Cloudflare announces Warp VPN service
Cloudflare revealed the company's first VPN product today called Warp which it plans to launch as part of the company's 1.1.1.1 application soon.
April 1st is probably the worst day to make announcements for products that do exist. Cloudflare apparently could not pass the opportunity to select April 1st, or 4/1, as the date to reveal Warp.
The company launched a DNS service a year ago and with it the DNS applications 1.1.1.1 for Android and iOS. The service supported security features like DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS, a strict no IP address logging policy, the deletion of logs in a 24-hour period, and fast speeds especially compared to default DNS services operated by most ISPs.
Cloudlfare calls Warp a "VPN for people who don't know what V.P.N. stands for". The explanation that Cloudflare gives is relatively weak: according to Cloudflare, it is the simplicity that makes it attractive to users who don't know about VPN services. The explanation is weak as Cloudflare's solution is not the first that offers a simple option to use a VPN.
Warp encrypts all Internet traffic, respects end-to-end encryption, and does not require that users install a root certificate on their devices.Unencrypted Internet connections will be encrypted but only between the user's device and Cloudflare's server (similarly to how all VPNs handle this). The same is true for all respected VPN services.
Cloudflare promises that Warp's performance, reliability, and focus on preserving power are what will set it apart from comparable services.
We’ve built Warp around a UDP-based protocol that is optimized for the mobile Internet. We also leveraged Cloudflare’s massive global network, allowing Warp to connect with servers within milliseconds of most the world’s Internet users. With our network’s direct peering connections and uncongested paths we can deliver a great experience around the world. Our tests have shown that Warp will often significantly increase Internet performance.
Warp will be offered as a free option that is included in the company's 1.1.1.1 application. Cloudflare is working on Warp+, a premium version of Warp that will be available for a "low monthly fee" for people who want more speed.
It is not uncommon for companies to finance free versions of a product using premium offerings.
Warp+ follows Cloudlfare's web-based servicing model. The company offers a base version of Cloudlfare for free and paid upgrades to unlock certain features.
Cloudflare promises, in regards to the always hot topic privacy, that
- browsing data won't be sold or used for targeted advertising.
- user-identifiable log data is not written to disk.
- that users may use Warp without supplying their name, phone number or email address.
- that it will hire third-party auditors to make sure the service delivers what is promised.
The service itself uses WireGuard combined with Cloudflare's Mobile SKD. Warp+, the premium version of Warp, will use Cloudflare's Argo next to that as well.
Waiting list
Android or iOS users can join the waitlist in the 1.1.1.1 application. Some may not see the option to join the waitlist yet as update propagation takes some time usually.
Closing Words
Warp's strengths are that it is backed by a company that operates one of the largest networks on the planet, and that it will become a part of the 1.1.1.1 on mobile for ease of use. Users don't have to sign up for it if they use the free version similarly to how Opera's browser VPN works. The difference is that Warp works globally while Opera's solution only in the browser.
Desktop applications will be released at a later point in time. Warp won't convince users that distrust Cloudflare, but the success of the 1.1.1.1 application has shown that there is a huge market out there for such a product.
Now You: What is your take on Warp?
Doesn’t Windows 8 know that www. or http:// are passe ?
Well it is a bit difficulty to distinguish between name.com domains and files for instance.
I know a service made by google that is similar to Google bookmarks.
http://www.google.com/saved
@Ashwin–Thankful you delighted my comment; who knows how many “gamers” would have disagreed!
@Martin
The comments section under this very article (3 comments) is identical to the comments section found under the following article:
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/15/netflix-is-testing-game-streaming-on-tvs-and-computers/
Not sure what the issue is, but have seen this issue under some other articles recently but did not report it back then.
Omg a badge!!!
Some tangible reward lmao.
It sucks that redditors are going to love the fuck out of it too.
With the cloud, there is no such thing as unlimited storage or privacy. Stop relying on these tech scums. Purchase your own hardware and develop your own solutions.
This is a certified reddit cringe moment. Hilarious how the article’s author tries to dress it up like it’s anything more than a png for doing the reddit corporation’s moderation work for free (or for bribes from companies and political groups)
Almost al unlmited services have a real limit.
And this comment is written on the dropbox article from August 25, 2023.
First comment > @ilev said on August 4, 2012 at 7:53 pm
For the God’s sake, fix the comments soon please! :[
Yes. Please. Fix the comments.
With Google Chrome, it’s only been 1,500 for some time now.
Anyone who wants to force me in such a way into buying something that I can get elsewhere for free will certainly never see a single dime from my side. I don’t even know how stupid their marketing department is to impose these limits on users instead of offering a valuable product to the paying faction. But they don’t. Even if you pay, you get something that is also available for free elsewhere.
The algorithm has also become less and less savvy in terms of e.g. English/German translations. It used to be that the bot could sort of sense what you were trying to say and put it into different colloquialisms, which was even fun because it was like, “I know what you’re trying to say here, how about…” Now it’s in parts too stupid to translate the simplest sentences correctly, and the suggestions it makes are at times as moronic as those made by Google Translations.
If this is a deep-learning AI that learns from users’ translations and the phrases they choose most often – which, by the way, is a valuable, moneys worthwhile contribution of every free user to this project: They invest their time and texts, thereby providing the necessary data for the AI to do the thing as nicely as they brag about it in the first place – alas, the more unprofessional users discovered the translator, the worse the language of this deep-learning bot has become, the greater the aggregate of linguistically illiterate users has become, and the worse the language of this deep-learning bot has become, as it now learns the drivel of every Tom, Dick and Harry out there, which is why I now get their Mickey Mouse language as suggestions: the inane language of people who can barely spell the alphabet, it seems.
And as a thank you for our time and effort in helping them and their AI learn, they’ve lowered the limit from what was once 5,000 to now 1,500…? A big “fuck off” from here for that! Not a brass farthing from me for this attitude and behaviour, not in a hundred years.