Peer to peer networks are often associated with the dark side of the Internet as they became widely known for containing large amounts of copyrighted files accessible to anyone with the right client software. File sharing on standard p2p networks like Bittorrent is not anonymous as IPs are visible once a connection has been established.
The OFF-System is a peer to peer networking system that is using a different approach than darknets like Freenet. Darknets anonymize user data while the Off-System creates randomized multi-used data blocks which means that it is not possible to map a data block to a single file on the network.
To retrieve data from the peer to peer network one would need to download all required blocks plus the so called retrieval url which is created when files are added to the network. Each block on its own is nothing but a set of random data which means that this data is not copyrighted by anyone.
The developers have a multi-page article on their website describing it in great detail. Users on the other hand can simply download the Open Source client of the Off-System which comes with a comfortable search function build in.
The options are quite extensive ranging from incoming and outgoing filters, security settings like trusted nodes to networking and advanced options. There is usually a overhead involved when replicating files which can range from a 50%-200% file increase on the receiving end.
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I’ve tried this ages ago. It’s nice to see that it’s been updated.
it’s especially great for sharing files with people you know, since you aren’t likely to be uploading to them.
Martin, I have comments on your latest format. (Mostly complimentary, thank you.)
Should I add my comments to the latest article I see, like I’m doing now, even though the comments are off-topic for that article?
Or should I go back to your last article about comments and continue the discussion back there? I have to say, though, it’s not easy for me find that somewhat ancient article now.
I prefer you to be on topic. An alternative would be to send me the comment about the format by using the contact option at the top nav. You can leave the comments here: http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/06/testing-a-new-theme/
looking forward to reading them.
that is clever
Just to clarify, the retrieval URL is in a sense a .torrent file and all data exchanged between peers is virtually anonymous?
Or do i have it wrong? Maybe I should just click the link & read the developers page :)