https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/anonabox-the-tor-hardware-router#home
Tor in a BoxWhat is the anonabox? The anonabox is an embedded linux device that
routes all Internet traffic over the Tor network. This provides the security,
anonymity and censorship-bypassing power of the Tor network without having to
download or configure software. This is the first commercially available router
to do this where all the software is Open Source. You could call the anonabox
a cloaking device. It not only hides your location and online activity, but
also allows uncensored access to the web in places where Internet sites are
blocked or monitored. Normally to use Tor someone would download software
called the Vidalia browser bundle and run it on their computer. Although this
allows them access to the Tor network, it only encrypts Internet traffic within
that browser, allowing other Internet traffic to leak through from other
programs and potentially reveal the persons private information, Internet use
and location.How Hard is it to Use?Pretty easy, first you plug in th
e usb power cable to power up the device a blue LED will come on letting you
know its on. Then you plug in a cable to the side labled WAN and connect it to
your router. Then with your wireless device (laptops, cell phones, tablets,
etc) connect to it wirelessly. That it! If you want to connect by direct cable
you plug in another cable to the side labled LAN.The anonabox is a physical
device a person can plug into that ensures ALL traffic coming out of their
computer no matter what is all routed into the Tor network, closing that
potential security problem. Who is making this?The lead developer for this
device is August Germar, an IT security professional with over a decade of
enterprise level security experience as CTO of 2interactive; a conglomeration
of Internet Service providers. While there he was responsible for security of a
datacenter of corporate servers as well as dedicated and co-located servers for
clients and spent countless hours defending them from a wide range of secu
rity threats. He now does consulting for business clients ranging from legal
firms to hospitals. He also volunteers for the Tor support forum the Tor Stack
Exchange, and is an admin for the official Tor project discussion page on
LinkedIn. Is this the same device I saw on another crowd funding site?We first
made a Kickstarter project for this. Our primary goal was to attract attention
from developers who wanted to polish the code and bring a device like this to
people who needed it, and maybe even have some fun along the way. We had never
done a crowd funding project before, but thought the visibility of the site
would help draw attention to the project from the developer community. Turns
out, most of the people who saw it just wanted the device, but we got a lot of
input from developers and the Open Source community as well. We never dreamed
there would so much interest in this idea! We are happy we were wrong because
now the attention and feedback we received was enough to make th
e device better than ever. The Open Source community rose to the occasion, and
concerns were raised about the code for the operating system and configuration.
Whereas the version posted was a plain vanilla proof of concept for developers
like us to work on all the feedback allowed us to make the software better than
ever too, and now we have an extremely secure updated version of the software
and configs based on an updated version of the Open Source project called
P.O.R.T.A.L, which is audited and maintained by one of the most respected
members of the security community known as the grugq. We are also incorporating
many ideas implemented by Jacob Applebaums work on the Debian branch of the Tor
hardware router project to make sure it is as secure as possible. Our initial
plan was to find people who wanted to work with us on a project to develop
these devices, we asked for $7,500 and received 80 times that amount. With this
money came an overwhelming influx of support and assistance,
as well as scrutiny and criticism, all of which have been helpful in
reshaping this new launch of a finalized, polished version of the product.Now
that we know so many others share our interest in this device we are more
excited than ever to get these into the hands of the people who want it. The
interest in we saw was inconceivable before it was posted originally, but now
that we know the scale of interest we are better prepared than ever to meet
that demand.What made it better?After the feedback we got from the first
crowdfunding campaign we went back to the drawing board and totally started
over from scratch. The new version we are calling gen 5 will have:-All new
totally custom circuit board avalable nowhere else in the world-Redesigned
outer case and smaller form factor (images of the new case will be posted in
the updates!)-Hardened version of OpenWrt the Open Source Operating system,
-Latest version of Tor software and more secure configuration.-Automatic
updates of Tor soft
ware (no need to configure!) What We Need & What You GetIn order to bring this
device to the next level we need your help:-Adding features and customization's
from the feedback from the first (developer focused) campaign costs more.-Part
of creating this to meet demand requires FCC certification.-The funds from our
backers will go to paying for production costs, and a portion will also be
donated to the Official Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier
foundation.-Some funds will also be used to bring online new exit nodes to
increase the speed and resiliency of the Tor network overall. The ImpactWhy
does the world need a device like this?Censorship at the national level is
increasing every day in many countries around the world.Anonymous Internet
access is becoming increasingly rare and difficult to attain for the average
non-technical person.This will be the first Open Source commercially available
device of its kind!Risks & ChallengesPeople value transparency. All sourcecode
for t
his device will be released under the GPL licence and audited by some of the
most respected security professionals in the world.The anonabox can't help you
if you don't know how to use it. Instructions for proper use in detail will be
available online at the time of shipment.Other Ways You Can HelpSome people
just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help!Ask folks to get
the word out and make some noise about this cause!Use the Indiegogo share
tools!Not everyone can afford to purchase a device like this, so we will be
posting detailed instructions and resources for building one yourself with
hardware you might have already, it will just require your time and some
technical expertise. Thank you again everyone who has show your support with
both pledges and feedback, especially the developers. FAQIs this illegal?-No
there is nothing illegal about using Tor.Can the software be updated by the
enduser if a new version is released?-The device will update itself to the lates
t most secure version of Tor automatically over an encrypted connection.Will
you ship to China?-Yes, we will ship anywhere in the world.Can I put it in
between my modem and router?-Yes, you can use it that way and it will work but
your network will be noticably slower, thats the tradeoff for using Tor.Will
the anonabox effect latency on my gaming rig?-Yes, this is not meant to be used
to play video games and you will have a lot of latency. You'd be better off
using your LANCan I use the wifi and RJ45 ethernet LAN connections at the same
time?-Yes you can use both the hardwired and wireless connections at the same
time.Will I be able to access Tor when I connect to the device wirelessly and
not to my router. Meaning I will have 2 routers and 2 access wireless points, 1
which is my own router being torless, and the second being the device to access
Tor solely?-Yes, this is the typical way you would use it.How will I know its
working?-You can check that the device is working at anytime
by going tohttps://check.torproject.orgDoes the anonobox connect to an
external server for its VPN service?-No, Tor is not a VPN service, but it will
connect to other Tor servers spread out all over the world.Where in the World
are the Tor network servers located?-All over! Here is a map:
http://anonabox.com/about/exitnodes.phpCan you exclude some traffic from going
over Tor? Like Netflix or crashplan?-Not with this device. The way it is
designed, everything no matter what you use is going to be routed over Tor.Will
it slow down my connection to the Internet?-Yes, you will have a noticably
slower connection. That is the tradeoff for having the power of Tor.I've read
that some Tor dev have (or will have) a look at your device, is it true ? Are
you working with them?-We are in contact with the official Tor project staff
and they have agreed to audit the code before any devices ship out.Will I need
to install the tor web browser or can I use any regular browser?-You can use
any browse
r you like including the Tor browser bundle. You should know however that
using the TBB will make the connection slower.Is the grugq a member of the
anonabox team?No, but it would be wrong to not acknowledge the innovative work
he has put in creating and auditing the PORTAL software, which is part of what
makes this version so much better than before. Can you show some images of the
new case design?-Sure, here are a few
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