TY - GEN
T1 - New me
T2 - 13th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security, SOUPS 2017
AU - Gallagher, Kevin
AU - Patil, Sameer
AU - Memon, Nasir
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by The USENIX Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Proper use of an anonymity system requires adequate understanding of how it functions. Yet, there is surprisingly little research that looks into user understanding and usage of anonymity software. Improper use stemming from a lack of sufficient knowledge of the system has the potential to lead to deanonymization, which may hold severe personal consequences for the user. We report on the understanding and the use of the Tor anonymity system. Via semi-structured interviews with 17 individuals (6 experts and 11 non-experts) we found that experts and non-experts view, understand, and use Tor in notably different ways. Moreover, both groups exhibit behavior as well as gaps in understanding that could potentially compromise anonymity. Based on these findings, we provide several suggestions for improving the user experience of Tor to facilitate better user understanding of its operation, threat model, and limitations.
AB - Proper use of an anonymity system requires adequate understanding of how it functions. Yet, there is surprisingly little research that looks into user understanding and usage of anonymity software. Improper use stemming from a lack of sufficient knowledge of the system has the potential to lead to deanonymization, which may hold severe personal consequences for the user. We report on the understanding and the use of the Tor anonymity system. Via semi-structured interviews with 17 individuals (6 experts and 11 non-experts) we found that experts and non-experts view, understand, and use Tor in notably different ways. Moreover, both groups exhibit behavior as well as gaps in understanding that could potentially compromise anonymity. Based on these findings, we provide several suggestions for improving the user experience of Tor to facilitate better user understanding of its operation, threat model, and limitations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056870551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85056870551
T3 - Proceedings of the 13th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security, SOUPS 2017
SP - 385
EP - 398
BT - Proceedings of the 13th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security, SOUPS 2017
PB - USENIX Association
Y2 - 12 July 2017 through 14 July 2017
ER -