The Tor browser

[FlatAssembler]

Perhaps.  Some have suggested that encryption and software, such as The Tor Browser, Tails, VeraCrypt, etc., should be outlawed, but, to me, that's like saying that one could outlaw gravity.

If you outlaw Tor , Tails , Veracrypt etc... You must outlaw playing cards because it can be used by ciphers like Solitaire.
What's Solitaire ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitaire_(cipher)
If you began to outlaw playing cards because cryptography is outlawed you must outlaw all things because all things can be used to crypt messages.
For example you can use your brain , one of your hand , pen and paper to write a message using an One-time pad.
Can we seriously consider to outlaw pen and paper ?
What's one-time pad (OTP) also known as Vernam cipher ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-time_pad

I agree, there is little rhyme and reason behind any kind of censorship, yet alone encryption banning. The criminals will use strong encryptions no matter the laws, and all those laws might do is to push people with radical ideas into darker corners of the Internet, where they can't hear the other side. However, the governments still do that, because the media keeps demonizing people who care about their privacy and, for example, use Tor. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to use Tor and not to hide that using bridges, since then it would become more obvious to the government agencies that many people use Tor for something other than criminal activities. Plus, using bridges might be unethical towards people who live under repressive governments and who actually need them. Croatian government isn't (in all probability) spying too much on its citizens and putting people under surveillance just for using Tor, so it's a good thing if more people here show they care about their privacy on-line by using Tor for everyday browsing.

[Jehanne]

If you outlaw Tor , Tails , Veracrypt etc... You must outlaw playing cards because it can be used by ciphers like Solitaire.
What's Solitaire ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitaire_(cipher)
If you began to outlaw playing cards because cryptography is outlawed you must outlaw all things because all things can be used to crypt messages.
For example you can use your brain , one of your hand , pen and paper to write a message using an One-time pad.
Can we seriously consider to outlaw pen and paper ?
What's one-time pad (OTP) also known as Vernam cipher ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-time_pad

I agree, there is little rhyme and reason behind any kind of censorship, yet alone encryption banning. The criminals will use strong encryptions no matter the laws, and all those laws might do is to push people with radical ideas into darker corners of the Internet, where they can't hear the other side. However, the governments still do that, because the media keeps demonizing people who care about their privacy and, for example, use Tor. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to use Tor and not to hide that using bridges, since then it would become more obvious to the government agencies that many people use Tor for something other than criminal activities. Plus, using bridges might be unethical towards people who live under repressive governments and who actually need them. Croatian government isn't (in all probability) spying too much on its citizens and putting people under surveillance just for using Tor, so it's a good thing if more people here show they care about their privacy on-line by using Tor for everyday browsing.

Bridges are needed because some governments (such as China) actively block Tor entry nodes, and some ISPs do deep-packet inspection on entry nodes.  Better yet, volunteer your computer as being a middle-only Tor relay; easy to setup.  I was a Tor middle-only relay for 7 years until I dumped my broadband ISP in favor on just using Verizon as a hotspot for my Internet; am saving about 1.5K per year, but, alas, I can no longer run a Tor relay.

[FlatAssembler]

I agree, there is little rhyme and reason behind any kind of censorship, yet alone encryption banning. The criminals will use strong encryptions no matter the laws, and all those laws might do is to push people with radical ideas into darker corners of the Internet, where they can't hear the other side. However, the governments still do that, because the media keeps demonizing people who care about their privacy and, for example, use Tor. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to use Tor and not to hide that using bridges, since then it would become more obvious to the government agencies that many people use Tor for something other than criminal activities. Plus, using bridges might be unethical towards people who live under repressive governments and who actually need them. Croatian government isn't (in all probability) spying too much on its citizens and putting people under surveillance just for using Tor, so it's a good thing if more people here show they care about their privacy on-line by using Tor for everyday browsing.

