| "The Great Cloudwall" is [Cloudflare Inc.](https://www.cloudflare.com/), the [U.S. company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudflare). |  |
| It is the [world's](https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2019/cdn) [largest](https://w3techs.com/technologies/history_overview/proxy) MITM proxy([reverse proxy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_proxy)). |  |
| It sits between you and origin webserver, acting like a [border patrol agent](https://www.cbp.gov/careers/bpa). |  |
| The origin webserver administrator allowed the agent to decide [who can access](https://web.archive.org/web/https://gitlab.com/iblech/tor-appeal/issues/1) to their "_web property_" and define "_restricted area_". |  |
| Take a look at the right image. You will think Cloudflare block _only_ attackers. You will think _Cloudflare is always online(never go [down](https://twitter.com/bengoldacre/status/1146058200887648258))_. |  |
| However [it is not true](PEOPLE.md). |  |
| Just like any hosting service, Cloudflare is not perfect. |  |
| This also happened in the year 2020. |  |
| It is called this in reference to the [Great Firewall of China](https://www.comparitech.com/privacy-security-tools/blockedinchina/) which does a comparable job of [filtering out many humans](PEOPLE.md) from seeing web content (ie everyone in mainland China and people outside) while at the same time those not affected to see a dratically different web, a web free of censorship such as an image of ["tank man"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man) and the history of ["Tiananmen Square protests"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests#Censorship_in_China). |  |
| Cloudflare possesses [great power](http://digdeep4orxw6psc33yxa2dgmuycj74zi6334xhxjlgppw6odvkzkiad.onion/ghost/mozilla.html). In a sense, they control what the end user ultimately sees. |  |
| Cloudflare also [automatically](https://twitter.com/itsybitsydots/status/1212691131508477952) [block](PEOPLE.md) legit robots/crawlers such as Google, Yandex, Yacy, and [API clients](PEOPLE.md). |  |
| Cloudflare similarly prevents many people who have poor internet connectivity from accessing the websites behind it (for example, they could be behind 7+ layers of NAT or sharing same IP) unless they solve multiple image CAPTCHAs. In some cases, [this will take 10 to 30 minutes to satisfy Google](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/23840). |  |
| Many humans and software are being blocked by Cloudflare [every day](PEOPLE.md). |  |
| Cloudflare [annoys many people](PEOPLE.md) around the world. |  |
| There is no way to solve the captcha without enabling Javascript and Cookies. Cloudflare is [using them](PEOPLE.md) to make a browser signature to [identify](https://cryptome.org/2016/07/cloudflare-de-anons-tor.htm) [you](PEOPLE.md). |  |
| [Tor users](https://www.torproject.org/) and [VPN users](https://airvpn.org/topic/23090-cloudflare-often-bans-my-ip-address/) are also a [victim](https://blog.torproject.org/trouble-cloudflare) of Cloudflare. |  |
| If you didn't try Tor until this moment, we encourage you to [download Tor Browser](https://www.torproject.org/) and visit your favorite websites. (advice: _Do not login to your bank website or government webpage or they will flag your account. [Use VPN](https://www.vpngate.net/en/) for those websites._) |  |
| You might want to say "_Tor is illegal! Tor is criminal's browser! Tor is bad!_". No. |  |
| Tor _was_ [developed by US Army](https://www.nrl.navy.mil/itd/chacs/dingledine-tor-second-generation-onion-router), but current Tor is developed by the [Tor project](https://www.torproject.org/). There are many people and organizations [who use Tor](https://blog.torproject.org/tor-misused-criminals) including your future friends. So, if you are using Cloudflare on your website you are blocking _real_ humans. You will lose potential friendship and business deal. |  |
| And their DNS service, [1.1.1.1](https://1.1.1.1/), is also filtering out users from visiting the website by returning [fake](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/32915) IP address [owned by Cloudflare](https://www.reddit.com/r/CloudFlare/comments/hiqm4u/no_cloudflare_website_is_loading/), localhost IP such as "127.0.0.x", or just return nothing. |  |
| Cloudflare DNS also [break](https://twitter.com/bowranger/status/1213031783576428550) [online](https://twitter.com/jb510/status/1212521533907668992) [software](https://twitter.com/No_Style/status/1201525422795710466) [from](https://twitter.com/daemuth/status/1187758306535903233) [smartphone](https://twitter.com/gregortorrence/status/1183102089439805441) [app](https://www.reddit.com/r/CloudFlare/comments/gmfm4i/us_bank_website_is_not_in_cloudflare_dns/) [to computer game because of their fake DNS answer](PEOPLE.md). |  |
| And here you might think,<br>"_I am not using Tor or VPN, why should I care?_"<br>"_I trust marketing, why should I care_" |  |
| If you visit website which use Cloudflare, you are sharing your information not only to website owner _but also Cloudflare_. |  |
