tor-webwml.git

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en/torusers.wml     4) #include "head.wmi" TITLE="Who uses Tor?" CHARSET="UTF-8"

en/whousestor.wml   5) 

en/torusers.wml     6) # Note to translators: this file is still under construction, and
en/torusers.wml     7) # will probably change a whole lot before we link to it. So it's
en/torusers.wml     8) # probably best to not translate it yet.
en/torusers.wml     9) 

en/whousestor.wml  10) <div class="main-column">
en/whousestor.wml  11) <h1>Who uses Tor?</h1>

en/torusers.wml    12) <p>If you have a success story with Tor, especially one we
en/torusers.wml    13) can link to, please <a href="<page contact>">send us</a> a note!</p>
en/torusers.wml    14) <p>Tor provides anonymity: when it succeeds, nobody notices.  This is

en/whousestor.wml  15) great for users, but not so good for us, since publishing success
en/whousestor.wml  16) stories about how people or organizations are staying anonymous could be

en/torusers.wml    17) counterproductive.  As an example, we talked to an FBI officer who explained that he uses Tor every day for his
en/torusers.wml    18) work &mdash; but he quickly followed up with a request not to provide details or mention his name.</p>

en/torusers.wml    19) <p> Like any technology, from pencils to cellphones, anonymity can be used for both good and evil.  You have probably seen some of the vigorous debate

en/torusers.wml    20) (<a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2006/01/70000">pro</a>,
en/torusers.wml    21) <a href="http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_4.html#kelly">con</a>,

en/torusers.wml    22) and <a href="http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/anon.html">academic</a>)

en/torusers.wml    23) 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 has a good overview</a> of how anonymity was crucial to the founding of the United States and has been recognized by US courts as a fundamental and important right. In fact, governments mandate anonymity in many cases themselves:
en/torusers.wml    24) <a href="https://www.crimeline.co.za/default.asp">police tip lines</a>,
en/torusers.wml    25) <a href="http://www.texasbar.com/Content/ContentGroups/Public_Information1/Legal_Resources_Consumer_Information/Family_Law1/Adoption_Options.htm#sect2">adoption services</a>,
en/torusers.wml    26) <a href="http://writ.news.findlaw.com/aronson/20020827.html">police officer identities</a>,

en/torusers.wml    27) 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
en/torusers.wml    28) are plenty of other places where this information can be found. We do have a <a href="page faq-abuse">Tor abuse</a> page describing some of
en/torusers.wml    29) 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
en/torusers.wml    30) 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
en/torusers.wml    31) <a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/12/computer_crime_1.html">Four Horsemen of the Information Apocalypse</a>,

en/torusers.wml    32) you have better options than Tor. While not dismissing the potential abuses of Tor, here are just a few of the many important ways anonymity is used today:</p>

en/whousestor.wml  33) 

en/torusers.wml    34) <h2>Everyday, ordinary Internet surfers use Tor</h2>

en/whousestor.wml  35) <ul>

en/torusers.wml    36) <li><strong>They protect their privacy from unscrupulous marketers and identity thieves.</strong>
en/torusers.wml    37) Internet Service Providers (ISPs) <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/29449-compete-ceo-isps-sell-clickstreams-for-5-a-month">

en/torusers.wml    38) sell your Internet browsing records</a> to marketers or anyone else willing to pay for it. They typically say that 

en/torusers.wml    39) they anonymize it by not providing your username or personally identifiable information, but

en/torusers.wml    40) <a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2006/08/71579?currentPage=all">this is a farce</a>.

en/torusers.wml    41) A full record of every site you visit, the text of every search you perform, and potentially 

en/torusers.wml    42) 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.

en/torusers.wml    43) </li>

en/torusers.wml    44) <li><strong> They protect their communications from irresponsible corporations.</strong>
en/torusers.wml    45) All over the net, Tor is being recommended to people newly concerned about their privacy in the face of increasing breaches and betrayals of

en/torusers.wml    46) private data. From <a href="http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11048">lost backup tapes</a>, to

en/torusers.wml    47) <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>,
en/torusers.wml    48) your data is often not well protected by those you are supposed to trust to keep it safe.
en/torusers.wml    49) </li>

en/torusers.wml    50) <li><strong>They protect their children online.</strong>

en/torusers.wml    51) You've told your kids they shouldn't share personally identifying information online, but they may be sharing their location simply

en/torusers.wml    52) 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.

