Lesson plan
ZeroNet
ZeroNet is a decentralized web-like network of peer-to-peer users, created by Tamas Kocsis in 2015. The programming for the network was based in Budapest, Hungary. It is built in Python and fully open source. Instead of having an IP address, sites are identified by a public key (specifically a bitcoin address). The private key allows the owner of a site to sign and publish changes, which propagate through the network. Sites can be accessed through an ordinary web browser when using the ZeroNet application, which acts as a local webhost for such pages. In addition to using bitcoin cryptography, ZeroNet uses trackers from the BitTorrent network to negotiate connections between peers. ZeroNet is not anonymous by default, but it supports routing traffic through the Tor network. The ZeroNet website and bittorrent tracker are blocked in mainland China. Despite the censorship, however, it is still possible to access ZeroNet from behind the Great Firewall of China, even over Tor, by bootstrapping over Meek, and connecting to peers directly. There is no way to take down a ZeroNet page which still has seeders, thus making such pages immune to most third-party methods of taking them down, including DMCA takedown notices.
Article summary
ZeroNet is a decentralized web-like network of peer-to-peer users, created by Tamas Kocsis in 2015. The programming for the network was based in Budapest, Hungary. It is built in Python and fully open source. Instead of having an IP address, sites are identified by a public key (specifically a bitcoin address). The private key allows the owner of a site to sign and publish changes, which propagate through the network. Sites can be accessed through an ordinary web browser when using the ZeroNet application, which acts as a local webhost for such pages. In addition to using bitcoin cryptography, ZeroNet uses trackers from the BitTorrent network to negotiate connections between peers. ZeroNet is not anonymous by default, but it supports routing traffic through the Tor network. The ZeroNet website and bittorrent tracker are blocked in mainland China. Despite the censorship, however, it is still possible to access ZeroNet from behind the Great Firewall of China, even over Tor, by bootstrapping over Meek, and connecting to peers directly. There is no way to take down a ZeroNet page which still has seeders, thus making such pages immune to most third-party methods of taking them down, including DMCA takedown notices.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.