i2p.www/www.i2p2/pages/faq.html

{% extends "_layout.html" %}
{% block title %}FAQ{% endblock %}
{% block content %}

<h3 id="bug">I think I found a bug, where can I report it?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#bug">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
Here are some places, pick one or more.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://trac.i2p2.i2p/newticket">trac.i2p2.i2p</a> ticket
<li><a href="http://forum.i2p/viewforum.php?f=10">forum.i2p</a>
<li><a href="http://paste.i2p2.i2p/">paste.i2p2.i2p</a> and follow up on IRC #i2p
<li>Discuss with the developers on IRC #i2p
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Please include relevant information from the router logs and wrapper logs.
</p>

<h3 id="subscriptions">I'm missing lots of hosts in my addressbook. What are some good subscription links?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#subscriptions">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
The default subscription is to http://www.i2p2.i2p/hosts.txt which is updated rarely.
If you don't have another subscription, you may often have to use "jump" links which
is annoying.
</p><p>
Here are some other public addressbook subscription links. You may wish to add one or two
to your <a href="http://localhost:7657/susidns/subscriptions.jsp">susidns subscription list</a>.
You don't need to add all of them, as they sync with each other periodically.
The links using a cgi-bin application employ various strategies to minimize
the number of duplicate addresses delivered, so they should be more efficient.
Note that subscribing to a hosts.txt service is an act of "trust", as a malicious
subscription could give you incorrect addresses. So think about whether you
want to trust any of these. Presence on this list does not imply endorsement.
<ul>
<li>http://i2host.i2p/cgi-bin/i2hostetag
<li>http://stats.i2p/cgi-bin/newhosts.txt
<li>http://tino.i2p/hosts.txt
</ul>
</p>

<h3 id="jrandom">What happened to *.i2p.net? What happened to jrandom? Is I2P dead?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#jrandom">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
Jrandom was the lead developer of i2p and
<a href="http://syndie.i2p2.de/">Syndie</a> for several years.
We expect jrandom to be absent for at least the remainder of 2008.
The *.i2p.net domains were left in a non-functioning state after a power
outage at the hosting company.
</p><p>
See <a href="jrandom-awol.html">this page for jrandom's parting message and additional information</a>
 on the migration of *.i2p.net to
<a href="/">this website</a>.
</p><p>
I2P is not dead, it remains in active development and we anticipate
several releases in 2009.
</p>

<h3 id="CPU">My router is using too much CPU?!?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#CPU">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
You may be using the Java-based BigInteger library instead of the native version,
especially if you are running on a new or unusual OS or hardware (64-bit, OS X, OpenSolaris, etc.).
See the <a href="jbigi.html">jbigi page</a> for instructions on
diagnosing, building, and testing methods.
</p><p>
If your native jbigi library is working fine, the biggest user of
CPU may be routing traffic for participating tunnels. This uses CPU
because at each hop a layer of encryption must be decoded.
You can limit participating traffic in two ways - by reducing the
share bandwidth on
<a href="http://localhost:7657/config.jsp">config.jsp</a>,
or by setting <tt>router.maxParticipatingTunnels=nnn</tt> on
<a href="http://localhost:7657/configadvanced.jsp">configadvanced.jsp</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="content">I am opposed to certain types of content. How do I keep from distributing, storing, or accessing them?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#content">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
Hmm. I2P is an anonymous network, so that's a tricky one.
I2P is designed for everyone and not to censor out some/any kind of data.
The best way to keep your PC free of (encrypted) traffic you dislike is to not use I2P.
Freedom of speech has some costs.
But let's address your question in three parts:
<ul>
<li><b>Distribution</b> - All traffic on I2P is encrypted in multiple layers. You don't know the
contents of a message, its source, or destination. Your only choice is to refuse to route
any traffic, by setting your share bandwidth or maximum participating tunnels to 0 (see above).
It would be nice if you didn't do this, you should help the network by routing traffic for others.
Over 95% of users route traffic for others.
<li><b>Storage</b> - I2P does not do distributed storage of content. You must be thinking of
<a href="http://freenetproject.org">Freenet</a>.
You are not storing anybody else's content.
<li><b>Access</b> - If there are some eepsites you don't like, don't go there.
Or, use a blocking proxy like Privoxy or some type of "net nanny".
</ul>
</p>

