A rinf.tech software engineer – Emanuel Oprea – is one of those who used the pandemic and self-isolation to indulge in a pet project that subsequently became a full-fledged solution, enabling users to use VPN client software on many different devices at the same time.
We’ve talked to Emanuel about the drivers of his solution development and how his product evolved from a simple script into a market-ready router VPN management solution.
Emanuel is one of those who used the pandemic and self-isolation to indulge in a pet project that subsequently became a full-fledged solution, enabling users to use VPN client software on many different devices at the same time.
We’ve talked to Emanuel about the drivers of his solution development and how his product evolved from a simple script into a market-ready router VPN management solution.
Once upon a time, my wife saw an enticing trailer of a new show and wanted to watch it through a streaming service. In particular, she wanted to watch the show on a large TV screen in the living room , lolling in the comfort of the couch. However, she couldn’t do it due to the streaming service geo limitations in Romania.
An active VPN connection is needed to bypass those limitations and watch certain shows that are unavailable in your country. While this issue can be easily solved with VPN on a laptop or a smartphone, watching the same show on TV is an entirely different story.
That’s exactly how I stumbled upon a user need for streaming content blocked by ISPs on smart TV or other devices like gaming consoles, etc. And, since I had more free time due to the pandemic and remote work, I decided to help my wife out and find a solution to enable her watching blocked shows through VPN on our smart TV.
Like anyone in my situation, I searched on Google, and I tried to find an existing product. And then, it was already mid-2020 and I’ve ended up spending quite a lot of time looking for software already out there on the market. Almost all the solutions I found only covered PC or mobile/tablets. The ones that directly tackled my issue proved to have more limitations than benefits.
One of the initial options I discovered was a VPN provider that also has their own custom firmware. Ideally, one could install it on their router, but after further investigation, I found that it only supports five router models, and of course, due to Murphy’s law, mine wasn’t supported.
The other option meant buying a new router from a company specialized in router firmware customization. After device acquisition, the company would install a proprietary VPN client on my future router. The downside of this was the final cost of the router (versus retail price) and the dramatic increase in shipping time. It also proves to be a warranty nightmare since they would have to open the package to operate changes on the device before finally sending it to me.
Since I already had a router, I didn’t want to spend more money on buying a new one and I also wanted to keep my existing VPN subscription, I said to myself:
“C’mon Emanuel, you’re a software engineer! Why don’t you try to build an ultimate router VPN solution and help others easily overcome streaming platforms’ limitations with an added security boost to the internet connection?”
That’s how I took on this new challenge.
I started with writing a simple bash script to try to connect my router to VPN. It was a proof-of-concept that worked well, however, it could only be used by my peers, tech-savvy people. A solution like this would prove to be a bottleneck for mass adoption, much like the already existing ones. So, I understood I had to make something more user-friendly and polish the solution further. This translated into my next goal: building a simple & intuitive app that would be available for “virtually” any router.
The app started small, just a couple of simple screens with basic options. Then, thankfully, my wife gladly accepted to act as my trusted quality assurance department. With her precious, albeit intense (but very constructive) feedback, after a few iterations, the initial MVP was ready, and I launched my VPN router client in April 2021. However, as an MVP, the solution had its limitations, so I couldn’t call it “universal” just yet. Initially, to use my VPN client, users had to know how to run an installation script, which proved to be why most people weren’t feeling so encouraged to try it out. As such, to add more polish to the initial solution, I started working on transforming it into a set of multiple user-friendly tools: a router manager and a VPN manager. I really wanted users with limited to no tech background be able to use it with no pain in the neck.
That’s what pushed me to build and release a complementary router automation app. With it, users can now install custom firmware on their router and set it up automatically through a user-friendly interface: just two actions, and they’re good to go.
Well, to name just a few: users can access media content anywhere and anytime, privately and securely, through an app that is easy to install and use. They can enjoy streaming with no geo-restrictions or interruption, thanks to the fast connection with no speed or bandwidth limits on their devices. They can also use the internet in a much safer way, thanks to the underlying connection encryption and anonymization. Usually, VPN services limit the number of connections to their servers, but by using my client directly on the router, you essentially allow all devices behind it to count as a single connection. And more exciting developments are on the way, as I am currently working on a mobile app for ShieldMe!
But I believe that the main benefit is that my solution helps democratize access to streaming services and content around the world.
I used JavaScript for the app front-end, PHP for router back-end, and .NET for interfacing with VPN APIs.
Yes, protection is important and, therefore, ShieldMe is a registered trademark of IMPACT INTELISOFT SRL (the company I own) to ensure the product name remains unique and recognizable.
To be honest, I have very limited time for marketing. Usually, people find my website and buy a ShieldMe subscription which includes access to both ShieldMe Router VPN and ShieldMe Router Automation apps. My initial goal was achieved, having enough users to keep the lights running on the infrastructure. Moving forward, I want to keep improving ShieldMe by bringing even more useful features to users and making sure they love it.
