Build your own Pirate Box Darknet Network for less than 40$

A 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 in the spirit of open source and sharing. The network is closed meaning that all devices connected can only discover, connect and interact with other devices connected to it. For dorms, schools or in your local library or favorite café. 

The meshnet allows the connected users to chat and share files over the closed network within the limited range it provides. The device is also really cheap and fairly easy to set up. It has a really low power consumption, meaning you should get days worth of up time on a single charged external battery charger power bank.

You will need the tiny TP-Link TL-WR703N router 

You will need to flash the router with OpenWRT

You will need to power it with something like this 5V 2000mAh external battery charger power bank
You will need a USB stick. 

On Android there is an app to access the darknet

On your IOS device, in the WIFI network selection select piratebox, and access its options by pressing the blue arrow. Disable "Auto Join" and "Auto Login". You should now be able to access your Piratebox in Safari.

When you have acquired all the parts for your very own darknet server, follow this tutorial:




Note: To SSH/Telnet into a device in Windows, use PuTTY

1. First download a custom copy of OpenWrt for the MR3020 (modified by Matthias Strubel to include all needed kernel-modules). See this thread on the forum for more info. For the WR703N, download this OpenWrt firmware

2. Set the toggle switch located beside the LAN/WAN port to WISP mode

3. Turn off your laptop’s wireless (in OSX, click on the wifi icon and select “Turn Wi-Fi Off”)

4. Connect the router via ethernet cable to your computer and open a web browser to http://192.168.0.254 (for the MR3020) or http://192.168.1.1 (for the WR703N)

5. Enter the default username & password (admin & admin)

6. Navigate to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade and select the OpenWRT firmware

(Note: The WR703N firmware text is in Chinese. To flash OpenWrt from the web interface, select the last menu item on the left, and then the third submenu item. More info in this Village Telco post).

7. After the upgrade completes, the system will restart

8. Telnet to the device:
telnet 192.168.1.1


9. Use the passwd command to set your login password – this will enable SSH:
passwd


10. Edit the network file with vi (vi cheat sheet):

NOTE: The following instructions assume your gateway router’s (home router’s) IP address is 192.168.2.1. If your gateway router differs from this, you will need to modify your network file accordingly. Keep in mind that your OpenWrt (PirateBox) router should not have the same address as your gateway router though it will need to be on the same subnet in order to access and download files from the Internet.
vi /etc/config/network


The modified file should look like this:
config interface 'loopback' option ifname 'lo' option proto 'static' option ipaddr '127.0.0.1' option netmask '255.0.0.0' config interface 'lan' option ifname 'eth0' option type 'bridge' option proto 'static' option ipaddr '192.168.2.111' option netmask '255.255.255.0' option gateway '192.168.2.1' list dns '192.168.2.1' list dns '8.8.8.8'


11. Remove the power from the router.

12. Turn ON your laptop’s wireless (for OSX, click on the wifi icon and select “Turn Wi-Fi On”)

13. Connect the MR3020 (or WR703N) to your gateway router (e.g. your home network router) with an ethernet cable and plug the power back in. Wait a couple of minutes until the router boots up. With your computer connected to your home network, try sshing into the router (Note: use the “ipaddr” you assigned in step 9):
ssh root@192.168.2.111


14. Ping google to ensure your firewall settings are correct:
ping google.com


15. Add USB support to OpenWrt by installing and enabling the following packages (Note: this step is not required if you used the customized OpenWrt image from step 1):
opkg update opkg install kmod-usb-uhci insmod usbcore ## may return: file exists insmod uhci opkg install kmod-usb-ohci ## may return: up to date. insmod usb-ohci

Install PirateBox

Next you’ll need to install PirateBox on the router.

1. Connect your USB drive (formatted to FAT32 with only one partition) to the USB port.

2. Install the mkPirateBox package by issuing the following commands.
cd /tmp opkg update && opkg install http://piratebox.aod-rpg.de/piratebox_0.6.3_all.ipk


3. Optional: Install the Kareha Image Board:
/opt/piratebox/bin/timesave.sh /opt/piratebox/conf/piratebox.conf install /opt/piratebox/bin/install_piratebox.sh /opt/piratebox/conf/piratebox.conf imageboard


Afterwards, edit the Kareha image board config file to change the admin username and password (ADMIN_PASS and SECRET):
vi /opt/piratebox/www/board/config.pl


4. Once the install is completed, unplug the ethernet cable and disconnect the power for at least 10 seconds.

5. Restart the device and join the “PirateBox – Share Freely” network. Open any web page and you should be redirected to the PirateBox menu.

6. Begin sharing files and chatting!

This tutorial was copy pasted from David Darts