Theoretically it should be possible for users to share access to each other of their own networks and allow the usage of their machines as a VPN hosts in a P2P way. This will remove the need of centralized VPN service providers when we can route our requests through a shared network of 1000s of users.
I was wondering if this is indeed possible or am I mistaken? Are there any services which actually run on this model? What are the downsides of using VPN in this way? Would you be interested in using them? I searched for such services but couldn’t find any would be very grateful if someone knowledgeable on this topic can comment
Tailscale https://tailscale.com creates a secure p2p private network across the Internet. On a small scale this is ideal for sharing computer access with trusted friends or for personal remote access to your home network.
That is a very valid point. Makes sense why these services are not more popular.
This story I’d seen somewhere on here. This was someone who set up a node on Mysterium and had his life ruined when police raided his home.
There are groups out there that encourage others to join a Tailscale, to create this global network for their users.
Just for the love of completeness:
when a direct connection isn’t possible due to hard NAT, firewalls, or another reason, devices can communicate using a DERP server as a relay.
Source: https://tailscale.com/kb/1232/derp-servers
Unlike Tor, every node in I2P is a relay (at least by default). Thus, I2P is better at being P2P, vs the comparably fewer Tor relays.
The amount you can earn on Mysterium I think isn’t worth the risk. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to open up my home to just anyone anywhere in the world being able to connect in and do whatever internet activities they please.
I use Mysterium myself to connect to other countries ans pick up clean residential IP’s that are not blacklisted at all. I’m about unblocking geo-restricted streaming services, signing up to things that need to bypass location restrictions. I know Google Play is particularly strict these days on IP’s and them not being associated to hosting providers.