Mar 13, 2022 23:32:00

What are the benefits of opening a website dedicated to the anonymous communication system 'Tor'?

As Russia moves to block information from overseas, it has become a

hot topic that Twitter, the media giant BBC, The New York Times, etc. have set up a website dedicated to the anonymous communication system ' Tor '. Security expert Alec Maffet explains the benefits of opening a Tor-only site for website operators.

Why offer an Onion Address rather than just encourage browsing-over-Tor? – Dropsafe
https://alecmuffett.com/article/16007

Tor is a system that anonymizes the communication path by communicating via multiple nodes, and can be used with web browsers that support Tor connection such as ' Tor Browser ' and ' Brave '. In addition, web browser administrators can set up websites with a domain called '.onion' that can only be accessed with Tor-enabled browsers.

In 2022, as information control by Russia progressed, it became a hot topic that websites such as Twitter, BBC, and The New York Times opened a website dedicated to Tor connection. The following article explains how to actually access Twitter dedicated to Tor connection.

'Tor version of Twitter' that can be tweeted even if it is blocked and censored from Russia has appeared, and when you actually access it, it looks like this --GIGAZINE

Websites with the '.onion' domain can hide information about the publisher of the website. However, in addition to the fact that the information of the operator is widely known on major websites such as Twitter and BBC, it is also possible to anonymously connect to the normal version of Twitter and BBC by using Tor, so bother to use the '.onion' version. It seems that you don't need to have a website for.

According to Mr. Maffet, the main purpose of preparing a '.onion' version of a website is to be able to clearly show the attitude that 'the anonymization of communication routes by Tor is officially supported'. By clearly stating that it is compatible with Tor, the operator can appeal the understanding of anonymous communication.

In addition, users using Tor connections behave differently from normal users, so they may be falsely detected by the website's BOT detection system. Website operators can prevent false positives by Tor users by changing the settings of the BOT detection system on the '.onion' version of the website.

In addition, some Tor users launch malicious attacks on their websites, but by preparing a '.onion' version of the website and separating Tor users, it is possible to respond to the attacks. It may be easier.