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 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.