<h3 id="vary">My active peers / known peers / participating tunnels / connections / bandwidth vary dramatically over time! Is anything wrong?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#vary">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
No. This is normal.
All routers adjust dynamically to changing network conditions and demands.
</p>

<h3 id="reseed">My router has been up for several minutes and has zero or very few connections
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#reseed">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   The reseed URL has changed. If this is your first install and you have installed
   an old (0.6.1.30 or earlier) release, or
   you have not run I2P in a long time, you must change the URL and then
   click "Reseed" on the console to find other routers.
   After your router is running,
   on <a href="http://localhost:7657/configadvanced.jsp">configadvanced.jsp</a>,
   add the line <tt>i2p.reseedURL=http://netdb.i2p2.de/</tt>
   OR <tt>i2p.reseedURL=http://i2pdb.tin0.de/netDb/</tt> (either should work),
   then click "Apply", then click the "reseed" link on the left.
</p><p>
   This works if you are running 0.6.1.27 or later.
   If you are running release 0.6.1.31 or later, you probably don't need to do this.
   If you are running release 0.6.1.26 or earlier, either follow the
   <a href="#manual_reseed">follow the manual reseed instructions below</a>
   or <a href="download.html">install the latest release</a>.
   Possible alternate method - add
   <tt>wrapper.java.additional.5=-Di2p.reseedURL=http://netdb.i2p2.de/</tt>
   to wrapper.config, shutdown the router completely, then start again, then click "reseed".
   Let us know if this works.
</p>

<h3 id="peers">My router has very few active peers, is this OK?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#peers">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
If it has 10 or more, it is OK. Changes in releases 0.6.1.31 and 0.6.1.32 improved the
efficiency of the router and effectively reduced the number of active peers.
The router <i>should</i> maintain connections to a few peers at all times.
The best way to stay "better-connected" to the network is to share more bandwidth.
</p>

<h3 id="exit">Is my router an "exit node" to the regular internet? I don't want it to be.
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#exit">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   No. Unlike <a href="http://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a>,
   "exit nodes" or "outproxies" are not an inherent part of the network.
   Only volunteers who set up and run separate applications will relay traffic to the regular internet.
   There are very very few of these.
</p>

<h3 id="outproxy">I can't access regular internet sites through I2P.
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#outproxy">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   See above. There are very few HTTP "outproxies", they are not an inherent part of the network,
   and they may not be up.
   In addition, the old outproxies squid.i2p, true.i2p, and krabs.i2p have vanished.
   The only outproxy at the moment is false.i2p.
   To use it, <a href="http://localhost:7657/i2ptunnel/edit.jsp?tunnel=0">edit your i2ptunnel setting for eepProxy</a>
   and set your outproxy list to 'false.2p' (only).
   Then stop and restart the eepProxy.
   If it doesn't work, the outproxy is not up. It is not I2P's fault.
   If your primary reason to use an anonymous network is to anonymously access sites
   on the regular internet, you should probably try <a href="http://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="https">I can't access https:// or ftp:// sites through I2P.
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#https">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   Within I2P, there is no need for HTTPS, as all traffic is encrypted end-to-end.
   FTP is not supported for technical reasons.
</p><p>
   For HTTPS or FTP access to the regular internet, there are no HTTPS or FTP "outproxies".
   HTTPS is possible if somebody would like to set one up. FTP is probably not.
   Actually, just about any other sort of outproxy might work, try setting it up with a standard
   tunnel and see.
   As explained several times above, outproxies of any type are not a core
   part of the network, they are services run by individuals and they may or may not
   be operational at any given time.
   If you would like to set up some type of outproxy, carefully research the potential risks.
   The I2P community may or may not be able to help with the technical aspects, feel free to ask.
</p>

