Chapter 1
Darknet
| Anonet |
| Freenet |
| I2P |
| Gnunet |
| Lokinet |
| Mysterium |
| Nym |
| Threefold |
| Tor |
| Utopia |
| VPN |
| Wireleap |
| Zeronet |
Anonet
?
Freenet
A darknet that is primarily concerned with censorship rather than privacy. It is used for storing data. Will expose your IP unless you use another darknet (ie a VPN) in conjunction, or only use peers you trust.
Tor
The most well known of darknets, and one of the first. One of the best for circumventing firewalls. Tor operates by routing a given connection through a series of nodes, and optionally a bridge if necessary.
Utopia
?
I2P
The second most well known darknet, I2P operates in a peer-to-peer manner.
| I2Prouter | https://geti2p.net/ | Written in Java, the standard router |
| I2P+ | https://i2pplus.github.io/ | A fork of the Java router |
| I2Pd | https://i2pd.website/ | Written in C++, is easier on resources and more minimal |
| Kovri | https://web.getmonero.org/resources/moneropedia/kovri.html [Archive] | An in-development i2p thing designed for the Monero/XMR cryptocurrency |
Gnunet
?
Lokinet
An onion router that seeks to fix Sybil attacks by way of having exit nodes be invested in.
http://web.archive.org/web/20211228031014/http://cheapskatesguide.org/articles/lokinet.html
Nym
?
VPN
A Virtual Private Network. Usually paid. Make sure to read the fine print and make sure they have a no logs policy.
Unlike Tor or others, a VPN is almost always one hop to a single node. If that node is compromised, so are you.
| Name | Offers Static IP | Payment | Description |
| IVPN | No[1] | Accepts Monero | ? |
| Mullvad | No[2] | Yes[3] (previously you had to buy via proxy) | Generally well regarded other than their Mozilla partnership for MozillaVPN |
| OVPN | Yes[4] | Accepts Monero | Used by the PirateBay[5][6] |
| ProtonVPN | Has free tier | Not regarded highly | |
| RiseUp | No | Free/Invite Only (See FAQ regarding invites) | The bitmask client is unreliable and bloated (due to qt5, polkit and other deps), the OpenVPN solution is better |
Another option would be to purchase a VPS (with Monero/XMR) and then setup WireGuard or OpenVPN on it, over Tor or I2P for maximum anonymity, and then use that as your VPN. It would only be one "node" however, but would include a dedicated IP. SSH Tunnels are another possible option.
- 1. Do you offer dedicated or static IP addresses? - IVPN Help, ? https://www.ivpn.net/knowledgebase/general/do-you-offer-dedicated-or-static-ip-addresses/ http://web.archive.org/web/20210511080656/https://www.ivpn.net/knowledgebase/general/do-you-offer-dedicated-or-static-ip-addresses/
- 2. Port forwarding with Mullvad VPN - Mullvad VPN, 3/10/2022 https://mullvad.net/en/help/port-forwarding-and-mullvad/#addingaport http://web.archive.org/web/20220319001238/https://mullvad.net/en/help/port-forwarding-and-mullvad/#addingaport
- 3. We now accept Monero - Mullvad, 5/3/2022 https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2022/5/3/we-now-accept-monero/ http://web.archive.org/web/20220504003247/https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2022/5/3/we-now-accept-monero/
- 4. Shared or dedicated IP addresses? - OVPN.com, ? https://www.ovpn.com/en/faq/network/shared-or-dedicated-ip-addresses http://web.archive.org/web/20201029113910/https://www.ovpn.com/en/faq/network/shared-or-dedicated-ip-addresses
- 5. The Pirate Bay’s IP Address Belongs to a VPN Provider, ISP Tells Court - TorrentFreak, 6/15/2020 https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bays-ip-address-belongs-to-a-vpn-provider-isp-tells-court-200615/#tf-comments http://web.archive.org/web/20210725015147/https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bays-ip-address-belongs-to-a-vpn-provider-isp-tells-court-200615/#tf-comments
- 6. The Pirate Bay: Expert Appears to Reconsider Existence of VPN Provider Logs - TorrentFreak, 8/31/2020 https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-expert-appears-to-reconsider-existence-of-vpn-provider-logs-200831/ http://web.archive.org/web/20220215195210/https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-expert-appears-to-reconsider-existence-of-vpn-provider-logs-200831/
Wireleap
?
Zeronet
Similar to Freenet but you are not able to moderate what content goes on your computer.