About the project:

VPN Generator gives you the opportunity to create your own VPN server for free and distribute access to it to your friends, acquaintances, relatives. The user of VPN Generator becomes the administrator or “brigadier” of his own VPN with a unique network address, which is very difficult to find and block. After registration and verification, the user will have access to a special Internet site where he can give out keys to access VPN for friends. The project was launched on December 31, 2022. We now have more than 500 brigadiers who have invited their friends, colleagues, relatives to use our VPN.

Challenge: To come up with a system of verification for “brigadiers”. How to be sure that a person who requested access to VPN Generator is not an intruder or a bot? In the same time, the verification process should not de-anonymize the user! It is very important for the VPN Generator team to keep brigadiers’ privacy.

Temporary solution at the moment: Now we ask users to send us via our Telegram bot a fresh receipt for a certain amount (about 500 rubles) for any purchase in cash (because when you pay by card, de-anonymizing information may appear on the receipt). We find that this solution isn’t perfect, and we would like to find a simpler and more user-friendly verification process.

Expected outcome: A prototype of the verification process step by step, a description of the user experience, preferably with screen prototypes or detailed descriptions of interactions with the bot / other feedback system. This could be done, for example, as Figma cards or, if you have sufficient technical skills, as an upgrade to the existing telegram bot. We welcome elements of graphic design and any efforts to simplify interactions for users. When evaluating your project, we will strongly consider the anonymity and security aspect.

Prize: $700

References:

Telegram channel of the VPN Generator: https://t.me/vpngen

Instructions for users: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VTfuQaWks4ftyV8wpLknt0G-baNDHsOzvsRobm9OaQM/

Instructions for brigadiers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12qFYFk9SQaPrg32bf-2JZYIPSax2453jE3YGOblThHk/

Telegram bot: https://t.me/vpngeneratorbot