Author: toad Date: 2009-01-20 23:00:38 +0000 (Tue, 20 Jan 2009) New Revision: 25149
Modified: trunk/apps/new_installer/res/README Log: Update README from source README Modified: trunk/apps/new_installer/res/README =================================================================== --- trunk/apps/new_installer/res/README 2009-01-20 22:59:42 UTC (rev 25148) +++ trunk/apps/new_installer/res/README 2009-01-20 23:00:38 UTC (rev 25149) @@ -1,7 +1,104 @@ -Welcome to the Freenet 0.7 installer program +INTRODUCTION: -This is the first version of the installer +The Freenet Project is very pleased to announce the release of Freenet 0.7.0. -This is the 0.7 rewrite of Freenet. -It has been largely rewritten from scratch, -although it pulls in a load of code from Dijjer. +Freenet is software designed to allow the free exchange of information over the +Internet without fear of censorship, or reprisal. To achieve this Freenet makes it +very difficult for adversaries to reveal the identity, either of the person +publishing, or downloading content. The Freenet project started in 1999, released +Freenet 0.1 in March 2000, and has been under active development ever since. + +Freenet is unique in that it handles the storage of content, meaning that if +necessary users can upload content to Freenet and then disconnect. We've +discovered that this is a key requirement for many Freenet users. Once uploaded, +content is mirrored and moved around the Freenet network, making it very difficult +to trace, or to destroy. Content will remain in Freenet for as long as people are +retrieving it, although Freenet makes no guarantee that content will be stored +indefinitely. + +The journey towards Freenet 0.7 began in 2005 with the realization that some of +Freenet's most vulnerable users needed to hide the fact that they were using +Freenet, not just what they were doing with it. The result of this realization was a +ground-up redesign and rewrite of Freenet, adding a "darknet" capability, allowing +users to limit who their Freenet software would communicate with to trusted friends. +This would make it far more difficult for a third-party to determine who is using +Freenet. + +Freenet 0.7 also embodies significant improvements to almost every other aspect of +Freenet, including efficiency, security, and usability. Freenet is available for Windows, +Linux, and OSX. It can be downloaded from: + +http://freenetproject.org/download.html + +If you have any difficulty getting Freenet to work, or any questions not answered in the +faq, please join us on IRC in the #freenet channel at irc.freenode.net. Thank you. + +This release would not have been possible without the efforts of numerous volunteers, and +Matthew Toseland, Freenet's full time developer. Matthew's work is funded through donations +via our website (as well as a few larger sponsors from time to time). We ask that anyone +who can help us to ensure Matthew's continued employment visit our donations page and +make a contribution at: + +http://freenetproject.org/donate.html + +Press enquiries should be directed to Ian Clarke. + +ALWAYS ON: +On OS/X and unix-based systems, Freenet will create a cron job to run Freenet +on startup. On Windows it creates a user for Freenet to run under, and a service +to start it. You should run Freenet as close to 24x7 as possible for good +performance. It is however possible to remove the cron job (with the remove cron +job script in bin/), or to remove the service (from the services panel in Control Panel). + +BASIC SECURITY: +You MUST use a separate browser to access Freenet than the one you use to access +the WWW at large. Browser history stealing attacks enable malicious websites to +probe for specific freesites you have visited. It may also be possible for hostile +websites to probe for the existence of Freenet by javascript port scanning or +similar attacks, or possibly even time loads of specific pages from Freenet, from +the browser you use for the web; this last attack is unconfirmed at the time of +writing. + +MORE SECURITY: +If your life or liberty depends on Freenet protecting your anonymity, you should +seriously evaluate your options, including the option of not posting whatever +controversial content it is you are thinking of posting. Freenet has not yet +reached version 1.0, and several important security features have not yet been +implemented; there are several known attacks which future versions will greatly +reduce, and there are likely to be (and have been) serious bugs. If you do +choose to use Freenet under such circumstances, you should enable the MAXIMUM +network security level and add connections to your friends on the Friends page; +connecting only to friends considerably improves your security against a variety +of attacks, but you should only connect to them if you know them or have some +reason to (at least minimally) trust them; connecting to arbitrary strangers +from IRC may end up with you adding the bad guys as Friends, and apart from that +it damages the network topology. + +CHANGES FROM 0.5: +This is the 0.7 rewrite of Freenet. This is largely rewritten from scratch, +although it pulls in a load of code from Dijjer, and most of the crypto and a +few other classes from the 0.5 source. + +Major changes: +- Darknet mode: connect only to your friends, they connect to theirs, this forms + a small-world network, which Freenet makes routable by location swapping. This + greatly increases the network's robustness as it makes it much harder to find + and block Freenet nodes on a national firewall, as well as improving security + generally provided that your friends are trustworthy. +- Opennet mode (plug and play) is also supported. Just select network security + level NORMAL or LOW in the first-time wizard. +- Freenet now uses UDP, mainly to improve connectivity over NATs and firewalls. +- Freenet now uses 32kB fixed block sizes, to improve performance and simplify + the code. +- The Freenet Client Protocol is completely different, see the spec here: + http://wiki.freenetproject.org/FreenetFCPSpec2Point0 +- Many more changes... + +LICENSING: +Freenet is under the GPLv2 - see LICENSE.Freenet (we are trying to make this +GPL 2 or later, but some code is arguably GPL 2 only). However, we use some +other code: +- Mantissa is under the modified BSD license. See README.Mantissa. According + to the FSF, modified BSD is compatible with GPL; we must include both + licenses. + _______________________________________________ cvs mailing list [email protected] http://emu.freenetproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cvs
