The VPNs most people use are purchased through centralized VPN companies.
...
Could you answer my question above:
what's the difference between this project and Tor except that Tor nodes are free for everyone and still are decentralised?
Tor is dreadfully slow, and Tor is linked to an entire different network (onion/deepweb). It's also much more common to use Tor solely for browser proxifying rather than as a VPN, in which every connection on your computer proceeds through the network. Again, Tor might have the capability to handle non-HTTP/HTTPS apps if they are designed correctly, but they will suffer significant speed penalties. Conversely, ITNS has no initial plans to network via deep web. As I told someone on Slack, the dark/deep web has very negative connotations. People hear deep web and think of hitmen, while people hear VPNs and think of the matrix. Think of your average PC user, not highly technical and well-educated technophiles like most people on BCT. Furthermore, part of the reason Tor is slow is because it's free. There's no incentive for people to host exit nodes, other than some interest in perpetuating a free internet (not many altruistic people are out there that do this). ITNS proposes to incentivize sharing your internet connection rather than doing it "for the good" of internet anonymity and security.
Another aspect to consider with the VPN service is bandwidth control. General surfing / browsing via a VPN running through a connection is one thing, streaming 4K UHD movies is quite another. I think there needs to be something built into the product that allows a VPN provider to cap the bandwidth usage.
Good point, our proposed billing model for the client/server relationship will be in time (pay per minute) rather than bandwidth, but an option should exist for data caps. I'm glad you brought this up.
So to tie both these points together - dev is right. Tor is awfully slow. Intense rectifies that by giving a financial incentive to help maintain the VPN. It doesn't just require altruism and so it has an advantage over Tor for that reason.
Moreover to the point of streaming 4k UHD movies...why not? You could design the system so that someone who wants to stream a 4k UHD movie just ends up having to pay more for that VPN bandwidth. And network operators will receive more compensation for putting a 4k movie through the web. All the while anonymity is maintained.
That said dev I'm not convinced blockchains necessarily have a better reputation than Tor. The thing most commonly associated with blockchain is bitcoin and...bitcoin is what people seem to use on Tor to buy drugs / hire hitmen.
Regardless, this is the project I'm most excited about. It's perfectly suited for the blockchain. And it has the potential to transform the internet...in an era when only privacy has become a scarce commodity.