How to use Google services without compromising privacy using Tor

[@cjalmighty]

I've used Tor a little in the past, but I feel like there's always more to learn. Thanks for this video and I'm looking forward to future episodes on this topic.

[@sunknudsen]

Tor Browser is pretty simple by design to make sure users don't miss configure it... the real fun starts when we run Tor via the command line and host hidden services. More to come!

[@fai8t]

@@sunknudsen enabling java script for yt already exposes ur cover.

[@bradwalsh1851]

Sun! Thanks so much for all your content. You do a great job explaining all things privacy to layman like myself. I was wondering how you avoid having to complete googles little puzzles over tor before being able to use their search engine? If it’s possible? I saw in the video you did not have to compete any? Thanks

[@EL-wy4gu]

hi sun, how do you use calendars? do you have alternatives to google calendar?

[@sullyml1]

Looking forward on how people got caught !! Great content, keep the good work !

[@LucaWhittakerCamaiani]

If you could take a look at Brave in a future episode and maybe compare it to Firefox and the Tor browser I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks 😊

[@sunknudsen]

Thanks for the feedback Luca!

[@NathanW5555]

Web Browser Privacy: What Do Browsers Say when They Phone Home? is a research report looking at the privacy of browsers in terms of phoning home: Brave was the most private, followed by Chrome, Firefox and Safari and the least private was Microsoft Edge and Yandex. Here's the report - www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/pubs/browser_privacy.pdf

[@froekenur]

So much stuff about future videos here, looking forward!

[@sunknudsen]

That episode is actually pretty old... much more to watch!

[@nachoorges3527]

Hi Sun! I´m very interested in privacy on the internet since I watched your videos! I´m looking forward to a episode about configuring Tor Browser, because I never used it before! Great channel and all the best wishes from Uruguay!

[@sunknudsen]

Thanks for reaching out. Tor’s default settings are great for most use cases... Have you watched the episode on configuring Firefox for privacy (kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHmXdZeOeJWFfNk)? Tor does all that by default (and more) so there isn’t much to configure. Using Safer or Safest disables many features that websites need to work such as JavaScript and HTML5 media and WebGL. These modes are great for hacktivists and whistleblowers, but perhaps overkill for most people. Thanks for your wishes and have an amazing day!

[@nachoorges3527]

@@sunknudsen Yes, i watched it and changed my view on the internet, of course I configured my Mozilla and it looks like similar to Tor. You make the different topics , that can be for most people hard to understand, simple. You are right , there isn´t much to configure, but I particularly reffered , as you said in the video, about making a circuit or corfiguring a bridge. Your welcome! Thank you for the channel and have an amazing day too! Best wishes!

[@sunknudsen]

I never explored bridges... good point! Adding them to my research backlog (I know bridges are critical for people in countries that attempt to block Tor).

[@MuftakisWorld]

so why then google doesnt open without using advanced bridge and also very slow it appears that it opened with you quickly and in standard mode without configuring may be because this video made two years ago?!!

[@afonsosalbrecht]

for anyone thinking if there's a point in using VPN with Tor: yes, there is. By doing that, only the VPN provider will see that you are using Tor (although as Sun said, Tor usage isn't illegal), besides that, VPN will be just adding another "onion" layer which isn't bad at all. :)

[@sunknudsen]

Thanks for sharing. Using a VPN to obfuscate one uses Tor is actually a real use case. Another alternative I haven't explored yet is using a bridge.

[@peachhh7024]

Hi, Sun thanks for the amazing videos! I've been watching all your videos and they have helped me so much. Just a quick question here to clarify - so what exactly is the difference between Firefox and Tor? Would you recommend using both? So Tor is more focused on anonymity but less on privacy hence only use it when you want to hide and don't sign in to personal accounts unless it's an anonymous account? + Use firefox for must-have personal accounts? Sorry only just started getting interested in these videos so a bit confused.

[@peachhh7024]

So for example, if I am using Kindle anonymously, should I be using Tor or Firefox? Although I have an anonymous Amazon account, if I start reading books on Kindle and highlighting stuff would they be able to track me down just by analyzing my actions when using Kindle? What do you suggest? Also, then do you recommend using Tor to sign up for anonymous accounts? Or use firefox to sign up and then sign in using Tor?

