Tor

[venonacables]

Has anyone surfed the Internet using Tor? "TOR" stands for "the onion router." It is an interesting encryption system. Edward Snowden used Tor when he first contacted The Guardian.

[Mike G]

My friend showed me it at his house, I do not have any use for it though and it is disturbing it is a hotbed for kiddie porn.

[Martin Graves]

Has anyone surfed the Internet using Tor? "TOR" stands for "the onion router." It is an interesting encryption system. Edward Snowden used Tor when he first contacted The Guardian.

Tor does not encrypt; it simply helps the user remain anonymous. What this means is that the user's location is hidden, but their activity is not. In fact, all traffic is visible to the exit node. That means that Tor is safe to use for posting on anonymous imageboards, browsing news websites, looking up embarrassing ailments one may have, etc, but NOT for banking services or any website that handles sensitive data. Of course, you could always check your Facebook or other social media platform while using Tor, but if you are so short-sighted to browse potentially illegal websites while logged into your Twitter account during the same session, you're begging for a visit from the party van.

My friend showed me it at his house, I do not have any use for it though and it is disturbing it is a hotbed for kiddie porn.

While it is true that CP can be accessed with Tor, note that there are many more websites that host CP on the "clearnet" than on the "darknet" (clearnet meaning all websites that can be visited using a normal browser; darknet meaning all websites that can only be visited using Tor). Again, the primary purpose of Tor is to anonymize the user's location, which comes in handy if one is evading government censorship/oppression. The benefits of Tor far outweigh the drawbacks.

Basically, Tor is safe to use when browsing any website that cannot be connected back to the user. In case anyone reading this would like to post here or support the National Alliance, but would rather not have Big Brother know about it, using Tor is a good idea. For example, a user could register here on WB with Tor, and as long as they used Tor every time they'd log in, nobody could identify their location. Just remember that logging in to your account outside of Tor even once compromises your anonymity for that account permanently. Of course, if the user is not using proper OPSEC, uses unique mannerisms while posting, or spells certain words incorrectly, etc, then it makes it easier for adversaries to identify you.

...but that's probably more cautious than you need to be on here.

If anyone has more questions or would like to know more tips on computer security, feel free to drop me a line.

Further reading:
Tor Project Overview
Tor and HTTPS
Staying Anonymous with Tor

[Will Williams]

My friend showed me it at his house, I do not have any use for it though and it is disturbing it is a hotbed for kiddie porn.

If that's so, then it is disturbing and WB members should stay clear of such "hotbeds."

Martin Graves is our resident expert on encryption.

We will only use encryption among those of us who are Alliance members and who may actually have the need for it.

[Will Williams]

Thanks for that, Martin.