Tor, the onion router, remains one of the most effective censorship circumvention technologies. Millions of people use the Tor network every day to access the internet without fear of surveillance and censorship.
Most people get on the Tor network by downloading the Tor Browser and connecting to a relay. But some countries, such as Iran and Russia, block direct access to the Tor network. In those countries people have to use what are known as Tor Bridges to circumvent national firewalls. Tens of thousands of people use bridges regularly to circumvent censorship and national or regional restrictions.
The number of bridge users in Iran grew exponentially in the last week of September 2022.
Of course, ISPs in countries where Tor is banned are constantly trying to find the IP addresses of bridges and block them to prevent people from accessing Tor. Bridge connections can also be identified (or fingerprinted) as connections to the Tor network by an ISP using deep packet inspection. To deal with this, Tor has a clever solution called pluggable transports. Pluggable transports disguise your Tor connection as ordinary traffic to a well-known web service such as Google or Skype, and smuggles your Tor connection inside of the seemingly innocuous traffic.
In the past, running a pluggable transport was difficult to set up, requiring a server and a good deal of time and technical knowledge. Now, thanks to a new pluggable transport called Snowflake, anyone can run a pluggable transport in their browser with just a couple of clicks and help people all over the world access the unrestricted internet.
The user interface for the Snowflake browser extension
Logs from a standalone snowflake instance running on a server
Snowflake is composed of three components: volunteers running Snowflake proxies, Tor users (or clients) that want to connect to the internet, and a broker that delivers Snowflake proxies to clients. Volunteers willing to help users on censored networks can help by spinning up short-lived proxies on their regular browsers. When you enable Snowflake, your browser will contact the broker and let it know that you are ready to accept peer-to-peer connections from people seeking to access Tor. Then clients who are on a restricted network can contact the broker and ask for a proxy, the broker will eventually hand them your IP address, and then the client will make a direct connection to your computer using WebRTC (the same technology which is used by Zoom, Skype, and any other peer-to-peer web connection.) Your computer will then forward traffic from the client to the Tor network.
A visual diagram of Snowflake
The obvious weak point here is the broker server. Why couldnt a country just block the broker IP since it is well-known? The answer is a technique called domain fronting. The details of domain fronting can be found elsewhere, but in brief, domain fronting lets the client make a request that looks like an ordinary web request for google.com, and thanks to HTTPS the request is able to hide its Host header which is actually for an arbitrary web service hosted on Googles cloud. In this case, that service is the Snowflake broker.
To block Snowflake, a network or country would have to block all of Google or every IP address outside of the network, essentially a complete internet shutdown. Of course, countries have repeatedly shown their willingness to do exactly that, but its a much higher price to pay than simply blocking Tor.
The security concerns for the Snowflake proxy operator are minimal. The Snowflake client will not be able to interact with your computer in any way or observe your network traffic, and you will not be able to see their traffic. From the perspective of your ISP it will look like you are connecting to a Tor bridge, which if you are running a Snowflake proxy should be legal and unrestricted in your country. There is no more risk running a Snowflake proxy than running Tor browser.
Snowflake means that everyone can help people exercise their freedom of expression anywhere in the world, and it takes no technical knowledge to run, so if you are in an unrestricted country (such as in North America or most of Europe) go run one now! And if you are in a restricted network consider using Snowflake to circumvent censorship and access the internet.
More technical readers are encouraged to read the Snowflake Technical Overview and the project page for more technical details. For other discussions about Snowflake, please visit the Tor Forum and follow up the Snowflake tag.
