TCP/IP is the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. It is a suite of communication protocols that connects network devices on the Internet. It consists of rules and procedures that determine how devices communicate, how data is exchanged, transmitted and received at the final destination. The protocol was created in the 1970s but it took over a decade for TCP/IP to be adopted and develop into the form we know today.
TCP/IP has been around since the creation of the World Wide Web. But it is still a protocol with well-known problems, and computer engineers are trying to create more modern protocols. One of these experts, professor Geoffrey Challen, has discussed several problems with the TCP protocol.
Slow Starts
He claims that one of the biggest problems with the protocol are problems associated with slow start. This refers to what we know as the download of data from the Internet. This is something that everyone who downloads stuff off the Internet has experienced. The download speed increases gradually until it reaches full speed. The main problem with this approach is that when downloading small amounts of data, TCP/IP never reaches full speed and its full potential. The data you just downloaded could have been received much faster but there was not enough time for the TCP protocol to accelerate to maximum speed.
Head of Line Blocking
The solution to the slow start problem created a new problem known as Head of Line Blocking. Professor Challen explains it very well. Imagine that you are trying to send 5 different images over the Internet, but instead of sending them one by one, and suffering from the slow start problems, TCP creates one single connection and sends the images altogether. The problem occurs if one part of one of the images gets lost. TCP will stop broadcasting other parts of the file until it has repaired the lost image. Have you ever watched a YouTube video and the video suddenly stops at 1:31 for example? Although you can just skip that part and watch the video from other frames, TCP will not allow you to do that because it is dedicated to delivering packets in order. If part of the file is damaged at 1:31 it will try to repair it before you can continue watching the rest of the video.
Wireless Packet Losses Caused by Router Congestion
With wired Internet connection, loss of packets often occurs due to router congestion. If that happens TCP will try to send these packages at slower speeds and that is the right approach. But with wireless connections, router congestion might not be the primary cause for packet loss. The losses can happen due to any kind of obstacle or drawbacks with the connection itself. A better approach would be to just continue sending the packages at the same speed anticipating that the connection would improve.
Slow TCP 3-Way Handshake
Three things need to happen before a TCP connection is established between a sender and a receiver on the other end. The sender first sends a signal, an intention that he wants to establish a connection with the receiver. This is known as SYN. In step 2, the receiver acknowledges the intention of the sender and sends back a willingness to establish a connection. This 2nd part of the handshape model is known as SYN-ACK. In the final part, the sender receives the receivers’ willingness to communicate and they establish a connection. Step 3 is known as ACK.
This model is no longer suitable for modern-day communication. The Internet has expended to all areas of the world. Trying to establish a connection to a server in parts of the world where the Internet connection is slow will take a significant amount of time due to the 3-way handshake model.
IP Addresses Determine Location and Identity
A big flaw with TCP/IP and particularly with IP addresses is that they are used for both location and identity. In today’s Internet, TCP/IP makes it possible to connect to everything. With everything easily connected, hackers and criminals can get access to private and financial data by linking an IP address to an individual. Openness and availability at the expense of security. The security flaw is caused by the fact that TCP/IP makes it possible to identify the device as well as its location on the network. The overall idea is not bad but those ready to exploit it will take advantage of this publicly available information. Security breaches, financial losses, identity thefts, are just some of the well-documented incidents we read about almost every day. The original creators of the protocol wanted a fast and easy to use model to establish connections from point A to point B. They couldn’t know how their creation would be exploited 30 years in the future. Has the time come for a more robust and security-oriented protocol?
Introducing Tachyon Protocol
A decentralized internet protocol that aims to create a secure and private internet. The aim is to reconstruct the TCP/IP protocol, using decentralized P2P technologies such as DHT and PPPoIP, and proprietary technologies such as UDP and real-time optimal routing. Tachyon Protocol (https://tachyon.eco/) is built on the V SYSTEMS blockchain, with its Tachyon Booster UDP that is capable of transmission acceleration of 200% - 1000%, and connection success rate of 90%. The Tachyon Security Protocol protects against known security threats including Man-In-The-Middle Attacks.
Tachyon is also a Decentralized VPN provider aiming to improve the VPN industry and working closely together with X-VPN.
Centralized VPN providers cause several problems:
- They keep logs of user activity. These logs are analyzed and shared with government authorities. In some cases, user data is even sold.
- Centralized VPN servers can suffer from data breaches and hacks. A centralized service keeps user data on a specific server in one location. Breaching those servers, the infiltrator could get access to numerous private information of VPN users. This is exactly what happened to a renowned VPN service provider – NordVPN in 2018.
- A centralized VPN has a fixed number of servers their clients can connect to. This causes congestion, instability, and issues with connection speed.
- Since IPs used by centralized VPNs are well known, content providers can simply block those IPs and prevent the users from using their services.
Together with V SYSTEMS and X-VPN, Tachyon Network is trying to improve the TCP/IP protocol by releasing an open-source library.
Tachyon Protocol has built PPPoIP based on PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). It is fully decentralized and provides an end-to-end connection. Because of the decentralization element, data is not located in one central location. They are operated by multiple nodes spread across the entire world offering data transmission services. All participating nodes of the network are equal, they are all connected, which improves stability and transmission quality, and the content is not censored.
A big problem with today’s Internet communication is the ability to sniff and intercept data within an insecure channel. Tachyon Network has a solution for that. The Tachyon Security Protocol encrypts the communication with ECDH – ECDSA. The connection is encrypted with AES. In case an attacker manages to intercept data, he will not be able to read it thanks to the encryption. The content of shared data cannot be exposed.
Tachyon uses another method to battle data sniffing that they call Tachyon Anti-Analysis (TAA).
TAA divides and rearranges the data and sends it through different paths with multiple encryptions. When the data arrives at its destination it will be put together and receive its final form. In case of an attack against one of these data packets, the attacker cannot obtain all the needed information. Additionally, random data is added and encrypted in each part of these packets making the obtained packets useless without the corresponding encryption key.
Tachyon has also made sure that even if a node in the communication channel is compromised, it will not be able to intercept the message or figure out who is sending it to whom. They use a technique based on Onion routing. Instead of sending data directly from Point A to Point D, Tachyon uses nodes B and C and has them act as intermediary nodes. Their job is to forward the message as they serve as a pair of extra hands. Because the message is encrypted a compromised node will not be able to decrypt it or find out where it is heading to.
Tachyon Protocol has introduced several improvements and new features to improve speed, security, and privacy on the Internet. Their partnership with X-VPN opens the door to 50 million potential users. In an online world where dangers lure around every corner, Tachyon is doing its part to offer protection. I am very optimistic and I am looking forward to what the future holds for this company. I like the fact that they are not trying to replace TCP/IP altogether, but instead, they are building an additional more secure and more robust layer on top of it. Data breaches of centralized systems in the past show us that even those intended to protect our privacy cannot be trusted to do so due to flaws of the underlying protocols they use. Decentralization is the way to go because you cannot touch what you cannot see.
To learn more about Tachyon Protocol please visit their official website, https://tachyon.eco/, and make sure you read their Whitepaper, https://tachyon.eco/TachyonWhitePaper.pdf. Those who become part of the Tachyon Ecosystem earn money by allocating bandwidth to the Tachyon Network.
Resources:
https://tachyon.eco/TachyonWhitePaper.pdf