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author | 2016-12-07 13:58:10 -0400 | |
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committer | 2016-12-07 13:58:10 -0400 | |
commit | 84023bbceb672c757a0cbd93571b303f154f8001 (patch) | |
tree | 76f437acb1ee4d3ac16b44848a0d5cb58abacd00 /doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn | |
parent | 1827d467395e66993b38c1b6269e4832abb3cc26 (diff) |
add section on security
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn | 36 |
1 files changed, 33 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn b/doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn index 43dc0cfc2..718a9218d 100644 --- a/doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn +++ b/doc/tips/peer_to_peer_network_with_tor.mdwn @@ -1,9 +1,9 @@ git-annex has recently gotten support for running as a -[Tor](http://http://torproject.org/) hidden service. This is a great, and -very secure way to connect repositories between computers in different +[Tor](http://http://torproject.org/) hidden service. This is a nice secure +and easy to use way to connect repositories between peers in different locations, without needing any central server. -## the first peer +## setting up the first peer First, you need to get Tor installed and running. See [their website](http://http://torproject.org/), or try a command like: @@ -100,3 +100,33 @@ combine the onion address with the authentication data. When you run `git annex peer --link`, it sets up a git remote using the onion address, and it stashes the authentication data away in a file in `.git/annex/creds/` + +## security + +Tor hidden services can be quite secure. But this doesn't mean that using +git-annex over Tor is automatically perfectly secure. Here are some things +to consider: + +* Anyone who learns the address of a peer can connect to that peer, + download the whole history of the git repository, and any available + annexed files. They can also upload new files to the peer, and even + remove annexed files from the peer. So consider ways that the address + of a peer might be exposed. + +* While Tor can be used to anonymize who you are, git defaults to including + your name and email address in git commit messages. So if you want an + anonymous git-annex repository, you'll need to configure git not to do + that. + +* Using Tor prevents listeners from decrypting your traffic. But, they'll + probably still know you're using Tor. Also, by traffic analysis, + they may be able to guess if you're using git-annex over tor, and even + make guesses about the sizes and types of files that you're exchanging + with peers. + +* There have been past attacks on the Tor network that have exposed + who was running Tor hidden services. + <https://blog.torproject.org/blog/tor-security-advisory-relay-early-traffic-confirmation-attack> + +* An attacker who can connect to the git-annex Tor hidden service, even + without authenticating, can try to perform denial of service attacks. |