Box for simple Tor node.

[grarpamp]

On 10/11/19, jim bell <jdb10987 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Somebody asked me a question, but because I am far from being an expert, I
> couldn't answer.   Suppose a person wanted to implement a TOR node, simply
> by buying some box, and plugging it into his modem, and power.  And NOT
> needing to become an expert on TOR, or even on computers in general.  And
> NOT having to follow pages and pages of instructions.   I did a few minutes
> of searching, and even the 'simple' explanations seemed 'clear as mud'.
> Don't bother with long explanations challenging the usefulness, or
> trustworthiness of TOR.   Yes, we've discussed them to death.  That's a
> different subject.                    Jim Bell

> Yes, even years ago I was aware that a person shouldn't try to run an Exit node on a home setup.  Although, I wonder if it has been tried?   Sounds like a good beginning for a Wired article?

Some tor operators do run both non-exit and exit relays,
and onion services from their home. They are typically some
mix of vanilla clean, with balls, and something to prove.
Or reside in a jurisdiction that does not have killcrazy
stormtroopers or fake laws.

> After writing that, I found:   https://blog.torproject.org/tips-running-exit-node       No way!!!
> But you didn't answer my question.  I said a simple box, and that is precisely what I meant.   Power, Ethernet.  Plug into existing Modem.
> Okay, I would understand it if the operator had to link it to the network by accessing a web page and informing them of the new IP address, but that's the level of complexity I was thinking about.  (Except for a box that already "knows" how to link up and start running.)
> Could one of the problems with the TOR network be that only "experts" are likely to participate?
> Also note:  I am referring to a situation where a person does not need, and does not want, the benefit of TOR for himself;  Just wants to add his "brick in the wall" to the nodes.  Has a spare $100 or so for the box, and has unlimited-usage gigabit/second Internet service.  (I see that Centurylink provides them for $65/month, probably subject to tax, as well.)


The absolute minimum effort needed to run tor
similar to you describe is...

tor --orport auto

That will give the world another non-exit relay to use
therein using whatever bandwidth and cpu it can consume.
It assumes the box is directly connected to the internet
and not firewalled, as well as other defaults, etc, ymmv, rtfm.

--socksport 0
will turn off the socks5 proxy on 127.0.0.1:9050
that is otherwise present for your own use locally.