[tor-talk] Metrics in Iran and other countries

Joe Btfsplk joebtfsplk at gmx.com
Wed Sep 7 17:05:01 UTC 2016


I don't know the complete answers, depending on which question, or if 
they even exist.
Assuming the metric data are being handled correctly & graphs are 
displaying correctly, if we look at a graph for all users from Jan. 2013 
till now, the trend is still the same.  A huge increase - probably right 
after the Edward Snowden revelations & associated media coverage.  Then 
a brief, sharp drop.  After that a fairly consistent, moderate, negative 
slope.

Without knowing anything about the specific data generating the Tor 
usage graphs, they seem to follow expected patterns of human interest in 
big news stories.
A large, sudden increase, then a sharp decline that levels off. Once the 
initial shock of  an event is past, many people lose interest.  Plus, 
media coverage declines - onto the next story.
Going by many forms of current media coverage, some would hardly know 
the US is still engaged in 2 wars.  At lower levels than several years 
ago, but still engaged and spending tons of money.

Plus, a lot of negative publicity and anti Tor propaganda, whether 
accurate or not, probably turns moderately interested users away.
A lot of people are probably surprised and encouraged by the remaining 
increase in users from the pre-Snowden period until now.

# 2:  Depends partly on how small a number are connecting to Tor and 
number of users accessing a site at a given time.  And on the laws and 
government practices in your country.  If you're the only user 
connecting to Tor network via your ISP @ 8:00 PM and there's only one 
connection to site XYZ.com from a Tor exit relay at 8:00 PM, it's a good 
bet it was you.  That assumes an entity w/ the ability and desire is 
actually gathering the data at both ends, and that they care about the 
specific activity.  In that scenario, if you're doing something illegal 
or it's illegal to use Tor *at all* in your country & the government is 
actively monitoring, could be a problem.

If they're only interested in users accessing what they consider 
anti-government, illegal or subversive sites, but you only access 
Disney.com, they may not care.  That's one issue for Tor users in 
certain countries - you can't be positive how many Tor users are 
accessing a site at a specific time.  This is a _very simplified, 
incomplete_ explanation of some concerns about using Tor.

#4  The Tor Project is pretty clear that Tor Browser by itself is 
probably not enough to provide reasonably reliable anonymity. Especially 
against advanced adversaries with large resources, and if you're doing 
something they are keenly interested in.  If users' lives or freedom 
would be jeopardized by using Tor - at all or for a specific purpose, 
they need to study carefully other methods and practices to go along 
with Tor.  Much is discussed on Tor Project help / documentation / FAQ 
pages.  There's not a quick, easy to follow recipe to protect all Tor 
users in all cases, that I know of.


On 9/5/2016 5:32 AM, Andri Effendi wrote:
> Hi all,
> 1. I was wondering why there is such a huge drop in Direct TOR Traffic?
>
> 2. Does a country/government with only a small number of directly
> connecting users pose a threat to the people using it in those countries?
>
> 3. Where is the most reliable source to find out how secure and trusted
> the TOR Network is?
> i.e. whether then network or browser has any known vulnerabilities.
>
> 4. Is TOR safe to use on it's own, do we need to use other tools along
> with it?
>
> Users from Australia directly connecting to the TOR Network appears on
> the steady decline, at least according to the metrics data.
> <https://metrics.torproject.org/userstats-relay-country.html?start=2016-01-01&end=2016-09-05&country=au&events=off>
>
> Does this mean TOR Users in Australia will be under more scrutiny and
> danger?
>
> Here is the metrics on users directly connecting to TOR from Iran.
> Since January it has fluctuated significantly.
> <https://metrics.torproject.org/userstats-relay-country.html?start=2016-01-01&end=2016-09-05&country=ir&events=off>
>
> 5. Can I still recommend TOR for people in Iran, or would that be
> dangerous and irresponsible?
>
> 6. Is there a visual display of the TOR Network as overall? (similar
> visuals to what vidalia use to provide)
>
> Thank you for your replies :)
>
> If you wish to reply to me directly PLEASE ENCRYPT your messages.
>
> Kind Regards,
>
>



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