| It is impossible to [analyze](https://blog.cloudflare.com/the-csam-scanning-tool/) without [decrypting TLS traffic](https://github.com/nym-zone/block_cloudflare_mitm_fx/issues/15#issuecomment-354773389). |  |
| Cloudflare knows all your data such as raw password. |  |
| [Cloudbeed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudbleed) can happen anytime. |  |
| Cloudflare's HTTPS is never end-to-end. |  |
| Do you really want to share your data with Cloudflare, and also 3-letter agency? |  |
| Internet user's online profile is a "product" that the government and big tech companies wants to buy. |  |
| U.S. [Department of Homeland Security](https://www.dhs.gov/) said:<br><br>"Do you have any idea how valuable the data you have is? Is there any way you would sell us that data?" |  |
| Cloudflare also offer _FREE_ VPN service called "[Cloudflare Warp](https://blog.cloudflare.com/1111-warp-better-vpn/)". | |
| If you use it, all your smartphone ([or your computer](https://techniapps.com/2019/09/26/download-cloudflare-warp-vpn-for-pc-windows-10-mac/)) connections are sent to Cloudflare servers. Cloudflare can know which website you've read, what comment you've posted, who you've talked to, etc. You are voluntary giving [all your information](https://github.com/privacytoolsIO/privacytools.io/issues/374#issuecomment-478686469) to Cloudflare. If you think "_Are you joking? Cloudflare is secure._" then you need to learn how [VPN works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VPN). |  |
| Cloudflare said their VPN service make your internet [fast](https://www.wired.com/story/cloudflare-says-new-vpn-service-wont-slow-you-down/). But VPN make your internet connection _slower_ than [your](https://twitter.com/ExYakuza/status/1182317536089526273) [existing](https://twitter.com/waddling/status/1177615384616325120) [connection](https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/01/cloudflares-warp-is-a-vpn-that-might-actually-make-your-mobile-connection-better/). |  |
| You might already know about the [PRISM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)) scandal. It is true that AT&T lets NSA to [copy all internet data](https://www.cnet.com/news/at-t-lets-nsa-hide-and-surveil-in-plain-sight-the-intercept-reports/) for surveillance. |  |
| Let's say you're working at the NSA, and you want _every citizen's internet profile_. You know most of them are [blindly trusting Cloudflare](https://twitter.com/search?q=Cloudflare&f=live) and using it - only one centralized gateway - to proxy their company server connection([SSH](https://blog.cloudflare.com/public-keys-are-not-enough-for-ssh-security/)/[RDP](https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-access-now-supports-rdp/)), personal website, chat website, forum website, bank website, insurance website, search engine, secret member-only website, auction website, [shopping](https://www.cloudflare.com/case-studies/shopify-powering-the-biggest-shopping-weekend-of-the-year/), video website, NSFW website, and illegal website. You also know they use Cloudflare's DNS service ("_1.1.1.1_") and VPN service ("_Cloudflare Warp_") for "_Secure! Faster! Better!_" internet experience. Combining them with user's IP address, browser [fingerprint](https://github.com/VeNoMouS/cloudscraper/issues/209#issuecomment-624853689), cookies and RAY-ID will be useful to build target's online profile. |  |
| You want their data. [What will you do](https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/1gb0pa/how_prism_actually_works_1520_att_fiber_optic/)? |  |
* Feeling generous? You can donate him some bitcoin:`13khrZAh59WkaWWFuT9hFVG6j6og6gdf4w` ([Payment option](http://qhtn4w2q36dojls2.onion/payment.html))
* Deleted by the [Tor Project](https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/anti-censorship-team/2020-May/000098.html). See [ticket 34175](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/34175).
2020-06-16 22:55:40 +00:00
* Last [archive ticket 24351](https://web.archive.org/web/20200301013104/https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/24351)
* They had used Cloudflare in the past. [Added](https://github.com/privacytools/privacytools.io/pull/1205) CF-tor but [removed it](https://github.com/privacytools/privacytools.io/pull/1804).
* [Another landmark day in the war to control, centralize and censor the internet.](https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/b8dptl/another_landmark_day_in_the_war_to_control/) by TheGoldenGoose8888
* [Disadvantage of relying on only one service](https://twitter.com/w3Nicolas/status/1134529316904153089) ([DO is CF](https://www.digwebinterface.com/?hostnames=ns1.digitalocean.com%0D%0Ans2.digitalocean.com%0D%0Ans3.digitalocean.com%0D%0Awww.digitalocean.com&type=A&ns=resolver&useresolver=8.8.4.4&nameservers=))
* Read [our list of recommended actions](what-to-do.md) and share it with your friends.
* Read [other user's voice](PEOPLE.md) and write your thoughts.
2020-06-16 22:55:40 +00:00
* Search something on [Ansero](https://ansero.wodferndripvpe6ib4uz4rtngrnzichnirgn7t5x64gxcyroopbhsuqd.onion/) ([clearnet](https://ansero.eu.org/)) or [Searxes](https://ss.wodferndripvpe6ib4uz4rtngrnzichnirgn7t5x64gxcyroopbhsuqd.onion/) ([clearnet](https://searxes.eu.org/)).
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