[tor-relays] A few questions about my setting up my first Tor relay.

[Robert Smith]

Judging by the level of your 
computer skills implied by the emails, those involved in 
Tor have better things to do than help a guy like me.  I think it is 
important to the entire world that the internet links us together, and 
Tor may be the most crucial part of that.

I have 3 machines as possible candidates for a Tor relay: 


A)  A decent PC (around 6 years old) with Vista installed.  It's been 
unused for 2 years.  I am willing to do a clean re-install of Vista or 
even Linux (with help) to run it as a Tor relay, night and day.

B)  A MacBook Pro (4gb ram, Intel, Snow Leopard).  Again, I am willing to 
wipe it, and do a clean install of the OS and use it for a Tor relay, 
night and day.

C)  My personal laptop an Asus G74S (12gb ram, i7 quad core 2.2ghz, Win7 Home Premium 64bit), which I "sleep" most nights.


Modem:  DSL from "Telus" (in Victoria, BC, Canada) with 4 ports (I use 1 cable port to my personal computer, 1 wireless port for my iPad or Android cell phone).

Questions:
1)  If I run a Tor relay with that modem, are there any security risks to the other devices?  I am no technical guru.

2)  If I run a Tor relay on either (or both the Vista PC and MacBook) of 
the computers mentioned above, will it be mostly a "set it and forget 
it" maintenance?  I cannot devote much time (and definitely don't have 
much expertise).

3)  Will I compromise the anonimity of Tor users due to my lack of technical skills while running a Tor relay?  I don't want to do more damage than good.

4)  Can I throttle down the bandwidth on my Tor relay(s) when I need it for my own personal machine?  I don't want to disrupt the Tor net.

5)  Can you suggest the best way to use my machine(s) to make a reliable, 
maintenance free and secure Tor relay, requiring the least amount of 
time?  I am guessing it's the MacBook cabled to the DSL, running only 
Tor relay software, and running only a normal relay.


6)  At this point is it worth my while, to attempt a Tor bridge or exit 
relay or am I even capable of doing it properly?  I have little 
experience or expertise in networking and not much time.
Thanks for spending your valuable time reading my questions.  I hope to make it pay off, in a long term Tor relay.

Rob Smith
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