[SOLVED] Question about TOR and VPNs

[thedaydreamer]

Hi all, I am a 1st year networking student

I have some questions regarding tor and vpns and how they work
I have also been interested in this stuff and learning all the time but dont know much about it

SO here is a scenerio, I want to stress it is purely fictional but its how I can understand it

Lets say your at home with windows 10 pc and brighthouse internet and you decide you want to do something illegal like buy drugs or firearms online

You fire up your vpn (nord, or something like that) then from there connect to tor browser, and continue to whatever you do
Lets say now that you have done your business and the website you went to is compromised and they know what you did and have your public IP add (provided by tor) and want to come after you


questions

1. Given vpn and tor how easy is it for someone like police and FBI or what ever to find your original IP?

2. DO they have to back track through tor and subpena logs to find you?

3. I know thats ANYTHING can be traced, but was wondering how easy that process is and can someone explain exactly how it works

Thank you
TDD

 

[jeremyj_83]

Hi all, I am a 1st year networking student

I have some questions regarding tor and vpns and how they work
I have also been interested in this stuff and learning all the time but dont know much about it

SO here is a scenerio, I want to stress it is purely fictional but its how I can understand it

Lets say your at home with windows 10 pc and brighthouse internet and you decide you want to do something illegal like buy drugs or firearms online

You fire up your vpn (nord, or something like that) then from there connect to tor browser, and continue to whatever you do
Lets say now that you have done your business and the website you went to is compromised and they know what you did and have your public IP add (provided by tor) and want to come after you


questions

1. Given vpn and tor how easy is it for someone like police and FBI or what ever to find your original IP?

2. DO they have to back track through tor and subpena logs to find you?

3. I know thats ANYTHING can be traced, but was wondering how easy that process is and can someone explain exactly how it works

Thank you
TDD

If you are using a VPN like NordVPN, CyberGhost, etc... that will already disguise your Public IP. The public IP that the website sees is one from the VPN server that you are connecting through. This is why you can view BBC TV online while in the USA if you are on a VPN that has a server in England. The website sees an IP from England and not the USA.

A tor browser works by redirecting your connection through thousands of relays in an attempt to hide your public IP. Due to the sheer volume of relays, it is hard to track your public IP, however, it is not impossible.

VPN companies have different SLAs and privacy agreements that they follow. Some will log connection information so the authorities could subpoena that information. Some have strict policies that they will not log information so there is nothing that can be tracked.

 

[Ralston18]

On-line, off-line - such illegal activities will not end well for you.

And if the website is compromised per your hypothetical then the evidence is directly available to law enforcement.

There will be a trail leading to you and likely multiple trails.

Bottom line: you will be caught.

@jeremyj_83's explanation is technically sufficient to answer the general question.

However, this thread may attract various "solutions" which would be a violation of Forum rules.

Closing thread accordingly.