[tor-relays] A few questions about my setting up my first Tor relay.
Tom van der Woerdt
info at tvdw.eu
Fri Apr 18 07:35:54 UTC 2014
Please note that automatically updating has very little use if you don't
also restart the services you updated.
@Robert: please setup your ContactInfo in the torrc to something you can
be reached on when there's something wrong with the configuration or you
need to update certain software. Also make sure that you sometimes just
restart the machine (or services) so that the updates are picked up.
Once per two months should be fine for that.
Tom
AJ B schreef op 18/04/14 09:30:
> >you need to update your debian once in a while. the update process is
> >fairly easy. you can even automate it if you wish.
>
> Just a quick elaboration on this, you can easily set up a cronjob to
> do this weekly.
>
> If you type in: crontab -e
>
> You can then select nano, which should be the second option as a text
> editor. Then add: 0 5 * * 1 sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get
> upgrade -y
>
> This will run an upgrade once a week at 5 am.
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 18, 2014 at 12:20 AM, Nima Fatemi <nima at riseup.net
> <mailto:nima at riseup.net>> wrote:
>
> Hi Robert,
>
> Replying in-line...
>
> Robert Smith:
> > Judging by the level of your
> > computer skills implied by the emails, those involved in
> > Tor have better things to do than help a guy like me. I think it is
> > important to the entire world that the internet links us
> together, and
> > Tor may be the most crucial part of that.
>
> First of all, thanks for your interest in running a relay.
>
> Of course you are always welcome to ask your questions on here, on
> #tor
> irc channel or via sending an email to help at rt.torproject.org
> <mailto:help at rt.torproject.org> in case
> it's a private question that you don't want the whole world know
> about.
>
> > I have 3 machines as possible candidates for a Tor relay:
> >
> > A) A decent PC (around 6 years old) with Vista installed. It's
> been
> > unused for 2 years. I am willing to do a clean re-install of
> Vista or
> > even Linux (with help) to run it as a Tor relay, night and day.
> >
> > B) A MacBook Pro (4gb ram, Intel, Snow Leopard). Again, I am
> willing to
> > wipe it, and do a clean install of the OS and use it for a Tor
> relay,
> > night and day.
> >
> > C) My personal laptop an Asus G74S (12gb ram, i7 quad core
> 2.2ghz, Win7 Home Premium 64bit), which I "sleep" most nights.
> >
> >
> > Modem: DSL from "Telus" (in Victoria, BC, Canada) with 4 ports
> (I use 1 cable port to my personal computer, 1 wireless port for
> my iPad or Android cell phone).
> >
>
> Well, it's more about how many "public IP"s you have than the
> number of PCs.
>
> First you need to make sure your ISP is okay with receiving incoming
> traffic.
>
> Then, I'd suggest installing a fresh Debian on your PC.
> You can google around to figure out how to install debian. It's fairly
> easy. Here's a short, simple guide with screen-shots:
> http://debian-handbook.info/browse/stable/sect.installation-steps.html
>
> Then all you need to do is following these steps to install latest
> version of Tor on your system:
>
> https://www.torproject.org/docs/debian.html.en#ubuntu
>
> Then open terminal and type:
>
> sudo nano /etc/tor/torrc
>
> and add the following lines to your torrc file, note you can change
> ORPort number to whatever port you want (just make sure that port is
> open in your firewall/router), pick a cool nickname for your relay and
> add your contact info:
>
> RunAsDaemon 1
> ORPort 9001
> Nickname name-of-your-relay-goes-here
> ContactInfo your-contact-info-goes-here
> ExitPolicy reject *:*
>
> Press crtl+o then crtl+x to save the file and exit the editor.
>
> Then you need to restart Tor using this command:
>
> sudo service tor restart
>
> Now your relay should be up and running.
>
> > Questions:
> > 1) If I run a Tor relay with that modem, are there any security
> risks to the other devices? I am no technical guru.
>
> Not if you become a non-exit relay. The "ExitPolicy reject *:*"
> line is
> for that purpose.
>
> > 2) If I run a Tor relay on either (or both the Vista PC and
> MacBook) of
> > the computers mentioned above, will it be mostly a "set it and
> forget
> > it" maintenance? I cannot devote much time (and definitely
> don't have
> > much expertise).
>
> you need to update your debian once in a while. the update process is
> fairly easy. you can even automate it if you wish.
>
> you can either use the interface or open terminal and type:
>
> sudo apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
>
> do this at least once a week please.
>
> > 3) Will I compromise the anonimity of Tor users due to my lack
> of technical skills while running a Tor relay? I don't want to do
> more damage than good.
>
> Nope. only encrypted traffic goes in and out your (non-exit) relay.
>
> > 4) Can I throttle down the bandwidth on my Tor relay(s) when I
> need it for my own personal machine? I don't want to disrupt the
> Tor net.
>
> yes, you can. read your torrc file located at /etc/tor/torrc to figure
> out how. but please have it in mind that the minimum bandwidth for a
> relay is 100KB/s (800kb/s). If you don't have that much bandwidth, you
> may consider running a bridge instead of a relay. bridges consume much
> less bandwidth and help censored users access Tor network.
>
> https://www.torproject.org/projects/obfsproxy-debian-instructions.html.en#instructions
>
> > 5) Can you suggest the best way to use my machine(s) to make a
> reliable,
> > maintenance free and secure Tor relay, requiring the least amount of
> > time? I am guessing it's the MacBook cabled to the DSL, running
> only
> > Tor relay software, and running only a normal relay.
> >
> >
> > 6) At this point is it worth my while, to attempt a Tor bridge
> or exit
> > relay or am I even capable of doing it properly? I have little
> > experience or expertise in networking and not much time.
> > Thanks for spending your valuable time reading my questions. I
> hope to make it pay off, in a long term Tor relay.
> >
>
> I hope I've covered all your questions.
>
> Bests,
> --
> Nima
> 0XC009DB191C92A77B | @nimaaa | mrphs
>
> "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your
> right
> to say it" --Evelyn Beatrice Hall
>
>
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>
>
>
>
> --
> AJ Bahnken
> Co-Founder of Syndicate Pro <http://syndicatepro.com>
>
>
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