streisand README

The project's README from github.com/StreisandEffect/streisand. As one markdown file: README.md.

Streisand

Automate the effect

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Streisand

Silence censorship. Automate the effect.

The Internet can be a little unfair. It's way too easy for ISPs, telecoms, politicians, and corporations to block access to the sites and information that you care about. But breaking through these restrictions is tough. Or is it?

If you have an account with a cloud computing provider, Streisand can set up a new node with many censorship-resistant VPN services nearly automatically. You'll need a little experience with a Unix command-line. (But without Streisand, it could take days for a skilled Unix administrator to configure these services securely!) At the end, you'll have a private website with software and instructions.

Here's what a sample Streisand server looks like.

There's a list of supported cloud providers; experts may be able to use Streisand to install on many other cloud providers.

VPN services

One type of tool that people use to avoid network censorship is a Virtual Private Network (VPN). There are many kinds of VPNs.

Not all network censorship is alike; in some places, it changes from day to day. Streisand provides many different VPN services to try. (You don't have to install them all, though.)

Some Streisand services include add-ons for further censorship and throttling resistance:

See also:

Cloud providers

Other providers

We recommend using one of the above providers. If you are an expert and can set up a fresh Ubuntu 16.04 server elsewhere, there are "localhost" and "existing remote server" installation methods. For more information, see the advanced installation instructions.

Installation

You need command-line access to a Unix system. You can use Linux, BSD, or macOS; on Windows 10, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) counts as Linux.

Once you're ready, see the full installation instructions.

Things we want to do better

Aside from a good deal of cleanup, we could really use:

We're looking for help with both.

If there is something that you think Streisand should do, or if you find a bug in its documentation or execution, please file a report on the Issue Tracker.

Core Contributors

Acknowledgements

Jason A. Donenfeld deserves a lot of credit for being brave enough to reimagine what a modern VPN should look like and for coming up with something as good as WireGuard. He has our sincere thanks for all of his patient help and high-quality feedback.

We are grateful to Trevor Smith for his massive contributions. He suggested the Gateway approach, provided tons of invaluable feedback, made everything look better, and developed the HTML template that served as the inspiration to take things to the next level before Streisand's public release.

Huge thanks to Paul Wouters of The Libreswan Project for his generous help troubleshooting the L2TP/IPsec setup.

Starcadian's 'Sunset Blood' album was played on repeat approximately 300 times during the first few months of work on the project in early 2014.

streisand (StreisandEffect/streisand)

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Streisand
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What is this?Streisand is an automation tool that takes a server on the cloud provider of your choice and nearly automatically turns it into a private, censorship-resistant VPN node.
So is this a VPN service I subscribe to, or software I run myself?Software you run yourself, once: Streisand provisions a private server under your own cloud account, so you are not signing up with a VPN company or sharing a node with strangers.
How do I get a server up and running with it?Run it from a Unix command line: Linux, BSD, or macOS, with Windows 10's WSL counting as Linux. You need an account with a supported cloud provider, then follow the full installation instructions in the repository.
Which cloud providers does it support?Out of the box: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean, Google Compute Engine, Linode, and Rackspace. Experts can also target a fresh Ubuntu 16.04 server via the 'localhost' or 'existing remote server' methods.
Which VPN services can it install, and do I have to take them all?Your choice of WireGuard, OpenConnect (Cisco AnyConnect), OpenSSH, OpenVPN, Shadowsocks, sslh, Stunnel, or a private Tor bridge. They all live on the same node, and you don't have to install them all.
Why not just rent a VPS and set up a VPN by hand?You could, but the README says it could take days even for a skilled Unix administrator to configure these services securely. Streisand automates that entire secure setup from a single run.
Anything I should know before spending time on it?The GitHub repository is archived, so it no longer receives maintenance. The authors also listed easier setup and faster adoption of new censorship-avoidance tools as open goals, and the expert fallback path assumes an old Ubuntu 16.04.
What if my network actively throttles or hunts down VPN traffic?Several services ship with evasion add-ons: Shadowsocks comes with the V2ray-plugin for robust traffic evasion on hostile networks, especially ones doing QoS throttling, and the Tor bridge can add Obfsproxy with obfs4 to disguise itself.
Why does it offer so many protocols instead of just one good one?Because censorship differs by place and time — the README notes it can change from day to day. With several services on one server, if one protocol gets blocked or throttled you still have others to fall back on.
What do I actually get at the end of the run?An HTML file: a private website with the client software and custom instructions for each installed service, meant to be shared with friends, family members, and fellow activists.
Why is WireGuard singled out among the services?The README calls it a modern high-performance protocol, and the acknowledgements credit WireGuard's creator Jason A. Donenfeld for reimagining what a modern VPN should look like.
What are similar projects?algo, openvpn-install, mlmvpn_android, 3X-UI_KIT, fq-book, SoftEtherVPN, mtproto.zig, amnezia-client
Which topics is it in?dpi-bypass, openvpn, tor, vpn-server, ansible, censorship, ubuntu, wireguard, vps, shadowsocks, tunnel, anti-censorship
Creator
StreisandEffect
Size
4 MB
Stars
23.4K
Updated
CommitApr 12
Age
12y
Commits · 90 Days