An efficient methodology to limit path length guaranteeing anonymity in overlay networks

An alternative to guarantee anonymity in overlay networks may be achieved by building a multi-hop path between the origin and the destination. However, one hop in the overlay network can consist of multiple Internet Protocol (IP) hops. Therefore, the length of the overlay multi-hop path must be reduced in order to maintain a good balance between the cost and the benefit provided by the anonymity facility. Unfortunately, the simple Time-To-Live (TTL) algorithm cannot be directly applied here since its use could reveal valuable information to break anonymity. In this paper, a new mechanism which reduces the length of the overlay multi-hop paths is presented. The anonymity level is evaluated by means of simulation and good results are reported.