Let's look at current methods of using a secure, anonymous, and free Internet.
There are a lot of restrictions on the modern Internet. But in addition to regional blockages that are relevant for our country, Internet users are often concerned about security and anonymity. What tools are better to use to" kill all birds with one stone " at once and not lose in productivity and convenience?
Why is online anonymity important?
When using the Internet "as is", without a VPN or Tor, websites, Internet service providers, and possibly other agencies get a lot of information about the user. Starting with Internet habits, ending with location. It is good if this information is used for such harmless things as contextual advertising. What if the user is suspected of any suspicious or illegal activity? Then contextual advertising will also seem like a small thing.
Technologies like Tor and DVPN address security and privacy concerns. They intercept traffic between the Internet service provider and the website, without revealing the user's real IP address or other sensitive data.
What isTor and how does it work?
Tor technology was developed by the US Navy Research Laboratory to help users connect to the Internet without leaving digital traces.
When you go to a particular website, the browser sends a request to the Internet service provider, which, in turn, connects to the site. In the case of Tor, users don't connect to the website directly. They connect to Tor servers that use onion (multi-layer) routing to ensure anonymity. The easiest way to use Tor networks is through the web browser of the same name. However, the corresponding functionality can be "screwed" to any browser using third-party extensions and additional programs.
All user requests-in any case, reach the Internet service provider. But when using Tor networks, traffic is not sent directly from the client to the website. Instead, it is sent to the input node of the Tor network. This way, the provider doesn't have any information about the final destination of the client's request.
Also, client requests are not sent from the login node to the target website. Instead, the data is sent to another node inside the Tor network, known as an intermediate relay. From there, the data is transmitted to the output relay, which finally sends the data to the website. When the exit node is reached, Tor transmits data to the website that was requested by the user. After receiving the response, the Tor network sends data back to the user along the same path.
Total, when a user connects to a website via Tor:
What are the disadvantages of using Tor?
While the use of Tor provides users with anonymity and security, it also has some weaknesses:
What are decentralized VPNs?
First, let's understand what a regular VPN is and how it works. A VPN (short for "Virtual Private Network", in Russian" virtual private networks") is a network of servers that collect Internet traffic, encrypt it, and send it to a website without disclosing privacy.
The problem with VPN services is that they are owned by private individuals. In other words, when using a VPN, all Internet traffic is routed by a third party. In this case, user data can be compromised at two points: at the Internet service provider and at the VPN provider. To solve this problem, there are decentralised VPNs.
Decentralized VPNs do not belong to any particular organization with a fixed server location. Instead, services in DVPN are provided by peers on the Internet.
Traffic to DVPN is routed using public devices connected to the DVPN network through a decentralized application. These devices are a collection of computers that are connected to a decentralized network and give up some of their Internet bandwidth in exchange for a cryptographic token generated by the network. In this regard, decentralized VPNs often offer faster browsing speeds compared to Tor.
Thus, both Tor and DVPN are a network of computers connected to each other. They collect user Internet traffic and send it to the desired website, without disclosing personal information. However, DVPN uses blockchain technologies to build the network, rather than onion routing like Tor.
All DVPN nodes can receive a reward for the services they provide, and there is no need to centralize the network in any way. In addition, when using Tor, users do not control the exit node from which traffic will go to the website. Therefore, it cannot be used to access content from a specific country. DVPN, by contrast, can be used to access country-specific content on streaming services, since users can choose the country from which they want to direct traffic.
Comparison of decentralized VPNs and Tor
Now that we have an understanding of how Tor and decentralized VPNs work, we can compare them to each other.
What should I choose: Tor or DVPN?
If you are looking for privacy and anonymity on the internet, Tor is the place for you. It not only offers multiple layers of data encryption, but also three-step onion routing. Together, this provides a very high degree of anonymity on the Internet.
If you want to unblock streaming content or visit websites blocked by the provider without losing speed, it is better to use a decentralized VPN.
There are a lot of restrictions on the modern Internet. But in addition to regional blockages that are relevant for our country, Internet users are often concerned about security and anonymity. What tools are better to use to" kill all birds with one stone " at once and not lose in productivity and convenience?
Why is online anonymity important?
