Users of hidden net advised to ditch Windows

[dkf]

Legitimate users of the Tor anonymous browsing service are being advised to stop using Windows if they want to keep their identity hidden.

The advisory comes after an attack on Tor that targeted Windows users sought to gather data that could be used to identify people.

In addition, Tor warned, people should turn off a widely used web technology that was exploited in the attack.

It is still not clear who was behind the sophisticated attack.

The code to exploit the bug was fed into the Tor network via servers owned by Freedom Hosting that ran sites accessible only via Tor. In 2011, Freedom Hosting sites on Tor came under attack by the Anonymous hacktivist collective, which claimed they hosted large amounts of images of child sexual abuse.


Tor has been funded by, among others, the Electronic Frontier Foundation digital rights group, Google, Human Rights Watch and the US National Science Foundation.


Tor advised people to stop using Windows as it feared that the action against Freedom Hosting might compromise the identity of other people who put the anonymous browsing service to legitimate uses.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23587620

[Recursion]

1. I'm curious how many people who care enough to use Tor stick with Windows to begin with?

It's good advice, though. Also, if you install Tor, read (and take to heart) the warnings about the potential weaknesses of the protocol.

[whttevrr]

2. Not many... I would think.

Linux in a Virtual Machine might seem appropriate...

[Recursion]

4. I'd avoid that if you're bridging your network interface

TCP ENC and bridging don't play well together.

[cprise]

5. Works fine in Qubes TorVM

http://wiki.qubes-os.org/trac/wiki/UserDoc/TorVM

Explanation of Qubes:
http://wiki.qubes-os.org/trac/wiki

[dkf]

3. True. Even less reason to use a US product though.

That can't be a good thing.