[@sunknudsen]

Great question. Firefox (when hardened) is pretty good for privacy, but unless we use a (hardened) VPN, we are still revealing our (geo-tracable) IP. Now say we use a VPN, the traffic to and from that VPN is easy to trace. Tor on the other hand routes traffic through a guard node, a relay node and an exit node using multiple layers of encryption which makes it every hard (not impossible) to trace origination or geo-trace traffic. That layered process adds significant latency which makes Tor painful for everyday use but better for anonymity when used properly (which is a whole other story).

[@schredar]

@@sunknudsen Helpful

[@williampowell4817]

What's your thoughts on networks like I2P or Freenet? Or Retroshare?

[@lefrise9477]

very cool videos ! I watch you from france and I learn a lot !! I see your love for firefox but what do you think of brave browser ? all the best !

[@sunknudsen]

Hey Lucas, very happy this content is helpful to others. Haven't looked into Brave in a while. Adding Brave to my research backlog.

[@MattTerrell]

What about if you are running ChromeOS? Would this be through opening your Linux channel on your laptop (Chromebook)? Is the only way forward to create an anonymous Google account?

[@elvismartinez1035]

one dislike its probably google

[@Califosunify]

very good vid, just hope more people would know about how important and simple it is to hide your identity away from big tech. Seems, like people need some sort of pre.installed tools on their PCs, to actually use it... (same goes for de-googled phones....)

[@rutvik30b]

is it possible you review the vivaldi browser?

[@sunknudsen]

Hey Rutvik, adding Vivaldi to my research backlog.

[@rutvik30b]

@@sunknudsen ty so much sun love the work you do

[@steffenliermann1828]

Hi Sun, is That also applicable for the onion browser on iOS?

[@sunknudsen]

Hey Steffen, not sure, but my gut feeling is it is... that being said, have you watched kzbin.info/www/bejne/inKziqFse6hoqpo

[@steffenliermann1828]

@@sunknudsen yes 👍🏼

[@peppe_yo2463]

Please make a video about DECENTR web browser

[@raduneo]

Hey Sun, do I need to use VPN still if I use Tor as a browser?

[@sunknudsen]

No, Tor replaces the VPN (I recommend reading the docs). That said, one’s ISP can easily see one is using Tor. If that is a problem, using a bridge might be required. www.torproject.org/

[@NathanW5555]

It says "Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network" if you go onto google with tor.

[@sunknudsen]

Using Tor will likely break websites... unfortunately bad actors use Tor nodes in attempts to hack things. This doesn't make Tor bad, but does flag nodes which leads to more CAPTCHA checks etc....

[@NathanW5555]

@@sunknudsen Thanks for the reply. Tor is by no means bad, it's fairly ideal, but if i try to access google at any time using the tor browser on the pc it's comes up for me "Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network". This wasn't the case for me all the time, there was no problem before but as of now it'll say that. Unless it's somethin' on my end i don't know but i can't use google on the tor browser. I use tor on android and go on the likes of youtube it'd give me access there but after a period of time on it it can say the same on the android as it does the pc. If anyone has this problem they could use Startpage. It's probably the most private web browser and it gives you search results from google. Thanks again anyway.

[@taylor9110]

would using a configured firefox with a separate container for each google service along with a vpn and ublock origin, provide a similar level of privacy? Thinking that if each service was in its own container, and all cookies and scripts are blocked then they cant really track anything?

[@sunknudsen]

Depends on the threat model... for Google services that require logging in, Tor adds little to no privacy benefits (and would be frustrating to use because of its privacy settings and latency). This episode was focused on using Google search (or any other website) privately without revealing our true IP and using Tor’s layered encryption proxies increasing our level of anonymity (although it’s not a silver bullet as mentioned). I don’t see much benefits either in compartmentalizing Google services separately as they would all see the same IP which makes fingerprinting easier. I personally compartmentalize all Google services together (being aware that Google will track me even if I use a VPN) and use Tor when I want to "hide" from Google.

