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+GNUnet
+======
+
+GNUnet is a mesh routing layer for end-to-end encrypted networking and a
+framework for distributed applications designed to replace the old insecure
+Internet protocol stack.
+
+In other words, GNUnet provides a strong foundation of free software for a
+global, distributed network that provides security and privacy. Along with an
+application for secure publication of files, it has grown to include all kinds
+of basic applications for the foundation of a GNU internet.
+
+GNUnet is an official GNU package. GNUnet can be downloaded from [GNU](ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnunet/) and the
+[GNU mirrors](ftp://ftpmirror.gnu.org/gnu/gnunet/).
+
+Why GNUnet?
+-----------
+
+Security and privacy are virtually non-existant on today's Internet. Most
+security protocols rely on some "trusted" third parties (such as certificate
+authorities), which are frequently compromised. Traffic on the Internet is
+routed and thus controlled by large providers, and easily censored (or blocked
+entirely) at national borders. The originally decentralized web is increasingly
+assimilated into services hosted at large advertising companies that mine it
+for private information to be sold to advertisers. In all of these domains,
+economics drives the creation of mega-corporations, which in turn has enabled
+mass surveillance by authoritarian institutions.
+
+GNUnet's goal is to offer a way out of hierarchical networking, transitioning
+into a network of equals. As each participant contributes a small amount of
+resources to the common, GNUnet does not require users to give up their privacy
+in order to use the network. In particular, peer-to-peer networks do not need
+advertising revenue or other profits to function. However, merely
+decentralizing the Internet is not sufficient, we also need security and
+privacy. In fact, for individuals, privacy tends to be more important among
+peers than vis-a-vis a faceless mega-corporation. Thus, GNUnet's focus is on
+providing security while remaining fully decentralized.
+
+GNUnet is extensible and makes it easy to build new (peer-to-peer)
+applications, or add alternative network transports to the base system. GNUnet
+is not a classical overlay network, as GNUnet does not need TCP/IP to function:
+while GNUnet peers can operate over classic Internet protocols like TCP or UDP,
+they can also exchange information directly, for example over WLAN or
+Bluetooth, without using IP at all.
+
+GNUnet and Research
+-------------------
+
+GNUnet is not just an implementation effort, but also a research project.
+Unlike many other research projects, our goal is to provide a working,
+production-quality system (but we are not there yet). Providing security and
+privacy in a fully decentralized setting is difficult, as many security
+construction assume some kind of trusted third party. Furthermore, as GNUnet is
+an open network, an adversary can actively participate. A strong adversary
+might be able to run many peers, possibly even the majority of the peers. At
+this point, even expensive security protocols that involve majorities fail. We
+note that GNUnet does not have one "global" security model for all of its
+applications; for that, our applications are too diverse in their designs and
+requirements. However, we always build our components under the assumption that
+there
+are active, malicious participants in the network.
+
+Many of the key technical contributions behind GNUnet are described in detail
+in our research papers. The following sections will briefly sketch some of the
+key ideas for some of GNUnet's flagship applications.
+
+
+Anonymous File-sharing
+----------------------
+
+Key ideas behind GNUnet's anonymous file-sharing application include an
+improved content encoding (ECRS, the encoding for censorship resistant sharing)
+and a new protocol for anonymous routing (gap). In gap, anonymity is provided
+by making messages originating from a peer indistinguishable from messages that
+the peer is routing. All peers act as routers and use link-encrypted
+connections with stable bandwidth utilization to communicate with each other.
+Properties of the content encoding and the routing protocol allow GNUnet to
+reward contributing peers with better service using an excess-based economic
+model for resource allocation. As a result, peers in GNUnet monitor each others
+behavior with respect to resource usage; peers that contribute to the network
+are rewarded with better service.
+
+
+The GNU Name System
+-------------------
+
+The GNU Name System (GNS) is a fully decentralized and censorship-resistant
+public key infrastructure. Names in GNS are personal, as each user is in full
+control of his ".gnu" zone. Users can delegate subdomains to the namespaces of
+other users, and resolve each other's names using a privacy-preserving,
+censorship-resistant secure network lookup mechanism. GNS is interoperable with
+DNS, and can be used as an alternative to the X.509 PKI or the Web-of-Trust.
+
+
+SecuShare
+---------
+
+Using GNS for identity management, we are currently starting to build the
+foundation for fully decentralized social networking with SecuShare. Key design
+goals include never storing (or transmitting) unencrypted data at third
+parties, and the use of the PSYC protocol for semantic extensibility, that is,
+to allow smooth migration of data to new revisions of the protocol. SecuShare
+is still in its infancy, while we have worked out large parts of the design
+much more code will need to be written before it can be used. Help is very
+welcome. You can find additional details on the Secushare.org website.
+
+
+Conclusion
+----------
+
+GNUnet continues to expand in scope and improve both in terms of technical
+ideas and implementation, often thanks to discussions with developers from
+related projects, such as Tor or I2P. We collaborate with these (and many
+other) projects whenever it makes technical sense, as we share the same ideals
+and goals: secure, private networking using free software to safeguard a free
+and open society.
+
+While we believe that GNUnet is (or at least will become) the best solution for
+(anonymous) file-sharing, GNUnet is much more than this. Our developers have
+the ambition to provide a good general infrastructure for developing a wide
+range of new decentralized networking applications, possibly to the point of
+replacing the Internet as it is known today with a GNU network that embodies
+the ideals of the GNU project.
+
+However, certain applications are not within the scope of the GNUnet project.
+In particular, users that are looking for faster, non-anonymous file-sharing or
+to anonymize their HTTP traffic should probably look elsewhere, as our goal is
+not to duplicate existing applications.