I2P is an anonymous P2P network that protects from online censorship, surveillance and monitoring.
If you are one of those who seek anonymity on the Internet and Tor does not convince you, let me tell you that I2P may be the option you are looking for.
Invisible Internet Project or better known as I2P, is a "fully encrypted private network layer» and like Tor, I2P provides the option for online users to access the internet anonymously.
Thanks to this promise of anonymity, I2P users can participate in online activities with built-in protection against potential criminals, such as cybercriminals. However, it is worth mentioning that I2P is not equivalent to Tor.
Since, as many will know, Tor implies the use of encryption layers, while for its part I2P uses "garlic" routing. In this case, the messages are grouped into a data packet, like a clove of garlic. While Tor's layering method allows outside observers to guess the time of messages, I2P's method does not.
About I2P
I2P has limited ability to provide access to surface web information. Instead, its benefits lie in the network's ability to create Dark Web-only sites, that is, sites that are only available if you are connected to I2P. These they are called eepsites, which are comparable to Tor sites. For example, an I2P eepsite would allow a user to do things like send secure messages or hide their geolocation from external Internet users.
The network is built in P2P mode and it is formed thanks to the resources (bandwidth) provided by network users, which makes it possible to dispense with the use of centrally controlled servers (communications within the network are based on the use of encrypted unidirectional tunnels between the participant and the companions).
In the I2P network, you can create websites and blogs anonymously, send instant messages and emails, exchange files and organize P2P networks.
To build and use anonymous networks for client-server (websites, chats) and P2P (file sharing, cryptocurrency) applications, I2P clients are used.
It is worth mentioning that recently I2P received its new version 2.3.0 together with the C++ client i2pd 2.48.0. The new version resolves a vulnerability (CVE-2023-36325) which could be used to determine the router through which a user of interest is connecting. vulnerability is caused by an error in the implementation of the storage structure » bloom filter » », used to filter messages with duplicate message IDs.
The problem is that a common Bloom filter was used for the clients and the router itself, which allowed the attacker to send a specially formatted I2NP messagel to the user with a unique message id and then send the same message directly to the router and based on its reaction determine if a message with the given identifier passed through it before (if the message did pass then its identifier already is entered into the Bloom filter and will be immediately discarded by the router due to disallowance of duplicates). It is mentioned that the problem is solved by separating the Bloom filters for the router and client tunnels.
Of the other changes in the new version iThey include:
- Optimized search in netDb and limitation of the intensity of sending packets (rate-limit).
- Improved behavior of routers operating in flood mode.
- Added an additional default I2P provider: not_bob .
- Provided the ability to set the maximum lifetime of entries in the blacklist of blocked IP addresses.
- Added an API to change the DTG GUI of plugins (for example, you can add items to the applet menu for the system tray)
Finally if you are interested in knowing more about it, you should know that the basic I2P client is written in Java and can run on a wide range of platforms such as Windows, Linux, macOS, Solaris, etc.
You can check the details as well as get the installation packages from the link below.