[@pillai555]

is brave browser safe?

[@Kainthemain]

what about google photos on the phone?

[@theoneD1]

Tor sounds scary, 3 nodes and yet we shouldn't sign into our email or do anything personal, even banking I can imagine. Ill give Tor a miss thank you very much. :) but very insightful Sun. Cheers

[@louispre2582]

I think you misunderstood the reason why you shouldn't log into your email/bank through Tor. Tor's purpose is to anonymize your activity. However, you would compromise that anonymity by connecting to accounts that are directly linked to your identity (your email is most probably linked to your name and your bank is 100% linked to you). No amount of nodes will change that.

[@theoneD1]

@@louispre2582 seriously, you really have think to why we go to such lengths to protect ourselves from so many evil people out there, the anxiety and complications inflicted upon us through such sophisticated coding and technology used by evil beings in order to gain wealth, manifest suffering to the world and stir-up political agendas just to benefit themselves. Such a disgusting world we live in. Im still waiting for that day where a massive meteorite hits earth and destroys it completely. Only then will it be at peace and no more suffering.

[@DrBrandy]

Discord is very slow on tor :(

[@ScienceTech-Fan]

Hi Sun. I am also interested in privacy on the internet. I use more than one browser and Firefox is one of the best privacy browsers that I use. I have used Tor but I have some ethical concerns about it. When I entered the deep web, it was full of illegal stuff but most disturbingly most of it was child porn. I went on the deep web with a VPN of course to see uncensored news, but I found that the deep web is full of cp. I used a anonymous chat on the deep web called Random, and people behind the mask of anonymity were justifying Pedophilia and other horrible things. I did chat with some normal people on the deep web. My point is how do you or other advocates of internet anonymity balance the good use of Tor, with a lot more bad uses of tor that is being used to violate the rights of others. I tried to personally wrestle with this question and I have not got an answer personally, I was wondering if you had a great answer?

[@sunknudsen]

Thanks for sharing... I guess it depends how one uses Tor... I personally haven't explored dark web chat rooms and search engines. I rather use Tor to access clear net pseudo-anonymously and host hidden services.

[@ScienceTech-Fan]

@@sunknudsen thanks for the reply. Yeah I know that many people use Tor for the clear net. But the deep web one has to be extremely careful as a lot of things on the deep web are messed up. By the way thanks for recommending Firefox. Ever since you recommended it I have been using Firefox on private browsing mode, and strict mode on anti tracking, and it has really improved my privacy, sometime I think more than google chrome. I think Brave is also good. Love your channel.

[@burtonh1]

Does anyone else think that Sun sounds a little like Chris Walker?

[@user-rq1tk8ph5j]

it would be enoght if you just say subscribe because im cool

[@sunknudsen]

Having a hard time making out if your comments are positive or negative... and what you are suggesting? Perhaps I am missing something.

[@ルシアン-k1y]

1:09 / Let's be real, who will do that, there are just a few people (like you) who care that much about security, personally I will never consider "TOR" as a valid option, it spoils sites, is soo slow and extremely many more disadvantages... / Normal people just want a little security that doesn't interfere in any way with their online experience... So what about a little more common subject, like free vpn and proxy (Browser extensions) are these safe? And would u recommend a specific one?

[@sunknudsen]

Good points... I agree Tor is overkill for most use cases. That being said, I believe it’s a great piece of technology (with great governance) for the times we want to make sure you don’t leave bread crumbs behind. The Google use case was a way to get the conversation started around Tor. VPNs and proxys are a fascinating subjects as they are both great ways to hide our IPs BUT are honeypots which often have obscure governance (cough NordVPN). I personally run my own VPN server to terminate my internet in a hand-picked country and datacenter with better privacy laws and governance. More on the subject shortly! Thanks for sharing your feedback.

[@tubbalcain]

@@sunknudsen hey Sun, I'm interested in how your configured your VPNserver, given the fact that it still can connect to worldwide servers? Most homebrewed-servers limit you to a fixed IP and location. (except when you rent servers around the world) and did you bypass your fixed IP with, for example, something like openWRT?

[@marianoestrada905]

Im,put,you,name,public,youtube