Mute
Mute file sharing is a new peer-to-peer network that provides easy search-and-download functionality while also protecting your privacy. Mute file sharing compiles as a fast, native application for many platforms (no Java, no Python, etc.).
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Mute file sharing is a new peer-to-peer network that provides easy search-and-download functionality while also protecting your privacy. Mute file sharing compiles as a fast, native application for many platforms (no Java, no Python, etc.). Mute protects your privacy by avoiding direct connections with your sharing partners in the network. Most other file sharing programs use direct connections to download or upload, making your identity available to spies from the RIAA and other unscrupulous organizations. Mute File Sharing uses distributed search based on controlled flooding to locate files by name based on free-form query strings. While many other P2P networks control flooding using a TTL scheme, MUTE introduces a more effective and scalable mechanism called utility counters. The Mute Milestone - By the Program Author I am always working on several projects, including MUTE. Some of these projects involve new ideas and are still in early development. These projects do not have websites of their own yet (in May of 2003, MUTE was one of these embryonic projects). Other projects (such as MUTE, Monolith, Silk and Transcend) have already seen releases and have established websites. If I consistently tie fund-raising efforts to my established projects (for example, with milestones that involve adding new features to MUTE), I can never work on anything new.
In an attempt to deal with this issue, I am experimenting with a new use of milestones. First, I have opened up my (previously private) development process to public scrutiny through the publication of a worklog (unfortunately, the only catchy abbreviation seems to be "klog"). Throughout each workday, I add notes to this log about my progress. This log includes information about established projects, embryonic projects, and thought experiments that may never see public release. As an inventor, I explore lots of ideas before deciding to devote a year of my life (or more) to one particular idea. Second, I am proposing monthly milestones that are not attached to any particular task. The monthly fund-raising goal is based on my estimate of the amount of money I will need to support myself and my family during the month of project work (we spend roughly $27 per day as part of our $10,000 yearly budget). If you read my worklog and think my current pursuits are worthwhile, you can donate $5 to support my efforts. As always, the results of my work will be released for free under the GNU GPL. Furthermore, a public log containing of all of my unreleased ideas will be available to all.
The previous milestones were intended as a test, and the amazing success of the fund-raising effort demonstrated that the milestone model can work. The Mute Encryption Method: Neighbor connections in the MUTE network are built on top of secure streams that use: - RSA public/private keys (size selected by user at runtime) to exchange secret keys
- AES (Rijndael) 128-bit secret keys used in CFB mode with all-zero initialization vectors to encrypt stream data
- Separate AES keys used for each stream direction
- Fresh AES keys used each time a new stream is established
Routes in the MUTE network are not encrypted end-to-end. Because of person-in-the-middle attacks during a routed key-exchange, secure end-to-end encryption is impossible in an anonymous network. There are more details here.
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