
Tell HN: Help censored users access Tor by installing a browser addon - jerheinze
The addon is available for Firefox on AMO:<p>* https:&#x2F;&#x2F;addons.mozilla.org&#x2F;en-US&#x2F;firefox&#x2F;addon&#x2F;torproject-snowflake&#x2F;<p>* (and for Android) https:&#x2F;&#x2F;addons.mozilla.org&#x2F;en-US&#x2F;android&#x2F;addon&#x2F;torproject-snowflake&#x2F;<p>And if you happen to want to install it on a Chromium based browser it is available as well on the Chrome Addon Store:<p>* https:&#x2F;&#x2F;chrome.google.com&#x2F;webstore&#x2F;detail&#x2F;snowflake&#x2F;mafpmfcccpbjnhfhjnllmmalhifmlcie<p>----------<p>Thanks to a new Pluggable Transport called Snowflake you can now help censored users access the Tor network by just installing an addon. The way it works is pretty simple: censored users learn about a temporary proxy (a &#x27;snowflake&#x27;) from a broker (using domain fronting or other techniques) that they establish a connection with using WebRTC, the temporary proxy then transmits the requests to a bridge which then connects to the Tor network, the temporary proxy thus functions as a middle point between the censored user and the bridge &lt;=&gt; Tor network. The idea is that by getting a significantly large number of ever changing and decaying temporary proxies it will be hard for a single censor to keep track and block all of them.<p>As explained earlier, when you function as a snowflake proxy no exit traffic is generated at your level, you just transit traffic to a bridge which then connects to the Tor network. Hence there is no need to worry about which websites the clients are accessing through your proxy. Their visible browsing IP address will match their Tor exit node, not yours. In addition Snowflake&#x27;s strength comes from having a large pool of temporary proxies, so don&#x27;t forget to spread the word and have a maximum of people installing this addon!<p>-------<p>To learn more about Snowflake you can have a look at the following references:<p>* https:&#x2F;&#x2F;trac.torproject.org&#x2F;projects&#x2F;tor&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;doc&#x2F;Snowflake<p>* https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bamsoftware.com&#x2F;papers&#x2F;thesis&#x2F;#chap:snowflake<p>* https:&#x2F;&#x2F;keroserene.net&#x2F;snowflake&#x2F;technical&#x2F;
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jerheinze
A couple of notes:

* You need WebRTC to be enabled in your browser for this to work, this is simply owing to how Snowflake works. The extension will display a warning if it detects that WebRTC isn't enabled.

* The addon tells you when a client is connecting using your proxy and how many clients you have helped circumvent censorship in the last 24h. However, right now Snowflake is only available for the __alpha __releases of the Tor Browser and then only for Linux and Mac OS, as such (see[https://metrics.torproject.org/userstats-bridge-transport.ht...](https://metrics.torproject.org/userstats-bridge-transport.html?transport=snowflake) ), so it shouldn't be surprising for you to pass an entire 24h without having any reported client connection.

* There are other ways to run a Snowflake proxy that are outlined here: [https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/Snowflake#...](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/Snowflake#HowtorunaSnowflakeproxy)

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slang800
You can also do it by using the web page here:
[https://snowflake.torproject.org/](https://snowflake.torproject.org/)

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laterflint
Hi, just to clarify: is the problem being addressed here specifically that
people (the 'censors') are blocking access to the Tor network itself? A friend
and I disagree on what "censored users" means in this context.

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bob_theslob646
What the heck are you asking me to do?

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mtmail
It looks well explained with links to further information. Is there something
particular you don't understand?

