CNN takes you into the private world of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. Watch "WikiWars: The Mission of Julian Assange," on CNN on Sunday, June 12, at 8 p.m./11 p.m. ET.(CNN) -- In the post-WikiLeaks era, news organizations and other groups are launching spinoff websites in hopes a catching the next big scoop.
New York Times executive editor Bill Keller recently announced his vision of creating an online "EZ Pass lane for leakers," according to a Yahoo news blog.
The Wall Street Journal launched its own secret-spilling online data drop called SafeHouse in May, following Al Jazeera's January 2011 launch of the Al Jazeera Transparency Unit.
Dozens of other geo-specific Wiki sites have also emerged --Balkanleaks, Indoleaks and Brusselsleaks to name a few.
But critics and network security experts are warning would-be leakers to read the fine print before setting out to expose the next Watergate sca.
Still in development, OpenLeaks promises to ensure the leakee that it will not be able to trace the origin or identity of the leaker.
For sources who want to protect their anonymity, Internet security experts and activists recommend Tor -- a free software program that attempts to protect privacy by bouncing a users' data around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all over the world.
The Wall Street Journal's disclaimer also steers SafeHouse users who want an extra layer of anonymity to download the software.
First developed in 1999 by MIT students for U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Tor was created to separate online communication from its destination.
The software works by enabling communication to bounce off "relays" -- known as "onion routing" -- and relies an international network of volunteers to keep users anonymous.
"Tor was developed to protect privacy ... it bounces communication through three out of about 3,000 relays which are all over the world and run from volunteers," said Tor Development Director Karen Reilly.
The Tor Project operates as a non-profit that receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. government. Tor users include journalists, activists, the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies.
The software allows Tor users to mask their IP address, and in many cases, allow access to websites blocked by certain governments.
EFF recently launched the "Tor Challenge," calling on volunteers worldwide to operate Tor relays which can be set up on individual computers by downloading Tor software.
Activists warn that there are some risks to running an exit relay if authorities detect suspicious activity coming from the IP address of your exit relay.
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