October 2017 - tor-relays - lists.torproject.org

dnsmasq configuration for an exit relay (Debian)
by jpmvtd261＠laposte.net 09 Oct '17

09 Oct '17

Hello, I am looking for instructions on how to configure dnsmasq on a Debian exit relay (in order to cache DNS queries). It looks like this package could introduce vulnerabilities if not handled properly, because it provides more than just local DNS cache. If I had to install it without any advice, I would do this : 1) Install dnsmaq package with the command "aptitude install dnsmask" . 2) Make sure that the first line of the file /etc/resolv.conf is "nameserver 127.0.0.1" (see https://wiki.debian.org/HowTo/dnsmasq#Local_Caching ). 3) Make sure that the file /etc/dnsmasq.conf contains the line "listen-address=127.0.0.1" (to restrict dnsmasq to the local system). 4) Set the cache size to 10000 by adding or editing this line "cache-size=10000" in the file /etc/dnsmasq.conf (as suggested by Igor Mitrofanov here https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-relays/2017-August/012708.html ). 5) Reboot (is it necessary ?). Does anyone think that this procedure could start a daemon listening on a port of my server ? Or is it safe to do this on my exit relay ? Regards

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Looking for a 34C3 Voucher
by Paul 09 Oct '17

09 Oct '17

Anybody holding a Voucher for 34C3 in Leipzig at the end of December? https://tickets.events.ccc.de/34c3/docs/? While still running several Exits I would be more than happy to meet others there Thanks, Paul

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Re: [tor-relays] Tor exit nodes attacking SSH?
by me＠eugenemolotov.ru 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

On 08/08/2017 01:48 PM, Steven Chamberlain wrote: > Further investigation shows that this happens for any destination IP > address, even where there's no SSH service running: Make a "trap" ssh server (for example on virtualbox machine without any sensitive data) and log in into it through tsocks. After that check from which ip it was logged in. This probably would be ip of the exit node.

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Re: [tor-relays] Feedback wanted: letter to my university's library
by Alison Macrina 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

Hi AJ, Thank you for supporting Tor! I think it's a great idea to try to work with your university library to run a relay. I run the Library Freedom Project which helps libraries understand and use privacy tools (libraryfreedomproject.org) I can give you some advice based on my experience. William Denton: > On 1 October 2017, AJ Jordan wrote: > >> However I've just started college at the University of Rochester, >> which obviously presents a great opportunity to set up a relay on a >> really great network. I'm planning to reach out to the library with >> the following email and would love some feedback: > > Scott Bennett had excellent advice, +1 > Academic libraries can be very experimental in some of their work, but > they are generally risk-averse. (This is good, because they're in the > business of preserving knowledge and cultural artifacts for decades and > centuries.) There is, I'm afraid, close to zero chance they would let a > non-employee student run a server on their network---and running Tor, > even a non-exit relay, makes the chances even lower. > > However, don't give up. I suggest thinking about this as a long-term > project that could get you involved with the library, faculty and campus > IT. There must be people on campus interested in privacy issues, who > know about Tor, and perhaps who have been thinking about running a > relay. These people could be librarians or they could be professors or > grad students in political science, communcations, journalism, computer > science, privacy studies, etc. Find out who they are and approach > them! Perhaps there is a student club interested in the same > issues---if not, you could start one. Students and student groups > advocating for a Tor relay or exit, while demonstrating the importance > of Tor and how it fits in with the library's and university's mission, > would very much help the project be successful. William's advice is good. You definitely need to begin by building a relationship with the library. Don't be discouraged by the amount of work this may take; the payoff might end up being a cultural shift wherein the library, university IT, and CS departments all work on this as a project together! You'll want to approach the library by showing that Tor is an excellent way to uphold the values of librarianship, which are privacy, intellectual freedom, and access. Really, be explicit about it; don't assume that they'll just get why you think it matters. Here's something I wrote about intellectual freedom + Tor Browser a while ago and you can borrow the arguments I've made: https://www.scribd.com/document/272919852/Alison-Macrina-The-Tor-Browser-an… As William said, libraries are mostly risk-averse, so you also need to be ready to answer their questions about legal and technical concerns. LFP has collected some resources to help with all of that here: https://github.com/LibraryFreedom/tor-exit-package/blob/master/resources.md. Before you email the university librarian, I'd start by talking to some of the regular academic librarians about your ideas and gauge their responses. Ask them if they've heard of the Library Freedom Project and feel free to send them any of our resources. See if they think the administration would be receptive to you offering a presentation about Tor to library staff (even better if you can make it open to students and faculty, too, because that can get you more support). You are welcome to adapt these slides for that presentation: https://libraryfreedomproject.org/allabouttor/. Make sure to show them this academic library that has used their Tor relay as a teaching tool for students: https://boingboing.net/2016/03/16/first-ever-tor-node-in-a-canad.html. LFP is fairly well known and respected in libraries and so if it can be beneficial to involve me further, I'm happy to assist! Alison

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About relay size
by IPonU 07 Oct '17

07 Oct '17

Hi Tor list, I'm already running a small exit node (100Mbps bandwidth) and I'm ready to spend more money on it, so have a question for you guys : Is it better if I run other small ones (100Mbps too) or only 1 big exit relay (1 Gbps) ? What's best for the network stability/security ? Thanks a lot IPonU

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anonymaid tor relays: MyFamily configuration
by nusenu 07 Oct '17

07 Oct '17

Hello anonymaid Relay Operator, thanks for running relays. Since you recently added more relays you are now in a position that can potentially harm tor users if you do not set MyFamily (torrc) on all your relays. Please have a look at you MyFamily configuration. https://nusenu.github.io/OrNetStats/endtoend-correlation-groups some more background: https://hackernoon.com/some-tor-relays-you-might-want-to-avoid-5901597ad821 Let us know if you need help with configuring MyFamily. thanks, nusenu -- https://mastodon.social/@nusenu twitter: @nusenu_

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More recent rpm somewhere?
by Patrick DERWAEL 07 Oct '17

07 Oct '17

Hi folks, I'm running a few relays on CentOS 7 As I'm sticking to the ease of rpm distributions, I'm left behind on 0.2.9.10 from EPEL Does anyone know of another rpm repository with a more up to date version ? Thanks! Patrick

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Blocking outbound 22 or no?
by AMuse 05 Oct '17

05 Oct '17

Hi all! I'm getting a number of ISP Abuse complaints around outbound ssh brute-forcing from our exit relay. I'm personally of the opinion that people should run fail2ban (or equiv) and get on with life and I generally ignore the complaints - but wondered, what are other operators doing? Is anyone exit-policy blocking outbound 22 to make the internet a kinder place? Is anyone refusing to on principle?

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Quintex Exit Relays
by John Ricketts 05 Oct '17

05 Oct '17

All, I am performing some operating system upgrades and my exit nodes may be down for a period of time. Just a heads up. John

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Re: [tor-relays] AU Relays and data retention
by Paul Templeton 04 Oct '17

04 Oct '17

Thanx Teor, I did speak to a lawyer and there is no requirement to retain any data if you run a node. It's treated as a VPN. My question that I sent was more about whether a service (non commercial service) was exempt. They don't delineate. Paul

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