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55 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
55 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
Filename: xxx-autonaming.txt
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Title: Naming authorities automatically create bindings
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Version: $Revision$
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Last-Modified: $Date$
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Author: Peter Palfrader
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Created: 2007-10-11
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Status: Open
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Overview:
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Tor's directory authorities can give certain servers a "Named" flag
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in the network-status entry, when they want to bind that nickname to
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that identity key. This allows clients to specify a nickname rather
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than an identity fingerprint and still be certain they're getting the
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"right" server.
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Authority operators name a server by adding their nickname and
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identity fingerprint to the 'approved-routers' file. Historically
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being listed in the file was required for a router, at first for being
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listed in the directory at all, and later in order to be used by
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clients as a first or last hop of a circuit.
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Adding identities to the list of named routers so far has been a
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manual, time consuming, and boring job. Given that and the fact that
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the Tor network works just fine without named routers the last
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authority to keep a current binding list stopped updating it well over
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half a year ago.
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Naming, if it were done, would serve a useful purpose however in that
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users can have a reasonable expectation that the exit server Bob they
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are using in their http://www.google.com.bob.exit/ URL is the same
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Bob every time.
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Proposal:
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I propose that identity<->name binding be completely automated:
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New bindings should be added after the router has been around for a
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bit and their name has not been used by other routers, similarly names
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that have not appeared on the network for a long time should be freed
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in case a new router wants to use it.
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The following rules are suggested:
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i) If a named router has not been online for half a year, the
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identity<->name binding for that name is removed. The nickname
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is free to be taken by other routers now.
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ii) If a router claims a certain nickname and
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a) has been on the network for at least two weeks, and
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b) that nickname is not yet linked to a different router, and
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c) no other router has wanted that nickname in the last month,
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a new binding should be created for this router and its desired
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nickname.
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This automaton does not necessarily need to live in the Tor code, it
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can do its job just as well when it's an external tool.
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