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Re: [tor-talk] Appearing American



On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 18:33:47 -0400
Greg Norcie <greg@xxxxxxxxxx> allegedly wrote:

> Is the anonymity offered by a modified Tor utilizing only nodes in
> the USA actually more anonymous than a VPN? 

I'd say yes, with caveats. Using a VPN implies divulging some
personal identifier(s) to the VPN provider at the least. You do not
need to do that when you use tor. However, tor usage flags you as
someone who cares a lot about personal privacy and anonymity. That in
itself can draw attention to you. (The old "what have you got to hide?"
chestnut.) Of course VPN usage can imply much the same, but for the
reason I gave above, it looks less likely.


> I thought utilizing a
> subset of nodes was considered a bad idea?

The tor FAQ (at ../docs/faq.html) recommends against limiting entry
and/or exit to specific locations on the grounds that it can "mess up
your anonymity in ways that we don't understand." If the tor builders
themselves profess not to understand the implications, then I'd be
inclined to trust their recommendation against it.

Best

Mick
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 Mick Morgan
 gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B  72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312
 http://baldric.net

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