Why haven't we seen a pay-for-use version of Tor yet? The network won't scale unless exit and relay nodes are incentivized with value beyond warm-fuzzies.
How would that work without killing the privacy angle?
Monero/zcash
MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
131–140 of 151 posts
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#132I'm in charge of a security for a reasonable sized company. I generally support the Tor project and the goals of having a surveillance free internet. However - if an employee would install tor browser or use tor on a company device, or a device attached to the company network, they would be fired immediately. I would then refer them to law enforcement after conducting a forensic audit. Should you make your site only…
I've been working for a couple multinational corporations during last 10 years or so and I never had ANY issues with using Tor in the workplace.
I've plugged my laptop to my Corp WiFi, Brave browser was running a tor client process, I got approached by Ciso within 3 minutes asking to stop torring or get off the network immediately.
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#133So let's say I run a few websites and do support the idea. I read that article and think "I should setup an .onion version of my site and then point to that". The article points to https://community.torproject.org/onion-services/setup/ - and I'm immediately lost. Setup a local webserver? Why would I need that? The documentation mentions that I have to configure the webserver correctly, but offers no details about tha…
Documentation and ease of setup have long been the biggest weaknesses of Tor. The browser is easy but setting up a server or any of the infrastructure isn't. The first time you setup a server or a relay expect it to take half a day to a full weekend.
The Tor community improved a lot the Tor Relay Guide in the last two years. Actually now you can easily setup a relay following the instructions: https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/
And if you're an Ansible user, you will enjoy Nusenu's ansible-relayor: https://github.com/nusenu/ansible-relayor
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Last century "network" and "web" were metaphors that meant nothing to the uninitiated -- I feel that ".onion" has a shot.
"Web" definitely meant something to people as a metaphore, for long before the internet (ex. "web of lies"). "The 'internet' is like a spider's web, but each point in the web is a different computer." vs "Tor is like an onion, where each layer of the onion represents a computer acting like a relay, in a giant network of computers, which your traffic is routed through....."
Spiders are sinister and scary, so I don't think this "web" thing will ever find traction.
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tor doesn't work unless normal people usage it. Users need the camouflage normal users provide.
> Users need the camouflage normal users provide. That's an interesting statement - what are the "users" doing there that "normal users" are not?
Journalism, if we're being optimistic.
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#136I'm not sure how relevant this is to running your website on the "darknet", but a potential warning for future Tor service operators: I ran a TOR relay for about a year, eventually even ordering a static IP for 5€/month. One random day, I was unable to log into my online banking, receiving some obscure error code. After digging around and finally contacting the bank, they referred me to some "IP protection service" i…
(Relatively new) Tor developer here.
Yes, unfortunately some sites and such "protection" services block Tor IP addresses to mitigate abuse. While just blocking exit nodes would be sufficient (though still an overly blunt instrument), some carelessly block Tor relays as well.
In the case of Onion Services, unlike running a Tor relay or exit node, you are using Tor as a client, much the same as when you use the Tor Browser. Your IP is not on any such global list of "Tor IPs". Your ISP (or VPN, if applicable), can see that you're using Tor (unless you use a bridge), but this doesn't get you on these sort of block lists.
On a side-note, if you're thinking of running a Tor relay from home to help contribute to the Tor network, but don't want to risk getting your IP address blocked, consider running a bridge instead. https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/bridge/
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're allowed, but you will be blacklisted by many services... I also agree that it shouldn't be a problem if you're not an exit node, but that's the way it works.
Many? What other services do you know of that will be blocked? You speak as if you have a lot of knowledge/experience in this area.
The list of tor nodes is public, and many sysadmins simply import it without thinking much about it. Even though they should only ban exit nodes.
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#138I have (a few) static sites on places like Github Pages/netlify. How do I put them under a .onion?
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Many? What other services do you know of that will be blocked? You speak as if you have a lot of knowledge/experience in this area.
The list of tor nodes is public, and many sysadmins simply import it without thinking much about it. Even though they should only ban exit nodes.
Thanks for that info, I had no idea it was that bad. It's horrible yet understandable, with so many underpaid, overworked sysadmins out there (i can count myself as one of them).
Re: MoreOnionsPorfavor: Onionize your website and take back the internet
#140What’s the advantage of accessing an onion service (as opposed to accessing a normal https website over tor)?
Cost savings. Running web apps behind a dynamically allocated ISP.