en/torusers.wml    53) In the United States the government is pushing to make this mapping increasingly precise.

en/torusers.wml    54) </li>

en/torusers.wml    55) <li><strong>They research sensitive topics.</strong>

en/torusers.wml    56) There's a wealth of information available online. But perhaps in your country, access to information on AIDS, birth control,

en/torusers.wml    57) <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/03/tech/main531567.shtml">Tibetan culture</a>,

en/torusers.wml    58) or world religions is behind a national firewall.  Or perhaps you are worried that if you research a particular set of
en/torusers.wml    59) symptoms, at some later date an insurance company might buy the logs of the websites you visited and establish that

en/whousestor.wml  60) you had suspicions of a pre-existing condition.

en/torusers.wml    61) </li>

en/whousestor.wml  62) </ul>
en/whousestor.wml  63) 

en/torusers.wml    64) <h2>Militaries use Tor</h2>

en/whousestor.wml  65) <ul>

en/torusers.wml    66) <li><strong>Field agents:</strong>

en/torusers.wml    67) Tor was originally designed, implemented, and deployed as a third-generation onion routing project of the Naval Research
en/torusers.wml    68) Laboratory, and was originally developed by and for the U.S. Navy for the primary purpose of protecting government communications.

en/torusers.wml    69) </li>

en/torusers.wml    70) <li><strong>Hidden services:</strong>

en/torusers.wml    71) When the Internet was designed by DARPA, its primary purpose was to
en/torusers.wml    72) be able to facilitate distributed, robust communications in case of
en/torusers.wml    73) local strikes.  However, some functions must be centralized, such as
en/torusers.wml    74) command and control sites.  It's the nature of the Internet protocols to
en/torusers.wml    75) reveal the geographic location of any server that is reachable online.
en/torusers.wml    76) Tor's hidden services capacity allows military command and
en/torusers.wml    77) control to be physically secure from discovery and takedown.
en/torusers.wml    78) </li>

en/torusers.wml    79) <li><strong>Intelligence gathering:</strong>

en/torusers.wml    80) Military personnel need to use electronic resources run and monitored
en/torusers.wml    81) by insurgents. Obviously, they do not want the server logs on an insurgent
en/torusers.wml    82) website to show a military address, revealing their surveillance.
en/torusers.wml    83) </li>
en/torusers.wml    84) </ul>

en/whousestor.wml  85) 

en/torusers.wml    86) <h2>Journalists and their audience use Tor</h2>
en/torusers.wml    87) <ul>

en/torusers.wml    88) <li><strong><a href="http://www.rsf.org/">Reporters without Borders</a></strong>
en/torusers.wml    89) tracks internet prisoners of conscience and jailed or harmed journalists all over the world. They advise
en/torusers.wml    90) journalists, sources, bloggers, and dissidents to use Tor to ensure their privacy and safety.

en/torusers.wml    91) </li>

en/torusers.wml    92) <li><strong>The US <a href="http://www.ibb.gov/">International Broadcasting Bureau</a></strong> 

en/torusers.wml    93) (Voice of America/Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Asia) supports Tor development to help Internet users in countries without
en/torusers.wml    94) safe access to free media.  Tor preserves the ability of persons behind national firewalls or under
en/torusers.wml    95) the surveillance of repressive regimes to obtain a global perspective on controversial topics including democracy,

en/torusers.wml    96) economics and religion.
en/torusers.wml    97) </li>

en/torusers.wml    98) <li>Although we often think of foreign journalists working in far off lands,

en/torusers.wml    99) <strong>citizen journalists in China and other <a href="http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=554">Internet black holes</a>
en/torusers.wml   100) use Tor to write about local events</strong> and to encourage social change and political reform, more secure that there will not be a knock

