Retroshare
Encyclopedia
RetroShare 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.
keys. After authentication and exchanging an asymmetric key, ssh is used to establish a connection. End to end encryption is done using OpenSSL
.
Friends of friends cannot connect by default, but they can see each others if the users allow it.
In essence, data is only exchanged between friends, although the ultimate source and destination of a given transfer
are possibly multiple friends apart. A search function performing anonymous multi-hop search is another source of finding files in the network.
Files are represented by their md5 hash, and http-compliant file links can be exported, copied and pasted into/out RetroShare to publish their virtual location into the RetroShare network.
allow secure communication between known friends. A forum system allowing both anonymous and authenticated forums distributes posts from friends to friends. A channel system offers the possibility to auto-download files posted
in a given channel to every subscribed peer.
one most users would use. In addition to functions quite classical to other file sharing software, such as a search tab and visualization of transfers, RetroShare gives the user the possibility to manage his network by collecting optional information about neighbor friends and visualize it as a trust matrix or as a dynamic network graph.
structure of the RetroShare network makes it difficult to intrude and hardly possible to monitor from an external point of view. The degree of anonymity can still be improved by deactivating the DHT and IP/certificate exchange services, making the Retroshare network a real Darknet.
, videochat and VoIP could be implemented with RetroShare and its plugin infrastructure. A web interface to control the software from a distant machine also stands among future plans.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
software for encrypted, serverless
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, Instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
and filesharing based on a friend-to-friend
Friend-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....
built on GPG
GNU Privacy Guard
GNU Privacy Guard is a GPL Licensed alternative to the PGP suite of cryptographic software. GnuPG is compliant with RFC 4880, which is the current IETF standards track specification of OpenPGP...
. It is not a strictly a darknet
Darknet
The term darknet refers to any private, distributed P2P filesharing network, where connections are made only between trusted peers using non-standard protocols and ports...
since peers can optionally communicate certificates and IP addresses from and to their friends.
Authentication and connectivity
After the installation RetroShare generates a pair of GPGGNU Privacy Guard
GNU Privacy Guard is a GPL Licensed alternative to the PGP suite of cryptographic software. GnuPG is compliant with RFC 4880, which is the current IETF standards track specification of OpenPGP...
keys. After authentication and exchanging an asymmetric key, ssh is used to establish a connection. End to end encryption is done using OpenSSL
OpenSSL
OpenSSL is an open source implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols. The core library implements the basic cryptographic functions and provides various utility functions...
.
Friends of friends cannot connect by default, but they can see each others if the users allow it.
File sharing
It is possible to share folders between friends. File transfer is carried on using a multi-hop swarming system.In essence, data is only exchanged between friends, although the ultimate source and destination of a given transfer
are possibly multiple friends apart. A search function performing anonymous multi-hop search is another source of finding files in the network.
Files are represented by their md5 hash, and http-compliant file links can be exported, copied and pasted into/out RetroShare to publish their virtual location into the RetroShare network.
Communication
RetroShare offers several services to allow friends to communicate. A private chat and a private mailing systemallow secure communication between known friends. A forum system allowing both anonymous and authenticated forums distributes posts from friends to friends. A channel system offers the possibility to auto-download files posted
in a given channel to every subscribed peer.
User interface
The core of the RetroShare software is based on an offline library, to which two executables are plugged: a command-line executable, that offers hardly no control, and a graphics user interface written in Qt4, which is theone most users would use. In addition to functions quite classical to other file sharing software, such as a search tab and visualization of transfers, RetroShare gives the user the possibility to manage his network by collecting optional information about neighbor friends and visualize it as a trust matrix or as a dynamic network graph.
Anonymity
The 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....
structure of the RetroShare network makes it difficult to intrude and hardly possible to monitor from an external point of view. The degree of anonymity can still be improved by deactivating the DHT and IP/certificate exchange services, making the Retroshare network a real Darknet.
Features
- Search for friends
- Instant messagingInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
- Groupchat
- IRC-like channels
- Anonymous/authenticated forumsInternet forumAn Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
- Multi-hop search for files
- NAT hole punching
- Swarming as in BitTorrentBitTorrentBitTorrent 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...
- QtQT- Units and measurements :* Quart, a measure of volume in traditional systems of units* Quarter, a unit of mass in Imperial units, equal to 2 stones or a quarter of a long hundredweight; one quarter = 12.70058636 kg* QT interval, a measurement used in cardiology...
4 platform independent UI - Localisation for 9 languages
- Anonymous file sharing with friends
- URL scheme for shared files
- Completely decentralised
- Optional IP localization using Kadmelia DHT
- UPnP / NAT-PMP port forwarding support
- Overview of all shared files
- Multiple simultaneous downloads / uploads
- Plugin support
- Integration into the taskbar
- Support for resuming downloads after exiting the program
- Adding downloads via website links
- Overview of internal router statistics
- Quick Start Wizard (for quick and easy setup of RetroShare)
- IP-Localization by distributed Hash-IP table
- Setting (forward) and the ports of the router is automatically inherited from RetroShare.
Future developments
Serverless voicemailVoicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
, videochat and VoIP could be implemented with RetroShare and its plugin infrastructure. A web interface to control the software from a distant machine also stands among future plans.