I2P

I2P
Original author(s) I2P Team[1]
Initial release 2003 (2003)
Stable release
0.9.27 / 17 October 2016 (2016-10-17)[2]
Repository github.com/i2p/i2p.i2p
Development status Active development
Written in Java
Operating system Cross-platform
Available in English, Spanish
Incomplete translations: Russian, French,Romanian, German, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian, Arabic, Japanese, Estonian[3]
Type Overlay network
License Free/Open Source – Multiple licenses[4] Public domain, BSD, GPL, MIT
Website https://geti2p.net

The Invisible Internet Project (I2P) is an overlay network and darknet that allows applications to send messages to each other pseudonymously and securely. Uses include anonymous Web surfing, chatting, blogging and file transfers. The software that implements this layer is called an I2P router and a computer running I2P is called an I2P node.

The software is free and open source and is published under multiple licenses. The name I2P is derived from Invisible Internet Project, which, in pseudo-mathematical notation, is represented as I²P.

Technical design

I2P is beta software since 2003.[5] Developers emphasize that there are likely to be bugs in the software and that there has been insufficient peer review to date.[6] However, they believe the code is now reasonably stable and well-developed, and more exposure can help development of I2P.

The network itself is strictly message-based (like IP), but there is a library available to allow reliable streaming communication on top of it (similar to TCP, although from version 0.6 there is a new UDP-based SSU transport). All communication is end-to-end encrypted (in total there are four layers of encryption used when sending a message), and even the end points ("destinations") are cryptographic identifiers (essentially a pair of public keys), so that neither sender nor recipient of a message need to reveal their IP address to the other side or to third-party observers.

Although many developers had been a part of the Invisible IRC Project (IIP)[7] and Freenet communities, there are significant differences between their designs and concepts. IIP was an anonymous centralized IRC server. Freenet is a censorship-resistant distributed data store. I2P is an anonymous peer-to-peer distributed communication layer designed to run any traditional internet service (e.g. Usenet, email, IRC, file sharing, Web hosting and HTTP, Telnet), as well as more traditional distributed applications (e.g. a distributed data store, a web proxy network using Squid, or DNS).

Many developers of I2P are known only under pseudonyms. While the previous main developer, jrandom, is currently on hiatus, others, such as zzz, killyourtv, and Complication have continued to lead development efforts, and are assisted by numerous contributors.[1]

Releases

I2P has had a stable release every six to eight weeks. Updates are distributed via I2P torrents and are signed by the release manager (generally zzz or str4d).

Software

I2P router console as it currently appears.

Since I2P is an anonymous network layer, it is designed so other software can use it for anonymous communication. As such there are a variety of tools currently available for I2P or in development.

The I2P router is controlled through the router console which is a web frontend accessed through a web browser.

General networking

Chat

File sharing

Bridging to Clearnet

Currently, Vuze is the only torrent client that makes clearnet (connections not through I2P) torrents available on I2P and vice versa. It has a plugin that connects to the I2P network. If the user adds a torrent initially made for I2P, it will be seeded on both I2P and the clearnet. If a user adds a torrent from the clearnet, it will be seeded on both the clearnet and I2P. For this reason, torrents previously published only on I2P are made available to the entire Internet, and users of I2P can download any torrent on the Internet while maintaining the anonymity of I2P.[31][32]

Email

A screenshot of the inbox of I2P-Bote.

Instant Messaging

Publishing

Routers

The Privacy Solutions project

The Privacy Solutions project,[37] a new organization that develops and maintains I2P software, launched several new development efforts designed to enhance the privacy, security, and anonymity for users, based on I2P protocols and technology.

These efforts include:[38]

The code repository and download sections for the i2pd and Abscond project is available for the public to review and download.[39] Effective January, 2015 i2pd is operating under PurpleI2P.[40]

Android

I2P running on Android.

Crypto-Currency

Current crypto currencies that support I2P, or plan it are listed below.

