Manual

If you want to make individual settings on your upribox, follow the Configuration link. In this dialog, the system initially only offers to (de-)activate existing services and change access settings. However, the routine branches to more detailed dialogs that offer further configuration options under the settings for the individual options.

In the WiFi section, bars indicate the password strength when reassigning a password for wireless access to the upribox, so you can identify weak and therefore insecure passwords at a glance. If your DSL router and upribox do not synchronize and you therefore need to reconfigure the DHCP server and assign a static IP address to upribox, you can do so in the Configuration dialog (Figure 4).

Figure 4: A static configuration lets you connect upribox to the network despite a malfunctioning router.

When changing upribox operating modes, all services to be configured are stopped, restarted, and adapted automatically, such as the DHCP server and the Apate ARP spoofing daemon (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Thanks to automated routines, you don't have to worry about details when changing operating modes.

VPN

Upribox supports tunneled access with the VPN option. For example, you can use upribox to gain secure access to the Internet while on the move. The system also blocks annoying advertisements and trackers when accessing the Internet from a hotspot through a upribox VPN.

To do this, first create a VPN profile by clicking on Settings; also, install an OpenVPN client on the client computer. If you are using a smartphone, you need to download one of the officially available VPN client apps.

Conclusions

The upribox creators have not promised too much: The privacy box can generally be put into operation without configuration and is therefore ideal for less knowledgeable users who want to improve their security and protect their privacy when on the web. The detailed documentation, which explains how to use the system, is also exemplary.

In tests in combination with a conventional DSL router and an LTE MiFi system with a WiFi bridge, upribox showed no weaknesses, latencies, or slower Internet browsing speeds. Additionally, the developers have succeeded in building a simple but attractive management interface using configuration dialogs based on the Django Python web framework. For users who want to adapt the upribox system beyond the graphical configuration interface, the project also provides documentation that delves deeper into the subject matter.