Hacker 10 – Security Hacker

Tag: FreeNet alternative

  • Decentralised Internet platform MaidSafe

    Decentralised Internet platform MaidSafe

    Maidsafe is a decentralised Internet platform where users contribute computer storage space, CPU power and bandwidth to form an autonomous ecosystem, the more people join the network, the more resources are available. A denial of service attack or censorship attempt would be extremely arduous to carry out in such environment where there is no central server or DNS.

    Maidsafe’s client application is called SAFE (Secure Access For Everyone), when you upload data everything is automatically shredded and encrypted using the uploaded files as part of the public key encryption scheme, the password is never transmitted to the network, there is no way for others to see what you uploaded. Data is distributed across multiple servers, replication and  Distributed Hash Tables intercedes to deliver the files when part of the servers holding chunks of your data go offline. MaidSafe maintains 4 encrypted copies of your data and moves them around nodes as they are available.

    MaidSafe decentralised network
    MaidSafe decentralised network

    If you would like to access more data than you have been allocated  by the network and do not wish to donate more of computer resources you will have to pay for the access using Safecoins, MaidSafe’s own cryptocurrency that can be bought or exchanged by another currency at alternative cryptocurrency markets.

    A project like Maidsafe has the potential to deliver apps, host websites or store films  without fear of the server being subpoenaed or taken down by an abusive regime. With the files divided and stored encrypted in different locations, it is not feasible for state entities to wiretap a central server and track the downloaders.

    The code is open source, developers have access to an open API to build apps on top of MaidSafe. Just be warned that when you donate storage space to the network, you have no way of knowing what it is being stored encrypted in your computer, this could create legal liabilities if anybody misuses the network, but until there is mass adoption it is hard to know what would happen in a case like that.

    MaidSafe is a for profit company based in the UK, they make money with SafeCoins.

    Visit MaidSafe homepage

  • DeOps, a secure decentralized Instant Messenger

    DeOps, a secure decentralized Instant Messenger

    DeOps, Decentralized Operations, is a Windows P2P instant messenger for secure file sharing and chatting, unlike Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger there is no central registration server where to recover data from, all of the settings are locally stored in your computer, communications are P2P and ports are chosen at random to avoid traffic fingerprinting. The messenger, a small 3MB download, doesn’t have to be installed,it can be run from inside a USB thumbdrive or encrypted container, copying the profile there will move all of your settings along the way. I noticed that Windows Firewall blocked me when I launched the application asking for confirmation that I wanted to grant Internet access to DeOps this means that in guest computers you might need administrator rights.

    After launching DeOps you can create a global ID and secret passphrase for your organization, DeOps calls every separate P2P network an “organization“, each one of them can contain multiple chatrooms and groups. A deops:// link composed of a long alphanumeric string will be created for your group, you can copy it to the clipboard and share it publicly or in private with prospective members, to join your new darknet people will need to know the passphrase together with the link, the passphrase can easily be changed by the group founder in the settings.

    If you want to join an existing organization open a .dop DeOps Identity file or copy and paste a deops:// link inside the Join Organization window.

    Decentralized P2P IM DeOps
    Decentralized P2P IM DeOps

    To add buddies to your IM list copy and paste their personal deops:// link  inside the add window, to share files with everyone in the group place them inside “My Shared Files” area where they can be marked as public to be found by anyone using DeOps or private to be shared with darknet friends only, it is possible to copy and paste into websites a unique deops:// link of each file to be downloaded by other people using the same P2P messenger, the files you are sharing will only be available while you are online, file transfers are automatically swarmed (multi-sourced) when multiple people are downloading the same file.

    DeOps organization types

    • Public: Anyone can join by entering deops://orgname
    • Private: Only those invited can join, utilizes the lookup network to aid in finding new members.
    • Secret: Same as private except the look up network is not utilized. Best for large networks and LANs.

    You can find the usual IM settings like ignoring people in the network or set your status to Available, Away or Invisible, advanced options have diagnostics to automatically configure your router opening the necessary ports, successful network connection is displayed with a green bar. The tools section includes a bandwidth graph, crawler, lookup, file transfer status, technical logs (called Internals), data packets details and a searcher to find users and organizations that have chosen to go public, the help manual is very basic and has not been finished yet.

    The software includes a DeOps Internet simulator able to create dummy users and networks for troubleshooting, I did not experience any kind of problem and had everything set up in under 5 minutes. The weak spot of this software is that you are not anonymous, no measures are taken to hide your IP from other users, if someone you are communicating with is not who you think they are (infiltration, kidnapping), your real identity would be compromised.

     Visit DeOps homepage

    Note: This software development is on-going.