JanusPA – Hardware Privacy Adapter

This is really cool. The guys that brought you the JanusVM Internet Privacy Appliance are about to release instructions on how to make a hardware privacy adapter. What is a hardware privacy adapter you ask?

Via Hack a day:

“It’s a small two port router. You just plug it in-line between your computer’s switch and your internet connection. It will then anonymize all of your traffic via the Tor network. You can also use it with OpenVPN. The hardware appears to be a Gumstix computer mounted to a daughtercard with two ethernet ports. It will have a web configuration just like a standard router. This looks like a great plug-n-play privacy device.”

Once you buy all the parts you can build your own for about $250. Not too bad for an easy way to anonymize all of your traffic over the Tor network or a VPN. Tor and Privoxy can sometimes be a real pain to configure so something like this would be fantastic to just plug in and configure once. It’s also nice that is can use OpenVPN as well.

My only issue with Tor is that it can be *really* slow for web surfing depending on what relays you connect to and there are some warnings you should be aware of. Also, your Tor installation needs to be updated frequently as the development team is always making updates and improvements. However, Tor is better then nothing if you are concerned with online anonymity.

Kudos to the JanusPA team…looks like I might have a hardware project to work on next year once the instructions get released.

2 thoughts on “JanusPA – Hardware Privacy Adapter”

  1. Very cool! I might need to pick one of these up. I can think of a couple of application where a small two port router would come in handy.

    I wonder how long it will take someone to creates the same thing on a PCMCIA or ExpressCard card?

    Cheers,
    Matt

  2. JanusPA is now selling. The website has been updated. I would recommend reading the FAQ, it’s very informative as to what it can be used for and how to use it.

    Two power options: USB or an AC outlet.
    The USB doubles as an Ethernet connection.

    Just to sum it, you can use it for a single PC or a whole network. The choice is yours.

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