19

How can I safely run a full node without revealing my home IP address?

Please compare the privacy and security of the following methods for running a Monero node both from home and by using a cloud based VPS:

  1. Tor
  2. I2P
  3. VPN
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15

I can only speak for Tor: using torsocks can make monerod connect to other nodes via the Tor network.

This will run monerod with Tor:

DNS_PUBLIC=tcp torsocks monerod --p2p-bind-ip 127.0.0.1 --no-igd

If you cannot connect your wallet (which should not use Tor), you may need to add TORSOCKS_ALLOW_INBOUND. Apparently, different systems may or may not need this option:

DNS_PUBLIC=tcp TORSOCKS_ALLOW_INBOUND=1 torsocks monerod --p2p-bind-ip 127.0.0.1 --no-igd

In any case, make sure your firewall blocks the port monerod may listen for RPC connections, assuming the wallet runs locally.

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  • "In any case, make sure your firewall blocks the port bitmonerod may listen for RPC connections, assuming the wallet runs locally." Could you expand on this? I mean, using Torsocks is not enough for protecting the IP? How is listening for RPC connections compromising the security? How does one go about blocking that port? Is it blocked by default? Etc. – user141 Oct 14 '16 at 12:02
  • For the latest version, replace all instances of bitmonerod with monerod – sgp♦ Oct 17 '16 at 3:05

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