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37
_posts/2020-01-22-how-the-spn-compares-to-tor.md
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@ -7,41 +7,26 @@ custom_thumbnail_name: spn-tor
## Tor's Mission is Broad, Safing Focuses on Easy of Use
**Tor project's mission**
from [https://www.torproject.org/](https://www.torproject.org/) - in the footer
Tor's mission statement (from [https://www.torproject.org/](https://www.torproject.org/) - in the footer), declares:
> To advance human rights and freedoms by creating and deploying free and open source anonymity and privacy technologies, supporting their unrestricted availability and use, and furthering their scientific and popular understanding.
**Safing's mission**
We wholeheartedly agree and appreciate Tor's work and outlined broader mission, but our focus is on a specific sub-area of theirs:
from [https://safing.io/our-values/](https://safing.io/our-values/)
> Enabling you to reclaim your privacy
> We're building tools to help everyone withstand today's mass surveillance
**A comparison**
How would you differentiate them?
My take is that Tor's mission is broader than ours. They do overlap, in the sense that one can interpret their mission to include ours. We wholeheartedly agree and appreciate Tor's work and outlined broader mission, but our focus is on a specific sub-area of theirs:
> Building tools to help everyone withstand today's mass surveillance.
We mean *everyone*. We want my mom and your mom to be able to conveniently withstand mass surveillance without having to venture deep into tech. This is our focus. This is what drives us. It's the reason we get out of bed.
## Maturity
Tor was released in 2002, while the SPN will launch in June 2020. It goes without saying that Tor is the far maturer project of the two. The SPN is still in its early days.
We believe that freedom can only flourish if privacy is the default. And privacy will only be broadly adopted if it is easy to use. So "Easy to use" is our focus: we want my mom and your mom to be able to conveniently withstand mass surveillance without having to venture deep into tech. This is what drives us. This is our mission.
## The SPN Protects Your Whole Computer
The Tor browser has great coverage, supporting all major operating systems. It protects the browser habits of its users and is a breeze to set up. When one additionally wants to safeguard the whole computer via the Tor network one has to use the [operating system tails](https://tails.boum.org/install/index.en.html), which is great at what it does, but hard and technical to set up and use.
This is one key difference to the SPN. With it, it's a simple plug and play. You download the open source app and then it takes care of all your connections, not only those of the browser. When launching in June, we will support Windows, with Linux following shortly after. We are planning on supporting Mac and Mobile in the future too, so everybody can enjoy easy privacy with their preferred operating system.
This is one key difference to the SPN. With it, it's a simple plug and play. You download the open source app and then it takes care of all your connections, not only those of the browser. Currently, we support Windows and Linux. We are planning on supporting Mac and Mobile in the future too, so everybody can enjoy easy privacy with their preferred operating system.
Another detail is that Tor does not transport everything, notably UDP traffic. The SPN will support TCP and UDP (+ variants) from the get go and we will see if we will need and implement anything else.
## Tor Is Maturer
Tor was released in 2002, while the SPN launched in August 2020. It goes without saying that Tor is the far maturer project of the two. The SPN is still in its early days.
## The SPN Minimizes Travel through the Open Web
Both Tor and the SPN provide privacy by decoupling the person (ip-address) from the destination. This prevents your Internet Service Provider and everyone else from logging your Internet activities. When no other identification is provided you even arrive at the destination anonymously, meaning the visited server cannot know who you are.
@ -54,7 +39,7 @@ When the connection arrives at the last server of the circuit it still has to tr
With the SPN however, every connection is calculated individually and leaves the network as near to the destination as possible. This means:
1. your connections are spread across the globe
1. your connections are spread across the globe, creating vast amounts of identities
2. visibility in the 'open web' is minimized
3. connections are not slowed down by having to go extra miles
@ -62,11 +47,11 @@ With the SPN however, every connection is calculated individually and leaves the
## Minor comments
Tor's mission for anonymity also enables people to host content anonymously through onion domains. This is a non goal for Safing.
**The Dark Web Is a Non-Goal for Safing**
Tor's mission for anonymity also enables people to host content anonymously through onion domains. This is a non-goal for Safing.
While the open source SPN app sits at the kernel, it can do all sorts of amazing stuff. It will enforce all your DNS queries to use DNS over TLS (DoT), which also prevents your router from snooping on you. Later, it will also block malicious connections via an integrated Application Firewall.
