01-01-2016, 04:14 PM
(12-30-2015, 06:44 PM)comingdown Wrote: Before I start, let me first say that I am not advocating or trying to discuss the use of TOR for dark onion sites or anything illegal. This is from a perspective of IP/browsing anonymizing
My Question is what is the communities perspective/opinions regarding using TOR or using VPN to anonymize browsing on the internet and hiding IP addresses? I know you have to trust your VPN and that TOR can have corrupt nodes in which people are doing man-in-the-middle attacks etc to obtain info/logins etc but trying to find out what pros/cons of each and what each person's preference is along with any additional security steps to minimize digital footprint
I am sure there are more technical people on this site with great knowledge on cybersecurity. I am trying to generate some thoughts and ideas for the community and myself to keep their browsing habits safe.
Especially after the CISA act was just passed, which was bullshit 2k paper but in the middle of a budget bill that had to pass asap, with only a short notice for reps to read and understand it, but it is basically a second patriot act and allows agencies to get info shared from other agencies and info from ALL US companies etc. circumvent privacy laws etc. very shady.
So what are your thoughts on what is best to use to anonymize IP and web browsing from your ISP and others etc? What weaknesses does each have and what benefits does each have? and best practices for leaving the least amount of cyber-footprint
Hopefully some of our talented IT and knowledgeable members will see this and contribute. I appreciate everyone's input, as I am only looking to make the community safer for us. Thank you friends!
There is potentially quite a long list of pros and cons for TOR or VPN. However, it doesn't have to be either/or. Some people use a VPN and then connect to TOR.
With TOR you potentially have compromised exit nodes. VPNs are only safe if you trust them - that might mean going offshore, paying by bitcoin, and opting for one who doesn't log usage. These are all major concerns to P2P file sharers (or pirates, depending on your viewpoint). Torrentfreak did quite a good run down of which services actually take privacy seriously - assuming you trust the information provided.
hxxps://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/
BTW There is some discussion about this over in another thread: hxxp://www.ioplist.org/showthread.php?tid=923&page=6
[replace xx with tt in both URLs]