[tor-talk] How secure is check.torproject.org?

[Moritz Bartl]

On 11/22/2013 05:49 PM, Ed Fletcher wrote:
> On 21/11/2013 5:08 AM, Katya Titov wrote:
> This is something that I have also wondered about.  Why go outside of
> the Tor network to check that you're using Tor?

A hidden service adds extra hops to hide the (location of the) service.
There's some movement towards allowing services within the Tor network
to be just that, not hidden, removing the additional hops. I don't use
hidden services much, but they definitely are less reliable than
"regular" Tor use, and using hidden services adds extra/unnecessary load
to the network.

If I remember correctly the certificate for check.torproject.org is
pinned in TBB, so using a hidden service instead does not add any
security benefits.

-- 
Moritz Bartl
https://www.torservers.net/