Anonymous Peer-to-peer Networks
GNU Net
- A framework for secure peer-to-peer networking that does not use any
centralized or otherwise trusted services. A first service implemented
on top of the networking layer allows anonymous censorship-resistant
file-sharing. GNUnet uses a simple, excess-based economic model to
allocate resources. Peers in GNUnet monitor each others behavior with
respect to resource usage; peers that contribute to the network are
rewarded with better service. GNUnet was started in late 2001 with a
set of new technical ideas for secure peer-to-peer networking. The
ideas include an improved content encoding (ECRS, the encoding for
censorship resistant sharing) and a new protocol for anonymous routing
(gap). Properties of the content encoding and the routing protocol
allow GNUnet to reward contributing peers with better service using an
excess-based economic model for resource allocation.
I2P - An anonymous network, exposing a simple layer that applications can use to anonymously and securely send messages to each other. The network itself is strictly message based (ala IP), but there is a library available to allow reliable streaming communication on top of it (ala TCP). All communication is end to end encrypted, and even the end points are cryptographic identifiers (essentially a pair of public keys). Within the I2P network, applications are not restricted in how they can communicate - those that typically use UDP can make use of the base I2P functionality, and those that typically use TCP can use the TCP-like streaming library. There is a generic TCP/I2P bridge application I2PTunnel. I2PTunnel is currently used to let people run their own anonymous website ("eepsite") by running a normal webserver and pointing an I2PTunnel server at it. In addition, the same technique is used to run an anonymous IRC network. There are other application development efforts going on as well, such as one to build an optimized swarming file transfer application, a distributed data store, and a blogging system.
MUTE - The MUTE Network (or MUTE-net) is a peer-to-peer and friend-to-friend file sharing network developed with anonymity in mind. The MUTE client is open source software released under the GNU General Public License and includes support for the Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows computer operating systems. MUTE was developed by Jason Rohrer using a routing algorithm based on ant colony optimization. MUTE protects your privacy by avoiding direct connections with your sharing partners in the network. MUTE routes all messages, including search requests, search results, and file transfers, through the network of neighbor connections.
The Freenet Project - A decentralized censorship-resistant peer-to-peer distributed data store aiming to provide electronic freedom of speech through strong anonymity. Freenet works by pooling the contributed bandwidth and storage space of member computers to allow users to anonymously publish or retrieve various kinds of information. Freenet uses a kind of key based routing similar to a distributed hash table to locate peers' data. Currently, Freenet cannot be used to create or distribute dynamic content, such as content that utilizes databases and scripting. According to the Freenet Project group, such tradeoffs are expected since Freenet's primary goals are neither ease-of-use nor performance. Unlike other peer-to-peer networks, Freenet is primarily intended to combat censorship and allow people to communicate freely and with near-total anonymity. Freenet can be thought of as a large storage device. When you store a file in it, you receive a key which can be used to retrieve the file. When you supply Freenet with a key, it returns the appropriate file (if it is located). The storage space is distributed among all connected nodes on Freenet.