After a year of development, the mobile web browser CENO 2.1.0 has been released, designed to facilitate access to information when direct access is impossible, for example, during internet segments being disconnected from the global network due to failures or malicious actions. The browser is built on the GeckoView engine (used in Firefox for Android), enhanced with the ability to exchange data through a decentralized P2P network, where users participate in redirecting traffic to external gateways that provide access to information. The project's developments are distributed under the MIT license. Ready builds are available on Google Play.
The P2P functionality has been extracted into a separate library called Ouinet, which can be used in any applications. The CENO browser and the Ouinet library allow access to information in situations up to complete internet disconnection, for instance, due to global failures. In this case, content can be served from cache or local storage devices.
The project utilizes content caching on each user's side, maintaining a decentralized cache of popular content. When a user opens a website, the loaded content is cached in the local system and made available to P2P network participants who cannot directly access the resource or gateways. Each device only stores data that has been directly requested from that device. Identification of cached pages is done using a hash from the URL. All additional data related to the page, such as images, scripts, and styles, is grouped and served together under a single identifier.
To gain access to new content that is not directly accessible, special proxy gateways (injector) are used. These are placed in external, undamaged parts of the network, where it is still possible to establish a connection. Information between the client and the gateway is encrypted using public key encryption. Digital signatures are used to identify the gateways and prevent the insertion of malicious gateways, with the keys of the gateways supported by the project included in the browser's delivery.
To access the gateway when it is directly unavailable, a connection is supported through a chain of other users who act as proxies to relay traffic to the gateway (the data is encrypted with the gateway key, which prevents transit users, through whose systems the request passes, from intercepting the traffic or determining its content). Client systems do not send external requests on behalf of other users; they either provide data from the cache or are used as a link to establish a tunnel to the proxy gateway.
Normal requests are first attempted to be delivered directly by the browser; if the direct request fails, it searches the distributed cache. If the URL is not in the cache, the information is requested through a connection to the proxy gateway or by accessing the gateway through another user. Confidential data, such as cookies, are not stored in the cache.
Each system in the P2P network is assigned an internal identifier used for routing within the P2P network, but it is not tied to the user's physical location. The authenticity of the transmitted and cached information is ensured through the application of digital signatures (Ed25519). The transmitted traffic is encrypted using TLS. A distributed hash table (DHT) is used to access information about the network structure, participants, and cached content. If necessary, µTP or Tor can be used as transport in addition to HTTP.
At the same time, CENO does not provide anonymity, and information about sent requests is available for analysis on participants' devices (for example, a hash can determine that a user accessed a specific website). For confidential requests, such as those requiring a connection to one's email account or social media, it is recommended to use a separate private tab, during which data is requested only directly or through the proxy gateway, without access to the cache and without being stored in the cache.
Among the changes in the new release:
- The browser engine is synchronized with Firefox components 123.1.0.
- Improved indication of content loading sources.
- The dark theme is enabled by default.
- A setting to export full application logs has been added.
- A connection waiting page has been added during startup.
- A setting has been added to manage the activation of bridge mode.
- The default list of recommended sites has been updated.
Source: opennet.ru
