Tor Project - What are your guys experiences with this software?

[gigahertz20]

http://www.torproject.org/torusers.html.en


I'm writing a short paper on this software for one of my college classes, and I wanted to know if any of you had successfully used this software to bypass maybe a company firewall that prevented you from viewing a website? Or maybe one of you traveled to a country like China and used Tor to bypass the "Great Firewall of China" successfully? My friend's apartment complex blocks thepiratebay.org and he uses Tor to access it, so I was wondering if any of you have any other stories about Tor.

I installed it on my Windows XP computer to test it out, and it worked great. The download bundle creates an easy On/Off button called the "Torbutton" in Firefox, that lets you easily turn anonymous browsing on and off. I checked out my IP address after turning it on and off several times and I received exit node IP addresses in all kinds of different countries.


Only disadvantage I have seen so far is it can be kind of slow, but as long as you're not using it for an extended period of time I don't see any big deal. I know the
Human Rights Watch recommends Tor and also recommends that human rights workers throughout the globe use Tor for ?secure browsing and communications? so it must be fairly reliable.


I can see this internet software being abused though especially by people that are banned from forums by their IP address, all they have to do it use Tor to get a new IP address and clear their cookies in their browser, then their back to the forum. Hackers, terrorists and the like could use it as well to do some damage without being traced.

*Edit I also messed around with the XeroBank browser which was previously known as Torpark. When you install it, you just tell it you want to use the free Tor network and it gives you the same anonymity as the Tor download package. The great thing about XeroBank is you can put it on a USB key and bring it any where without installing anything, unlike the Tor download bundle.

 

[mooseracing]

I use Tor, it's nice sometimes but not enough nodes sharing bandwidth is the main issue to me. It is painfully slow alot of times. On the anomyous thing, there are alot of case in Europe of pedo's being busted when using Tor, don't remeber exactly but I think it has something to do with no using a proper exit node.

 

[Treehuggerish]

I use the, damn can't remember the name, a firefox mobile version with Tor added on a flash drive. I use that at school every day since the government have made some really, really retarded rules for internet on schools over here. For instance we can't really find art to do art analysis if the art includes nudity, since nudity is not allowed, stuff like that. It works like a charm for that.

I've also used it whenever my paranoid streak hits me

With regard to the more.. hmm.. non-techy questions... hmmm...

As I see it the internet shouldn't be controlled by anyone, it isnt the internet that makes terrorists, pedophiles or whatever do the things they do, it is simply another tool that they can use, just like they can use hammers, guns or whatever. If "bad-guys" can be used as an argument against TOR then it can be used as an argument against all things flying, driving, flammable, against words, communication etc... At least that is how I see it.

 

[quikah]

I have used it to check prices on websites with GeoTargetting. Really slow and a bit of a pain to get it working, but it served its purpose.

 

[shelaby]

torpark?

that is what i have had to use at school. Its an easy way of getting around firewalls, but it can be really really slow sometimes

Originally posted by: Treehuggerish
I use the, damn can't remember the name, a firefox mobile version with Tor added on a flash drive. I use that at school every day since the government have made some really, really retarded rules for internet on schools over here. For instance we can't really find art to do art analysis if the art includes nudity, since nudity is not allowed, stuff like that. It works like a charm for that.

I've also used it whenever my paranoid streak hits me

With regard to the more.. hmm.. non-techy questions... hmmm...

As I see it the internet shouldn't be controlled by anyone, it isnt the internet that makes terrorists, pedophiles or whatever do the things they do, it is simply another tool that they can use, just like they can use hammers, guns or whatever. If "bad-guys" can be used as an argument against TOR then it can be used as an argument against all things flying, driving, flammable, against words, communication etc... At least that is how I see it.