<h3 id="proxy_safe">Is using an outproxy safe?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#proxy_safe">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   You have to decide for yourself.
   It depends on what you are doing, your
   <a href="how_threatmodel.html">threat model</a>, and how much you trust the outproxy operator.
</p><p>
   Like Tor, I2P does not magically encrypt the internet.
   You are vulnerable to snooping by the outproxy operator.
   The <a href="https://wiki.torproject.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#ExitEavesdroppers">Tor FAQ</a>
   does a good job of explaining this.
   There is no HTTPS outproxy in I2P, and you cannot hide your traffic from an HTTP outproxy operator.
</p><p>
   In addition, you may be vulnerable to collusion between the outproxy operator
   and operators of other I2P services, if you use the same tunnels ("shared clients").
   There is additional discussion about this on <a href="http://zzz.i2p/topics/217">zzz.i2p</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="proxy_other">How do I access IRC, bittorrent, or other services on the regular internet?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#proxy_other">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   You can't.
   Somebody must set up an outproxy for each service.
   There are only two types of outproxies running right now: HTTP and email.
   There is no SOCKS outproxy.
   If you need this you should probably try <a href="http://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="down">Most of the eepsites within I2P are down?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#down">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   If you consider every eepsite that has ever been created, yes, most of them are down.
   People and eepsites come and go.
   A good way to get started in I2P is check out a list of eepsites that are currently up.
   <a href="http://inproxy.tino.i2p/status.php">inproxy.tino.i2p</a> and
   <a href="http://perv.i2p/stats.cgi">perv.i2p</a> track active eepsites.
</p>

<h3 id="myeepsite">How do I set up my own eepsite?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#myeepsite">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
   Click on the <a href="http://localhost:7658/">My Eepsite Link</a>
   on the top of your router console for instructions.
</p>

<h3 id="slow">Why is I2P so slow?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#slow">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
Why are downloads, torrents, web browsing, and everything else so slow on I2P?
The encryption and routing within the I2P network adds a substantial amount of overhead and limits bandwidth.
Anonymity isn't free.
</p>
<p>
In addition, you and everybody else probably need to increase your bandwidth limits.
Two key settings are the inbound and outbund bandwidth limiters on 
<a href="http://localhost:7657/config.jsp">the configuration page</a>.
With the default settings of 16KBps you will generally get no better than 5KBps data transfer in I2PSnark.
Increasing the settings (but keeping within your actual connection limitations)
will increase the potential transfer rate for I2PSnark and all other applications.
</p><p>
Also, do you have sufficient share bandwidth configured to allow participating tunnels
to route through your router? Believe it or not, allowing participating traffic
keeps you well-integrated in the network and helps your own transfer speeds.
</p><p>
I2P is a work in progress. Lots of improvements and fixes are being implemented, and
generally speaking, running the latest release will help your performance.
If you haven't, <a href="download.html">install the latest release</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="snark">Bittorrent / I2PSnark / Azureus I2P Plugin Questions?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#snark">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
See the
<a href="http://forum.i2p/viewtopic.php?t=2068">I2P Bittorrent FAQ</a>
<a href="http://forum.i2p2.de/viewtopic.php?t=2068">(outside I2P)</a>

<h3 id="irc">How do I connect to IRC within I2P?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#irc">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
On the
<a href="http://localhost:7657/i2ptunnel/index.jsp">I2PTunnel configuration page</a>,
start the ircProxy.
Then tell your IRC client to connect to localhost port 6668.

