Foreword
In this guide, I would like to show you how to operate a Tor exit node.
The Tor network needs more and more help. Privacy is becoming increasingly important, as there are more and more laws that restrict the privacy of all people. I won’t explain exactly what Tor is here, because that should be common knowledge anyway. If you want to install a Tor exit node, you should hopefully already know what it is.
One major problem with Tor is the very low level of decentralization of the network. Most nodes are located in Germany, the Netherlands, and the US. Of course, it’s not a bad thing to host a node there, but Tor specifically recommends that, if possible, you host your node in a country where there are still very few or even no nodes at all. Tor also advises against hosting with well-known, large providers such as Hetzner, as there are already so many nodes there.
This should definitely be taken into account when choosing a provider.
Please do not host a Tor exit node at home under any circumstances.
The distribution of countries is clearly visible in the image.
Payment
Under all circumstances, always pay for everything only with Monero or with prepaid credit cards purchased with Monero. Nothing else - ever!
It doesn’t really matter where you buy Monero. KYC is irrelevant with Monero, as the blockchain offers complete privacy. It is not traceable like Bitcoin, for example.
So you can simply buy Monero via Coinbase, Bitpanda, etc. and then send the coins to your Monero wallet. For the ultra-paranoid: You can also buy Monero with cash, then there is no KYC.
This is possible, for example, at https://openmonero.com. There you need to check whether there are trustworthy dealers in your country. Be sure to look at the dealers’ ratings. You can then send cash to the dealers, who will then send Monero to your wallet.
For security reasons, you should download the Monero wallet and select “local full node” during setup. This downloads the entire blockchain and you are your own node and do not use an “unknown remote node.” https://www.getmonero.org/downloads/#gui
Monero also recommends this for advanced protection. But even if you don’t do it, the risk is manageable: the remote node can only see your IP address. So you can theoretically get around it with a VPN, or just ignore it.