Bridges are needed because some governments (such as China) actively block Tor entry nodes, and some ISPs do deep-packet inspection on entry nodes.  Better yet, volunteer your computer as being a middle-only Tor relay; easy to setup.  I was a Tor middle-only relay for 7 years until I dumped my broadband ISP in favor on just using Verizon as a hotspot for my Internet; am saving about 1.5K per year, but, alas, I can no longer run a Tor relay.

Volunteering to Tor with a computer you work on, and which you have to restart every now and then, is probably doing more harm than good (making connections break). Plus, the Internet connection on the Croatian CrisisConnection ISP, though they say it's 8 mbps, often drops below 1 mbps, and breaks for at least an hour almost every day (I then use the cellular network).
Plus, I am not really sure volunteering a obfs4 bridge helps people in China, Turkey or Iran, since the vast majority of Tor users there use "meek".

[Jehanne]

Bridges are needed because some governments (such as China) actively block Tor entry nodes, and some ISPs do deep-packet inspection on entry nodes.  Better yet, volunteer your computer as being a middle-only Tor relay; easy to setup.  I was a Tor middle-only relay for 7 years until I dumped my broadband ISP in favor on just using Verizon as a hotspot for my Internet; am saving about 1.5K per year, but, alas, I can no longer run a Tor relay.

Volunteering to Tor with a computer you work on, and which you have to restart every now and then, is probably doing more harm than good (making connections break). Plus, the Internet connection on the Croatian CrisisConnection ISP, though they say it's 8 mbps, often drops below 1 mbps, and breaks for at least an hour almost every day (I then use the cellular network).
Plus, I am not really sure volunteering a obfs4 bridge helps people in China, Turkey or Iran, since the vast majority of Tor users there use "meek".

Just create a task in Task Scheduler to auto-start it; also, any bridge is a helpful bridge, as Tor is a global network.  Check out the Tor FAQ; as long as your relay is up for at least an hour at a time, it's helpful, as the Tor Browser automatically changes circuits every 10 minutes anyway.

[EgoDeath]

I always find it funny when people suggest that wanting privacy is "paranoid."

[Jehanne]

I always find it funny when people suggest that wanting privacy is "paranoid."

It's like saying that wanting sex makes one "horney".

[FlatAssembler]

Volunteering to Tor with a computer you work on, and which you have to restart every now and then, is probably doing more harm than good (making connections break). Plus, the Internet connection on the Croatian CrisisConnection ISP, though they say it's 8 mbps, often drops below 1 mbps, and breaks for at least an hour almost every day (I then use the cellular network).
Plus, I am not really sure volunteering a obfs4 bridge helps people in China, Turkey or Iran, since the vast majority of Tor users there use "meek".

Just create a task in Task Scheduler to auto-start it; also, any bridge is a helpful bridge, as Tor is a global network.  Check out the Tor FAQ; as long as your relay is up for at least an hour at a time, it's helpful, as the Tor Browser automatically changes circuits every 10 minutes anyway.

So what if Tor changes circuits every ten minutes? Once your relay goes down, chances are, tens if not hundreds of circuits are unexpectedly broken.
And the Tor FAQ says it's OK if a relay goes offline sometimes, but that it's important it doesn't happen too often, since a relay that goes down too often is hurting the network, rather than helping it.

[Jehanne]

Just create a task in Task Scheduler to auto-start it; also, any bridge is a helpful bridge, as Tor is a global network.  Check out the Tor FAQ; as long as your relay is up for at least an hour at a time, it's helpful, as the Tor Browser automatically changes circuits every 10 minutes anyway.

So what if Tor changes circuits every ten minutes? Once your relay goes down, chances are, tens if not hundreds of circuits are unexpectedly broken.
And the Tor FAQ says it's OK if a relay goes offline sometimes, but that it's important it doesn't happen too often, since a relay that goes down too often is hurting the network, rather than helping it.

I have used the Tor Browser for that past 10 years, off and on, here and there.  It is reliable, yet slow.  If your relay is up for at least 60 minutes at a time, you're an asset and not a liability.