en/torusers.wml   101) on the door at midnight.
en/torusers.wml   102) </li>
en/torusers.wml   103) </ul>

en/whousestor.wml 104) 

en/torusers.wml   105) <h2>Law enforcement officers use Tor</h2>
en/torusers.wml   106) <ul>

en/torusers.wml   107) <li><strong>Online surveillance:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   108) Tor allows officials to surf questionable web sites and services
en/torusers.wml   109) without leaving tell-tale tracks.  If the system administrator of an
en/torusers.wml   110) illegal gambling site, for example, were to see multiple connections from
en/torusers.wml   111) governmental or law enforcement computers in usage logs, investigations
en/torusers.wml   112) would be hampered.

en/torusers.wml   113) </li>

en/torusers.wml   114) <li><strong>Sting operations:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   115) Similarly, anonymity allows law officers to engage in online
en/torusers.wml   116) “undercover ” operations.  Regardless of how good an
en/torusers.wml   117) undercover officer's “street cred” may be, if his or her
en/torusers.wml   118) email headers include nypd.nyc.ny.state.us, his or her cover is blown.
en/torusers.wml   119) </li>

en/torusers.wml   120) <li><strong>Truly anonymous tip lines:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   121) While online anonymous tip lines are popular, without anonymity
en/torusers.wml   122) software, they are far less useful.  Sophisticated sources understand that
en/torusers.wml   123) although a name or email address is not attached to information, server
en/torusers.wml   124) logs can identify them very quickly.  As a result, tip line web sites that
en/torusers.wml   125) do not encourage anonymity are limiting the sources of their tips.
en/torusers.wml   126) </li>

en/whousestor.wml 127) </ul>
en/whousestor.wml 128) 

en/torusers.wml   129) <h2>Activists &amp; whistleblowers use Tor</h2>

en/whousestor.wml 130) <ul>

en/torusers.wml   131) <li><strong>Human rights activists use Tor to anonymously report abuses from

en/torusers.wml   132) danger zones.</strong>  Internationally, labor rights workers use Tor and other
en/torusers.wml   133) forms of online and offline anonymity to organize workers in accordance
en/torusers.wml   134) with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even though they are within
en/torusers.wml   135) the law, it does not mean they are safe. Tor provides the ability to
en/torusers.wml   136) avoid persecution while still raising a voice.
en/torusers.wml   137) </li>

en/torusers.wml   138) <li>When groups such as the <strong>Friends Service Committee and environmental

en/torusers.wml   139) groups are increasingly <a href="http://www.afsc.org/news/2005/government-spying.htm">falling under surveillance</a>
en/torusers.wml   140) in the United States</strong> under laws meant to protect against terrorism, many peaceful agents of

en/torusers.wml   141) change rely on Tor for basic privacy during legitimate activities.
en/torusers.wml   142) </li>

en/torusers.wml   143) <li><strong><a href="http://hrw.org/doc/?t=internet">Human Rights Watch</a></strong>

en/torusers.wml   144) recommends Tor in their report, “

en/torusers.wml   145) <a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/">Race to the Bottom: Corporate
en/torusers.wml   146) Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship</a>.&rdquo; The study

en/whousestor.wml 147) co-author interviewed Roger Dingledine, Tor project leader,

en/whousestor.wml 148) on Tor use.  They cover Tor in the section on how to breach the <a
en/whousestor.wml 149) href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/3.htm#_Toc142395820">&ldquo;Great

en/torusers.wml   150) Firewall of China,&rdquo;</a> and recommend that human rights workers throughout

en/torusers.wml   151) the globe use Tor for “secure browsing and communications.”
en/torusers.wml   152) </li>

en/torusers.wml   153) <li> Tor has consulted with and volunteered help to <strong>Amnesty International's

en/torusers.wml   154) recent <a href="http://irrepressible.info/">corporate responsibility campaign</a></strong>.
en/torusers.wml   155) See also their <a href="http://irrepressible.info/static/pdf/FOE-in-china-2006-lores.pdf">full

