Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
107 lines (71 loc) · 5.07 KB

1. zites.md

File metadata and controls

107 lines (71 loc) · 5.07 KB
Raw

ZeroNet sites

ZeroNet sites, or zites, as we call them, are distributed across the network.

Why ZeroNet is better than Internet

Internet

Here is the scheme of the Internet:

 ________       +--------+   |                |
|        |      | iPhone |   |                |
|  iPad  |      +--------+   |                |      ______________
|________|-----------+       |                |     |              |
                     |       |    ________    |  +--|    Google    |
   _________         |       |   |  /..\  |   |  |  |______________|
  | Windows |--------+-------|---|  \__/  |---|--+   ______________
  |_________|                |   |___||___|   |  |  |              |
  |_|_|_|_|_|                |                |  +--|   Facebook   |
  |_|_|_|_|_|                |                |     |______________|
                             |                |
       *Devices*             |   *Provider*   |         *Sites*

And that's what happens if your provider is down or the server you're trying to connect is down or blocked:

 ________       +--------+   |                |
|        |      | iPhone |   |                |
|  iPad  |      +--------+   |                |      ______________
|________|-----------+       |                |     |              |
                     |       |    ________    |     |    Google    |
   _________         |       |   |\/\/\/\/|   |     |______________|
  | Windows |--------+-------|---|/\ No /\|   |      ______________
  |_________|                |   |\/\/\/\/|   |     |              |
  |_|_|_|_|_|                |                |     |   Facebook   |
  |_|_|_|_|_|                |                |     |______________|
                             |                |
       *Devices*             |   *Provider*   |         *Sites*

You've got no access to the server.

ZeroNet

And this is ZeroNet:

 ________       +--------+
|        |      | iPhone |
|  iPad  |      +--------+
|________|-----------+    
     |               |    
   __|______         |    
  | Windows |--------+    
  |_________|             
  |_|_|_|_|_|             
  |_|_|_|_|_|             
                          
  *Devices = zites*

If iPhone is down or blocked:

 ________       +--------+
|        |      |\/ No \/|
|  iPad  |      +--------+
|________|                
     |                    
   __|______              
  | Windows |             
  |_________|             
  |_|_|_|_|_|             
  |_|_|_|_|_|             
                          
  *Devices = zites*

Other peers still have access to the zites.

Installing ZeroNet

To use ZeroNet on Windows, Mac or Linux machine, install it first. Visit https://zeronet.io and download ZeroNet there.

Visiting zites

ZeroNet installs a local server on your computer, on http://127.0.0.1:43110 address. When you run ZeroNet, a browser window opens.

On the left, you can see the list of zites hosted by your machine, and a few links to other helpful zites. Click zite to open (or download) it. Feel free to visit some of them now.

I said download because that's how ZeroNet works. Let's discuss it later.

Getting ZeroID

A user can register on such Internet sites as Google, eBay, etc. On zites, registration is not technically possible, but don't worry. Instead, ZeroNet introduces Certificate Authorities. For example, ZeroID. This is the most popular certificate provider, so let's register there first.

Visit ZeroID and register with any nickname you like. (Note: If you don't want to reveal your IP, set up ZeroNet to use TOR.)

You enterd nickname, but what about password? It was generated automatically. There is a users.json file in ZeroNet root directory. When you register on ZeroID, new entries appear in users.json: your public and private keys for ZeroID. You shouldn't share your private key - it's your password. And public key is your login - you share it with zites you post on. Your nickname is also stored there. If you lose users.json or manually change your public and private keys or nickname, you cannot access your account. It's a good idea to backup this file.

Getting ZeroTalk account

Now, let's check a zite which let you use your ZeroID. ZeroTalk is a perfect choice. It's a popular forum.

Let's visit ZeroTalk. Go to Test messages topic, press Sign in as... and choose {yourusername}@zeroid.bit. Enter some kind of Hello, world! and press Submit comment. Instead of Hello, world!, you can publish this tutorial. :)

Notice Forums: English · Dansk · Español · Français ... on the top of the page and select your language. If you are from China, better go to the special New GFW Talk zite.