Becoming Tor-friendly

Feynman

New member
I use Tor to access these forums anonymously for privacy reasons. I've found that a small subset of the exit nodes are banned by IP address and I would like to advocate that they not be. There are many more exit nodes that are not banned, so it's quite easy for anybody causing trouble to get around such a ban, but it's an annoyance for legitimate users that wish to remain anonymous. Every few minutes, my exit node will change, and I'll sometimes find myself banned until I change it again. I can provide a list of IP addresses that I've had this problem with, but I would like to start a discussion about the acceptance of Tor in a community such as this first so that there is context.
 
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Never heard of Tor, but you don't need it to login anonymously here. Using any browser, just click on the User CP link above to start. You want to go to:

User CP > Settings & Options > Edit Options

The first thing you will see in that section is "Use Invisible Mode." Invisible mode lets you to login and browse the forums without appearing in the "Currently Active Users" list. No one will know you are here. Just check that choice and you're good to go!
 
Using Tor seems to be a little overkill.

I'm a little curious, if you'd be willing to indulge, why you feel you need to use something like Tor to visit the forums.
 
Nycindie, it's a different type of anonymity. Using Tor means that the person on the other end can't be traced back to their actual real-life location and identity, not that the Username shown on the forum isn't visible to other users.
 
http://www.polyamory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35802&goto=newpost

Invisible mode lets you to login and browse the forums without appearing in the "Currently Active Users" list. No one will know you are here. Just check that choice and you're good to go!

Unfortunately, that doesn't prevent the owner(s) of the site and every intermediary between my house and the ISP hosting the site from knowing that I visit here.

Using Tor seems to be a little overkill.

I'm a little curious, if you'd be willing to indulge, why you feel you need to use something like Tor to visit the forums.

That's a fair statement. I'm sure that, for many people, it is indeed overkill. On the other hand, it's trivial to use and it allows me to speak very openly without ever having to worry about somebody outside of my house from finding out before I'm ready.

Part of my paranoia comes from having been involved (as a victim) in a number of web site compromises. It's quite easy to feel utterly violated when a stranger gets access to detailed logs. I've even witnessed blackmail after a compromise before.

Obviously, some people have used it to do naughty things, or else some of the exit node IP addresses wouldn't be banned. So I understand the need to balance privacy with accountability, though I would still argue that it's a lost cause given the ease of getting around those bans.

Here is some more information regarding Tor: https://ssd.eff.org/tech/tor
 
Oh. But you can just do that by using an anonymous proxy server, which are easy enough to find.

That's effectively what Tor automates. It does more than that and is easier to use, but the exit nodes I'm referring to are going to appear similarly to anonymous proxies.
 
That's a fair statement. I'm sure that, for many people, it is indeed overkill. On the other hand, it's trivial to use and it allows me to speak very openly without ever having to worry about somebody outside of my house from finding out before I'm ready.
True, but unless you're someplace like Syria, I dont really see what using Tor is going to do that something like Porn Mode on Google Chrome wont.

Part of my paranoia comes from having been involved (as a victim) in a number of web site compromises. It's quite easy to feel utterly violated when a stranger gets access to detailed logs. I've even witnessed blackmail after a compromise before.
Fair enough, but I still dont see why something like Tor would be necessary. Its a fairly heavy-duty piece of software to protect against something where the risk is very small and can be reduced even further by being careful.

Again, if I'm not being too nosy, what do you fear would happen if your being here would become public knowledge?
 
Again, if I'm not being too nosy, what do you fear would happen if your being here would become public knowledge?

I suppose it comes down to whether or not I feel that I can be as honest as I wish. The machinery is heavy-duty, sure, but to me it's just an icon that I double-click. I'm willing to have a slightly slower connection to not have to worry about it.

As for what I'm worrying about: I don't know, to be honest. I'm lucky enough to have loving parents that wouldn't really care and coworkers who are more scandalous than anything here. That said, I'd still rather not deal with it.

Since posting this, I've also realized that the forum session is tied to the IP address, so unbanning the exit nodes would at best improve the browsing experience when not logged in. So it may be a moot point. I can deal.
 
For anybody who might someday read this: I seem to have solved my problem by restricting my exit nodes to ones in the US. Google "torrc exitnodes" for more information.

As for the session issue, I think that checking "remember me" has given me a second cookie that does the job.

My problems seem to be gone now and I can go back to my regularly scheduled paranoia. :D
 
As an official mod note, I'll provide you with the following answer...

Any IP's on this site which have been blocked, have been so because of spammers, which means the exit nodes from Tor have been used to deliver spam to this board. We try to hunt down and eradicate spam with extreme prejudice here, so there will be no lifting of banned IP's.

As for privacy issues, the only people seeing the IP's here are the Mods. Outside of that, the responsibility for your privacy is your own, and as has been discussed there are many ways to manage that which you seem more than familiar with.

Thanks for offering your suggestions on how we might make the forum easier for some users, however I'm glad you found a work around because this particular suggestion will not be implemented or entertained further.
 
I suppose it comes down to whether or not I feel that I can be as honest as I wish. The machinery is heavy-duty, sure, but to me it's just an icon that I double-click. I'm willing to have a slightly slower connection to not have to worry about it.

As for what I'm worrying about: I don't know, to be honest. I'm lucky enough to have loving parents that wouldn't really care and coworkers who are more scandalous than anything here. That said, I'd still rather not deal with it.

Since posting this, I've also realized that the forum session is tied to the IP address, so unbanning the exit nodes would at best improve the browsing experience when not logged in. So it may be a moot point. I can deal.
I mean if you really feel like you want to do this, its your system though I cant profess to understand the reasoning.

I'm a little more cautious than others may be on account that you're asking questions about how to effectively use anonymity software to get onto a forum. That sends up no small number of red flags.
 
That sends up no small number of red flags.

I'm not sure I understand why it would raise red flags. The forum guidelines advocate anonymity. I just took it one step further by not trusting the owners that I don't know and their security practices into which I have no insight.

I've been very clear and honest about my intentions and my methods. If I was here to cause harm, I wouldn't be pointing out how I'm able to access the site anonymously. In fact, if the owners are serious about cutting down on spam, I'm sure they can find a list of current Tor exit nodes to block outright--it'd certainly be more effective than picking them off one at a time. They'd fall out of date, though. Maybe there's a vBulletin plugin to keep such a list up to date.
 
I'm not sure I understand why it would raise red flags. The forum guidelines advocate anonymity. I just took it one step further by not trusting the owners that I don't know and their security practices into which I have no insight.

I've been very clear and honest about my intentions and my methods. If I was here to cause harm, I wouldn't be pointing out how I'm able to access the site anonymously. In fact, if the owners are serious about cutting down on spam, I'm sure they can find a list of current Tor exit nodes to block outright--it'd certainly be more effective than picking them off one at a time. They'd fall out of date, though. Maybe there's a vBulletin plugin to keep such a list up to date.
I'm not accusing you of anything at all and understand I'm speaking entirely for myself (though others may agree), but again understand that you're coming onto a forum and asking about ways to anonymously log onto that forum.

I have no idea why you're asking for that information. You could easily be fishing for a security gap to let in a flood of spambots, looking for a way to gather personal information for a variety of purposes, or just looking for a way to troll with impunity.

I have no way of determining what your intentions actually are and as such am forced to assume the worst out of a desire for self-protection. Its absolutely nothing personal, its not a result of anything you've done or anyone you've pissed off. Its very simple caution.
 
People that have things to hide, like to stay in the dark.


Also, it's quite fun for some, I've seen on other forums, to make no small number of different usernames, profiles, etc. It's evidently how forum junkies get off...
 
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