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Tor: Good or Bad? Safe or Dangerous?

Is Tor Good or Bad Safe or Dangerous?


  • Total voters
    9
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the cookies they set on your computer have nothing to do with your ISP. Remember, I don't get catered ads or spam, vpn on or off.

I'll have to do some more digging as far as that aspect is concerned I just find it irritating as hell.
 
The best way to be secure is not have a facebook which you constantly update, not be a twitter whore, not be anything of the sorts. Which is a tragedy of this generation which is completely unprepared, because nobody prepared them... and you have 12-13 years old on facebook, growing up with the idea that posting your life online is OK, when in fact, it's not... and you know, that's not their fault. It's the fault of their parents who don't know any better..

This phenom I never understood, I use it as an easy way to stay in touch with extended family but posting updates every 15 minutes, I mean c'mon... Don't do twitter...I'm too long-winded...:lol:
 
These buggards got you coming or going...

Well, you know, it's not all bad. It can end up being a time-saver. For instance, I want that if I am interested in X things, that when I want to buy them at a discount, I will be announced, via ad, that said X things are at discount because they know that I've been interested in them but never bought them. So it's not all bad, it can end up being good and a positive for society. But yeah, privacy is dead, as in, it never really existed on the internet.
 
Ah, no. A vpn stands for virtual private network. It basically extends a private network over the public network which is the internet.

TOR allows you to access the deep web, which you can't via VPN.

So basically ,a VPN keeps you safe (your IP untraceable, or so they say)but you can't access the deep web.
I don't trust a lot of VPNs. Ehm, I suggest you don't either because most are crap. You don't know, in truth, if a VPN is working or not. To you, it won't seem any different than using chrome incognito, as the end user. You don't see if it is working or not. So I wouldn't trust them.

Honestly, as a common plebe, like myself, the best thing you can use a VPN for is to change your IP to another country. Like, for australians, use VPN when you log into steam and seem american so you pay american dollars at american rates for games. But your entire life, you'll have to be an american by VPN to access steam or the charade is done for.

A small correction here: Steam actually goes off your billing address, not where you're logged in. I pay American prices here in Germany on Steam without a VPN because I still have my American debit card and bank account.

As for the OP, I think it's mostly a very good thing and in most cases is secure.
 
A small correction here: Steam actually goes off your billing address, not where you're logged in. I pay American prices here in Germany on Steam without a VPN because I still have my American debit card and bank account.

As for the OP, I think it's mostly a very good thing and in most cases is secure.

You are correct, yes, I was being a bit stupid but I had no on-hand example to give so I gave the thing that popped in my head first. Someone gave an example with Hulu or netflix and that is more adequate.

Also, you lucky bastard. But as to TOR, I wrote a lot of comments explaining why and where it is safe and where it isn't. Generally, I encourage people not to use it. the first page has a long comment on the motives why.
 
Ignore my vote - I'm clearly computer illiterate - I thought the poll was about Toronto, the Good, where I live - :doh
 
A small correction here: Steam actually goes off your billing address, not where you're logged in. I pay American prices here in Germany on Steam without a VPN because I still have my American debit card and bank account.

As for the OP, I think it's mostly a very good thing and in most cases is secure.

Hmm...when I was on a business trip in Europe and tried to buy a game on Steam I was shown the higher prices. Turned on the VPN, became an American, and voila: American prices.
 
Hmm...when I was on a business trip in Europe and tried to buy a game on Steam I was shown the higher prices. Turned on the VPN, became an American, and voila: American prices.

Did you actually try to buy anything though? When you get down to actual payment it will charge you based on your card.
 
Tor is not secure. It was designed by the CIA and further adaptations to it by independent developers to make it CIA-proof have failed. It provides relative security in that it shields your identity from the websites you visit, but if you want absolute privacy it's not your best bet.

IMO it's better to connect with VPNs and proxies (with payment, if necessary) which are located in Russia, Central Asia, or South America. The networks in those regions can't be easily accessed by EU/U.S. NSA busy-bodies who want to track every detail of our lives.

The only protocol I'm aware of that can 100% secure information is PGP and key-encryption protocols, but those are more for e-mail and social communications, not web browsing.
 
Did you actually try to buy anything though? When you get down to actual payment it will charge you based on your card.

I don't know. I just assumed that whatever price I was shown was the one I would be charged.
 
Well maybe you're using a better one than I have had experience with. I haven't been in that world of VPNs for 2 years so I may be out of date. But that's how it was for me. And yeah, so you're allowing cookies, ofc that does the trick.

I forgot to mention that vpns aren't just for watching Hulu when abroad. They're increasingly seen as vital security when logging onto public wifi because of man-in-the-middle attacks and the ability of 3rd parties to spy on your activity.

The Risks of Public Hotspots: How Free WiFi Can Harm You | ZoneAlarm Security Blog

I also forgot to ask what you meant by putting a "listening device" on one's computer.
 
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I run a UNIX machine at home that is always logged in to Tor. I do not find any use for it myself, but it's set up to be a relay or exit node.

While I find it to slow down my searching, there are people all over the planet that have censored internet. Billions of them. I just help them in my own small way.
 
Depends on its context in usage to answer. It can be used for good and dangerous things as it can be used for bad and dangerous things. I think once you get into the realm of anonymity possessed by using a TOR browser along with whatever proxies and other making tools available that the outcome will be dangerous by nature. For example, I think what the group Anonymous does is great but is definitely dangerous in many aspects.
 
Depends on its context in usage to answer. It can be used for good and dangerous things as it can be used for bad and dangerous things. I think once you get into the realm of anonymity possessed by using a TOR browser along with whatever proxies and other making tools available that the outcome will be dangerous by nature. For example, I think what the group Anonymous does is great but is definitely dangerous in many aspects.

Well, technically you could say the same thing about the privacy of my own home. I could be using that privacy either for watching Family Guy and eating pizza in my underwear, or I could be using it for making meth. Privacy's a bitch like that.
 
Well, technically you could say the same thing about the privacy of my own home. I could be using that privacy either for watching Family Guy and eating pizza in my underwear, or I could be using it for making meth. Privacy's a bitch like that.

That's very true. But in my eye, if you want to make meth than that's your choice. Similarly, if you want to attack a rogue government through the internet then so be it.
 
That's very true. But in my eye, if you want to make meth than that's your choice. Similarly, if you want to attack a rogue government through the internet then so be it.

The meth inclusion was to show that negative as well as positive (or simply neutral) choices can be made with privacy. The IRS decided that there was no expectation of privacy with electronic communication (e-mail). Oh, how nice of them to decide that for me, but I disagree with their conclusion. Ever since 9/11 we haven't been able to talk about expectations of privacy without them descending into discussions of illicit activity. Do you know why I like privacy? It's not because I'm trying to overthrow the government or plan on buying black market goods, it's because I'm a private kind of dude. /rant
 
The meth inclusion was to show that negative as well as positive (or simply neutral) choices can be made with privacy. The IRS decided that there was no expectation of privacy with electronic communication (e-mail). Oh, how nice of them to decide that for me, but I disagree with their conclusion. Ever since 9/11 we haven't been able to talk about expectations of privacy without them descending into discussions of illicit activity. Do you know why I like privacy? It's not because I'm trying to overthrow the government or plan on buying black market goods, it's because I'm a private kind of dude. /rant

I'm not in disagreement with your argument one bit. I am 100% for privacy rights.
 
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