Author: phobos
Date: 2010-10-11 00:11:28 +0000 (Mon, 11 Oct 2010)
New Revision: 23573
Modified:
website/trunk/about/en/torusers.wml
Log:
selectively apply a patch from rransom to torusers
Modified: website/trunk/about/en/torusers.wml
===================================================================
--- website/trunk/about/en/torusers.wml 2010-10-11 00:04:37 UTC (rev 23572)
+++ website/trunk/about/en/torusers.wml 2010-10-11 00:11:28 UTC (rev 23573)
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
Tor was originally designed, implemented, and deployed as a
third-generation <a href="http://www.onion-router.net/";>onion routing
project of the Naval Research Laboratory</a>. It was originally
- developed with the U.S. Navy in mind, primarily for the purpose of
+ developed with the U.S. Navy in mind, for the primary purpose of
protecting government communications. Today, it is used every day
for a wide variety of purposes by the military, journalists, law
enforcement officers, activists, and many others. Here are some of
@@ -31,15 +31,15 @@
<hr>
<ul>
<li><strong>They protect their privacy from unscrupulous marketers and
identity thieves.</strong>
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs) <a
href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/29449-compete-ceo-isps-sell-clickstreams-for-5-a-month";>sell
- your Internet browsing records</a> to marketers and anyone else
+ Internet Service Providers (ISPs) <a
href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/29449-compete-ceo-isps-sell-clickstreams-for-5-a-month";>
+ sell your Internet browsing records</a> to marketers or anyone else
willing to pay for it. ISPs typically say that
they anonymize the data by not providing personally identifiable
information, but
<a
href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2006/08/71579?currentPage=all";>this
has proven incorrect</a>. A full record of every site you visit, the text
of every search you perform, and potentially
userid and even password information can still be part of this data. In
addition to your ISP, the websites (<a
href="http://www.google.com/privacy_faq.html";>and search engines</a>) you visit
have their own logs, containing the same or more information.
</li>
- <li><strong>They protect their communications from irresponsible
corporations.</strong>
+ <li><strong> They protect their communications from irresponsible
corporations.</strong>
All over the Internet, Tor is being recommended to people newly concerned
about their privacy in the face of increasing breaches and betrayals of
private data. From <a href="http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11048";>lost
backup tapes</a>, to
<a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/technology/09aol.html?ex=1312776000&en=f6f61949c6da4d38&ei=5090";>giving
away the data to researchers</a>,
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
</li>
<li><strong>They protect their children online.</strong>
You've told your kids they shouldn't share personally identifying
information online, but they may be sharing their location simply
- by not concealing their IP address. Increasingly, IP addresses can
literally be <a href="http://whatismyipaddress.com/";>mapped to a city or even
street location</a>, and can <a href="http://whatsmyip.org/more/";>reveal other
information</a> about how you are connecting to the Internet.
+ by not concealing their IP address. Increasingly, IP addresses can be <a
href="http://whatismyipaddress.com/";>literally mapped to a city or even street
location</a>, and can <a href="http://whatsmyip.org/more/";>reveal other
information</a> about how you are connecting to the Internet.
In the United States, the government is pushing to make this mapping
increasingly precise.
</li>
<li><strong>They research sensitive topics.</strong>
@@ -74,20 +74,20 @@
</li>
<li><strong>Hidden services:</strong>
- When the Internet was designed by DARPA, its primary purpose was to
facilitate distributed, robust communications in case of
- local strikes. However, some functions must be centralized, such as
command and control sites. By their nature, Internet protocols
- reveal the geographic location of any server that is reachable online.
Tor's <a href="<page docs/hidden-services>">hidden service capability</a>
allows military command and
+ When the Internet was designed by DARPA, its primary purpose was to be
able to facilitate distributed, robust communications in case of
+ local strikes. However, some functions must be centralized, such as
command and control sites. It's the nature of the Internet protocols to
+ reveal the geographic location of any server that is reachable online.
Tor's hidden services capacity allows military command and
control to be physically secure from discovery and takedown.
