NymVPN alpha

NymVPN alpha is a client that uses Nym Mixnet to anonymise all of a user’s internet traffic through either a 5-hop mixnet (for a full network privacy) or the faster 2-hop decentralised VPN (with some extra features).

You are invited to take part in the alpha testing of this new application. Register for private testing round at nymvpn.com, that will grant you access to the download page. Visit NymVPN Support & FAQ or join the NymVPN matrix channel if you have any questions, comments or blockers.

Checkout the release page for available binaries.

NOTE: NymVPN alpha is experimental software for testing purposes only.

NymVPN Overview

To understand what’s under the hood of NymVPN and the mixnet, we recommend interested developers to begin with Nym network overview and the Mixnet traffic flow pages.

The default setup of NymVPN is to run in 5-hop mode (mixnet):

                      ┌─►mix──┐  mix     mix
                      │       │
            Entry     │       │                   Exit
client ───► Gateway ──┘  mix  │  mix  ┌─►mix ───► Gateway ───► internet
                              │       │
                              │       │
                         mix  └─►mix──┘  mix

Users can switch to 2-hop only mode, which is a faster but less private option. In this mode traffic is only sent between the two Gateways, and is not passed between Mix Nodes. It uses Mixnet Sphinx packets with shorter, fixed routes, which improve latency, but doesn’t offer the same level of protection as the 5 hop mode.