Tor at Berkeley

So, it wasn't easy, but today I got conditional approval from CISC to run a Tor server at the iSchool. (Yes, that last link is for Google.)

And, man, only a few of you know what I mean when I say "it wasn't easy". It can be very difficult to argue that the benefits of anonymizing tools outweigh the risks.

Wait a sec. What the hell is Tor? As Roger says:

Tor is a decentralized network of computers on the Internet that increases privacy in Web browsing, instant messaging, and other applications. We estimate there are some 50,000 Tor users currently, routing their traffic through about 300 volunteer Tor servers on five continents. Tor solves three important privacy problems: it prevents websites and other services from learning your location; it prevents eavesdroppers from learning what information you're fetching and where you're fetching it from; and it routes your connection through multiple Tor servers so no single server can learn what you're up to. Tor also enables hidden services, letting you run a website without revealing its location to users.

So, if you do research or know of someone who does research on campus that involves anonymity, privacy, etc. feel free to get in touch. (Think of hidden, anonymized diary studies, wikis, blogs, survey instruments, interfaces demos, etc.)

Like Seth says ("Anti-Censorship Talk Is Cheap, Anti-Censorship Money Is Scarce"), you might consider giving some $$$ (or more) to Tor since they could use the support right now.