I2PBerry allows Raspberry Pi users to surf the I2P anonymously

I2PBerry is a Raspberry Pi distribution that comes pre-installed with I2P network software. (via Sourceforge)

The days of surfing the dark waters of the under-web using the controversial Tor network may be coming to an end thanks to the ever-popular I2P network. Tor, free software that helps people become more anonymous online, has undergone increased scrutiny over the years by the NSA and other intelligence agencies for shady and outright horrific dealings, including being able to hire hit-men, the ability to literally purchase user’s drugs of choice and the rampant distribution of other nefarious materials. This behavior bring the might of the law. Combine all of that together, and it’s pretty tough to remain anonymous for too long, even for those not interacting with illicit and illegal materials.

I2P on the other hand is increasing in its popularity as the platform relies on end-to-end encryption (four layers of it, actually) with end-point cryptographic identifiers that don’t reveal the IP addresses to its users or ‘third-party observers’ for that matter. Sure, nothing is totally secure and if someone wants in bad enough, they will find a way but the I2P network seems to be secure for the moment from the prying eyes of most ISPs. While the I2P network has been available to desktop users since 2003, it has now been ported over to the Raspberry Pi SBC, which acts as a distribution point to connect with the anonymous network.

In fact, I2PBerry is similar to Adafruit’s Onion Pi but replaces the Tor proxy with the I2P network. Like the Onion Pi, users load the I2PBerry software to an SD card and boot it up (it’s preconfigured for SSH servers or use with a monitor) and run sudo raspi-config to configure your settings such as password, overclock and overscan (if using a monitor). Once the necessary changes have been made, reboot and run sudo i2p-config and set i2p to start on boot and to configure additional proxy settings. Users also need to open the I2P admin interface to outside connections.

A tutorial of getting it up and running can be found here: http://paste.roguecoders.com/p/ccc866b18df1f6c67f3fc60bf4428b05.txt. Obviously, you can use the Raspberry Pi’s onboard Ethernet port to connect to the I2P network or you can go wireless by using a Wi-Fi adapter and antenna, adding yet another level of security to anonymous networking. I2PBerry is the brainchild of developer Matthew Robertson (AKA- notbillgates) for the purpose of anonymous access of the I2P darknet as well as giving users access to over 20,000 I2P packages, however his software hasn’t really caught on yet (with only 41 downloads from SourceForge), at least with Raspberry Pi users. Those looking to give it a try can head over to http://sourceforge.net/projects/i2pberry/.

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