en/torusers.wml   156) report</a> on China Internet issues.
en/torusers.wml   157) </li>

en/torusers.wml   158) <li><a href="http://www.globalvoicesonline.org">Global Voices</a>

en/torusers.wml   159) can't stop recommending Tor, especially for <strong>anonynomous blogging</strong>,

en/torusers.wml   160) throughout their <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.globalvoicesonline.org+tor">

en/torusers.wml   161) web site.</a>
en/torusers.wml   162) </li>

en/torusers.wml   163) <li>In the US, the Supreme Court recently stripped legal protections from

en/torusers.wml   164) government whistleblowers.  But whistleblowers working for governmental
en/torusers.wml   165) transparency or corporate accountability can use Tor to seek justice
en/torusers.wml   166) without personal repercussions.
en/torusers.wml   167) </li>

en/torusers.wml   168) <li>A contact of ours who works with a public health nonprofit in

en/torusers.wml   169) Africa reports that his nonprofit <strong>must budget 10% to cover various sorts of corruption</strong>,
en/torusers.wml   170) mostly bribes and such.  When that percentage rises steeply, not only can they not afford the money, but they can

en/whousestor.wml 171) not afford to complain — this is the point at which open objection can

en/torusers.wml   172) become dangerous.  So his nonprofit has been working to

en/torusers.wml   173) <strong>use Tor to safely whistleblow on governmental corruption</strong> in order to continue their work.

en/torusers.wml   174) </li>

en/torusers.wml   175) <li>At a recent conference, a Tor staffer ran into a woman who came from

en/torusers.wml   176) a “company town” in the eastern United States. She was attempting to blog anonymously to rally
en/torusers.wml   177) local residents to <strong>urge reform on the company</strong> that dominated the town's

en/whousestor.wml 178) economic and governmental affairs, fully cognizant that the kind of

en/torusers.wml   179) organizing she was doing <strong>could lead to harm or &ldquo;fatal
en/torusers.wml   180) accidents.&rdquo;</strong>
en/torusers.wml   181) </li>

en/torusers.wml   182) <li>In east Asia, some labor organizers use anonymity to <strong>reveal information

en/torusers.wml   183) regarding sweatshops</strong> that produce goods for western countries and to
en/torusers.wml   184) organize local labor.
en/torusers.wml   185) </li>

en/whousestor.wml 186) </ul>
en/whousestor.wml 187) 
en/whousestor.wml 188) 

en/torusers.wml   189) <h2>Both high and low profile people use Tor</h2>
en/torusers.wml   190) <ul>

en/torusers.wml   191) <li>Does being in the public spotlight shut you off from having a private

en/whousestor.wml 192) life, forever, online?  A rural lawyer in a small New England state keeps
en/whousestor.wml 193) an anonymous blog because, with the diverse clientele at his prestigious

en/torusers.wml   194) law firm, <strong>his political beliefs are bound to offend someone</strong>.  Yet, he

en/whousestor.wml 195) doesn't want to remain silent on issues he cares about.  Tor helps him
en/whousestor.wml 196) feel secure that he can express his opinion without consequences to his

en/torusers.wml   197) public role.
en/torusers.wml   198) </li>
en/torusers.wml   199) <li>People living in poverty often don't participate fully in civil society

en/whousestor.wml 200) -- not out of ignorance or apathy, but out of fear.  If something you
en/whousestor.wml 201) write were to get back to your boss, would you lose your job?  If your
en/whousestor.wml 202) social worker read about your opinion of the system, would she treat

en/torusers.wml   203) you differently?  Anonymity gives a voice to the voiceless.

en/torusers.wml   204) To support this, <strong>Tor currently has an open Americorps/VISTA position</strong> pending.  This

en/whousestor.wml 205) government grant will cover a full time stipend for a volunteer to create

en/torusers.wml   206) curricula to <strong>show low-income populations how to use anonymity online for
en/torusers.wml   207) safer civic engagement</strong>.  Although it's often said that the poor do not use

en/whousestor.wml 208) online access for civic engagment, failing to act in their self-interests,
en/whousestor.wml 209) it is our hypothesis (based on personal conversations and anecdotal
en/whousestor.wml 210) information) that it is precisely the “permanent record ”
en/whousestor.wml 211) left online that keeps many of the poor from speaking out on the Internet.