<h3 id="remote_webconsole">How can I access the web console from my other machines or password protect it?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#remote_webconsole">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
    For security purposes, the router's admin console by default only listens
    for connections on the local interface.  However, with a little hacking,
    you can make it reachable remotely:
</p>

<ol>
<li>Open up clients.config and replace<br />
    <code>clientApp.0.args=7657 127.0.0.1 ./webapps/</code><br />
    with <br />
    <code>clientApp.0.args=7657 0.0.0.0 ./webapps/</code></li>
<li>Go to <a href="http://localhost:7657/configadvanced.jsp">http://localhost:7657/configadvanced.jsp</a>
    and add a new option: <code>consolePassword=foo</code> (or whatever password you want)</li>
<li>Go to <a href="http://localhost:7657/index.jsp">http://localhost:7657/index.jsp</a>
    and hit "Graceful restart", which restarts the JVM and reloads the client applications</li>
</ol>

<p>
    After that fires up, you should now be able to reach your console remotely.
    You will be prompted for a username and password though - the username is
    "admin" and the password is whatever you specified in step 2 above.  Note: the
    <code>0.0.0.0</code> above specifies an <i>interface</i>, not a network or netmask.  0.0.0.0
    means "bind to all interfaces", so it can be reachable on 127.0.0.1:7657 as well as
    any LAN/WAN IP.
</p>

<h3 id="remote_i2cp">How can I use applications from my other machines?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#remote_i2cp">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
By default, the router I2CP interface (port 7654) binds to address 127.0.0.1. To bind to 0.0.0.0, set the
router advanced configuration option <tt>i2cp.tcp.bindAllInterfaces=true</tt> and restart.
</p>

<h3 id="eepsite">Whats an "eepsite"?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#eepsite">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
	An eepsite is a website that is hosted anonymously - you can access it by
	setting your web browser's HTTP proxy to use the web proxy (typically it
	listens on localhost port 4444), and browsing to the site.
</p>

<h3 id="active">What do the Active x/y numbers mean in the router console?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#active">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
    x is the number of peers you've sent or received a message from
    successfully in the last minute, y is the number of peers seen in the last
    hour or so.
</p>

<h3 id="socks">Is it possible to use I2P as a SOCKS proxy?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#socks">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
    The SOCKS proxy is working as of release 0.7.1. SOCKS 4/4a/5 are supported.
    There is no SOCKS outproxy so it is of limited use.
</p><p>
    In addition, many applications leak sensitive
    information that could identify you on the internet. I2P only filters
    connection data, but if the programme you intend to run sends this
    information as content, I2P has no way to protect your anonymity.  For
    example, some mail applications will send the IP address of the machine
    they are running on to a mail server. There is no way for I2P to filter
    this, thus using I2P to 'socksify' existing applications is possible, but
    extremely dangerous.
</p><p>
    If you would like more information on the socks proxy application anyway,
    there are some helpful hints on the <a href="socks.html">socks page</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="ports">What ports does I2P use?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#ports">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
	Ok, here's a rundown of the default ports (everything is configurable
	through various settings, of course):
</p>

<p>
	<ul><p>
		<li><b>Internet-facing ports</b>
		<ul>
		<li><b>Outbound UDP from port 8887 to arbitrary remote UDP ports, allowing replies</b></li>
		<li><b>Outbound TCP from random high ports to arbitrary remote TCP ports</b></li>
		<li><b>(optional, but recommended) Inbound UDP to port 8887 from arbitrary locations</b></li>
		<li><b>(optional, but recommended) Inbound TCP to port 8887 from arbitrary locations</b><br />
			By default, I2P does not listen for inbound TCP connections.<br />
			To start accepting them, you can either tell I2P to autodetect its address and port<br />
			using the UDP transport, or you can manually enter an IP address (or DNS name)<br />
			and a TCP port. You can activate this feature on the Configuration page.</li>
		<li><b>Outbound UDP on port 123, allowing replies</b><br />
			This is necessary for I2P's internal time sync (via SNTP - 
			querying a random SNTP host in pool.ntp.org or another
			server you specify)</li>
		</ul>
		</li>
	</p></ul>