</li>
<li><strong>Intelligence gathering:</strong>
Military personnel need to use electronic resources run and monitored by
insurgents. They do not want the webserver logs on an insurgent website
- to record a military address, thereby revealing that the site is under
surveillance.
+ to record a military address, thereby revealing the surveillance.
</li>
</ul>
<a name="journalist"></a>
<img src="$(IMGROOT)/media.jpg" alt="Journalists and the Media">
- <h2><a class="anchor" href="#journalist">Journalists and their audiences
use Tor</a></h2>
+ <h2><a class="anchor" href="#journalist">Journalists and their audience
use Tor</a></h2>
<hr>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.rsf.org/";>Reporters without
Borders</a></strong>
@@ -96,8 +96,8 @@
</li>
<li><strong>The US <a href="http://www.ibb.gov/";>International
Broadcasting Bureau</a></strong>
(Voice of America/Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Asia) supports Tor
development to help Internet users in countries without
- safe access to free media. Tor preserves the ability of persons behind
national firewalls, or under
- the surveillance of repressive regimes, to obtain a global perspective on
controversial topics including democracy,
+ safe access to free media. Tor preserves the ability of persons behind
national firewalls or under
+ the surveillance of repressive regimes to obtain a global perspective on
controversial topics including democracy,
economics and religion.
</li>
<li><strong>Citizen journalists in China</strong> use Tor to write about
@@ -124,14 +124,14 @@
</li>
<li><strong>Sting operations:</strong>
Similarly, anonymity allows law officers to engage in online
- “undercover” operations. Regardless of how good an
- undercover officer's “street cred” may be, if his
- communications come from IP addresses allocated to the police, his cover
is blown.
+ “undercover ” operations. Regardless of how good an
+ undercover officer's “street cred” may be, if the
+ communications include IP ranges from police addresses, the cover is blown.
</li>
<li><strong>Truly anonymous tip lines:</strong>
While online anonymous tip lines are popular, without anonymity
software, they are far less useful. Sophisticated sources understand that
- although a name or e-mail address is not attached to information, server
+ although a name or email address is not attached to information, server
logs can identify them very quickly. As a result, tip line web sites that
do not encourage anonymity are limiting the sources of their tips.
</li>
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@
<li><strong>Human rights activists use Tor to anonymously report abuses
from
danger zones.</strong> Internationally, labor rights workers use Tor and
other
forms of online and offline anonymity to organize workers in accordance
- with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even though their actions
are within
+ with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even though they are within
the law, it does not mean they are safe. Tor provides the ability to
avoid persecution while still raising a voice.
</li>
@@ -155,16 +155,16 @@
change rely on Tor for basic privacy during legitimate activities.
</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://hrw.org/doc/?t=internet";>Human Rights
Watch</a></strong>
- recommends Tor in their report,
- “<a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/";>Race to the
Bottom: Corporate
+ recommends Tor in their report, “
+ <a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/";>Race to the Bottom:
Corporate
Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship</a>.” The study
co-author interviewed Roger Dingledine, Tor project leader,
- regarding Tor use. They cover Tor in the section on how to breach the <a
+ on Tor use. They cover Tor in the section on how to breach the <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/3.htm#_Toc142395820";>“Great
- Firewall of China”</a>, and recommend that human rights workers
throughout
- the globe use Tor for “secure browsing and communications”.
+ Firewall of China,”</a> and recommend that human rights workers
throughout
+ the globe use Tor for “secure browsing and communications.”
</li>
- <li>Tor has consulted with and volunteered help to <strong>Amnesty
International's
+ <li> Tor has consulted with and volunteered help to <strong>Amnesty
International's
recent <a href="http://irrepressible.info/";>corporate responsibility
campaign</a></strong>.
See also their <a
href="http://irrepressible.info/static/pdf/FOE-in-china-2006-lores.pdf";>full
report</a> on China Internet issues.
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@
<li><a href="http://www.globalvoicesonline.org";>Global Voices</a>
recommends Tor, especially for <strong>anonymous blogging</strong>,
throughout their <a
href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/guide/";>
- web site</a>.
