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Comparison of Low-Latency Anonymous Communication Systems - Practical Usage and Performance

Ries, T., State, R. and Panchenko, A.

    The most popular system for providing practical low-latency anonymity on the Internet is Tor. However, many other tools besides Tor exist as both free and commercial solutions. In this paper, we consider five most popular low-latency anonymisation services that represent the current state of the art: single-hop proxies (Perfect Privacy and free proxies) and Onion Routing based solutions (Tor, I2P, and Jon-Donym). We assess their usability and rank them in regard to their anonymity. We also assess their efficiency and reliability. To this end, we define a set of metrics and present extensive measurements based on round-trip time, inter-packet delay variation and throughput. Apart from the technical realization, economic aspects are also crucial for anonymous communication systems. In order to attract more users, which is mandatory in order to improve anonymity per se, systems need to exhibit a certain payoff. We therefore define an economic model that takes all relevant aspects into consideration. In this paper, we describe the results obtained, lessons learned, and provide guidance for selecting the most appropriate system with respect to a set of requirements.
Cite as: Ries, T., State, R. and Panchenko, A. (2011). Comparison of Low-Latency Anonymous Communication Systems - Practical Usage and Performance. In Proc. Australasian Information Security Conference (AISC 2011) Perth, Australia. CRPIT, 116. Colin Boyd and Josef Pieprzyk Eds., ACS. 77-86
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