**SPN Enforces DoT and Blocks Ads/Trackers**
As the [open source Portmaster app]({{ site.github_url }}/portmaster/), which hosts the SPN, sits at the kernel, it can add all sorts of amazing privacy features. Current modules (free & optional) include a DNS Resolver which enforces all your DNS queries to use DNS over TLS (DoT) and a Privacy Filter which blocks malicious or unwanted connections.
**The SPN Costs Money**
Both the SPN and Tor are FOSS. But Tor is free to use while you have to subscribe to the SPN in order to use it. Be aware you are not only paying for the SPN, but also supporting us to develop the free application firewall and enabling us to continue fighting for a brighter future.

10
_posts/2020-01-22-how-the-spn-compares-to-vpns.md
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@ -11,15 +11,15 @@ cover_image_source: https://pixabay.com/vectors/the-globe-globe-the-internet-fre
### VPNs Were Built for Security, NOT for Privacy
The VPN technology was developed to allow remote workers to securely connect to a corporate network to virtually check into the office and access internal resources. It does this by establishing a secure tunnel between the worker and the company. The VPN shields the whole route from the worker to the office, never entering the "open Internet".
Naturally, they do something very similar. As an example, let's say you want to connect to "google.com" via a VPN. The VPN client first creates a safe tunnel to the VPN server, which then calls upon "google.com". So a VPN safeguards your connections up until the VPN server, then unpacks their protection and routes it back into the open Internet.
### Commercial VPNs Are just Proxy Servers
A commercial VPNs does something rather mundane. As an example, let's say you want to connect to "google.com" via a VPN. The VPN client first creates a safe tunnel to the VPN server, which then calls upon "google.com". So a VPN safeguards your connections up until the VPN server, then unpacks their protection and routes it back into the open Internet.
### VPNs do NOT Protect Your Privacy
There are many legitimate use cases for a VPN, like securely connecting to your corporate network or "beaming" into another country to enjoy different content or cheaper prices. But VPNs do *not* protect your privacy.
## The SPN Truly Protects Your Meta Data
A VPN does protect you from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to collect and process you browsing activities. But this just delegates the problem: now the VPN that can collect and sell all your data, which many of them do.
Before diving into the SPN, let's recap: A VPN does protect you from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to collect and process you browsing activities. But in the end this just delegates the problem: now the VPN that can collect and sell all your data, which many of them do.
![VPNs](https://safing.io/assets/img/spn/vpn-web.png)
@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ The VPN and SPN both tunnel connections from your whole computer, not only from
## SPN ♥ Open Source - Everybody Can Inspect
Many commercial VPN providers use bold and misleading marketing claims without any evidence to back it up. The code on their servers and mostly on their clients cannot be investigated. They demand your trust but give little to no proof in return.
The SPN however is open source / FOSS. We do not believe users should simply 'trust' companies when it comes to their privacy. Instead they should be able to inspect vendors and hold them accountable publicly. So feel free to check out [our Github](https://github.com/Safing/).
The [SPN however is open source / FOSS]({{ site.github_url }}/spn/). We do not believe users should simply 'trust' companies when it comes to their privacy. Instead they should be able to inspect vendors and hold them accountable publicly. Feel free to [check out all of our Github](https://github.com/Safing/).
## The SPN Minimizes Travel through the Open Web
@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ After a connection arrives at the VPN server it still has to travel to the desir
With the SPN however, every connection is calculated individually and leaves the network as near to the destination as possible. This means:
1. your connections are spread across the globe
1. your connections are spread across the globe, creating vast amounts of identities
2. visibility in the 'open web' is minimized
3. connections are not slowed down by having to go extra miles
@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ With the SPN however, every connection is calculated individually and leaves the
## Minor comments
While the open source SPN app sits at the kernel, it can do all sorts of amazing stuff. It will enforce all your DNS queries to use DNS over TLS (DoT), which also prevents your router from snooping on you. Later, it will also block malicious connections via an integrated Application Firewall.
**SPN Enforces DoT and Blocks Ads/Trackers**
As the [open source Portmaster app]({{ site.github_url }}/portmaster/), which hosts the SPN, sits at the kernel, it can add all sorts of amazing privacy features. Current modules (free & optional) include a DNS Resolver which enforces all your DNS queries to use DNS over TLS (DoT) and a Privacy Filter which blocks malicious or unwanted connections.
**VPN - a Very Precarious Narrative**
There is [a great write up by Dennis Schubert](https://schub.wtf/blog/2019/04/08/very-precarious-narrative.html) showcasing the problem of todays commercial VPNs, both from a privacy and security perspective. Feel free to check it out, it also shows the valid use cases of VPNs.