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Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

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Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#51
post #50

Isn't HTTPS connection enough to protect from snooping regimes? If the foreign government won't block FB access completely, user can go to https://www.facebook.com and will know that their data can only be seen by Facebook? Of course if government is blocking FB access, then I understand the need of TOR.

You're missing the point TOR isn't about encryption, it's about anonymity.

If you're in a situation which can threaten your life, the latter is clearly more important.

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#52
post #23
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, sorta. In my past experiences, if you're on tor (or proxy'd through a known portal), and have Javascript disabled entirely, Google will sometimes (not always) give you an error stating that your IP is a known abuser. If you DO have JS enabled, I have encountered the "Your IP is known to be abusive, so type in this captcha in order to continue" and then it forwards to encrypted.google.com. I get similiar behavio…

To be fair it's quite likely your IP has been abusive. There aren't that many exit nodes and it doesn't seem unlikely that a lot of Tor users have suspicious or malicious behavior.

Though to the point, the IPs of all exit nodes are publicly available and presented by the Tor project itself.

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#54
post #3

Has anybody tried asking Facebook why they've done this? Possible reasons: 1. One or more governments (which ones?) have told Facebook to block Tor or else. (Or else what?) 2. A manual security review revealed more hacking attempts via Tor than legitimate use, so Facebook decided to block Tor. 3. After a sustained hacking attack via Tor, an automated Facebook security system automatically blocked Facebook access from…

It doesn't matter why.

In an immediate sense, no, it doesn't matter why.

But in a broader sense, it does. If it's a temporary automatic block, that has different implications for who you protest against than if it is a manual block put in at the behest of the House of Saud, say, or at the request of America's NSA.

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's up to the journalist to investigate and find out why Facebook is doing this so he can write a more complete story.

Not necessarily - if their goal is to get Facebook to reverse the change (which I imagine it is based on the fact that the website is based in an area with a lot of civil unrest), then providing reasonable rationalization in the article isn't what you want to do.

In that case this isn't journalism but propaganda (even if its the good kind). Lobbyists do the same thing yet we all hate them for it, these guys shouldn't get a free pass and get to call it journalism if they aren't portraying both sides.

Edit: fixed mobile typos

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#57
post #10
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what exactly forces them to use Facebook instead of something remotely private and secure?

Popularity. If activists want a potential mass audience, facebook is an essential part of of that. Something private will not get to most people. Its the exact same reason it is hard to compete with facebook. Its is a virtual monopoly. "Force"? No. But by using that word you are in the same disingenuous camp the "what have you got to hide" people. I mean, why bother about privacy at all, no one is "forced" to use the…

If activists want a potential mass audience, facebook is an essential part of of that.

Well, why not clear it through an individual that will put it up there so that the private dealings of everyone else won't leak?

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#58
I find this a bit ironic because the future of the web is a free self-organizing darknet. Someday data that users wish to share will be stored cryptographically in a true "cloud" sort of like bitcoin, and I'm not really sure what the value of facebook will be in an environment like that. Maybe the ability to store things temporarily or delete them somehow?

Facebook seems to connect you to anything except the future..

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#59
post #3

Has anybody tried asking Facebook why they've done this? Possible reasons: 1. One or more governments (which ones?) have told Facebook to block Tor or else. (Or else what?) 2. A manual security review revealed more hacking attempts via Tor than legitimate use, so Facebook decided to block Tor. 3. After a sustained hacking attack via Tor, an automated Facebook security system automatically blocked Facebook access from…

It doesn't matter why.

Writing on FB using Tor kind of defeats the purpose, no?

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#60
post #41

The privatized 'public' space makes an inevitable move. Facebook can no longer stake any preposterous claim to "help people connect better". It is a business entity - always has been - and does not give half a damn about "making the world a better place", or whatever corporate marketing catchphrase they use right now. Related to recent events or not, the privatized internet is continuing to backlash with severe conse…

> Facebook can no longer stake any preposterous claim to "help people connect better".

Why not? Facebook does help billions of people connect better. Yes, it is a business entity and what's wrong with that? Does this make it inherently evil? Do non business entity do a better job at "making the world a better place"? Look at the latest NSA scandal to get an idea. At least we're not forced to pay Facebook with our tax money like we do with the NSA. But sure, business are the devil. Oh, and to stay on topic, if you want to be mad at something, be mad at those dictators forcing people to use TOR, not Facebook. TOR is also a great tools for spammers and Facebook has to fight spam too if it wants to survive as a business.

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