How dangerous is it to be a communist in the US? Should I be very hush hush about it? I won’t ever be open about it but I’m just wondering how secretive I should be. Most of my close friends and certain family members know that I am a “Socialist”. I am pretty young and still need to start my life and I don’t want to ruin my chances of anything.

Some precautions I’ve taken are installing a vpn and only going doing commie stuff with vpn on. I’ve separated personal and political social media accounts and never post political stuff on my personal ones. Should I be doing any other things?

Thank you in advance

  • ☭ 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 ☭@lemmygrad.mlM
    2·
    2 years ago

    No, what I meant by You -> VPN -> Tor is as described in the linked article:

    1. You encrypt packets for Tor traffic
    2. You send the packets to your VPN
    3. Your VPN forwards the packets onto the first Tor node

    Of course, not encrypting the Tor packets locally largely defeats the point of using Tor

    • SaddamHussein24@lemmygrad.ml
      4·
      2 years ago

      I think you dont understand how Tor and VPNs work. All a regular VPN does is create an encrypted network between your computer and the VPN. You send data through that network, VPN decrypts it and send it to a website you are browsing. Regular VPNs arent meant to be used with Tor. Tor does the same thing but with multiple random decentralized servers, which makes it much safer. The Tor encrypted network is between your computer and the Tor exit node. When you are using VPN + TOR, you are using 2 encrypted networks together, one between your computer and the VPN, and another one between the VPN and the Tor exit node. The Tor encryption happens in the VPN, not in your computer, since the VPN is pretending to be your computer and thats how the Tor Network sees it as. What you are saying is setting up a united network between your computer, the VPN and the Tor network, but that is much more complicated and different thing. A regular VPN doesnt work like that and no commercial VPN offers such as a service.

      • ☭ 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 ☭@lemmygrad.mlM
        3·
        2 years ago

        I think I was just unclear. To my understanding, this is the process:

        1. A packet P is encrypted for Tor and incorporated in a packet T, which also contains the address for the first Tor node (unencrypted).
        2. T is encrypted for the VPN and incorporated in a packet V, which also contains the address for the relevant VPN server.
        3. V is sent to the VPN server.
        4. The VPN server decrypts V and can read T, which contains the unencrypted destination (the first Tor node) and the encrypted P (which the VPN server cannot decrypt).
        5. The VPN server sends T to the first Tor node.

        Is this still incorrect?

        • Amicese@lemmy.ml
          1·
          2 years ago

          Not incorrect, but the VPN still has access to the Tor packet, so the security is compromised. The goal of TOR is to provide an anonymous network; running the TOR packet in a VPN just gives away your data, therefore reducing your anonymity.

          I’d read over the Tor site for clarification.

          VPNs aren’t about encryption; VPNs form fake IP addresses that have fake geolocations.

        • SaddamHussein24@lemmygrad.ml
          21·
          2 years ago

          No, thats not how it works. To do that you would need to create a custom VPN server to create a united PC-VPN-TOR encrypted network, which no commercial VPN service offers. Ill try to explain it more simply. Regular commercial VPNs are designed to be used for normal direct connections, not for Tor. The VPN acts as a 1 intermediate, “impersonating” your PC in order to provide you anonimity. Imagine that you want to buy “Maos Little Red Book” in a library or something, but you are afraid that will get you flagged for some CIA watchlist, so you ask me to buy it for you. Im the VPN and you are the PC in this case. The library doesnt know you bought the book, but i do.

          Now lets imagine you instead ask a random guy on the street to do it for you, who then asks another random guy who then asks a third one. That would be Tor, much more anonymous. However, if you do VPN + TOR, meaning I ask the random people instead of you, it defeats the purpose, cuz i still know you bought the book. Thats the problem. Its the VPN that requests Tor encryption, not your PC, because the VPN thinks you are just accessing a website, its not designed to be used with another proxy on top. The VPN is designed to be the only proxy, its not safe combined with other proxies. Do you understand know?

          Edit: Tor is not designed to be configured through an additional proxy. Thus, Tor understands the VPN to be your computer, and sets up the end to end encryption from the VPN. Equally, VPN isnt designed to be used with Tor, the Tor data travels unencrypted (for the TOR protocol, it is encrypted with the VPN protocol) from PC to VPN, and only becomes encrypted from VPN to TOR.

            • SaddamHussein24@lemmygrad.ml
              1·
              2 years ago

              Also your link literally states what im saying, just without getting into technical details.

              “Once the VPN client has connected, the VPN tunnel will be the machine’s default Internet connection, and TBB (Tor Browser Bundle) (or Tor client) will route through it. This can be a fine idea, assuming your VPN/SSH provider’s network is in fact sufficiently safer than your own network.”

            • SaddamHussein24@lemmygrad.ml
              11·
              2 years ago

              Ok, ill explain again, please read carefully. Tor is NOT designed to be used with a VPN, its designed to be used with a normal internet connection. Thus, the encrypted end to end connection is established between the PC and the TOR exit node. Thus, only your PC and the TOR exit node can read what you do. However, when you use a VPN, since the VPN is what is connecting to the TOR entry node, instead of your PC, TOR believes the VPN is your PC (which is the point of a VPN, to hide your real IP), and thus the encrypted end to end connection is established between VPN and TOR exit node. Thus, VPN and TOR exit node can read what you do. While TOR exit node is decentralized and you pretty much use a different one for every connection so its not a real problem, VPN is centralized, meaning it is a problem.

    • SaddamHussein24@lemmygrad.ml
      21·
      2 years ago

      But thats impossible, thats not how Tor and VPNs work. The VPN has to encrypt what you send them, otherwise your ISP can read everything and its pointless. However, the TOR network and the website you are visting cannot decrypt the VPN encription, only the VPN can. Thus, the VPN has to decrypt what you are sending and can read it. Sure, you could have the VPN encrypt the TOR package on top of it, not before it, but no VPN offers that service. Youd have to set up your own server and VPN and besides being a pain in the ass its pointless, since the server has an internet connection and by being your server your ISP would know you are using TOR through the VPN.