+ web site.</a>
</li>
<li>In the US, the Supreme Court recently stripped legal protections from
government whistleblowers. But whistleblowers working for governmental
@@ -181,8 +181,8 @@
</li>
<li>A contact of ours who works with a public health nonprofit in
Africa reports that his nonprofit <strong>must budget 10% to cover various
sorts of corruption</strong>,
- mostly bribes and such. When that percentage rises steeply, not only are
they unable to afford the money, but they
- cannot afford to complain — this is the point at which open
objection can
+ mostly bribes and such. When that percentage rises steeply, not only can
they not afford the money, but they can
+ not afford to complain — this is the point at which open objection
can
become dangerous. So his nonprofit has been working to
<strong>use Tor to safely whistleblow on government corruption</strong> in
order to continue their work.
</li>
@@ -191,17 +191,17 @@
local residents to <strong>urge reform in the company</strong> that
dominated the town's
economic and government affairs. She is fully cognizant that the kind of
organizing she was doing <strong>could lead to harm or “fatal
- accidents”</strong>.
+ accidents.”</strong>
</li>
<li>In east Asia, some labor organizers use anonymity to <strong>reveal
information
- regarding sweatshops</strong> that produce goods for western countries,
and to
+ regarding sweatshops</strong> that produce goods for western countries and
to
organize local labor.
</li>
<li>
Tor can help activists avoid government or corporate censorship that
hinders organization.
- In one such case,
- <a
href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/07/24/telus-sites050724.html";>a
Canadian ISP blocked access to a union website</a>
- used by its own employees to help organize a strike.
+ In one such case, a
+ <a
href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/07/24/telus-sites050724.html";>Canadian
ISP blocked access to a union website used by their own employees</a>
+ to help organize a strike.
</li>
</ul>
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@
safer civic engagement</strong>. Although it's often said that the poor
do not use
online access for civic engagement, failing to act in their self-interests,
it is our hypothesis (based on personal conversations and anecdotal
- information) that it is precisely the “permanent record”
+ information) that it is precisely the “permanent record ”
left online that keeps many of the poor from speaking out on the Internet.
We hope to show people how to engage more safely online, and then at
the end of the year, evaluate how online and offline civic engagement has
@@ -246,23 +246,23 @@
of information on Internet attacks. Such a repository requires members
to report breaches to a central group, who correlates attacks to detect
coordinated patterns and send out alerts. But if a specific bank in St.
Louis is breached, they don't want an attacker watching the incoming
- traffic to such a repository to where the report is
- sent from. Even if every packet were encrypted, the IP
+ traffic to such a repository to be able to track where information is
+ coming from. Even though every packet were encrypted, the IP
address would betray the location of a compromised system. Tor allows
- such repositories of sensitive information to resist eavesdropping.
+ such repositories of sensitive information to resist compromises.
</li>
<li><strong>Seeing your competition as your market does:</strong>
- If you try to check out your competitor's pricing, you may find no
+ If you try to check out a competitor's pricing, you may find no
information or misleading information on their web site. This is because
their web server may be keyed to detect connections from competitors,
- and block your staff or spread disinformation to them. Tor allows a
business
- to view its sector as the general public would view it.
+ and block or spread disinformation to your staff. Tor allows a business
+ to view their sector as the general public would view it.
</li>
<li><strong>Keeping strategies confidential:</strong>
An investment bank, for example, might not want industry snoopers to be
able to track what web sites their analysts are watching. The strategic
- importance of traffic patterns, and the vulnerability of such data
- to surveillance, is starting to be more widely recognized in several areas
+ importance of traffic patterns, and the vulnerability of the surveillance
+ of such data, is starting to be more widely recognized in several areas
of the business world.
