Darknet
Encyclopedia
The term darknet refers to any private, distributed P2P filesharing network, where connections are made only between trusted peers (sometimes called "friends") using non-standard protocols and ports. Darknets are distinct from other distributed P2P networks as sharing is anonymous (that is, IP addresses are not publicly shared), and therefore users can communicate with little fear of governmental or corporate interference. For this reason, they are often associated with dissident political communications, as well as various illegal activities. More generally, the term "darknet" can be used to describe all non-commercial sites on the Internet , or to refer to all "underground" web communications and technologies, most commonly those associated with illegal activity or dissent .
(which evolved into the Internet
) for security purposes, darknets were able to receive data from ARPANET but had addresses which did not appear in the network lists and would not answer ping
s or other inquiries.
The term gained public acceptance following publication of The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution, a 2002 article by Peter Biddle
, Paul England, Marcus Peinado, and Bryan Willman, four employees of Microsoft
who described the concept as follows:
The Microsoft researchers argued that the presence of the darknet was the primary hindrance to the development of workable DRM
technologies. The term has since been widely adopted and seen usage in major media sources, including Rolling Stone
and Wired. Recently darknets are often discussed in many fields of network security, largely because users who occupy such areas have gone there for various reasons. Some publish on darknets for fear of political reprisal, while others publish on darknets for criminal gain. One trend that has been suggested is the use of "darknets" to share media files that are copyrighted, will become common place. Recent trends show political pressure from many areas are creating enforcement in the form of censorship.
" -- both describing networks where direct connections are only established between trusted friends. Software such as Nullsoft's Waste use this method. The most widespread "Non Darknet" file sharing networks, such as Bittorrent
, are not true darknets since peers will communicate with anyone else on the network. Darknet is also commonly used in a broader sense to describe any network which is non commercial, that offers some level of anonymity and or obscurity. These networks usually make it less cost effective to uncover a users activities. Some of these networks are used for whistle blowers as well as criminals. Many "darknets" require software to be installed to access them. Popular "darknets" include "Tor (routing system), Freenet, and I2P (Mix Network)". Almost all known darknets are decentralized, as a result considered peer to peer. The current version of Freenet, unlike typical darknets, claims to be capable of supporting potentially millions of users using an application of small world theory
.
History
Originally coined in the 1970s to designate networks which were isolated from ARPANETARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
(which evolved into the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
) for security purposes, darknets were able to receive data from ARPANET but had addresses which did not appear in the network lists and would not answer ping
Ping
Ping is a computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol network and to measure the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer...
s or other inquiries.
The term gained public acceptance following publication of The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution, a 2002 article by Peter Biddle
Peter Biddle
Peter Nicholas Biddle is a computer software promoter from the United States.-Career:Biddle joined Microsoft in 1990...
, Paul England, Marcus Peinado, and Bryan Willman, four employees of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
who described the concept as follows:
The idea of the darknet is based upon three assumptions:
- Any widely distributed object will be available to a fraction of users in a form that permits copying.
- Users will copy objects if it is possible and interesting to do so.
- Users are connected by high-bandwidth channels.
The darknet is the distribution network that emerges from the injection of objects according to assumption 1 and the distribution of those objects according to assumptions 2 and 3.
The Microsoft researchers argued that the presence of the darknet was the primary hindrance to the development of workable DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
technologies. The term has since been widely adopted and seen usage in major media sources, including Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and Wired. Recently darknets are often discussed in many fields of network security, largely because users who occupy such areas have gone there for various reasons. Some publish on darknets for fear of political reprisal, while others publish on darknets for criminal gain. One trend that has been suggested is the use of "darknets" to share media files that are copyrighted, will become common place. Recent trends show political pressure from many areas are creating enforcement in the form of censorship.
Terms
When used to describe a file sharing network, the term is often used as a synonym for "friend-to-friendFriend-to-friend
A friend-to-friend computer network is a type of peer-to-peer network in which users only make direct connections with people they know. Passwords or digital signatures can be used for authentication....
