[Phogo]

What is the PirateBox?

PirateBox is a self-contained mobile communication and file sharing device. Simply turn it on to transform any space into a free and open communications and file sharing network. Inspired by pirate radio and the free culture movements, PirateBox utilizes Free, Libre and Open Source software (FLOSS) to create mobile wireless communications and file sharing networks where users can anonymously chat and share images, video, audio, documents, and other digital content.

How does it work?

Simply turn PirateBox on to transform any space into an offline communication and wireless file sharing network. When users join the PirateBox wireless network and open a web browser, they are automatically redirected to the PirateBox welcome page. Users can then immediately begin to chat anonymously, post images or comments on the bulletin board, watch or listen to streaming media, or upload and download files.

PirateBox runs on multiple devices, including wireless routers, Android-based phones, single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, and even laptops.

Is it safe?

PirateBox is designed to be private and secure. No logins are required and no user data is logged. Users remain anonymous – the system is purposely not connected to the Internet in order to subvert tracking and preserve user privacy.

Can I make my own PirateBox?

Absolutely! The PirateBox is is free (as in freedom) because it is registered under the GNU GPLv3. This license grants the right to freely copy, distribute, and transform creative works according to the principles of copyleft.

PirateBox can be built for as little as US$35. For detailed instructions, visit the PirateBox OpenWrt DIY page.

Where can I read more about the PirateBox?

Visit the PirateBox Press page for a listing of and links to more than 175 stories about the PirateBox.

Where can I find more photos of the PirateBox?

Check out the PirateBox Gallery.

Where can I find more videos of the PirateBox?

Check out these PirateBox Videos.

Why did you build the PirateBox?

The PirateBox solves a technical/social problem by providing people in the same physical space with an easy way to anonymously communicate and exchange files. This obviously has larger cultural and political implications and thus the PirateBox also serves as an artistic provocation. See this ars technica article and this New Scientist article for more info.

Why is it called the PirateBox?

The PirateBox is inspired by the free culture and pirate radio movements. The name is a playful remixing of the title of the world’s most resilient BitTorrent site, The Pirate Bay.

Does the PirateBox promote stealing?

No. The PirateBox is designed to facilitate communication and sharing between friends and local community members.

Who helps build the PirateBox?

The PirateBox was created by David Darts and the lead developer is Matthias Strubel. Aaron Williamson from the Software Freedom Law Center provided advice on the project and Christiane Ruetten originally ported PirateBox to OpenWrt. The project is actively supported by developers and testers all over the world.

Do you know of any other projects similar to PirateBox?

Yes, check out Aram Bartholl's fantastic Dead Drops. There are also several forks of the project, including Jason Griffey’s LibraryBox, the Bibliobox, the LibroBox and the CoWBox (CoWorking Box).

Where can I discuss the PirateBox?

Visit the PirateBox Forum to discuss the PirateBox, share your builds, and receive support.

[davidjgraph]

Yet again, explaining what something is should be on the front page, not via a link at the bottom of it.

[higherpurpose]

> PirateBox is a self-contained mobile communication and file sharing device

> PirateBox runs on multiple devices, including wireless routers, Android-based phones, single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, and even laptops.

That's a little confusing. So it is a device or an app? Or is it just saying that you can connect to it from all of those devices?

[JohnTHaller]

It's software that's used to turn specific devices into PirateBoxes. So, no, they don't sell a device. But they provide free and open source software you can load onto a bunch of different devices to build your own PirateBox device.

[radiorental]

Is your phone a device or an app?

[gcb0]

So, it is a mesh un-network?

it is just a open wifi LAN with a single AP node?

what am i missing here? this seems utter pointless if i understood that correctly.

[niels_olson]

Imagine you're me. I work in a hospital with no wi-fi or cell network near my office. With this, I could take pictures with my iphone from my magnifi adapter and share them with my colleagues in other offices. Maybe we could even facetime a consult. And I could do it all without dealing with the hospital's IT department.

Crazy? Actually, I have it on good report that the chairman of pathology at the Mayo Clinic just bought all the pathologists Magnifi adapters to do exactly that (the exact words were "Hey, Mayo's chairman just bought all the pathologists adapters, just like yours, to facetime consults to each other).

Presumably, the chairman at Mayo has more clout than a resident at a military hospital though. If I want to introduce innovation, it's going to have to be on my own, provably separate from the institution. So this is perfect for my use case.

[scotchhonor]

A) Facetime wouldnt work without Internet connection to Apple's servers

B) Even if you used some sort of video app that worked on the Piratebox, discussing PHI/PII over an open unencrypted WIFI network would violate all kinds of HIPAA regulations.

C) The IT Department is there for a reason, stop trying to break security protocols. Especially when you are Department of Defense.

D) This thing isn't actually secure/private like it says it is. They said there are no logins. And your MAC address is still associated to a device. Even if you spoofed it, you still have to be 30 ft near the thing. Not hard to hide.

[wangman]

Can't you just switch on the Wifi-hotspot on your iPhone and connect together that way?

[niels_olson]

Power dissipates with r squared and interference is always an issue. So if I set one of these on top of a refrigerator in the middle of the lab, I could probably hit most of the resident offices and some of the staff. But most of the residents couldn't get to each other with just their iphones.

[gcb0]

you just moved things around. if my phone is then closer to other people while this device is on another floor, they would have better acces on my phone wifi.

unless this evolves to a mesh it is just a hyped AP

[niels_olson]

> while this device is on another floor

Where did another floor come in?

[gcb0]

yep. this is a solution looking for a problem i think.

my router already does all that. and it was before i flashed openwrt on it.

[niels_olson]

So does mine. My thought before this PirateBox thing was to just plug an old router in, yeah, maybe flash it to openwrt. If anything, this gives me a reason to pause and think harder about what some of the issues are that they may have thought of but I haven't.

[jacquesm]

It's more like a sharepoint with wifi access and a bunch of applications installed.

[ChuckMcM]

Which would be an excellent way to pitch it. I get the whole anarchist thing but calling it "PirateBox" is going to incite antibodies in nearly any IT dept. Its like naming the Wifi at your house "FBI Surveillance Van 2".

That said, with a unique 'box' identifier and a simple store and forward protocol you could have them link together into a simple network, where you could pass messages or files with addresses like box1!box2!box3!userhandle :-)

[jacquesm]

> FBI Surveillance Van 2

I've heard of people doing this to scare the crap out of their low-key criminal neighbours.

[lgierth]

> box1!box2!box3!userhandle

That's called Source Routing, and is what cjdns [1] does, although in a more federated and private manner. There's an OpenWRT firmware called meshbox [2] that works on the same devices as PirateBox (and more).

There's no apps shipped with it, but instead you get a secure, adhoc, near-zeroconf mesh network.

[1] https://github.com/cjdelisle/cjdns [2] https://github.com/SeattleMeshnet/meshbox

[lmz]

The bang path and "store and forward protocol" bit probably refers to mail routing in the UUCP days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UUCP#Mail_routing

[gcb0]

ah ok. but why the downvotes? its exactly what i thought it was (minus the bunch of application, which i agree makes a one node mesh network a little bit less useless)