Anonymous Not attributable to an identity. Anonymous communication disconnects the Content from the Context of a transmission, resulting in fewer (if any) digital traces being left behind that could later result in the unmasking of the communicating parties.

Back-end system Technology not seen by the user. Commonly used for accounting and process management tasks. "The machines in the back room."

Bit A single binary digit. See also: Byte

Byte A group of eight Bits. See also: Megabyte, Gigabyte

CGN Closed-Group Network

CGN Client Closed-Group Network Client functionality allows the CryptoRouter to join a preexisting Closed-Group Network by a CGN Server.

CGN Server Closed-Group Network Server functionality allows the CryptoRouter to create and operate a new Closed-Group Network that can be joined by CGN Clients.

CHAVPN Cryptohippie Anonymous VPN

Cascade Cascades are Relays that are chained together in a fixed sequence. Using this method combined with Encryption prevents each relay from knowing both the source and the destination IP address of a connection.
See also: Anonymous, Separation of Concerns

Closed-Group Network Closed-Group Networks are advanced VPNs that not only protect the Content of the communication but also the Context. This allows to securely interconnect several Nodes for secure communication without third parties being able to see which nodes are connected to each other or what data they are exchanging. In addition Closed-Group Networks are highly flexible and do not require any predefined addressing to be known to the nodes, making this technology a prime choice for highly flexible and mobile networks.

Communication Data Retention Communication Data Retention primarily refers to the legal requirement for ISPs to store the Context of all communication taking place on its networks in a database. This data often has to be kept for several months and is available to law enforcement and intelligence services. Due to the sensitive nature of the data its long term collection and storage poses a serious risk on the privacy and security of communication by recording communication partners and the identities of anyone using the Internet.

Content The content of communication - what you say. The data you transfer, not the protocols or addresses used. This includes the text you write in your emails, the sound transmitted by VOIP or the images you post to a website.

Context The context of communication is when you talk with whom from where. This primarily includes the addresses and protocols used in communication.

Crowding Crowding is used to increase the total number of user Nodes that are connected to a Relay. Combined with Encryption this makes it harder for a third party to attribute an outgoing connection to an incoming one. Essentially each connection gets "hidden in the crowd".
See also: Anonymous, Separation of Concerns

Cryptohippie Anonymous VPN Cryptohippie Anonymous VPN is a globally distributed network of cryptographically secured (Encryption) computers that allows clients to become part of the network and to exchange data in a private, secured and closed-off environment. CHAVPN is operated by Cryptohippie Panama.
See also: VPN

Data Retention Communication Data Retention

Data-mining The process of searching and sorting large volumes of data. Commonly used to detect patterns in the data.

Dynamic Cascade Dynamic Cascades are Cascades that are not statically configured but can adapt the ordering and length of the chain of Relays to further increase the Anonymization-effects of a network.
See also: Anonymous, Separation of Concerns

Encryption The coding of signals to prevent anyone but authorized parties from reading them.

Enterprise network A computer network connecting many or all parts of a large company or institution.

Firewall A computer program that controls external access to a computer or group of computers. Firewalls are used to keep hackers and malicious software from gaining access to protected computers.

GB Gigabyte

GPG GnuPG

Gb Gigabit

Gigabit One billion Bits. (Actually 1073741824 bits). See also: Megabit

Gigabyte One billion Bytes. (Actually 1073741824 bytes). See also: Megabyte

GnuPG GNU Privacy Guard. The open source version of PGP.

Hardened Made extra strong and secure.

Hotspot An area where wireless Internet connections are available. Also used for the technical infrastructure providing wireless Internet services.

IP Internet Protocol. The basic language (coding) that allows computers on the Internet to talk to each other. To make matters more complicated the term "IP" is often used as a synonym for "IP address"

IP address The specific numeric address of a specific computer or network devices that speaks IP. IP addresses are visible to each participant of a communication and all Nodes on the Path between the parties. They can be directly attributed to the identity of the communication participant and are globally unique.

ISP Internet Service Provider. The company that provides you with Internet service, usually a local telephone company, cable TV company or broadband provider. Separation of Concerns

Jurisdiction Governmental jurisdiction. The local government body that claims authority over a specific territory.

Jurisdiction aware routing Jurisdiction aware routing selects the Path that data travels so that the publicly visible IP address is located in different Jurisdiction than the destination Node.

LAN Local Area Network. A computer network for a single limited area, such as an office.

Lag Communication over networks does not actually happen instantly. Data needs a certain time to travel from one Node to another. The amount of time required for the Path can give away information about where the nodes are located and how they are connected to each other.

Location Agnostic Server Location Agnostic Servers are computers that are connected to the Internet and constantly reachable to serve tasks (e-mail, databases, files, etc.). However, they cannot be physically located easily so that the hardware cannot be manipulated or stolen.

MB Megabyte

Mb Megabit

Megabit One million bits. (Actually 1048576 bits). See also: Bit, Gigabit

Megabyte One million bytes (Actually 1048576 bytes). See also: Byte, Gigabyte

Mixing Mixing is a combination of Encryption and reordering of communication packets that makes it harder for a third party to correlate incoming and outgoing connections at a Relay.
See also: Anonymous, Separation of Concerns

Multiplexing Multiplexing combines multiple connections into one new connection. Combined with Encryption this prevents third parties from knowing what or how many connections are established since only one is visible to them.
See also: Anonymous, Separation of Concerns

Network Disk A storage device that can be reached over the Internet. It allows to backup, store and transfer data offsite so that it can be access again from anywhere on the globe. Network Disks usually employ strong Encryption to protect the data against unauthorized access.

Node An individual computer or device connected to a network.

Open Source Software Software whose code is available for inspection. Most software firms, such as Microsoft, do not allow their source code to be seen, fearing that a competitor may steal it. This, while understandable, is bad for trust and security. If the code cannot be examined, no outsider can really know what it does. Serious privacy technicians prefer open source software, when available. They can be sure that it is not malicious.

PGP Pretty Good Privacy. The first popular encryption program for individual use.

Path The Path is the set of routers and cables that interconnect one Node to another. On the Internet paths are not predefined or fixed forever but constantly rediscovered and rebuild by Routing. Paths can travel many different routers and cables in sequence, often with more than one dozen intermediaries that have access to the Content and Context of the communication.
See also: Lag

Relay Relays are specialized Routers that not only transfer data but also change the protocol data (like the IP address) of the communication. When employing this method the Relay appears to third parties as the original source of the communication. Relays often provide additional protection methods like Encryption, Mixing and Crowding.
See also: Anonymous, Separation of Concerns

Router Routing

Routing Routing is the process of finding out which Path connects one Node or network to another. Furthermore routing actually takes care of transferring data from one physical connection to another. This makes routing the central method of the Internet. Computers that are dedicated to routing tasks are called "Routers"
See also: Lag

Separation of Concerns An ISP has access to all of the Content and Context of the communication as well as the identity of the user. This gives a third party (the ISP) the full knowledge of who is communicating what from where to whom, including e-mail, VoIP, web-surfing and file transfers. To limit the information a single third party can know about a communication "Separation of Concerns" is used. By employing technological and organizational means Crypothippie ensures that no one (not even Cryptohippie) has access to all the information that constitutes the communication.

SoHo Small Office / Home Office. Commonly used for tele-workers and offices with less than 5 desktops.

VPN Virtual Private Network. A private, protected network, running over standard Internet links and secured against access by unauthorized parties by Encryption. See our introduction here.

VoIP Voice over IP. Sending voice communications over the internet, such as is offered by Skype, Vonage and many others.