IP rerouters (was Re: Remailers: The Next Generation)

[Matthew J Ghio]

Phil Karn <karn at qualcomm.com> wrote:

> While you guys are thinking about where to take this stuff at the
> application level, how about giving some thought to how you
> might do it at the IP level?
>
> Since IP is a much more fundamental Internet service than mail,
> any anonymity functions we might add to it could have much
> wider applicability.  For example, consider anonymous FTP sites
> that a) insist on your IP address having an inverse DNS entry,
> whether it is under your control or not, b) insist on a user's
> name and c) log every file retrieval? An anonymous IP service
> could effectively put a stop to this practice.

Well, it would make tracing FTP difficult, altho, at least intially,
some FTP maintainers might try to block known IP rerouters.  Of course,
if such rerouters became commonplace, it would eliminate that problem.

I think the real problem is hardware costs and availiablity.  Running a
remailer is cheap and easy (for some people).  However, running a decent
IP rerouter would require your own internet node, supported by at least
a 56K connection, if not a T1.  Very few people own or have access to
that kind of hardware.

Does anyone how much it costs to get a continuous 56K internet
connection?  What about a T1?  How easy is it to get and set up?