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I'm one of Cloudflare's customers who would blacklist all Tor traffic if I could. I genuinely don't understand why so many people obviously use Tor for all thei

by foxylad 11y ago

I'm one of Cloudflare's customers who would blacklist all Tor traffic if I could. I genuinely don't understand why so many people obviously use Tor for all their browsing, and not just for sites where remaining anonymous is desirable. Why not simply switch to a normal browser for normal sites? Some background - we run several SaaS services for schools, which are politically and socially non-sensitive. The only realistic reasons anyone would want to connect anonymously would be nefarious. Allowing Tor traffic is like a bank having a special ATM round the back with no security cameras - you're giving a free pass to attackers to try anything they want with impunity. I'm having a hard time seeing what the compensating advantage is. How does not accepting Tor traffic to our "normal" sites lessen the anonymity of Tor traffic to sites where it is important?

voltagex_ 11y ago
The canonical answer is https://www.torproject.org/about/torusers.html.en https://www.torproject.org/about/torusers.html.en Really, no one has any business looking at anything I do on the Internet. I don't use Tor for everything but I may use it when I'm connecting via a network that I believe to be hostile (i.e. just about everything outside of my house)
- ashitlerferad 11y ago
  > (i.e. just about everything outside of my house) Which ISP do you use? I would be surprised if a trustworthy ISP exists.
  - voltagex_ 11y ago
    Internode, in Australia. They're subject to the data retention laws, so I use HTTPS and VPNs as necessary. When they're completely consumed by their new owners, TPG, then no, there won't be a trustworthy ISP in Australia. I have high hopes for SkyMesh, though.
fabulist 11y ago
Then allow the Tor users and watch them carefully. If you think you have a way to definitively tell that some traffic is malicious, why oh why would you interrupt your enemy while they're making a mistake? Do you think they're not going to come back at you from a clearnet IP? Edit: > I'm having a hard time seeing what the compensating advantage is. How does not accepting Tor traffic to our "normal" sites lessen the anonymity of Tor traffic to sites where it is important? The anonymity of Tor depends upon diversity. The more people using Tor for more things, the harder it is to correlate any particular person's traffic. That being said, it is your website, and if you decide to block Tor you have as much right as your users do to use Tor. But I'd ask you to think about whether you are actually attaining any benefit.
MaddoScientisto 11y ago
If you use TOR only for "bad stuff" then it means that if you are on TOR you must be surely doing "bad stuff". Using TOR for everything helps to build plausible deniability, if you are always on TOR then an external watcher can't determine if you are doing good or bad stuff. Of course good and bad are relative terms, if your country doesn't have free speech obviously the "bad stuff" is just speaking freely

by foxylad 11y ago

voltagex_ 11y ago

The canonical answer is https://www.torproject.org/about/torusers.html.en https://www.torproject.org/about/torusers.html.en Really, no one has any business looking at anything I do on the Internet. I don't use Tor for everything but I may use it when I'm connecting via a network that I believe to be hostile (i.e. just about everything outside of my house)

ashitlerferad 11y ago
> (i.e. just about everything outside of my house) Which ISP do you use? I would be surprised if a trustworthy ISP exists.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  Internode, in Australia. They're subject to the data retention laws, so I use HTTPS and VPNs as necessary. When they're completely consumed by their new owners, TPG, then no, there won't be a trustworthy ISP in Australia. I have high hopes for SkyMesh, though.

fabulist 11y ago

Then allow the Tor users and watch them carefully. If you think you have a way to definitively tell that some traffic is malicious, why oh why would you interrupt your enemy while they're making a mistake? Do you think they're not going to come back at you from a clearnet IP? Edit: > I'm having a hard time seeing what the compensating advantage is. How does not accepting Tor traffic to our "normal" sites lessen the anonymity of Tor traffic to sites where it is important? The anonymity of Tor depends upon diversity. The more people using Tor for more things, the harder it is to correlate any particular person's traffic. That being said, it is your website, and if you decide to block Tor you have as much right as your users do to use Tor. But I'd ask you to think about whether you are actually attaining any benefit.

MaddoScientisto 11y ago

If you use TOR only for "bad stuff" then it means that if you are on TOR you must be surely doing "bad stuff". Using TOR for everything helps to build plausible deniability, if you are always on TOR then an external watcher can't determine if you are doing good or bad stuff. Of course good and bad are relative terms, if your country doesn't have free speech obviously the "bad stuff" is just speaking freely