Abstract: There is provided a system, including a network that is defined by its novel approach to privacy, security and freedom for its users, namely privacy by allowing access anonymously, security by encrypting and obfuscating resources and freedom by allowing users to anonymously and irrefutably be seen as genuine individuals on the network and to communicate with other users with total security and to securely access resources that are both their own and those that are shared by others with them. Functional mechanisms that the system are able to restore open communications and worry-free access in a manner that is very difficult to infect with viruses or cripple through denial of service attacks and spam messaging; moreover, it will provide a foundation where vendor lock-in need not be an issue.

Abstract: A method of providing a distributed file system allowing the storage of data comprising a plurality of directories and files arranged in a hierarchical structure on a key addressable storage system, the storage system being accessible by a plurality of users, the method comprising the steps of: storing data of a child directory on the storage system and creating a datamap which provides the at least one location of the stored data; assigning an identifier to the child directory and to a parent directory for the child directory; encrypting the datamap using both the child directory identifier and the parent directory identifier; and storing the encrypted datamap on the storage system using at least part of the child directory identifier as the key.

Abstract: This invention is a network that is defined by its novel approach to privacy, security and freedom for its users. Privacy by allowing access anonymously, security by encrypting and obfuscating resources and freedom by allowing users to anonymously and irrefutably be seen as genuine individuals on the network and to communicate with other users with total security and to securely access resources that are both their own and those that are shared by others with them. The functional mechanisms that this invention provides will restore open communications and worry-free access in a manner that is very difficult to infect with viruses or cripple through denial of service attacks and spam messaging, plus, it will provide a foundation where vendor lock-in need not be an issue.