I was reading this guide on how to run a snowflake proxy, and I’m considering doing it.
https://snowflake.torproject.org/
I’m currently renting a small VPS for my self-hosted services, and I have some spare capacity. So I was wondering, are there any downsides that I might be overlooking?
My self-hosted services are on a URL with my real name. Could there be any privacy or legal implications for me? (I don’t live under an authoritarian regime)
A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don’t control.
Rules:
Be civil: we’re here to support and learn from one another. Insults won’t be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
No spam posting.
Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it’s not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.
Don’t duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.
Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).
No trolling.
Resources:
Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.
Questions? DM the mods!
Snowflakes are used as entry nodes, not as exit nodes. So if your Vps provider doesn’t forbid running tor services you should not face any downsides
Thanks! I’ll check with my vps provider.
However, this proxy does not seem to be “within” the tor network itself, right? I’m just connecting someone to the first entry node on the system, correct?
Would I be transmitting unencrypted data? In other words, would an outsider be able to tell that I’m transmitting something illegal to a person accessing tor?
So in other words: no, you’re not transmitting unencrypted data
No, because if that was possible, law enforcement would set up quite some of those and catch some bad guys
Who actually hosts exit nodes considering the risk of doing so?
People who accept the fact that they will have to explain to the non-technical police that they are not the ones who did something bad and they’re only the exit-node operators. And, of course, the three-letter agencies.
Not Sure Actually.
I did… Until the police knocked on my door. They said I was lucky because they decided to ask questions first, but they technically could have siezed every computer in my house without warning. I don’t think you’d ever get convicted for something obviously done over tor, but having your stuff taken while they investigate is really inconvenient.
deleted by creator
Thanks! Would you be able to elaborate a bit more?
It was my understanding that this is not the same thing as running an exit node.
I skimmed over the page you linked and it sounds like an ‘exit node’, or more precisely, just a proxy. So all the traffic looks like it’s coming from you.
From OP’s link under the “operate a Snowflake proxy” section
A Snowflake proxy is not a Tor exit node.