en/torusers.wml   212) We hope to show people how to engage more safely online, and then at

en/whousestor.wml 213) the end of the year, evaluate how online and offline civic engagement has

en/torusers.wml   214) changed, and how the population sees this continuing into the future.
en/torusers.wml   215) </li>

en/whousestor.wml 216) </ul>
en/whousestor.wml 217) 

en/whousestor.wml 218) <h2>Business executives use Tor</h2>
en/whousestor.wml 219) <ul>

en/torusers.wml   220) <li><strong>Security breach information clearinghouses:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   221) Say a financial institution participates in a security clearinghouse

en/whousestor.wml 222) of information on Internet attacks.  Such a repository requires members
en/whousestor.wml 223) to report breaches to a central group, who correlates attacks to detect
en/whousestor.wml 224) coordinated patterns and send out alerts.  But if a specific bank in
en/whousestor.wml 225) St. Louis is breached, they don't want an attacker watching the incoming
en/whousestor.wml 226) traffic to such a repository to be able to track where information is
en/whousestor.wml 227) coming from.  Even though every packet were encrypted, the Internet
en/whousestor.wml 228) address would betray the location of a compromised system.  Tor allows

en/torusers.wml   229) such repositories of sensitive information to resist compromises.
en/torusers.wml   230) </li>

en/torusers.wml   231) <li><strong>Seeing your competition as your market does:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   232) If you try to check out a competitor's pricing, you may find no

en/whousestor.wml 233) information or misleading information on their web site.  This is because
en/whousestor.wml 234) their web server may be keyed to detect connections from competitors,
en/whousestor.wml 235) and block or spread disinformation to your staff.  Tor allows a business

en/torusers.wml   236) to view their sector as the general public would view it.
en/torusers.wml   237) </li>

en/torusers.wml   238) <li><strong>Keeping strategies confidential:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   239) An investment bank, for example, might not want industry snoopers to be

en/whousestor.wml 240) able to track what web sites their analysts are watching.  The strategic
en/whousestor.wml 241) importance of traffic patterns, and the vulnerability of the surveillance
en/whousestor.wml 242) of such data, is starting to be more widely recognized in several areas

en/torusers.wml   243) of the business world.
en/torusers.wml   244) </li>

en/torusers.wml   245) <li><strong>Accountability:</strong>

en/torusers.wml   246) In an age when irresponsible and unreported corporate activity has

en/whousestor.wml 247) undermined multi-billion dollar businesses, an executive exercising true
en/whousestor.wml 248) stewardship wants the whole staff to feel free to disclose internal
en/whousestor.wml 249) malfeasance.  Tor facilitates internal accountability before it turns

en/torusers.wml   250) into whistleblowing.
en/torusers.wml   251) </li>
en/torusers.wml   252) </ul>
en/torusers.wml   253) 
en/torusers.wml   254) <h2>Bloggers use Tor</h2>
en/torusers.wml   255) <ul>

en/torusers.wml   256) <li>Every day we hear about bloggers who are

en/torusers.wml   257) <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB112541909221726743-Kl4kLxv0wSbjqrkXg_DieY3c8lg_20050930.html">sued</a> or
en/torusers.wml   258) <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2005-06-14-worker-blogs-usat_x.htm">fired</a>
en/torusers.wml   259) for saying perfectly legal things online, in their blog.  In addition to following

en/torusers.wml   260) the advice in the <a href="http://w2.eff.org/bloggers/lg/">EFF Legal Guide for Bloggers</a>
en/torusers.wml   261) and Reporters Without Borders' <a href="http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542">Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents</a>,

en/torusers.wml   262) we recommend using Tor.
en/torusers.wml   263) </li>

en/whousestor.wml 264) </ul>

en/torusers.wml   265) </div><!-- #main -->