MASQ’s Next Version brings Beta 4 Closer

Published in

MASQ Network

4 min readAug 15, 2022

Development energy has been high over the last month since the Beta3 test phase launch, which has brought 100 new testers on board to start using the MASQ app. Overwhelmingly, the Beta testing group has enjoyed the MASQ app’s ‘unlocked’ borderless browsing ability with its provision of a VPN-like service that allows users to surf anywhere from their country of origin.

In MASQ app version 0.3.1, the team has implemented a wide range of features, improvements, and bug fixes which are now live with Beta testers.

Read more about the features and improvements below, why they are essential, and what it means for all new users of MASQ. As well, we will be starting a new round with a Beta4 group drawn from our Twitter subscribers in the coming weeks!

Make sure to subscribe to the MASQ Twitter profile page for a chance to be included in the Beta4 test group.

MASQ App 0.3.1 Features

Browser Tabs and Hotkeys

Through common feedback it was clear that the app needed more native browsing features and performance tweaks for the browser tabs to deliver the type of ‘daily-default browser’ feel that most people enjoy from mainstream browsers.

The developers have addressed this by adding standard browser Hotkeys for tabs, refresh, and history. They have also optimized tab performance to make it snappier, more responsive, and able to display feedback during user interactions.

New General Settings

It was also clear that during some intensive periods of vigorous testing on the smaller test network, there were times when the initial connection to MASQ peers was not succeeding on the first try. As a result, users needed a place to choose their MASQ entry peers through their Node ID identifier on the go whenever they wanted to reconnect or change their connections.

This was also a fun aspect that testers wanted to try with others who were serving while watching themselves earn $MASQ for sharing their bandwidth!

Now, with the new General Settings, users can change their Node ID peers on command, restart their connections, and adjust other settings that affect how they configure their Node with just a few clicks from this screen.

MASQ Premium

The much anticipated MASQ Premium concept has also appeared in the Settings area, complete with a $MASQ balance tracker in the Settings screen tabs!

Stay tuned because the team is busy arranging some interesting Premium features, perks, and partnership designs to share in upcoming releases!

Performance and Styling

The window controls were adjusted a few versions back, but they had the Linux/macOS style, which left some Windows users feeling out of their element. In response, the team has re-implemented native Windows window controls that have a nice, sleek feel similar to the Discord app (also built with Electron.js!)

The very striking MASQ 3D globe is beautiful for displaying the delivery country of the user’s browsing requests, however, some machines have a high CPU/RAM overhead (the team has planned optimizations for the rendering and use of GlobeGL, etc.). This led our developers to add a High-Performance mode to settings, which removes the 3D globe and animations, providing a performance boost for many users.

Improvements

Various other improvements were added, which improve browsing, user experience, and the aesthetics of the app:

Implemented AdBlocker preloader, which fetches the latest AdBlock list on every app startup
Adjustments to Notification messages emitted from the app
UI enhancements to dashboard, globe, and panels
Browser history buttons now have hover animation
Dashboard tweaks, 3D Globe, and Turn On button repositioned intuitively
Over-the-Air Update prompt and control improved —info modal shows version and download progress
Update consuming tab when MASQ is off

MASQ Node Core

The MASQ Node core software was upgraded with an optimization to the ‘routing engine’ to determine data routes efficiently.

Now, multi-hop routes in the MASQ Network are chosen based on the cheapest path when evaluating the number of hops and the ratepacks of all neighbors. Even more critical, the return route from the content server back to the user prioritizes Nodes that avoid re-using the initial path of the original route.

This optimized design means that tracing the routes to and from a Node is much more difficult as the data packets will not take the same course there and back to the user!

MASQ Beta Installers

Many testers running Linux operate on various flavors and custom OS setups. To provide more ease of installing and running the MASQ app, the developers now ship an AppImage file for installing the app, with the companion MASQNode core software binaries provided separately.

Having AppImage installers allows these more exotic setups to configure the MASQ daemon and background service as they wish and to maintain the MASQ app separately, without relying on a Snap installation solution.

MASQ is a dMeshVPN, browser, web3 Store, protocol, and earning ecosystem that makes living in web3 anonymous and private. The unique MASQ software provides borderless internet access for all netizens through a seamless User Experience while combining the benefits of VPN and Tor technology to offer superior privacy features.