Ask HN: Can I trust Tor? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can I trust Tor?

17 pointseof9 comments

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It is literally funded by the federal government. Says so right on the website. If you want to know who pulls the strings, follow the money.

While Tor theoretically can be secure (as long as you don't use it to access the clearnet), there are a few known vulnerabilities which would be trivial for an entity like the US Government to take advantage of. You can be sure there are also plenty of non-public vulnerabilities known to government security contractors and, of course, the NSA.

If you want close to guaranteed security on Tor, use PGP for all communication while connecting to it from a VPN bought with Bitcoin. Never use javascript, java, flash, etc. Use only a live linux CD and a non-standard browser. Just don't be a low hanging fruit.

If PRISM is real, which seems more and more likely with every statement; you're screwed even if you use Tor if to access any of the PRISM-enabled services.

Well, yes. This is like saying you're screwed if you pull a perfect bank heist and then spraypaint on the wall "My name is jrdn and I robbed this bank. My social security number is 123-45-6789 and I live at 123 Elm St."

Tor should still do a just fine job of protecting your anonymity if you don't, you know, shout out who you are.

Of course not.

Of course not? Why?

You cannot trust any electronic system.

> You cannot trust any electronic system.

You are in error sir.

Proofed(eg, OTP) or overwhelmingly messy crypto and mathematics is secure. Animal meatspace is not. Who watches the watchman? Something silicon.

Ironic that you would say silicon, since someone could theoretically put a backdoor in a chip and you would have no way of knowing it's in there.

Silicon is only required because we're lazier doing repeated simplistic operations. Apply alot of pencils, paper, a 1GB sufficiently long one time pad(OTP) 11 miles off the grid without mobile, for the rest of your life, if you think you need it.

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