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ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

zeronet.io

141–150 of 171 posts

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#141
post #92
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The linked article refers to three ways bittorrent can deanonymise you behind Tor. That's a privacy concern, not a load problem.

Yeah, but you can deal with that, if you know what you're doing. If you use Whonix, or roll your own Tor gateway, leaks around Tor aren't an issue. UDP is the hardest thing to deal with. I mean, with proper Tor/userland isolation, leaks don't happen. So all UDP just gets dropped. If you want UDP, you need to use OnionCat or tunnel a VPN through Tor.

> Yeah, but you can deal with that, if you know what you're doing.

I think it's fairly clear at this point that ZeroNet isn't testing to make sure that this is the case.

Their TorManager [0] is basically a wrapper around the tor executable, and runs a fairly vanilla config.

So yes, leaks or attacks via bittorrent are actually an issue here.

[0] https://github.com/HelloZeroNet/ZeroNet/blob/master/src/Tor/...

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#142
post #100

There's also GNUNet: https://gnunet.org/ As others have mentioned there's also FreeNet: https://freenetproject.org/ I haven't looked deep into any of these projects, but I do think they are neat and hoping at least one of them gains a lot of traction.

Considering a Freenet user is currently [jailed indefinently](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/man-jailed-indef...), there does seem to be some problems.

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#143
post #88
post #87

This seems similar to ipfs. What are the main differences?

IPFS is more low-level in terms of that IPFS is a protocol (in reality a collection of protocols) for P2P data transfer. Together with IPLD, you'll get a full suite of protocols and data structures for creating fully distributed P2P applications. ZeroNet is a application for distributing P2P applications, using Bittorrent for the P2P layer. In theory, ZeroNet could leverage IPFS to get a better and more modular stack…

gotcha, thanks for the explanation. It sure seems like they have many similar goals so it makes sense that ZeroNet could leverage IPFS

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Namecoin has a number of innovations. It's the first 'alt-coin' fork from Bitcoin, and it pioneered the technique of "merge mining" where a miner could do Proof of Work on both the Bitcoin chain and the NameCoin chain simultaneously. A lot of mining pools implemented merged mining. Even though the alt-coin space has become much more crowded and noisy, NameCoin retains that early hashing advantage. It's a very secure…

> It's a very secure chain. But this guy said that a single miner has 65% of the hashing power: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14043038

IIRC, that's one mining pool, not one miner. The power of mining pools is relatively limited. If the workers see that the pool is attacking Namecoin and devaluing their NMC (not to mention ruining a cool project), they're liable to switch to a different pool.

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freenet is a great idea with 15 years of failure to get traction with sane (by which I mean non-paedophile) people. Also, it's written in Java.

Just curious: are the gay people insane as well?

I think he was using the word "sane" loosely to mean common people, not a niche group. I agree though that it's hypocritical to label some sexualities as a disease or insanity but object to doing the same for other minority ones.

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#146
post #52
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not supported by ZeroNet.

there are libraries, it shouldn't be difficult for them to add that. Oh, they say the following on their issue tracker: > zeronet protocol is different from torrent, so libtorrent will not work. So the headline is misleading?

Yes, it's misleading. It's peer to peer but it doesn't speak the same protocol. You can look at the docs of its network protocol. https://zeronet.readthedocs.io/en/latest/help_zeronet/networ...

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#147
post #94

We need more projects like these. Whether this project solves the question of a truly distributed Internet* is out of question. What we need is a movement, a big cognitive investment towards solving the Big Brother problem. *I am referring to concentrated power of the big players here, country-wide firewalls, and bureaucracy towards how/what we use.

There is IPFS

ZeroNet is created for fast, dynamic websites, IPFS is more like a storage solution. It's already possible to cooperate, eg. IPFS for static, big files, ZeroNet for dynamic user content

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#148
post #141
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but you can deal with that, if you know what you're doing. If you use Whonix, or roll your own Tor gateway, leaks around Tor aren't an issue. UDP is the hardest thing to deal with. I mean, with proper Tor/userland isolation, leaks don't happen. So all UDP just gets dropped. If you want UDP, you need to use OnionCat or tunnel a VPN through Tor.

> Yeah, but you can deal with that, if you know what you're doing. I think it's fairly clear at this point that ZeroNet isn't testing to make sure that this is the case. Their TorManager [0] is basically a wrapper around the tor executable, and runs a fairly vanilla config. So yes, leaks or attacks via bittorrent are actually an issue here. [0] https://github.com/HelloZeroNet/ZeroNet/blob/master/src/Tor/...

> leaks or attacks via bittorrent are actually an issue here.

Its protocol is a different one.

https://zeronet.readthedocs.io/en/latest/help_zeronet/networ...

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#149
post #23

Has the code quality improved since I was told to screw off for bringing up security? * 2 years out of date gevent-websocket * Year old Python-RSA, which included some worrying security bugs in that time. [0](Vulnerable to side-channel attacks on decryption and signing.) * PyElliptic is both out of date, and actually an unmaintained library. But it's okay, it's just the OpenSSL library! * 2 years out of date Pybitcoi…

It seems to be one guy working on the full project which is opensource so you could do PRs to fix it or donate money.

It's easy to point issues and not do anything to help.

Re: ZeroNet – Uncensorable websites using Bitcoin crypto and BitTorrent network

#150
post #23

Has the code quality improved since I was told to screw off for bringing up security? * 2 years out of date gevent-websocket * Year old Python-RSA, which included some worrying security bugs in that time. [0](Vulnerable to side-channel attacks on decryption and signing.) * PyElliptic is both out of date, and actually an unmaintained library. But it's okay, it's just the OpenSSL library! * 2 years out of date Pybitcoi…

It seems to be one guy working on the full project which is opensource so you could do PRs to fix it or donate money. It's easy to point issues and not do anything to help.

I did.

We talked it over, decided I would do the test suite.

I started, found the bad practices, and showed how I could turn it into a fully automated system, new versions could be tested against, and if it works, it could output binaries for every system.

The response was, 'No don't do that. I like doing it manually. Means I can check for breakage.'

Followed by my PRs and issues being closed, and my emails bouncing.

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