Cert Decoder VS Shardnet.app

Cert Decoder's answer

I built certdecoder.com over the weekend for my own needs. Sometimes in my work, I need to verify and check certificate details.

Shardnet.app's answer:

Shardnet started from a simple frustration: every "serverless" storage tool we looked at still had a server somewhere — a coordinator, an incentive layer, or a hosted gateway. We wanted something where the threat model was actually clean: zero-knowledge storage, no central point of seizure, no account to compromise. We built the protocol in Rust, wrote the spec first, then implemented it — QUIC transport, Kademlia DHT, Reed-Solomon erasure coding, AES-256-GCM encryption, all from scratch. The result is a single binary you can run on any Linux machine and be part of a global swarm in under ten seconds.

Cert Decoder's answer

certdecoder.com was built using just JavaScript and HTML—simple, fast, and with all processing happening locally in your browser, so no certificate data is sent to any server

Shardnet.app's answer:

Which are the primary technologies used for building Shardnet?

Rust — the entire stack, compiled to a dependency-free static binary QUIC / TLS 1.3 (quinn + rustls) — encrypted transport with mutual Ed25519 authentication Kademlia DHT — XOR-metric peer discovery and shard routing (K=20) Reed-Solomon erasure coding — 10 data + 5 parity shards per file AES-256-GCM — client-side file encryption Ed25519 — node identity and signed chat messages Axum — embedded HTTP/WebSocket server for the web GUI Argon2id — proof-of-work for node admission (Sybil resistance)

Cert Decoder's answer

certdecoder.com is primarily built for developers, sysadmins, cybersecurity enthusiasts, and DevOps engineers.

Shardnet.app's answer:

Technically-minded users and developers who want to store or share files without trusting a third party. This includes privacy-conscious individuals, open-source communities self-hosting shared documents, developers building decentralised applications that need a storage layer, and organisations that cannot or will not rely on cloud providers for sensitive data.

Cert Decoder's answer

Simple, fast, and reliable. Some similar tools can’t even decode basic certificates. I rigorously tested my tool with many real-world certificates and covered several edge cases where competitors fall short.

Shardnet.app's answer:

Most "decentralised" storage products still have a centralised component — a coordination server, a token smart contract, a wallet requirement, or a proprietary daemon. Shardnet has none of these. It runs as a single static binary with no runtime dependencies, connects over QUIC/TLS 1.3, and routes via a Kademlia DHT. There are no tokens, no fees, and no registration. If you run a node, you contribute storage and gain access to the swarm — the protocol is self-sustaining because every user is also a provider.

Cert Decoder's answer

certdecoder.com is primarily built for developers, sysadmins, cybersecurity enthusiasts, and DevOps engineers.

Shardnet.app's answer:

Shardnet is currently in public alpha — functionally complete but not yet independently audited for security. Early adopters are individual developers and privacy researchers evaluating the protocol. We're not listing customers until the security audit is done and the protocol is production-ready. If you're interested in an early deployment, reach out directly.

Shardnet.app's answer:

Shardnet removes the server from the equation entirely. Files are encrypted on your device (AES-256-GCM) before leaving it, split into 15 fragments via Reed-Solomon erasure coding, then spread across the peer swarm. Any 10 of those 15 fragments reconstruct the original — even if a third of the network goes offline. Nodes storing your shards see only ciphertext indistinguishable from random noise. No account, no API key, no company holding your data. The decryption key travels only in your magnet link.