When using the Internet "as is", without a VPN or Tor, websites, Internet service providers, and possibly other agencies get a lot of information about the user. Starting with Internet habits, ending with location. It is good if this information is used for such harmless things as contextual advertising. What if the user is suspected of any suspicious or illegal activity? Then contextual advertising will also seem like a small thing.
Technologies like Tor and DVPN address security and privacy concerns. They intercept traffic between the Internet service provider and the website, without revealing the user's real IP address or other sensitive data.
What isTor and how does it work?
Tor technology was developed by the US Navy Research Laboratory to help users connect to the Internet without leaving digital traces.
When you go to a particular website, the browser sends a request to the Internet service provider, which, in turn, connects to the site. In the case of Tor, users don't connect to the website directly. They connect to Tor servers that use onion (multi-layer) routing to ensure anonymity. The easiest way to use Tor networks is through the web browser of the same name. However, the corresponding functionality can be "screwed" to any browser using third-party extensions and additional programs.
All user requests-in any case, reach the Internet service provider. But when using Tor networks, traffic is not sent directly from the client to the website. Instead, it is sent to the input node of the Tor network. This way, the provider doesn't have any information about the final destination of the client's request.
Also, client requests are not sent from the login node to the target website. Instead, the data is sent to another node inside the Tor network, known as an intermediate relay. From there, the data is transmitted to the output relay, which finally sends the data to the website. When the exit node is reached, Tor transmits data to the website that was requested by the user. After receiving the response, the Tor network sends data back to the user along the same path.
Total, when a user connects to a website via Tor:
- the provider doesn't know which sites the user is visiting;
- websites do not receive any information about the user.
What are the disadvantages of using Tor?
While the use of Tor provides users with anonymity and security, it also has some weaknesses:
- Speed. Since the Tor network redirects all user requests through 3 internal nodes, this significantly affects the connection speed. The speed through Tor can be a hundred times lower than without it. Internet sites via Tor can sometimes take half a minute to load, even with a high-speed connection.
- Blocking some content. Since website owners do not receive user information such as their IP address and third-party cookie data when connecting via Tor, they can purposefully block Tor traffic. In other words, some sites through Tor simply do not open or do not work correctly. There aren't many such sites, but you should know about them.
- Potential vulnerabilities. Although Tor uses multiple layers of encryption and three different nodes to redirect traffic, the entry and exit nodes can be compromised, potentially leaking user data and location. Tor does not provide 100% protection.
What are decentralized VPNs?
First, let's understand what a regular VPN is and how it works. A VPN (short for "Virtual Private Network", in Russian" virtual private networks") is a network of servers that collect Internet traffic, encrypt it, and send it to a website without disclosing privacy.
The problem with VPN services is that they are owned by private individuals. In other words, when using a VPN, all Internet traffic is routed by a third party. In this case, user data can be compromised at two points: at the Internet service provider and at the VPN provider. To solve this problem, there are decentralised VPNs.
Decentralized VPNs do not belong to any particular organization with a fixed server location. Instead, services in DVPN are provided by peers on the Internet.
Traffic to DVPN is routed using public devices connected to the DVPN network through a decentralized application. These devices are a collection of computers that are connected to a decentralized network and give up some of their Internet bandwidth in exchange for a cryptographic token generated by the network. In this regard, decentralized VPNs often offer faster browsing speeds compared to Tor.
Thus, both Tor and DVPN are a network of computers connected to each other. They collect user Internet traffic and send it to the desired website, without disclosing personal information. However, DVPN uses blockchain technologies to build the network, rather than onion routing like Tor.
All DVPN nodes can receive a reward for the services they provide, and there is no need to centralize the network in any way. In addition, when using Tor, users do not control the exit node from which traffic will go to the website. Therefore, it cannot be used to access content from a specific country. DVPN, by contrast, can be used to access country-specific content on streaming services, since users can choose the country from which they want to direct traffic.
Comparison of decentralized VPNs and Tor
Now that we have an understanding of how Tor and decentralized VPNs work, we can compare them to each other.
What should I choose: Tor or DVPN?
If you are looking for privacy and anonymity on the internet, Tor is the place for you. It not only offers multiple layers of data encryption, but also three-step onion routing. Together, this provides a very high degree of anonymity on the Internet.
If you want to unblock streaming content or visit websites blocked by the provider without losing speed, it is better to use a decentralized VPN.
