Here is an article that is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, it is a topic that I suggest that all computer users should be familiar with this new technology:

Without a question, the Internet has completely changed the way we live. It has altered the way we communicate, travel, work, get information, and engage with one another. We benefit from an increased degree of freedom as a result of the democratization and decentralization of information. As a result, the public's access to information about issues affecting both the globe and themselves has increased significantly thanks to the Internet. The mainstream media and centralized authorities are losing influence as a result of the Internet.

But not everything is perfect. We have overlooked—or have been forced to overlook—something as significant in our haste to seize the liberties provided by the Internet: our privacy. People often forget that they are the real product of these new free services, as billions of people rush to sign up for the newest social media networks.

Parts of the Internet became factories for data collecting, with important user information and data being handed on to the platforms' real customers — the highest bidder — thanks to incentives from "free" platforms and peer pressure. Large swaths of the Internet were taken over by a few dominant firms, which harvested data property that did not belong to them, weakened privacy rights, and made censorship easier. (Can you say "Google" or "FaceBook" boys and girls?)

Privacy awareness has increased as a result of this centralizing influence as well as other worries about accessibility, surveillance, and net neutrality. In order to provide a more democratic, private, secure, censorship-resistant, and decentralized Internet of the future, there is an increase in the use of VPN and DPN services.

Virtual private networks (VPNs)

I rather like the Wikipedia definition of VPNs:

"A virtual private network (VPN) is a mechanism for creating a secure connection between a computing device and a computer network, or between two networks, using an insecure communication medium such as the public Internet.

A VPN can extend access to a private network (one that disallows or restricts public access) to users who do not have direct access to it, such as an office network allowing secure access from off-site over the Internet.

The benefits of a VPN include security, reduced costs for dedicated communication lines, and greater flexibility for remote workers.

A VPN is created by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of tunneling protocols over existing networks. A VPN available from the public Internet can provide some of the benefits of a private wide area network (WAN)."

You can read more about VPNs on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network as well as on dozens of other web sites.

Private Networks That Are Decentralized

Decentralized Private Networks, sometimes known as decentralized VPNs (often abbreviated to DPN or DVPN), function similarly to virtual private networks (VPNs) in that they transit web traffic via encrypted tunnels over decentralized networks as opposed to centralized ones. Higher security levels are ensured by serverless and distributed architecture, which prevents user data from being tracked, compromised, or subpoenaed.

VPNs are growing in popularity as people become more conscious of privacy concerns and challenges related to data and information centralization. Blockchain and cryptocurrency innovators are already taking advantage of this need to provide decentralized enhanced security for online users.

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