Non-profits/organizations where I can volunteer to run Tor relays/exit nodes?

Support Relay Operator
1

The fact of the matter is: I cannot afford a dedicated machine from a VPS provider who is OK with TOR exits and will take XMR. Add to that, there’s not much legal protection if you’re one man on the job trying to run an exit node for the good of the community.

I’m looking for non-profits/organizations that already run TOR exit nodes and volunteer there. I do not have money to spare, but I do have time I can devote to them. I’m looking for legal protection from running an exit node for them.

I have come across torservers dot net which lists a few organizations. I wanted to ask the community for directions and if there are any organizations they suggest I get in contact with.

Thanks

2

There are significant risks for relay associations in allowing third-party access to their infrastructure. For example, a third-party could potentially conduct MITM attacks using their infra, which could jeopardize their trust and reputation within the Tor Community.

A better way to support these organizations is through donations. You can find a list of relay associations and how to donate them here:

3

Wouldn’t I become part of the association if I volunteer for them? Unfortunately my finances are tight and will be for the forseeable future.

4

You can easily help the Tor network by running Snowflake proxies. I run one on every reseidential home network I support. Friends, parents etc.

I also run a real obfs4 bridge on a VPS which costs me 1€/Month.

And I operate a guard relay on my own home connection.

If you’re that low on budget, then operating an exit relay is probably the wrong decision.

5

Essentially, I should give up hope of volunteering for such an organization? It seems very strange to me, since I’m sure most are short on hands to work on their infrastructure.

I can run a $1 VPS for a relay, sure, but IMHO the biggest impact (and current bottleneck) of the network is in the exit nodes.

Could you explain the logic to me about these non-profits not wanting to take me in? I’m OK with sitting for interviews (if that’s what they want) and I believe everything I do will be monitored anyway. I fail to see how they are afraid of me (a person who wants to volunteer).