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Tor’s shadowy reputation will only end if we all use it | Engadget (www.engadget.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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[–] 4 points 3 years ago (4 children)

What effect would using Tor browser to access a non onion site have over using a different, privacy-focused browser? Honest question. I assumed Tor browser was no different than other browsers in that aspect.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (3 children)

    The difference is that your ISP doesn't know where your packets are headed, and the destination doesn't know where your packets came from. The ISP sees you connect to the entrance node and the destination sees you connect from the exit node, and it's very difficult for anyone to trace the connection back to you (unless they own both the entrance and exit and use traffic coorelation or some other exploit/fingerprint). Regardless, both parties are generally able to tell that you are using TOR if they reference lists of known entrance/exit nodes. Also the anti-fingerprinting measures taken by TB are a bit more strict than other privacy-focused browsers

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Thank you for the detailed answer. I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about using tor browser, considering how privacy-minded the community tends to be.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago)

    It is confusing, Tor is an excellent privacy tool if used properly (don't log in to stuff), but I guess it's still a technical hurdle to most. Probably also from a lack of marketing.

    I think in countries where the government is decidedly more authoritarian it's more known. On my relay right now I see a ton of russian and a smaller amount of German connections.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    No problem! And yeah, it's good to see people talking about it over here. I think it's the best tool for online privacy OOTB (depending on your threat model), and it gets better the more people use it.

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