" -- both describing networks where direct connections are only established between trusted friends. Software such as Nullsoft's Waste use this method. The most widespread "Non Darknet" file sharing networks, such as Bittorrent
BitTorrent
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data over the Internet. BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files, and it has been estimated that it accounted for roughly 43% to 70% of all Internet traffic .Programmer...
, are not true darknets since peers will communicate with anyone else on the network. Darknet is also commonly used in a broader sense to describe any network which is non commercial, that offers some level of anonymity and or obscurity. These networks usually make it less cost effective to uncover a users activities. Some of these networks are used for whistle blowers as well as criminals. Many "darknets" require software to be installed to access them. Popular "darknets" include "Tor (routing system), Freenet, and I2P (Mix Network)". Almost all known darknets are decentralized, as a result considered peer to peer. The current version of Freenet, unlike typical darknets, claims to be capable of supporting potentially millions of users using an application of small world theory
Small world experiment
The small world experiment comprised several experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram and other researchers examining the average path length for social networks of people in the United States. The research was groundbreaking in that it suggested that human society is a small world type network...
.
See also
- Friend-to-friendFriend-to-friendA friend-to-friend computer network is a type of peer-to-peer network in which users only make direct connections with people they know. Passwords or digital signatures can be used for authentication....
- Private P2PPrivate P2PPrivate peer-to-peer systems are peer-to-peer systems that allow only mutually trusted peers to participate. This can be achieved by using a central server such as a Direct Connect hub to authenticate clients. Alternatively, users can exchange passwords or cryptographic keys with friends to form...
- Virtual private networkVirtual private networkA virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
(VPN) - SneakernetSneakernetSneakernet is an informal term describing the transfer of electronic information, especially computer files, by physically couriering removable media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives, or external hard drives from one computer to another. This is usually in lieu...
- Crypto-anarchismCrypto-anarchismCrypto-anarchism expounds the use of strong public-key cryptography to bring about privacy and freedom. It was described by Vernor Vinge as a cyberspatial realization of anarchism. Crypto-anarchists aim to create cryptographic software that can be used to evade prosecution and harassment while...
Software
- Tor (anonymity network)Tor (anonymity network)Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
- anoNetAnoNetanoNet is a decentralized friend-to-friend network built using VPNs and software BGP routers. anoNet works by making it difficult to learn the identities of others on the network allowing them to anonymously host IPv4 and IPv6 services.- Motivation :...
- DarkNET Conglomeration
- FreenetFreenetFreenet is a decentralized, censorship-resistant distributed data store originally designed by Ian Clarke. According to Clarke, Freenet aims to provide freedom of speech through a peer-to-peer network with strong protection of anonymity; as part of supporting its users' freedom, Freenet is free and...
version 0.7 - GNUnetGNUnetGNUnet is a free software framework for decentralized, peer-to-peer networking. The framework offers link encryption, peer discovery and resource allocation....
with its "F2F topology" option - I2PI2PI2P is a mixed-license, free and open source project building an anonymous network .The network is a simple layer that applications can use to anonymously and securely send...
- RetroshareRetroshareRetroShare is free software for encrypted, serverless email, Instant messaging, BBS and filesharing based on a friend-to-friend built on GPG. It is not a strictly a darknet since peers can optionally communicate certificates and IP addresses from and to their friends.- Authentication and...
- OneSwarmOneSwarmOneSwarm is a privacy-preserving P2P client developed at the University of Washington. Although backward compatible with traditional BitTorrent clients, OneSwarm also includes new features designed to protect user privacy when sharing data among friends through creating a distributed darknet,...
- WASTE again
- WippienWippienWippien is an open source P2P zero-configuration VPN client.It is capable of establishing direct links between computers behind NAT firewalls without requiring any router configuration at all ; in other words, it emulates a local area network over an established Internet connection.Wippen is quite...
- StealthNetStealthNetStealthNet is a anonymous P2P file sharing software based on the original RShare client, and has been enhanced.- Drawbacks :* There is no technical documentation about the network protocol.* Anonymity is unproven....