- The biggest problem with our current methods
of privacy and security
is that they require us to trust at least one,
if not multiple companies
to properly handle, encrypt and store our data.
The power of Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies,
however, is this ability
to create a somewhat trustless system
that incentivizes a mutually beneficial network for users.
These blockchain networks
are currently disrupting the financial services industry
but today, I wanna explore with you what that might mean
for your privacy and security online.
(dramatic music)
Welcome to All Things Secured.
My name's Josh and I'm gonna be honest with you here.
I'm wading into waters that are a bit deep for me.
I mean, I understand the general concepts
behind blockchain, VPN encryption technology
and even how Tor works
but I don't wanna misrepresent myself here
as an expert in any one of these three things.
My goal is to simplify these complex subjects
by explaining them in ways
that the average person like you and me can understand.
If you've watched any of my VPN reviews here
on this YouTube channel,
you know that my one soapbox.
Who runs Surfshark anyway?
It's not entirely clear who owns and runs NordVPN.
So who is PureVPN?
The pet peeve that bothers me more than anything else
about this industry is that we're being asked
to place our trust in companies
that won't tell us a single thing about who they are
or who owns them.
If privacy is your primary concern,
then when using a traditional VPN,
it's not that you're using some magic technology
that makes you completely anonymous.
Essentially, you're merely replacing your distrust
of your internet service provider,
your network, your government
or whoever you're worried might be snooping
on your internet activity
with a trust in some random company
that makes plenty of promises about security and privacy
but for all intents and purposes
has no accountability to those promises.
When you connect to a VPN server,
you're rerouting all of your internet traffic
through that server.
To make matters worse,
in many cases, these servers aren't even owned
by the VPN companies themselves.
They simply rent the servers
from data centners around the world.
Now, this, in and of itself,
does not mean the VPNs aren't trustworthy.
I'm just pointing out the fact
that a VPN isn't a cloak of invisibility.
It's just a realignment of trust.
That's where something like a decentralized network begins
to look enticing.
I'm gonna back up here
and mention that this idea of a decentralized network
isn't anything new.
The Tor Project, which was originally developed
by the US Navy
to protect their own intelligence communications
was released publicly back in 2002.
Despite some pretty far-fetched conspiracy theories,
most experts agree
that although Tor isn't perfect,
it is a viable trustless network solution.
You see, Tor, which stands for The Onion Router,
is best explained by its namesake, an onion.
As data is passed through a volunteer network
of relay servers,
it's almost like an onion of security.
The first layer of security tells the first server,
or node, what to do.
Once this packet of data is sent along,
the next layer of the onion is peeled away,
revealing the instructions
for the next node and so on and so on and so on
until it finally reaches the destination.
Since each node operates on a need-to-know basis,
no one single node can see the whole story
of who is sending what data where.
But even Tor has its limitations.
For example, all of these layers of routing make
for extremely slow internet speeds.
The extra privacy and security measures only apply
to internet activity done
from within the Tor browser itself.
It doesn't cover any other app or programs
on your computer or mobile device.
Also, your internet service provider can still see
that you're connected to Tor
and your exit node,
which is where you leave the Tor network,
can eavesdrop on the internet traffic,
even if it doesn't know where it came from.
It's connecting those two points
that's extremely hard,
which is why Tor has been considered one
of the best privacy tools available today.
So if a VPN requires too much trust
and Tor is still open for eavesdropping,
what options are there?
Well, first, you could run what's known as Tor over VPN,
which simply means you're connecting to a VPN
and then running that connection
through the Tor network.
Or, and here's what's been really interesting to me lately,
you could start looking a newer development
called a decentralized VPN or dVPN for short.
Similar to cryptocurrency,
you're not placing your trust in a single company
but rather in the distributed power
of a global network.
For example, I've set up my Raspberry Pi 4
to run as a node
when I'm not in the office
and I earn some little bit of cryptocurrency
in exchange for sharing my unused bandwidth
with other users around the world.
There are a couple of startups
that are facilitating this push toward dVPN,
including Orchid, and Tachyon
but the one I've been using
is known as the Mysterium Network.
The way that Mysterium works,
I'm still using Wireguard or OpenVPN protocols
to encrypt my data
but then that data is sent through multiple nodes
until it reaches a specific exit node run by Mysterium.
As a user, I pay these public nodes
via cryptocurrency for the bandwidth I use
and for my Raspberry Pi,
I receive crypto for the bandwidth I provide.
A couple of things worth noting here
when it comes to the differences
between dVPN, a regular VPN and Tor.
First, dVPN is very similar
to running a VPN over Tor,
except that it's much faster
and you can actually control your exit nodes,
so you have the ability to unblock streaming content,
which Tor doesn't allow for.
dVPN is much harder to block
because unlike a VPN connection or a Tor connection,
your data is running through residential IPO addresses,
such as with my Raspberry Pi here in my office.
It's like walking through a crowd of people
in New York City.
You just blend in.
Decentralized VPNs, or at least the Mysterium Network
that I use, uses an open source code base
that has been reviewed and audited.
This is similar to Tor
but entirely different from the proprietary system set up
by the VPNs.
dVPN runs on a pay-as-you-go model,
based on the amount of bandwidth you use.
Tor is free, while a VPN is a monthly
or annual subscription service.
Finally, since your data is running
through a growing network of unaffiliated nodes,
unlike a traditional VPN,
it's technically impossible
for any centralized logs to be kept through a dVPN.
So this is all fine and good
but I'm also fully aware
that technology like this,
even if it's developed with good purposes in mind
is often used for unlawful
or even immoral purposes.
You can't throw the baby out with the bath water
but as a person who runs a public node
on this network, I also don't wanna be complicit
in criminal activity.
So I asked Mysterium about this
and their solution was interesting to me.
They've combated this in two ways.
First, as a node, I can choose
to accept only whitelisted traffic.
Meaning my node will only run streaming services
like Netflix, Pandora, Hulu and others.
This will limit my liability
but also limit my earning potential as a node.
Second, Mysterium takes on most of the liability
by maintaining all exit nodes for the network.
I only act as a relay and theoretically at least,
none of the traffic can be traced back to my relay node.
All right, like I said, these are some deep waters
and I'm trying to wade carefully here.
My point is this,
I've never been comfortable
with the trust that we place in these VPN companies
and I'm interested in how blockchain technology
can change that in the future.
We may still be using services like NordVPN,
or ExpressVPN going forward
because of the work of startups like Mysterium,
it could entirely change the way
that privacy and encryption is run.
I'll be doing a full review of Mysterium
in the coming weeks
but for now, if you've come this far,
the next step I'd really like for you to do
is to leave a comment on this video.
Do you agree with me?
Are you confused?
Is there something that I'm missing
or don't fully understand?
Let me know and let's start a discussion.
Until next time, stay safe.