</li>
<li><strong>Accountability:</strong>
@@ -290,11 +290,11 @@
<h2><a class="anchor" href="#itprofessionals">IT Professionals use
Tor</a></h2>
<hr>
<ul>
- <li>To verify IP-address-based firewall rules: A firewall may have some
policies that only allow certain IP addresses or ranges to access a site. Tor
can be used to verify those configurations by using an IP number outside the
company's alloted IP block.</li>
- <li>To bypass their own security systems for sensitive professional
activities: For instance, a company may have a strict policy regarding the
material employees can view on the internet. When a log review reveals a
possible violation, Tor can be used to verify the information without putting
an exception into corporate security systems.</li>
+ <li>To verify IP based firewall rules: A firewall may have some policies
that only allow certain IP addresses or ranges. Tor can be used to verify those
configurations by using an IP number outside of the company's alloted IP
block.</li>
+ <li>To bypass their own security systems for sensitive professional
activities: For instance, a company may have a strict policy regarding the
material employees can view on the internet. A log review reveals a possible
violation. Tor can be used to verify the information without an exception being
put into corporate security systems.</li>
<li>To connect back to deployed services: A network engineer can use Tor
to remotely connect back to services, without the need for an external machine
and user account, as part of operational testing.</li>
- <li>To access Internet resources: Acceptable use policy for IT Staff and
normal employees is usually different. Tor can allow unfettered access to the
Internet while leaving standard security policies in place.</li>
- <li>To work around ISP network outages: Sometimes when an ISP is having
routing or DNS problems, Tor can make Internet resources available, when the
actual ISP is malfunctioning. This can be invaluable is crisis situations.</li>
+ <li>To access internet resources: Acceptable use policy for IT Staff and
normal employees is usually different. Tor can allow unfettered access to the
internet while leaving standard security policies in place.</li>
+ <li>To work around ISP network outages: Sometimes when an ISP is having
routing or DNS problems, Tor can make internet resources available, when the
actual ISP is malfunctioning. This can be invaluable is crisis situations. </li>
</ul>
<p>
@@ -310,15 +310,15 @@
<p> Like any technology, from pencils to cellphones, anonymity can be used
for both good and bad. You have probably seen some of the vigorous
debate (<a
href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2006/01/70000";>pro</a>,
<a href="http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_4.html#kelly";>con</a>, and <a
- href="http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/anon.html";>academic</a>) over
anonymity. The Tor Project is based on the belief that anonymity is not
- just a good idea some of the time — it is a requirement for a free
and functioning society. The EFF maintains <a
href="http://www.eff.org/issues/anonymity";>a good overview of how anonymity was
crucial to the founding of the United States</a>. Anonymity is recognized by
US courts as a fundamental and important right. In fact, governments mandate
anonymity in many cases themselves:
+ href="http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/anon.html";>academic</a>) over
anonymity. The Tor project is based on the belief that anonymity is not
+ just a good idea some of the time — it is a requirement for a free
and functioning society. The <a href="http://www.eff.org/issues/anonymity";>EFF
maintains a good overview</a> of how anonymity was crucial to the founding of
the United States. Anonymity is recognized by US courts as a fundamental and
important right. In fact, governments mandate anonymity in many cases
themselves:
<a href="https://www.crimeline.co.za/default.asp";>police tip lines</a>,
<a
href="http://www.texasbar.com/Content/ContentGroups/Public_Information1/Legal_Resources_Consumer_Information/Family_Law1/Adoption_Options.htm#sect2";>adoption
services</a>,
<a href="http://writ.news.findlaw.com/aronson/20020827.html";>police
officer identities</a>,
and so forth. It would be impossible to rehash the entire anonymity debate
here — it is too large an issue with too many nuances, and there
are plenty of other places where this information can be found. We do have
a <a href="<page docs/faq-abuse>">Tor abuse</a> page describing some of
the possible abuse cases for Tor, but suffice it to say that if you want
to abuse the system, you'll either find it mostly closed for your
- purposes (e.g., the majority of Tor relays do not support SMTP, in order
to prevent anonymous e-mail spamming), or if you're one of the
+ purposes (e.g. the majority of Tor relays do not support SMTP in order to
prevent anonymous email spamming), or if you're one of the
<a
href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/12/computer_crime_1.html";>Four
Horsemen of the Information Apocalypse</a>,
you have better options than Tor. While not dismissing the potential
abuses of Tor,
this page shows a few of the many important ways anonymity is used online
today.</p>