Terminology

I2P's mascot, itoopie, who is covering his face with a mask.
Eepsite
Eepsites are Websites that are hosted anonymously within the I2P network. Eepsite names end in .i2p, such as ugha.i2p or forum.i2p. EepProxy can locate these sites through the cryptographic identifier keys stored in the hosts.txt file found within the I2P program directory. Typically, I2P is required to access these eepsites.[47]
.i2p
'I2p' is a pseudo-top-level domain which is only valid within the I2P overlay network scope. .i2p names are resolved by browsers by submitting requests to EepProxy which will resolve names to an I2P peer key and will handle data transfers over the I2P network while remaining transparent to the browser.[48]
EepProxy
The EepProxy program handles all communication between the browser and any eepsite. It functions as a proxy server that can be used by any web browser.
Peers, I2P nodes
Other machines using I2P that are connected to user's machine within the network. Each machine within the network shares the routing and forwarding of encrypted packets.
Tunnels
Every ten minutes, a connection is established between the user's machine and another peer. Data to and from the user, along with the data for other peers (routed through the user's machine), pass through these tunnels and are forwarded to their final destination (may include more jumps).[49]
netDb
The distributed database that holds information on I2P nodes and I2P eepsites. This database is split up among routers known as "floodfill routers". When a user wants to know how to contact an eepsite, or where more peers are, they query the database.[50]

I2PCon

David Dagon presenting at the first I2Pcon.

From August 15, 2015 to August 16, 2015 the first I2P convention was held in Toronto, Ontario.[51] The conference was hosted by a local hackerspace, Hacklab. The conference featured presentations from I2P developers security researchers.

August 15, 2015 mainly had presentations on the past growth of the i2p network, a talk on what happens when companies sell your personal information, and a round-table discussion on general privacy and security topics. The day ended with a CryptoParty which helped to introduce new users to installing I2P, sending secure emails with I2P-Bote, and using I2P along with Vuze.

August 16, 2015 had more technical discussions than the previous day. The talks focused what how to dissuade bad-actors from using the network, how I2P has worked computer connection limits, how to do application development using I2P, and on the development of the Android version. This day ended with a development meeting.

See also

Software

References

  1. 1 2 "I2P Project Members". geti2p.net. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 "0.9.27 Release". geti2p.net.
  3. I2P (project), Transifex.
  4. "Licenses", Get involved, Get I2P.
  5. Get I2P (blog).
  6. "Benefits of Tor over I2P". I2P Dev Team. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  7. "IIP", Invisible IP, Source forge.
  8. zzz (8 February 2014). "0.9.11 Release". geti2p.net.
  9. zzz (31 March 2014). "0.9.12 Release". geti2p.net.
  10. zzz (22 May 2014). "0.9.13 Release". geti2p.net.
  11. zzz (26 July 2014). "0.9.14 Release". geti2p.net.
  12. zzz (9 August 2014). "0.9.14.1 Release". geti2p.net.
  13. zzz (20 September 2014). "0.9.15 Release". geti2p.net.
  14. zzz (1 November 2014). "0.9.16 Release". geti2p.net.
  15. zzz (30 November 2014). "0.9.17 Release". geti2p.net.
  16. zzz (22 February 2015). "0.9.18 Release". geti2p.net.
  17. zzz (12 April 2015). "0.9.19 Release". geti2p.net.
  18. zzz (2 June 2015). "0.9.20 Release". geti2p.net.
  19. zzz (31 July 2015). "0.9.21 Release". geti2p.net.
  20. zzz (12 December 2015). "0.9.22 Release". geti2p.net.
  21. str4d (19 November 2015). "0.9.23 Release". geti2p.net.
  22. zzz (27 January 2016). "0.9.24 Release". geti2p.net.
  23. "SAM", API, I2P.
  24. "BOB", API, Get I2P.
  25. BOB: Basic Open Bridge API to the I2P router (official eepsite).
  26. "bitcoinj/bitcoinj". GitHub. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  27. I2P Bittorrent FAQ (forum), DE: i2p2.
  28. The Hunting of the Snark Project – BitTorrent Application Suite, Klomp.
  29. "How To for I2P Network Plugin", I2PHelper (Howto) (setup tutorial), Vuze.
  30. "Rufus – BitTorrent Client". Sourceforge..
  31. "Vuze Speeds Up Torrent Downloads Through "Swarm Merging"". TorrentFreak. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  32. "I2PHelper HowTo". VuzeWiki. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  33. I2P-Bote, I2P.
  34. Plugins, I2P
  35. Introducing I2P, Nov 10, 2015
  36. I2PBerry.
  37. Privacy Solutions project.
  38. List of ongoing Privacy Solutions projects.
  39. Active development, The Privacy Solutions
  40. Active development, Purple I2P
  41. Android App Releases
  42. The Nightweb Project.
  43. Discontinued, Nightweb.
  44. The Monero Project.
  45. "i2P Cryptocurrency Exchange"..
  46. "Barter Currency"..
  47. "Intro". I2P. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  48. "Naming and Addressbook - I2P". geti2p.net. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  49. "Tunnel Routing". I2P. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  50. "The Network Database". I2P. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  51. "I2PCon: Mission Accomplished - Blog". I2P. Retrieved 4 June 2016.

External links

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