MASQ: Assuring Universal Access to Web3

With various countries and their governments banning crypto and web3 access, it can be tough for some global web3 enthusiasts to participate. Responding to the challenge of providing full accessibility to web3 enthusiasts in any part of the globe, MASQ has launched its complete web3 access, freedom, and privacy software toolkit!

What is MASQ?

MASQ is the world’s most advanced decentralized Mesh VPN (dMeshVPN), browser, app library, protocol, utility token, and earning ecosystem that makes living in web3 anonymous and private. By providing everything web3 users need to engage from anywhere, regardless of regional restrictions, MASQ is the foundation for a decentralized privacy-based ecosystem.

Through a uniquely designed software solution, everyday internet surfers, privacy-centric netizens, and advanced freedom advocates will have access to the most powerful tools  available to experience borderless browsing. As a fully decentralized internet network, data traffic is not dependent upon a singular central server or set of servers.

Crucially, this next-generation software lets your device connect to others safely while running MASQ, and together, MASQ users across the world form a virtual private decentralized mesh network where users earn $MASQ, the ecosystem’s utility token, when they share their bandwidth with the network. Browsing services are also paid for automatically with $MASQ token.

MASQ Features

• Borderless browsing and online privacy without tracking
• Ability to earn passive crypto by sharing Internet bandwidth with the MASQ Network.
• Uncensored access to the metaverse, crypto platforms, and web3 dApps.
• In-built web3 library curated by the team and community.
• For web3 builders, the MASQ Network enables you to scale your platform by allowing users to access them through the web3 app library. Users can interact privately and without restriction from anywhere in the globe.

Why is MASQ an essential piece of web3 software?

The many benefits of MASQ software means that it is the ideal solution for everyone from  everyday people and those looking for privacy and security above typical VPN and onion routing solutions to builders in the web3 space.

Users in regions where censorship and online surveillance are common will benefit significantly from this technology's enhanced privacy features and expanded access capabilities while engaging with all that web3 and crypto have to offer. By all rights, it is a game changer.

For those who live in regions with unrestricted access, using MASQ is a way to support true internet freedom, fight illegitimate uses of censorship, and earn passive income by sharing their bandwidth with those in regions that are desperate for borderless browsing.

Built on the Ethereum blockchain and Polygon, MASQ combines the power of blockchain networking with the best features of VPN and Tor-like technology, thus, the combination of these privacy tool technologies creates a privacy solution that is superior to either of those on their own. Further custom communications and encryption techniques allow MASQ to work on top of the standard web2 infrastructure without requiring special hardware or servers.

Data routed between these nodes is unidentifiable from its origin since it is routed through a minimum of 3 hops, putting an end to ISP spying and a centralized provider’s ability to track user data. The result is a platform that allows users to request content they ordinarily would be barred from accessing because of strict geographical restrictions.

What is a dMeshVPN?

A mesh network is a local network in which several computers, or "nodes," are connected to one another to efficiently route data to and from clients. When using the MASQ Network, your device links with 4-5 other users to dynamically route traffic between yourselves, fulfilling each other's data needs. This is different from traditional VPNs, which only establish connections with another single computer through a tunnel network.

This is profoundly important, for MASQ software is NOT an end-to-end client-to-server solution that merely links you to another user as is the case with conventional VPN services. MASQ Network functions above the level of a VPN, free of the many flaws and limitations of that network topology.

As a result, users gain more privacy and access to more global content because of the mesh network's ability to safely connect to many different, globally connected Nodes.

How does it work?

MASQ software ensures global access across the common operating system, be it Windows, Linux, or MacOS.

MASQ uses ‘hops’ between the nodes to pass on encrypted data from one user to another, while maintaining anonymity and privacy.

These ‘Hops’ form refers to the route a data packet takes while moving from the user to the end server where the content is desired. In other words, it is the trip taken by a data packet for traveling from the source to the destination and back.

With MASQ, these hops allow users to retrieve data that is not available in their geolocation, so long as it is being served in any other region of an available distant node.

Because your data is encrypted along the entire route, each node sending on your data request is unable to view what is inside; only the end server  can read the request. While keeping the origin and destination hidden from the routing nodes, maximum privacy is assured.Network routing security is what helps MASQ stand out from other VPN and dVPN solutions. MASQ nodes route requests via several peers in hops while maintaining network security in the following ways:

1. HTTPS consuming traffic gets encrypted in the way that modern internet protocols work.
2. Consuming traffic gets encrypted by TLS handshake between server and the browser. All CORES packages get encrypted with keypairs that the node uses.
3. Request payload only gets encrypted for the exit node and response payloads for consuming origin.

How to start using MASQ?

Currently, early access  groups in the community have been invited to join in the Beta testing for the current software. A public Beta pre-mainnet release is planned for later in 2022.

To join MASQ Beta, you can sign up using the newsletter widget on Twitter: Twitter.com/masq_ai

Advanced users can compile and run the software from Github, although  technical understanding is required. Here are the main requirements  needed to access the current version of the software in beta testing:

• Mumbai MATIC
• tMASQ tokens for Testnet (can be requested in the MASQ Discord server
• If Serving (standard mode) – Access to router to allow port forwarding for your clandestine-port
• Node ID (node neighbor descriptor) – You may get these from community members, which appear in the following form:

You may begin using the CLI testing in Windows or Linux.

The MASQ App Beta software can be downloaded, installed, and set up in under five minutes. Users begin browsing after three simple steps to set up their wallet and password, connect to Polygon for earning and spending $MASQ, and connect to the network. See the Youtube tutorial demonstrating the process.

MASQ users , access the borderless browsing features without requiring a subscription by using the $MASQ utility token to make payments while they browse with the MASQ software connected.

Summary

MASQ is a dMeshVPN, browser, web3 Store, protocol, token, and earning ecosystem that makes living in web3 anonymous and private. The unique MASQ software provides borderless internet access for all netizens through a seamless User Experience while combining the benefits of VPN and Tor technology to offer superior privacy features.