Key Details | Information |
---|---|
Recent Censorship Escalation in Russia | Reports indicate increased online censorship, with targeted blocking of Tor, its bridges, and other circumvention tools by Roscomnadzor and Russian ISPs. |
Affected Tools | Attempts to block Tor bridges, pluggable transports, and circumvention apps from app stores. Popular hosting providers are being targeted. |
WebTunnel Bridges’ Importance | WebTunnel bridges are designed to blend with regular web traffic, making them harder to detect, and are an effective tool against censorship. |
Need for More WebTunnel Bridges | Tor aims to deploy 200 new WebTunnel bridges by December 2024 to ensure secure access for users in Russia. |
Why WebTunnel? | WebTunnel offers a small download size, supports uTLS integration, and disguises Tor traffic to avoid detection by censors. |
How to Run a Tor WebTunnel Bridge | 1. Using Docker: Simplifies deploying Tor bridge and WebTunnel transport. 2. Ansible Automation: Use Ansible role for quick setup. |
Technical Requirements | – Static IPv4 address (preferred) – Self-hosted website – SSL/TLS certificate (e.g., Let’s Encrypt) – At least 1TB/month bandwidth, avoid free shared DNS services. |
Bridge Campaign Timeline | Campaign runs from Nov 28, 2024, to Mar 10, 2025, aiming for 200 new WebTunnel bridges by the end of 2024. |
Campaign Rewards | Operators running 5 or more WebTunnel bridges will receive a Tor t-shirt (one per operator). |
Bridge Campaign Rules | – One WebTunnel bridge per IPv4 – Solid uptime, 24/7 operation – No hosting on Hetzner – Valid email for confirmation – Bridges must run for at least 1 year. |
How to Participate | Email confirmation of running 5 bridges with your bridge lines and t-shirt size. |
Russian Censorship Tactics | Increasing blocks on Tor’s obfs4 and Snowflake pluggable transports, especially on mobile networks, highlighting the growing challenge for Tor users in Russia. |
Importance of Tor | Tor remains one of the few uncensored tools for bypassing restrictions in Russia, where VPN services are heavily targeted, and financial penalties are imposed on users. |
Background on Tor’s Blockage in Russia (2021) | Despite Russian government’s efforts to block Tor in 2021, users successfully circumvented the block using Tor bridges. |
Current WebTunnel Bridge Count | From 60 bridges in early 2024 to 143 today, but the demand continues to rise as censorship efforts grow. |
How to Help Without Technical Skills | Spread the word through social networks, offline methods, or donate to the Tor Project, where all donations are currently matched. |
Donation Matching | Donations are being matched, meaning a $25 donation becomes $50 to help Tor counter censorship. |
Read full article: https://blog.torproject.org/call-for-webtunnel-bridges/
Disclaimer: The above summary has been generated by an AI language model
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