Read the original:
Snowflake Makes It Easy For Anyone to Fight Censorship
- Unnecessary Censorship in Skyrim Dawnguard by Normal Difficulty - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Is Censorship Ever Justified? - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Researchers fight censorship on China's Weibo - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- This Week in Unnecessary Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Censorship in Politics on the Rise - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Censorship Makes No Sense! - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Government Censorship Requests to Google Exploding - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Google Censorship Report - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Unnecessary Censorship in Video Games - Skyrim Part 5 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Solar Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- euronews interview - Farhadi - self-censorship 'real danger' for Iranian filmmakers - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Youtube censorship. Let's make youtube the next Myspace - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Political Correctness SUCKS! Subliminal Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Iran Internet Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Unnecessary Censorship in Video Games - Mass Effect 3 Part 2 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- In China, is censorship the mother of creativity? - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Unnecessary Censorship in Mass Effect 3 by Normal Difficulty - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- AOL censors blogs? - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Tunisia: Govt Drops Internet Censorship [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- Selectmen fear censorship at Saugus TV [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- Chinese 'blind spot' for Western readers [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- The New Yorker Got Temporarily Banned From Facebook for Posting Cartoon Boobs [Censorship] [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2012]
- Back Story: Orwellian-speak [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2012]
- EDIT: Facebook Censorship [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2012]
- Nothing, however vile, justifies censorship [Last Updated On: September 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 16th, 2012]
- 'US administration has put blame where it belongs' [Last Updated On: September 19th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 19th, 2012]
- Iran Shuts Down Google, Will Completely Cut Citizens Off the Internet [Censorship] [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- Belarus’s illusion of democracy [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- Censorship In The Americas: Google Brazil Chief Just Released From Custody [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2012]
- Global censorship of Internet on the rise [Last Updated On: September 29th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 29th, 2012]
- Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship is up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship on the up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Internet censorship up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Internet Censorship on the Up, Report Says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- National banned book week sheds light on censorship [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Iran unblocks access to Gmail [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Iran unblocks Gmail, plans local alternatives [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Kurt Vonnegut, Harper Lee, and Other Literary Greats on Censorship [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2012]
- Read-out being held to raise awareness for banned book week [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2012]
- Bike Matadors and Censorship Towels Spring From Ad Firm’s Creative Offshoot [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Letter: White House guilty of censorship by stealth in seeking YouTube removal [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- YouTube goes legit in Turkey, bringing more sales and more censorship [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Cantor revisits 1937 degeneracy, censorship [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- Kent Free Library brings attention to censorship with participation in Banned Books Week [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- Media watchdog accuses Iran of intimidating journalists [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- ‘Media censorship is back…’ [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Philippine president defends cybercrime law [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Iran censors currency rates as rial suffers [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Censorship Bill pushed aside by Parliament [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Internet censorship: Let it rot in walled gardens [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2012]
- The Surprising Truth About Internet Censorship In The Middle East [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2012]
- As 9/11 Pretrial Begins, ACLU Calls Out "Orwellian" Censorship of CIA Torture [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2012]
- Theatre censorship set to be a thing of the past [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- China scrambles to censor novelist Mo Yan's Nobel Prize [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Internet anti-censorship tools are being overwhelmed by demand [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Censorship would hinder the Internet revolution [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Pre-Election Reading: Wen Stephenson on Climate Self-Censorship [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Director takes Chinese censorship, business battles public [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- ‘Censorship would still be around were it not for divorce’ – Owen Bonnici [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Qatari draft media law criticized by rights group [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Avila Fine Arts Lovers "Forbidden Books Part 1 and 2" - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Anonymous - OpBigBrother: Worldwide Protests 12/08/2012 engl - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Journalists Resist: 'Where is the freedom of speech?' - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- G20 invisible plot Censorship International conference Dangerous information - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- 'Qatar media censorship law ill advised' - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Facebook Censorship of Navy Seals - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- NWO`s war against the press continues as Greek journalists go on strike, alleging state censorship - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Yung Glynn [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Social Media Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy's Christmas (Rare Australian Radio Edit) - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Introduction video about my Asperger's Syndrome - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Forget SOPA, Russia Activates Web Censorship Blacklist Law [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Censorship fears loom as Russian law allowing 'Internet blacklisting' takes effect [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Exhibit Looks At Comic Book Censorship [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Their View: China censorship shows leaders still have much to hide [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Let's Play Lucius - Part 7 - Satanic Rituals and Shocking Baths - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Mike Malloy on censorship of US history in schools (10/26/12) - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Btooom! - Episode 5 Review - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- PSA OUTAKE 2 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]