#30794: Create lightweight censorship analyser for users -------------------------------------------------+------------------------- Reporter: phw | Owner: phw Type: project | Status: assigned Priority: Medium | Milestone: Component: Circumvention/Censorship | Version: analysis | Severity: Normal | Keywords: tbb-bridges Actual Points: | Parent ID: Points: 5 | Reviewer: Sponsor: Sponsor28-can | -------------------------------------------------+------------------------- Users occasionally show up on #tor and wonder why they are unable to connect to the network. We sometimes suspect censorship but it's often difficult to confirm this hypothesis. It would be useful to have a lightweight censorship analysis tool for users to run. Think of it as a small, specialised OONI: It should be a self-contained executable that tests if the user's computer can do the following:
* Connect to the TCP port of our directory authorities. * Connect to the TCP port of a handful of relays. * Connect to the TCP port of our default bridges. * Resolve critical domains (e.g., bridges.tp.o) correctly. * Fetch the index page of critical websites (e.g., bridges.tp.o) over HTTPS. * Establish a TLS connection with a bridge authority and a relay. * ... The output of the tool can be a simple text file that the user can then email to us, or paste in a chat window. We originally had this idea several years ago and [https://censorbib.nymity.ch/#Winter2013a documented it in a research paper] but nobody every followed up. Such a tool could also be useful as part of an anti-censorship rapid response process. If this sounds like a good idea, then I suggest that we build the tool in Go because 1) we have several talented Go hackers, 2) Go binaries are self-contained, and 3) [https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/WindowsCrossCompiling since Go 1.5], cross-compiling for Windows seems relatively simple. -- Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/30794> Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/> The Tor Project: anonymity online
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