Software update: I2P 0.7.6

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I2P focuses on anonymizing communication flows. It started in 2003 as a proposal to freenet and has evolved over time into a standalone program. For more information, we refer you to this page. The developers have released version 0.7.6, with the following announcements since the last entry in the Meuktracker:

0.7.6 Release

I2P version 0.7.6 contains additional fixes for network stability issues related to tunnel building and connection limits. While the 0.7.5 release greatly improved the congestion that appeared UTC evenings and weekends, it was not eliminated; this release should improve the situation further.

This version also has new console themes by dr|z3d, which may be selected on the new UI configuration page. Sorry, the new themes are not available for IE browsers.

The default tunnel length variance is changed from 1 to 0. This mainly affects exploratory tunnels and iMule. As explained on zzz.i2p, a non-zero variance adds very little protection, at great cost in resources. Should you wish to reconfigure your exploratory settings back to the old variance of 1, or change to length 3 variance 0, you may do so on the config tunnels page. iMule settings are best changed within that application.

I2P now stores temporary data in the system temp directory (generally /var/tmp on Linux and %TEMP% on Windows). For new installs only, user data is in $HOME/.i2p on Linux/Mac and %APPDATA%I2P on Windows.

The release contains several changes to reduce resource usage (memory, CPU, and connections) and the usual assortment of bug fixes. Upgrading is recommended.

This is the first release built and signed by zzz. Thanks again to Complication for his many contributions to the project over the past five years. I2P is undergoing the most rapid development in years. Please give the developers feedback on IRC #i2p or forum.i2p2.de and get involved!

Release details:

Connection Limits and related congestion:

  • Split the limiting actions into three thresholds (75%, 81%, and 87%) instead of all happening at 80%, for better control, and to save the drastic actions for the higher thresholds.
  • Other minor changes, perhaps temporary, to improve tunnel build success.
  • Change default tunnel length variance to zero, to help iMule and exploratory build success. As explained elsewhere on this site, this will have a negligible affect on anonymity. Should you wish to keep a variance of 1 for a particular tunnel pool, change it back on configtunnels.jsp or in i2ptunnel, or the iMule config.
  • Make shared clients tunnels reduce-on-idle for new installs.

Resources:

  • Expire peer profiles quicker and display less, to reduce memory use.
  • Use StringBuilder throughout, faster than StringBuffer
  • Reduce stats coalesce frequency, this is a big CPU user
  • Allocate much less memory on first startup
  • Remove more unused classes

Transportation:

  • More fixes related to UPnP, recognition of firewalls and changing firewall conditions, and address changes.

Browser Launcher:

  • Wait until the console is up before launching browser.

Console and Themes:

  • New console, i2psnark, susimail, susidns, and proxy error page themes by dr|zed
  • Console themes are selectable on configui.jsp.
  • Console themes not available for IE users.
  • Fixes for Opera

proxy:

  • Serve css and image files at the reserved proxy.i2p address, to better display the error pages when the user is on a different machine.

Installer, Split Directories, Distro-Friendly Organization:

  • For new installs, code and data will be split into different directories. Data (router files, config files, i2psnark files, eepsite files, etc.) will be in ~/.i2p on linux and %APPDATA%I2P on Windows. The code directory can be read-only to the user (although the user will not be able to update in that case). On linux, the shell scripts i2prouter, runplain.sh, and eepget can be moved to a directory such as /usr/bin. All assumptions that files are in the current working directory are removed. Don’t launch the router anymore in the install scripts on linux.
  • For existing installs, about the only visible change will be a few temporary files now in the Java temporary directory (eg /var/tmp on linux) instead of $I2P.

Reseeder:

  • Move the reseeder from the routerconsole to the router, for easier embedding of the router in other code (eg android, iMule)

I2P release 0.7.5

I2P version 0.7.5 foremost addresses network stability issues by adjusting how exploratory tunnels are built if a router nears its connection limit, and also by distinguishing between connected peers and other non-failing peers while picking them for inclusion in tunnels.

This version also delivers fixes to installer behavior on Windows, to the Router Console, NTCP transport and UPnP mechanism.

Additionally, version 0.7.5 changes the “news.xml” file location where I2P routers check whether a new version is available. Instead of the old URL (http://complication.i2p/news.xml) a new location (http://echelon.i2p/i2p/news.xml) will be used. If your router uses default updater settings, it will start using the new URL automatically. If not, you will need to visit “configupdate.jsp” on the Router Console, and change it manually.

For a while after this update, the old news.xml location also redirects all HTTP requests to the new one. This is because I need to withdraw from the I2P project.

The reasons for my withdrawal have nothing to do with I2P, and I wish the very best to you all. Oppositely, the reasons have everything to do with my “real-life” identity, events which I could not foresee (neither good nor bad, but unavoidable) and my plans for future.

This update removes my public key from the list of trusted release signing keys, and the next release will be signed by zzz instead. If you have non-default updater settings in force, you may want to remove my key manually. This is easily accomplished by visiting “configupdate.jsp” on the Router Console, and removing the key line starting with the characters “JHFA”.

It was nice working together with you, and best of luck. I’m sorry that I need to go absent like this, but I need to rearrange my life more than slightly.

Complications.

I2P release 0.7.4

I2P version 0.7.4 introduces notable new features like GeoIP capability and UPnP support. While the former can become a basis for geographically aware tunnel-building, the latter should immediately enable more routers to accept inbound TCP connections, helping distribute workload more evenly.

Inbound NTCP is now enabled automaticaly if the router does not appear firewalled, and default bandwidth limits for new installations are increased.

In addition, multiple bug fixes and updates are included, addressing issues with the NTCP transport, BOB protocol, connection limiting, behavior of new I2PTunnel options and the SusiDNS user interface. Improvements to the Router Console are also included. Updating is recommended.

best wishes,
Complications.

Version number 0.7.6
Release status Final
Website I2P
Download http://www.i2p2.de/download.html
License type Conditions (GNU/BSD/etc.)
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