Tor

[hxclespaulplayer]

In case you didn't know, it's a program that's better than proxy servers for privacy - it uses an actual persons' IP address, which is handy for when you don't trust a site with your IP (I do use my real IP here, or at least, my workplaces' server, which has its own ISP, or something...)

What I want to know is:

1) Why is it so slow?

2) I have to run TOR, privoxy, and vidalia just for it to get to work, that's a lot of tray icons. Is there a version which just bypasses all this?

 

[Mr. B]

I'm not an expert in TOR but I understand it bounces data off a bunch of servers/peers which explains the latency. Consequently it's rather impractical for anonymous downloading of... stuff. Vidalia is the GUI so I know why that's necessary. Perhaps Privoxy makes the non-bundled browser work.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Tor is slow because everything is encrypted and routed through various other clients. You have to factor in the latency of multiple PCs, which are going to be considerably slower in aggregate than a couple high-speed routers and switches. Each middleman is going to slow you down a few hundred milliseconds, so it doesn't take much to have you waiting several seconds for a simple page to load.

Are you using one of the bundle packages from this page?

In any case, why are you using Tor? Unless you are doing something highly illegal, it is really overkill if you just want privacy while surfing. HTTPS proxies and so forth can protect you just as much (assuming you trust the proxy provider) and won't be as godawfully slow.

 

[hxclespaulplayer]

Tor is slow because everything is encrypted and routed through various other clients. You have to factor in the latency of multiple PCs, which are going to be considerably slower in aggregate than a couple high-speed routers and switches. Each middleman is going to slow you down a few hundred milliseconds, so it doesn't take much to have you waiting several seconds for a simple page to load.

Are you using one of the bundle packages from this page?

In any case, why are you using Tor? Unless you are doing something highly illegal, it is really overkill if you just want privacy while surfing. HTTPS proxies and so forth can protect you just as much (assuming you trust the proxy provider) and won't be as godawfully slow.

When I'm talking about slow, I mean 200 bytes a second.

I wasn't aware of that bundle, I thought I might see how everyone else used Tor first.

I use Tor mainly when you're expected to give out personal info, even though it isn't needed (ebay and paypal would be exceptions here). Speaking of those two sites, I don't get why using another IP address would help anybody wanting to run a scam, as Paypal needs your bank account info, and your bank has enough of your info to hand over to police if you woke up and decided to defraud the ebay populace anyway - just to name one illegal use (I can't think of others atm, 1 - not having a criminal mindset, I find it hard to come up with criminal scenarios, 2- I've had a weekend of shift work and am dogsville tired).

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I don't get it, why do you need a fake IP to hand out personal info? You don't want your name attached to a specific IP address? If so, I've got news for you... your ISP always knows.

 

[hxclespaulplayer]

I don't get it, why do you need a fake IP to hand out personal info? You don't want your name attached to a specific IP address? If so, I've got news for you... your ISP always knows.

Well, if you need to put 123 fake st, Rockford, IL, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for someone to use such specific info, (even lying about your city, that's easily fixed by looking up your IP) to use it to harass you, cause trouble, etc.

As for why the IP matters with sites - I got my ass handed to me on a platter on a computer forum - a friend believed through a misunderstanding that I had been to cuba, and wanted to see some travel photos. I really want to broaden his horizons, as he doesn't know/care about anything outside his own state, so I wanted someone to put a Cuban stamp in a scan of my passport instead of my Saudi one. This was deemed as forging a federal document, and I was banned, even though the purpouse was to simply entertain and educate this friend. I've heard from several ex-members that the site was full of neo-cons who were seeing terrorists and black helicopters around every corner, so they must have though Cuban passport stamp=me terrorist due to wanting to visit an axis of evil country someday(oops, admitted to wanting to violate a U.S travel ban on here, please forgive me mods ).

The mod that banned me was pretty much universally despised as banning people for anything, sent me this email about how if I ever visited again, they would take it as me hacking their forum, and put the FBI on my ass (which I laughed about). So, if I ever want to ask about computer advice on there, I will use Tor, as no doubt my ISP has been flagged (and since it's the ISP for my workplace, I don't want everyone else to not be able to register, regardless of their political beliefs).

TMI?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

TMI?

Mmm... I'm gonna go with, "holy hell, yes." I didn't need your life story, dude.

Why would you even want to bother with this forum that is apparently full of lunatics?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Yes, this board has a much higher grade of lunatics anyway

 

[SeerSGB]

1) TOR-Opera is, IMO, the best package out there.

2) You can boost speed by just disabling damn near everything.

3) Install on thumbdrive for portability.

4) I've noticed some sites are getting wise to the TOR network and are banning on site anyone caught using it and/or just blocking a lot of the TOR proxies.

As for the why? Why not? Besides a little back up is usually a good ideal. Though, I will say I've noticed that TOR is not 100% foolproof. I have seen it, for me and others, hiccup and let your real IP get through. I tend it use it when I first join a new board just till I decide whether I'm staying or not.

 

[hyzmarca]

Tor is slow because everything is encrypted and routed through various other clients. You have to factor in the latency of multiple PCs, which are going to be considerably slower in aggregate than a couple high-speed routers and switches. Each middleman is going to slow you down a few hundred milliseconds, so it doesn't take much to have you waiting several seconds for a simple page to load.

Are you using one of the bundle packages from this page?

In any case, why are you using Tor? Unless you are doing something highly illegal, it is really overkill if you just want privacy while surfing. HTTPS proxies and so forth can protect you just as much (assuming you trust the proxy provider) and won't be as godawfully slow.

It's useful for posting subversive stuff to and from from certain tightly controlled regimes of the sort that arrest people for having the wrong opinion.

The big problem with Tor is that exit nodes, while they don't have your IP address, can view everything that you send and receive to the internet. For this reason, it is necessary to have some extra encryption for any personal data. Logging into anything over tor without using HTTPS, for example, is damned dangerous. So is sending unencrypted sensitive and subversive information.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/15/tor_hacker_arrest/

I use Tor mainly when you're expected to give out personal info, even though it isn't needed (ebay and paypal would be exceptions here). Speaking of those two sites, I don't get why using another IP address would help anybody wanting to run a scam, as Paypal needs your bank account info, and your bank has enough of your info to hand over to police if you woke up and decided to defraud the ebay populace anyway - just to name one illegal use (I can't think of others atm

That's fairly dangerous, for the reasons outlined above. The exit node can log everything that you sent through it. Be sure that you always use HTTPS if you do that.

The reason why tor can be very slow, in addition to latency issues, is that many nodes are home users with limited upstream bandwith. At times when there is a high volume of traffic, things can be very slow due to such bottlenecks. The best thing to do in that case is to create a new circuit.