Investors flock to tiny device that promises online anonymity

A new gadget with the potential to strike terror into the hearts of online marketers has just set off a crowdfunding frenzy on Kickstarter.

The Anonabox is a tiny, 2.4 inch by 1.6 inch router that aims to anonymize online activity by redirecting Ethernet and Wi-Fi traffic through the Tor network. It launched its fund-raising campaign on Sunday night with a sub-$50 price target and smashed through its $7,500 goalin less than six hours. It has raised nearly $500,000 at the time of writing.

The Tor network is a chain of computers (or nodes) that act as a relay for Internet traffic. When using Tor, requests from your PC are bounced through this network rather than accessing a website or service directly. This masks IP addresses and other information that could be used to discover your identity.

Anonabox isnt the first bit of Tor-enabled hardware weve seen. Last year, the Tor Project announced the Torouter Dreamplug but youll be lucky to get your hands on one. According to the Tor website, Dreamplug is still highly experimental and while seemingly functional, we have lots of bugs to iron out and features to implement.

Another option is the Safeplug, which retails for $49. It adds in ad-blocking software, but doesnt encrypt network traffic as the Anonabox promises to do. Its also a bit on the hefty side, being the same size as your typical home router.

Of course, you can always download the Tor browser itself, but that will only anonymize your browsing your Skype chats, email client and other software will still be unprotected.

At the moment, the Anonabox appears to have a unique value proposition. Its plug-and-play and fits inside a shirt pocket for easy portability between home and office. It can also be installed between a router and a modem to anonymize all devices that connect to the router.

But the project is also drawing some criticism. In an ask me anything session on Reddit with Anonabox developerAugust Germar, several members pointed to similarities between Anonabox and a $20 mini router being sold on AliExpress. Germar insisted that his design is original, but critics said his answers were vague and unconvincing. For now, the mini-controversy isnt stopping Anonabox from continuing to sign up Kickstarter backers at the rate of $10,000 per hour.

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Investors flock to tiny device that promises online anonymity