Question 1

How to install Vanguards on Ubuntu or Debian?

Accepted Answer

The safest method is to run it directly from git by installing Stem and executing as the debian-tor user, but system packages are often outdated, so backports might be needed for updates.

Question 2

Vanguards vs Tor's built-in onion service security: which is better?

Accepted Answer

Vanguards offers experimental protections not yet in Tor-core, providing advanced defenses early for high-risk services, but it's less stable and requires separate management compared to Tor's integrated, slower-evolving features.

Question 3

Is Vanguards safe for production onion services?

Accepted Answer

It's designed for high-security scenarios but is experimental; operators should monitor WARN logs closely and be prepared for potential false positives or updates, as advised in the security README.

Question 4

How to use Vanguards with Tor Browser?

Accepted Answer

Start Tor Browser, then run vanguards with --control_port 9151 to connect to Tor Browser's control port, as it defaults to 9151 and requires no additional configuration for basic use.

Question 5

What do Vanguards WARN logs mean and how to handle them?

Accepted Answer

WARN logs indicate severe issues like network disconnections or excessive data that require immediate action, while NOTICE logs are for heuristic detections that may need investigation or tuning based on the provided documentation.

Question 6

Can Vanguards improve performance for high-traffic onion services?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by using PyPy for faster execution or parallel processing with the provided script, but this adds setup complexity and may not be necessary for low-traffic services, as noted in the performance tuning section.

Vanguards

What is Vanguards?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Related Projects

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Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions