Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: HenryChinaski on December 07, 2012, 03:55 pm
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Is it secure to access Tor and SR without closing other computer programs? I'm mainly thinking of ones that access the internet (web browsers, email, music players etc). I'm wondering whether having another browser open would somehow compromise security.
I have read the "complete all in one guide" and will try to use that in the future, at least when ordering
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So the super short answer is "yes." The longer one is "sort of, but only a little."
For a buyer, I wouldn't worry about it. The biggest risk I think is accidentally trying to log in to an account in the wrong browser and boom, sending a DNS request for silk road's address to your ISP (which doesn't sound good -- "hi, where do I find illegal drugs please -- redirect me plz" is just silly even if it isn't logged).
Or trying to log in to, say, MtGox and getting your account frozen because you accessed from Tor. Etc. Human error that probably will happen eventually if you aren't super careful 24/7 (and nobody is, so you have to come up with a way around that -- two monitors? One on each monitor... that's what I do, and I haven't fucked up yet anyway).
The longer answer is that it does make it easier for specific attacks against the Tor network to identify you. How much easier I can't tell you, but they'd have to want to find you pretty bad to even bother trying, so as a buyer I don't see it as a risk. Well, it is, but it's a risk I take myself -- put it that way.
I don't think I'd be so cavalier if I faced 30 to life if caught, though.