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So 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". T
by onli 6y ago
So 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/ 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 that whatsoever. So that's not a good start.
https://community.torproject.org/onion-services/advanced/onion-location/ https://community.torproject.org/onion-services/advanced/oni... works better, it shows the configuration, but assumes there is already an .onion address and does not point to documentation how to set it up.
Hey, I know documentation is hard. But this could be improved a lot. By now I figured out that I'd have to install Tor on the server (not my machine, as the docs stated), find the torrc (the documentation has to mention where it is), point to the localhost port active of the webserver, the .onion address is autogenerated (so this will be an unreadable mess?) and can be taken from a file the tor software generates.
And this:
> We're not going to cover how to set up a web server here. If you get stuck or want to do more, find a friend who can help you. We recommend you install a new separate web server for your onion service.
Just cut it out. I'm actually lucky enough to have friends that could help me with this, but what if I hadn't? Cover in the documentation what needs to be done, or at the very least don't show an attitude about it.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- nyolfen 6y agoit's possible they're trying to avoid a monoculture of web servers that serve tor sites in order to avoid many sites becoming insecure in the event of a bug disclosure for a software package they have no control over
- caymanjim 6y agoThey're not a tech support company or a hosting company. There are literally thousands and thousands of documents on basic web server installation and configuration already written. The information is trivial to find. It falls under "if you have to ask, you're not ready".
- easterncalculus 6y agoHave you actually run a hidden service before? Running a default or standard configuration of the bigger web servers like Apache or NGINX is a terrible idea if you're actually trying to hide the identity of your server. Setting up a secure hidden service usually requires that several default or common features be disabled, if one actually wants to hide the location of the service.
- vorpalhex 6y ago...can you link some details on how we should actually configure this? Because the answer to your question is "No" but I'm sure a good many of the people here would like to be able to say yes.
- 0xggus 6y agoYes, we are aware of some flaws in the current documentation that have been migrated from the old site to the new site. Very soon we will improve this.
- driverdan 6y agoDocumentation 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.
- 0xggus 6y agoThe 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/ 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 https://github.com/nusenu/ansible-relayor
- driverdan 6y agoYou're right, those docs are a lot better than the last time I looked. I forgot why exactly I didn't use ansible-relayor last time I setup relays but I had a reason. I'll try to use it next time I deploy a batch of relays.