Re: Exclude nodes from certain countries

[Scott Bennett <bennett@xxxxxxxxxx>]

     On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:54:43 -0400 misc <misc@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>On Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:17:14 -0500 (CDT), Scott Bennett wrote:
>
>>      Please read the tor documentation.  If you think you've already done
>> that, please go back and read it again.  
>
>That brings back the pain of reading it the first time :)
>
>I must admit I gave up after first few pages. I found it was too technical

     Oh, my goodness!  And you've been *using* tor?  That's like walking
across Lake Shore Drive wearing earplugs and blindfolded. :-(  I never even
downloaded the first version I used until I had taken the time to read and
understand most of the documentation at tor.eff.org well enough to convince
myself that I could use it safely and even depend upon it to a satisfactory
degree.

>and overwhelming, even though I'm not a computer novice.
>
>> Once you understand the functions
>> of the directory authorities and the directory mirrors, take a few minutes
>> to browse through the files that tor maintains on your computer.  Note
>> especially the contents of the files named cached-routers and
>> cached-routers.new, and also the status document files in the cached-status/
>> subdirectory.  All should be clear to you after you do those basic things.
>>      Note that this is a user safety issue:  one should *not* use tor
>> without having gained first a minimal understanding of what tor is doing
>> and what it is not doing.  Without that understanding, a user is in grave
>> danger of assuming his/her anonymmity is being maintained when, in fact,
>> it may not be.
>
>Now that you pointed me to specific things to research, it's a bit easier
>and it's a place to start.
>
>Is there some sort of "in-a-nutshell" documentation without excessive
>technicalities that you can recommend?
>
     Sounds like wanting a guide to PGP that doesn't involve the reader
understanding the basics of public-key encryption.  Sigh...
     I'd strongly recommend that you start with the tor overview
document at

	https://tor.eff.org/overview

paying special attention to the cartoon describing how circuits are built,
which should begin to straighten you out on some of the other misconceptions
you've indicated regarding tor.  To learn about the process in greater detail,
continue reading at

	http://tor.eff.org/svn/trunk/doc/spec/path-spec.txt

     To understand how tor clients (and servers) know what choices of servers
are available, you need to read the directory protocol document(s) appropriate
to the version of tor you run.  For 0.1.2.1[67], read

	http://tor.eff.org/svn/trunk/doc/spec/dir-spec-v2.txt

 For 0.2.0.6-alpha, read the above and

	http://tor.eff.org/svn/trunk/doc/spec/dir-spec.txt

And for earlier versions, *UPGRADE* to one of the above.
     To my knowledge, there is no _Tor_for_Dummies_ or _The_Complete
_Idiot's_Guide_to_Tor_ .  (Most of us are grateful for the documentation
efforts that Roger Dingledine et al. have made already.)  It's sophisticated,
complex software to provide services that are quite complicated and tricky
to achieve.  Knowing how to use it safely comes from understanding it
anyway, so you have a choice:

	a) you can continue to live dangerously and obliviously until you
	   get yourself into serious trouble, or

	b) you can stop using tor, or

	c) you can bite the bullet and study.

     Best wishes with whichever path you choose.


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
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