Anonymous Surfing Via Wi-Fi Network In Kilometers

An IP address usually leads to the physical location of an Internet user, but a security researcher has developed a hardware-based solution that makes it possible to surf the Internet anonymously via Wi-Fi networks that are located on kilometers away.

Even if the IP address is traced, the actual location and identity of the user is protected. The solution devised Benjamin Caudill , founder of Rhino Security Labs, the ProxyHam. Anonymity on the Internet is as Caudill under fire, especially for whistleblowers. Although Tor provides some anonymity, there is still a fundamental vulnerability present. Namely, the direct relationship between the IP address and a physical location.

"If your real IP address is detected, the game is over, a big threat if the enemy manages the infrastructure," he tells the notice of the ProxyHam. This device will present at the upcoming Caudill Defcon conference and Internet users must provide more anonymity. The ProxyHam acts as a hardware proxy traffic from the user sends to a Wi-Fi network that is located on kilometers away, says the researcher opposite Vice Magazine.

Hardware

The device consists of a Raspberry Pi computer with Wi-Fi card and three antennas. An antenna that connects to an open Wi-Fi network, for example at a Starbucks or library, and two antennas that send the data to and from the user via a 900Mhz frequency. A user can be located at a position of 4 kilometers. To make the connection ProxyHam the user must connect a 900Mhz antenna on the Ethernet port. An attacker would detect the user will find that only the IP address of the ProxyHam.

The signal emitted by the ProxyHam has such a low frequency that it is difficult to follow. In addition there are in this frequency range of other devices, such as cordless phones, baby monitors and walkie-talkies. Caudill is now working on new features, including an option to destroy the proxy to let themselves be messed with it. The researcher tries to hide the proxy in certain objects like a book. Because of this disguise it can take years before the device according to Caudill is found in a library.