this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2023
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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)

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (2 children)

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

[–] TheBig2023Meltdown 11 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Who actually hosts exit nodes considering the risk of doing so?

[–] pHr34kY 13 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

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.

[–] mypasswordis1234 10 points 11 months ago

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.

[–] InverseParallax 5 points 11 months ago

Not Sure Actually.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

That probably depends on your vps provider (if using vps). Hosting exit node at home is clearly a bad idea.
Check this (mind that this not have to fresh enough): https://community.torproject.org/relay/community-resources/good-bad-isps/

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

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?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)
  • The entry node doesn't know what data is being transmitted (or from where that data is) only who it's being transmitted to.
  • The middle nodes know nothing about the data and just know the previous and next hop.
  • The exit node knows what data is being accessed (if it's not being accessed via Https) but not who is accessing it

So in other words: no, you're not transmitting unencrypted data

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

would an outsider be able to tell that I'm transmitting something illegal to a person accessing tor?

No, because if that was possible, law enforcement would set up quite some of those and catch some bad guys