This computer is part of the international Tor Anonymity Network, which is dedicated to providing privacy to people who need it most:- ordinary computer users - i.e. people like you and me.
I provide this service to the 'net community because I use Tor myself and find it very useful. I see no reason whatosever why I should not enjoy my right to personal privacy in my use of the 'net. Funding this relay is my way of paying back something to the community by way of thanks. If you use Tor, then I would encourage you to consider providing your own relay or exit node. The more nodes there are in use, the faster and better the network becomes.
Tor is used by many different segments of the population, including: abuse victims, stalker targets, journalists, dissidents avoiding oppressive censorship, whistle blowers, military, and law enforcement, to name just a few. Whilst Tor is not designed for malicious use, it is true that, as is the case with most tools, the network can be used for malicious ends. In reality however, the actual level of abuse is quite low. This is largely because criminals and other ne'er-do-wells already have significantly better access to privacy and anonymity than do the regular users whom they prey upon. Criminals can and do build, sell, and trade far larger and more powerful networks than Tor on a daily basis. In my view (and that of others around the world who operate tor nodes) the social need for easily accessible censorship-resistant, private, anonymous communication for use by the good guys, trumps the risk of its use by unskilled bad actors, who are almost always more easily uncovered by traditional police work than by extensive monitoring and surveillance anyway.
In terms of applicable law, the best way to understand Tor is to consider it a network of routers operating as common carriers, much like the Internet backbone itself. However, unlike the Internet backbone routers, Tor routers, including this one, explicitly do not contain identifiable routing information about the actual source of any traffic, and no single Tor node can determine both the origin and destination of any given transmission.
As such, there is nothing I, or anyone else, can do to track any connection anyone may have seen from this router. This router maintains no logs of any of the Tor traffic, so there is little that can be done to trace either legitimate or illegitimate traffic (or to filter one from the other).
If you are a representative of a company who feels that this router is being used to violate the US DMCA, please be aware that this machine does not host or contain any illegal content, it is simply a conduit for traffic. Also be aware that network infrastructure maintainers are not liable for the type of content that passes over their equipment, in accordance with DMCA "safe harbor" provisions. In other words, you will have just as much luck sending a takedown notice to me as you would if you sent one to the Internet backbone providers. Please consult EFF's prepared response for more information on this matter.
For further information, please see the following documentation:
If you still believe you have a valid complaint about this router, you may email me at the address below explaining why. I may (but probably will not) reply.
Whilst this Tor relay does not act as an exit node, you have the option, should you so choose, of blocking its IP address and that of others on the Tor network to prevent access to any network resource you own or control. The Tor project provides a python script to extract the IP addresses of all Tor exit nodes, and an official DNSRBL is also available to determine if a given IP address is actually a Tor exit server. Please be considerate when using these options. It would be unfortunate to deny all Tor users access to your site indefinitely simply because you have experienced some apparently malicious activity or because you have failed to understand Tor.
Enjoy.
Email address: admin [at] rlogin.net