The Price Of Anonymity Is That It Will Be Misused
from the so-get-used-to-it dept
This story is a bit weird. Apparently there’s some concern that the EFF’s Tor anonymity tool, designed for “whistle-blowers, political dissidents, researchers, and others concerned about exchanging information without authoritarian backlash,” is also being used by those who want to anonymously file share. That’s the price of anonymity, isn’t it? People will misuse it — and that’s easy to predict. That doesn’t mean anonymity should be stopped, but you have to recognize that’s part of the cost. Any tool that really does provide anonymity will be used for bad purposes, as well as for good, and anyone offering an anonymity tool should be the first to recognize that.
Comments on “The Price Of Anonymity Is That It Will Be Misused”
Tor already getting blacklisted
SORBS and I think Spamhaus are also calling Tor an ‘open proxy’ and listing any servers that are running it.
They’re rationale is that it could be used to spam. blah.
FUD
The story alludes to their “security regulars broke down Tor”, but does not explain how this was achieved or in what context, the link provided to detail this going to.. a message board?
If it was broken down as claimed, then it’s not really an anonymous network, now is it? But I’m sure we’d all like to know the details of this supposed ‘breaking down’ before we throw Tor to the toilet.
Hm a story with a claim, but no explanation nor demonstration to back up that claim.. smells like more FUD to me.
Re: FUD
By “broken down” it means “explored”. Is that really that confusing? The link leads to a multi-page thread explaining the technical nuances….
It’s not saying it was “destroyed”, “dismantled” or something. I think you’re misreading it.
Re: Re: FUD
Then you might wish to state exactly that, instead of ‘broken down’. Don’t assume readers understand alternative meanings, as they might be led to believe you’ve done something other than simply ‘exploring’ it.
Most readers simply don’t have the time to navigate through 50 pages of technical discussion. We depend on story summaries, and we depend on them to be truthful and to the point.
Re: Re: Re: FUD
If I were to say “I’ve broken down your report and think it needs work”, there wouldn’t be much confusion….
How many people would throw their hands to their mouth and say “You’ve smashed my report to pieces???”
Re: Re: Re:2 FUD
The play on words is noted.
In any event, if you have conclusive proof that Tor is being used for file sharing, then let’s hear it. If it is an anonymous network.. how can you be certain?
Otherwise, the allegation is just smoke and mirrors designed to incite FUD. Either you have evidence to support the claim, or you don’t.
Simple as that.