JonDo is a proxy tool similar to Tor which can be used to bypass Internet censorship. It was invented in 2000 as a German university project called Java Anon Proxy (JAP) and now offers both free and commercial services. The free servers only offer the speed of an analog modem whereas the commercial service offers higher speed for about 10 US Dollars for 1 GB of traffic. The Java client runs on Linux, Mac OS and Windows.
Like Tor, JonDo's main purpose is to provide anonymity for users when visiting Web sites. Like Tor, it works by sending traffic through several independent servers.
Installation
To use the JonDo network you need to download the JonDo client for your operating system from https://www.jondos.de/en/download. For either Linux and Mac OS X there is a single download option (6 MB).
For Windows however, there are three different possibilities:
- The standard desktop installer which has Java included (about 15MB)
- A PortableApps version also with Java included which can be run from a USB flash drive for use at Internet cafés or other shared computers (about 20MB)
- The minimal three-file download necessary to run JonDo without the installer and Java: It consists of the files http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/develop/jap.exe, http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/develop/japdll.dll and http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/jap/JAP.jar (in total about 6MB).
Choose a download depending on your experience, intended use and speed of your Internet connection. To install the JonDo client you just have to click on the downloaded file and follow the simple instructions.
Configuration and Usage
When you first start JonDo you see a window where you can choose between the languages English, German, Czech, Dutch, French and Russian.
On the next screen, you will see a notice that you have to configure your Web browser to use the JonDo proxy tool. Click on the name of your browser and follow the instructions you get.
Now take the first step to check if you configured your browser correctly. Switch anonymity to "Off" in the JonDo main window and then open a Web site with the browser you just configured.
If JonDo shows you a warning and you have to choose "Yes" to view the Web site everything is configured properly and you can choose "The warning is shown. Websurfing is possible after confirmation". If any other description applies to you, choose it and the Installation assistant will give you more information on how to solve the problem.
Now take the second step to ensure a proper configuration: switch anonymity to "On" in the main JonDo window and again open a random Web site with the browser you configured.
If the Web site loads, everything is fine and you can click "Connection established, websurfing is fine". If another description applies to you choose that one and the Installation assistant will help you solve the problem.
Now the configuration is almost done. You are already browsing through the JonDo network. However, you should configure your Web browser so that it doesn't leak any information. This again is explained when you click on the name of your Web browser.
Now choose the options you want to see in the JonDo client based on your computer experience. Inexperienced users should choose "Simplified view".
If the standard JonDo servers are already blocked in your country, you should try the anti-censorship option. Click on "Config" in the main JonDo window and select the "network" tab. There click on "Connect to other JAP/JonDo users in order to reach the anonymization service". Read the warning and confirm it by clicking "Yes".
