Silk Road forums

Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: NW Nugz on April 08, 2013, 05:41 am

Title: What's the best way to access Tor and why?
Post by: NW Nugz on April 08, 2013, 05:41 am
I wonder what other people think is the best way to access Tor and why?
(remember not to say too much about your own personal set up)

I like accessing Tor  with "Tails". It keeps evidence off my computer and has handy built in tools like PGP, metadata removal, photo editing, text editing, ...

Full disclosure:
This is a bit of an advertisement for NW Nugz new item for sale :-) 
(USB flash drive with "Tails" installed) (A portable way to access the Tor network)
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/c414053bf7
The listing also tells how to make it yourself rather than buy it.
Title: Re: What's the best way to access Tor and why?
Post by: johndoee on April 08, 2013, 06:30 am
If you are sure you have a secure host OS,

the best way is Whonix (using virtual machines)

You can find lots of information and faq on its homepage

I would add, learn how to use VirtualBox's snapshot feature and use it effectively

Also,

Connecting to a VPN before connecting to Tor (You -> VPN -> Tor) is recommended.

This is valid as long as you trust your VPN provider more than your ISP, choose a non-logging VPN service.

This way, your ISP, your government cannot see what you are doing except your encrypted connection to VPN.

Also, the entry nodes that your PC connects will not see your original IP, instead the VPN's IP. This is nice

For extra use cases, e.g. when you want to connect to a website which blocks access for Tor IPs, you can add an extra VPN to your chain:

you -> VPN 1 -> Tor -> VPN 2

This way, your ISP will only see your VPN connection, Tor entry nodes see VPN 1's IP, Tor exit nodes see VPN 2, VPN 2's admins will see Tor IPs, and the website you are connecting will see just a VPN IP.

If you pay anonymously (bitcoin) or find a free service especially for the second VPN then it is very secure.

Additionally, use Whonix with Portable VirtualBox inside an encrypted disk, for extra safety.