Privacy @lemmy.ml glowie @infosec.pub 7 mo. ago

Tor isn't as decentralised as we thought?

toot.coinfundit.com 𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕒𝕤 (@lucas@toot.coinfundit.com)

TIL that the @torproject@mastodon.social is in truth fairly centralized, after learning #Tor was able to drop specific nodes from the network. Even if for benign purposes, this should raise a red flag. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tor-project-removes-relays-because-of-for-profit-r...

30 comments

Yes, it is not as decentralised as you have thought. I thought this is a fairly known fact. If you need something truly decentralized, I2P is probably the way.
- Agreed, hopefully i2p adoption ramps up.
  
  So how does I2P work, I vaguely remember something about it like slowly building a network as you keep your own connection on, and that the architecture makes it much better for torrenting. Is it worth looking into and learning about or is it just slow bad internet?
  
  But now i2p it is being developed, mostly, by Russians. And you hate them. How are you going to use it?
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  How is it not decentralized?
  
  Traffic is flowing through computers of volunteers, that part is indeed decentralized, but your client needs to find them, and that happens through a centralized service, through a "directory authory" if I'm not mistaken
- Lokinet is a modern alternative to both
  
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  It worries me that Lokinet depends on Blockchain and cryptocurrency technology
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Tor is the best but it is dated
Run your own entry node anonymously
try I2P
It is sponsored by american intelligence agencies. What decentralization?
It is not new.
I, umm, this is good news. For project doing their job at keeping us safe.
Just the simple fact that Tor was started with a bunch of US intelligence money is cause for concern.
- You don't trust the US Government? Good. But the beauty of open-source projects like Tor, Signal, 7Zip, etc is that you don't need to trust them.
- The only thing scarier than the fact that the government may be listening in is the fact that any entity can listen in.
- Keep in mine not everyone uses TOR to evade the three letter agencies. I'm a TOR relay operator and the main reason I'm running it is to give people in oppressive regimes a better chance at exchanging free information. To these people getting spied on by western intelligence agencies is probably the lesser evil compared to their own tinpot dictatorship governments.
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