How to Optimize Your Initial i2p Settings
Welcome to i2p. We DELIVER anonymous, and end-to-end encrypted:
* email
* internal, i2p web surfing
* FREE website hosting
* torrenting
* SECURE IRC communication
The latest version of version of i2p software is always available for FREE from http://geti2p.net. We support Windows and all flavors of linux!
The only other REQUIREMENT in addition to having the i2p software, is to ensure you have Java installed on your rig. We recommend always running the latest version of Oracle’s Java or OpenJDK/IcedTea.
Whether you realize it or not, by running i2p, you are helping all other i2p users by sharing your bandwidth, anonymously. Since you’ve already agreed to pay your ISP for bandwidth, let’s maximize our side of the bargain by shifting your modem into high gear!
Assuming you’ve followed the installation instructions on the i2p download page, now perform the following steps to optimize your initial i2p settings.
Using the settings described in this guide will optimize your i2p experience and allow you to reach both internal (eepsites) and external (clearnet) websites from your i2p browser. To be clear, I use Mozilla’s terrific Firefox as my primary browser.
I am a die-hard Gentoo Hardened Linux PHanBoy, however, I have also tested all of the following settings on Windows 8.1 Professional, and therefore, I know, these settings WILL work under either OS. So let’s get started.
First, let’s ensure Firefox is pointed at i2p. Copy my settings, under edit, preferences, advanced, network, connection settings:
Next change your bandwidth to match your “real” bandwidth, which rarely matches your ISP’s advertised, or contracted bandwidth. We want to match your ISP’s real download and upload speeds. If you don’t know what your real speed is, run several tests at http://speedtest.net.
Enter your appropriate up and down bandwidth settings here. I use 100% share ratio. Click on Save changes.
Now we need to add subscriptions to our Addressbook. This will allow us, once your i2p router becomes integrated with the i2p network, to navigate to any registered i2p eepsite.
Click on Addressbook, then click on Subscriptions, and add the following links, one per line:
http://www.i2p2.i2p/hosts.txt
http://stats.i2p/cgi-bin/newhosts.txt
http://i2host.i2p/cgi-bin/i2hostetag
http://inr.i2p/export/alive-hosts.txt
Click on Save.
Next, we’ll add an Outproxy so we can surf the web outside i2p. I recommend using Meeh’s outproxy server, as Meeh is part of our i2p development team. Meeh can address any concerns you may have on #salt and #i2p-dev. You will also notice that beginning with i2p 0.9.8, that Meeh’s outproxy server has become the new default for your HTTPS Proxy tunnel. Therefore, unless you are using old i2p code, you can skip this step knowing that our developers have already addressed this issue for you!
Go to your i2p tunnel page.
and click on I2P HTTP Proxy, which will take you to http://127.0.0.1:7657/i2ptunnel/edit?tunnel=0.
Copy this b64 address, which always terminate with ‘AAAA’:
BcY6Gwk8927GdVB4hS5Gbb7CyYGp6o2do0L4pxLttbBh11tDuS~ExJnao99fl2e4lp596Ueje3z-xlEWK
do~6a7iDDE-x7XlkgkXs-~FJntgQV2c028a5W74U8SZZMdwOMcCsJoi3xYFMhcntRFW28nPMGFcZwYgww
6AjPK7iREtBuiboB8Rm7ba~dcyA1Fouu03Y8UY0Dyy1ajApJNmJmHY5wDq2GisGB9OA2GHu-rrOp9iScz
YaQJ5-BzhhostBRbHpp6Q-JeUlml1dUGZb1p-0teuqY9WvZEMv5Q9S3lxrN7jmXre5QaQOI9sn8tGJqKc
8Dun62j7i6gtZA8IWonN9IacCA64x9sf9DmP1~PCKVXxnKygL818OvP-4CwJgQyUgJEiem~RguxWveZcB
sTdedt1xk52cCBa1Yw87qOzO9rOHDWEHrp2qf~yZBEoKVnk4ElM8~G809QL0VJG6MKI2e0kmo5HYWIhZP
7qK94M66Nn3tK7pEMpbo0SGazgAAAA
Make sure you get all of that b64 address, and paste it into Outproxies(x): overwriting false.i2p
Enable both Shared Client(h): and Auto Start(A):
Add the following jump links, one per line, to the Jump URL List:
http://i2host.i2p/cgi-bin/i2hostjump?
http://stats.i2p/cgi-bin/jump.cgi?a=
http://i2jump.i2p/
http://inr.i2p/jump/
Click on Save.
Go to your i2p Router Home Page at: http://127.0.0.1:7657/console.
Click on Torrents. Make note of where your torrents are stored. On a default linux install, torrents are stored at: /home/USER/.i2p/i2psnark for both downloads and uploads. Now click on Configuration. If you want a different storage location, change it here. Ensure both Auto start and Enable DHT are selected. Change Up bandwidth limit as appropriate for your real ISP upload speed. Click on Save configuration.
Click on i2psnark, then click on Postman, i2p’s most popular tracker, to see what is on offer. Please help our community by uploading your high-quality content to Postman. You add content by first copying the file to your torrent storage directory, then creating a torrent file, using Create Torrent at the bottom of your i2psnark page. Finally, register that torrent on Postman, and start seeding your file. As I’ve seen users mistakenly assume otherwise, keep in mind, if you are not running i2p, and certainly if your rig is turned off, you are NOT seeding! Please seed all of your torrents as close as possible to 24×7. We WILL help you seed good, or interesting, content!
Lastly, to ensure all your new settings are properly read, and used by i2p, now would be an ideal time to restart your i2p router, and allow your router to re-integrate into our network over the next several hours. Keep in mind, that the longer you allow i2p to run on your rig, the better i2p will perform for you. Many of us run i2p for months on end…
If you want to help us on our endless hunt for bugs, and identifying quirky behavior, please download, and run, the latest dev-build. You can enable this automatic download by clicking here and adding:
http://update.killyourtv.i2p/mtn/200/i2pupdate.zip
to the Unsigned Build URL: field. Select Update with unsigned development builds?, and Click on Save. Report unexpected behavior on #i2p-dev, and thank you, in advance, for your help!!
If you would like to help support i2p, and help us advertise, please consider grabbing some cool tee-shirts for you and your friends at: https://i2pshop.spreadshirt.com/
Now, the last thing to do is get your friends involved with i2p!! Our network scales well with growth. More Users = More Content = More Users = More Content…and Improved Anonymity for ALL!!
I hope you enjoy your i2p experience…and keep in mind that we have loads of Boyz, Girlz (and Botz) with da skillz…and we’re always ready to help!
Say ‘hai’ on our #salt IRC channel…and don’t be shy…
Just mention that you saw this guide on i2p IRC: I’ll see YOU there!!