	<ul><p>
		<li><b>Local I2P ports</b>, listening only to local connections by default:
		<ul>
			<li><b>7654:</b> I2P Client Protocol port, used by client apps.
                            <i>May be changed with the advanced configuration option</i> <tt>i2cp.port</tt>
                            <i>but this is not recommended.
                            </i></li>
			<li><b>7656:</b> SAM bridge, a higher level socket API for clients
                            <i>Disabled by default for new installs as of release 0.6.5.
                               May be enabled/disabled on <a href="http://localhost:7657/configclients.jsp">configclients.jsp</a>.
                               May be changed in the clients.config file.
                            </i></li>
			<li><b>2827:</b> BOB bridge, a higher level socket API for clients
                            <i>Disabled by default.
                               May be enabled/disabled on <a href="http://localhost:7657/configclients.jsp">configclients.jsp</a>.
                               May be changed in the bob.config file.
                            </i></li>
			<li><b>7657:</b> your router console
                            <i>May be changed in the clients.config file</i></li>
			<li><b>7658:</b> your eepsite
                            <i>May be disabled in the clients.config file</i></li>
			<li><b>32000:</b> local control channel for the service wrapper</li>
		</ul>
		</li>
	</p></ul>

	<ul><p>
		<li><b>Default I2PTunnel ports</b>, listening only to local connections by default:
                    <i>All may be disabled or changed on the i2ptunnel page in the router console</i>
		<ul>
			<li><b>4444:</b> HTTP proxy</li>
			<li><b>6668:</b> IRC proxy</li>
			<li><b>7659:</b> Outgoing mail to smtp.postman.i2p</li>
			<li><b>7660:</b> Incoming mail from pop.postman.i2p</li>
			<li><b>8998:</b> mtn.i2p2.i2p (Monotone - disabled by default)</li>
		</ul>
		</li>
	</p></ul>
</p>

<p>
	The local I2P ports and the I2PTunnel ports do not need to be reachable from 
	remote machines, but *should* be reachable locally.  You can also create 
	additional ports for I2PTunnel instances via http://localhost:7657/i2ptunnel/ 
	(and in turn, would need to get your firewall to allow you local access, but 
	not remote access, unless desired).
</p>

<p>
	So, to summarize, nothing needs to be reachable by unsolicted remote peers, but
	if you can configure your NAT/firewall to allow inbound UDP and TCP to port 8887, you'll
	get better performance.  You will also need to be able to send outbound UDP packets
	to arbitrary remote peers (blocking IPs randomly with something like PeerGuardian
	only hurts you - don't do it).
</p>

<h3 id="manual_reseed">How do I reseed manually?
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#manual_reseed">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
	An I2P router only needs to reseed once, to join the network for the first time.
	Reseeding is nothing more than sending plain HTTP GET requests
	to fetch a directory listing and download multiple "routerInfo" files
	from a predefined reseed URL.
</p>

<p>
	A typical symptom of a failed reseed is the "Known" indicator
	(on the left sidebar of the router console) displaying a very small value
	(often less than 5) which does not increase. This can occur, among other things,
	if your firewall limits outbound traffic, and blocked the reseed request.
</p>

<p>
	To reseed an I2P router manually, do the following:
	<ul>
	<li>Stop your I2P router</li>
	<li>Open <a href="http://i2pdb.tin0.de/netDb/">http://i2pdb.tin0.de/netDb/</a> or
	    <a href="http://netdb.i2p2.de/">http://netdb.i2p2.de/</a> using a web browser</li>
	<li>Save a dozen "routerInfo" files to your I2P "netDb" directory (ignore the "leaseSet" files)</li>
	<li>Alternate method (easier): Download <a href="http://i2pdb.tin0.de/latest.zip">http://i2pdb.tin0.de/latest.zip</a>
            and unzip it into your I2P "netDb" directory.
	<li>Start your I2P router</li>
	</ul>
</p>

<hr />
<h3 id="question">I have a question!
<span class="permalink">(<a href="#question">link</a>)</span></h3>
<p>
    Great!  Find us on IRC irc.freenode.net #i2p or post to
    the <a href="http://forum.i2p2.de/">forum</a> and we'll post it here (with
    the answer, hopefully).
</p>
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