The TON Foundation launches TON sites and TON proxy

The TON Foundation has launched the latest products in The Open Network’s (TON) ecosystem, TON sites and TON proxy.

These two products mark important new steps in the genesis of the TON Foundation’s vision of a truly decentralized next-generation internet. Network protocols were specifically designed for TON so that nodes could communicate with one another and exchange data, and as a result, TON is poised to offer a totally private, decentralized, and secure private computer network, similar to the Invisible Internet Project (I2P).

The TON network is decentralized (has no central server), stable (a node disconnecting will not affect the functioning of the network), and anonymous (it’s impossible or difficult to determine the IP address of the node). When transmitting data among nodes in the network, mandatory encryption and built-in data authentication without the mediation of third-party certification authorities are used.

Anyone who wishes will be able to launch a TON site, a web server that is available on the TON network.

TON sites powerfully combines with TON DNS to remove the need for centralized domain name registries. Domain names can no longer be blocked or taken away arbitrarily. No longer is there a need to pay substantial sums to domain registries — with TON DNS, all that is required is an annual micropayment of less than 0.0001 Toncoin as a symbolic gesture to confirm domain ownership.

This sleek, upgraded internet removes the necessity to create new passwords for every website. Users can sign in to TON Sites with a TON-based cryptocurrency wallet — the wallet authenticates their identity, removing the need to create passwords and share email addresses or phone numbers that become inundated with spam and advertisements.

Also, users can send Toncoins by entering the domain as the recipient’s address.

To first access the TON network, users need to connect to a special entry point, known as an “entry proxy.” Currently, you can use public entry points launched by the TON Foundation. The experience is user-friendly, as TON proxy is compatible with HTTP proxy; all you need to do is open the settings in your browser and enter the address of a public TON Proxy as a proxy server. There, “.ton” sites will be available within your browser as if they were regular websites.

A host of TON wallets has said they plan to implement TON proxy directly in their wallet applications and extensions, meaning that the TON network and TON sites will soon be able to be accessed by all TON wallet owners without downloading additional applications.

Also published in the updated roadmap, in the next TON Proxy version, traffic on the TON network will be rerouted through a random set of intermediary nodes to ensure anonymity, while the third version of TON Proxy will launch a decentralized economy, and those running intermediary nodes will receive automatic payments in the form of Toncoins from users.

Anatoly Makosov, a founding member of the TON Foundation, commented, “Today’s internet runs on protocols invented in the 1990s, often even in the 1980s. It has been 20–50 years since they were created. We have learned from the shortcomings of Web 2.0, TOR, I2P and other networking technologies and present the next generation of the internet: a decentralized, secure and private network built on cryptography and blockchain technology while surpassing the familiar World Wide Web in ease of use.”