[tor-project] Help brainstorm Tor myths

[teor]

> On 7 Jul 2017, at 10:42, Roger Dingledine <arma at mit.edu> wrote:
> 
> As part of my upcoming Defcon talk on onion services:
> https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-25/dc-25-speakers.html#Dingledine
> I'm thinking of including a section on Tor mythbusting. That is, there
> are all sorts of Tor misunderstandings and misconceptions floating around,
> and it seems smart to try to get them organized into one place as a start
> to resolving them. (Later steps for resolving them should include better
> and more consistent communication, and actually changing things so Tor
> is safer/stronger/better. One step at a time.)
> 
> Below is an initial list to get us started, along with overly brief
> summaries of the reality underlying the myth. Please contribute more
> entries!
> 
> To contribute best, please frame your entry from the perspective of a
> helpful and concerned Tor user or advocate, rather than as a crackpot
> conspiracy theorist. (Fun as it might be, I have little interest
> in socket-puppet trolling myself on stage, so phrasing myths in a
> constructive manner is the best way to move forward.)
> 
> ...
> - "I heard Tor is broken."
> 
>  (Man, this phrase represents a fundamental misunderstanding of
>   computer security. All the academics go after Tor -- and it's great
>   that they do -- because we're the best thing out there, plus we provide
>   good documentation and help them in analyzing the attacks. You don't
>   hear about breaks in centralized proxy companies because there's
>   nothing interesting about showing flaws in them. Also, security
>   designs adapt and improve, and that's how the field works. I'll try
>   to keep my rant on this one short so it doesn't take over.)

"Isn't using Tor illegal?"

(Depends on your country.)

"I heard that using Tor can cost you your security clearance"

(Some people who research and develop on Tor have security clearances.)

"I heard that most Tor relays are run by a few non-profits"

(More like 20? major orgs and individuals)

"I heard that Tor users are mainly activists and dissidents"

(And regular people and police and military and government)

"I heard that Tor is hard to use"
"I tried Tor, but it never worked"

"I heard that Tor doesn't work on X"
"There are so many Tor apps, which one do I choose?"

T
--
Tim Wilson-Brown (teor)

teor2345 at gmail dot com
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