this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
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189
TOR asking to run snowflake to help Iranians with internet access (mastodon.social)
submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
30 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Here's the link to the docker docs

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I’m willing to do this but frankly tor intimidates me big time. I don’t know anything about it other than……. Yep that’s it.

I read through the mastodon post, and the project page, and cumulatively I didn’t get any answers that, like, make me feel better.

I assume this is a dark web node sort of thing? Is it safe for me to run the browser extension (idk shit about docker and don’t really want to learn rn), like I’m not putting a target on myself or anything? If yes to question 1, but no to question 2, what does put a target?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

  1. Not a node, but a proxy. Entry node's IPs in Tor are publicly known, so they are easy to censor. With Snowflake you create a proxy (bridge) between a censored user and an entry node, and since your IP is not listed as a node, you help the user bypass the censorship.

  2. In theory, nope. But if the user is doing something bad, a prosecutor could argue you helped them to do so. I don't know about any case like this involving Snowflake, and I am not a lawyer. You could be a target if you were to host material, which is not the case with Snowflake.

In case it helps, I've been running the extension with no trouble that I'm aware of for a few years.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Thanks for this!

Well I spent the time between when I posted and when you replied looking into various things related to tor, legality, and snowflake more specifically, as well as a bit after your reply since you gave me a couple extra things to look into.. (like if there’s a risk of running alongside self-host software like Plex and jellyfin, I didn’t find anything about it so I sort of assume it’s fine..?)..

I didn’t see anything overly bad other than if you yourself use tor, maybe, so took the plunge and.. have had a whole two connections already, so yay, I’m a snowflake!

I feel slightly better about myself, like when I started using BOINC crowdsource computing for research in the early noughties. :)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

ike if there’s a risk of running alongside self-host software like Plex and jellyfin

I don't see why there should be any problem, as they use different ports. Plus I've had no troubles running a Jellyfin and Navidrome instances, plus some other self-hosted services alongisde Snowflake.

I'm really glad to have helped you :). Tor is very mystified, but an awesome tool, and very neat from a technical point of view. In case you haven't seen them, I recommend these 2 amazing videos from Computerphile: How TOR works and TOR Hidden Services

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Thank you for your explanation and info. Will be setting this up later tonight.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Welp.

I watched several videos in addition to those and feel both better and not, I do understand the simplified analogies in the linked stuff, and they are helpful, as were some of the related content.

I kinda sorta understand the technical stuff, sort of. I’m not in a tech field or anything..

I’m going to keep it there regardless of the negative hype because you never know when I’ll need others to do the same. Im not doing anything wrong so it’s whatever.

I’m up to 10 :)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Just don't run a snowflake in countries with heavily liability

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It is a proxy that connects people into Tor. It is designed to be hard to block since many people run snowflakes

Number of snowflakes > number of users

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Or just install the browser add-on.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago

Ofc! But since this is the selfhosting community I figured the Docker thing would be more practical. My laptop with the browser isn't always on.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

And why? So that they then leak information, why everyone climbs where they don't need to, do not interfere with their lives, they themselves will sort out about their Internet, what kind of mania to climb everywhere, they will have to install it themselves if they need it... 🤬

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wtf are you talking about, nobody is climbing anywhere. By running snowflake, you are offering a piece of infrastructure that other people can use, it's not specific to the Iran. They can't install it themselves if the local internet is censored, that's the whole point of this.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Let the Iranians, many of whom live outside their country, do it, after all, if I think so, it is necessary for their people! Once again, do not meddle where you do not need to! THEY'LL FIGURE IT OUT WITHOUT YOU!!

P.S. And yes, I know the technical side, but here the moment is more political.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

offering a not blacklisted IP is not meddling. you are wrong also about that this is "for their people". you sound an awfull lot like a facist.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (4 children)

People still use tor? There are a ton of negative articles about it

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's the best we have. What's your specific problem with it?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

the ton of negative articles. /s

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

I’m not super deep into deep web stuff but I saw several articles online that talked about it being outdated, feds infiltrating it, stuff like that :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Yeah, it's still in use. It's still slow. I think the real take away is that if you're going to do things that are going to get you in true State trouble tor is not a reasonable solution.

If you're not doing something to draw the ire of a government agency, It's reasonably safe. Other than they fact that you are passing tor data, no one in your house or your ISP or Google has any idea what you're actually doing.

I think one of the big problems is that there's not so many tor nodes that a well-funded agency couldn't stand up enough nodes to catch your entire conversation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Name something better

I suspect a lot of the negatively is state funded

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

So you read some articles but don’t have an understanding of what the weaknesses are? That doesn’t seem like a solid foundation to form an opinion on.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Several years ago when I was a little interested in the whole concept I read into the articles but I haven’t looked into these things since. It’s just what I remember from reading them years ago (around 2016) - that vulnerabilities in the tor browser have been exploited by feds, that they’ve managed to infiltrate nodes or some such, things like that. But the articles are probably still up there for anyone who’s genuinely interested in this

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

You are correct, they have infiltrated exit nodes, but it is still one of the most secure privacy tools available. If you are Al Quaeda, don’t use tor. If you are an average person preserving their privacy or subverting censorship, use tor.

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

Sounds more like Nato and the western elite want to get in to Iran's information sphere, than to let Iranians access western internet and be 'free'. Iranians are during external attacks against their nation, protected from the information war - just like borders protect from attacks. I'm not assisting the Western elite. I'm out..

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

I'm sure they are glad they are protected from the free information war and that you, in true solidarity, are decidedly not helping them to gain free information access. 🫡

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

I am always empathetic to my brother man's needs. I think we have a moral obligation to help those in need. However, I am not always sympathetic with their actions. It can be quite the conundrum. Yet still, I have nothing but love in my heart for my brother man, no matter who they are or what they are, despite my disagreeance with their actions.

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

And here you are with your peanut gallery. Nice.