But if I use just Tor, then my ISP knows that I'm using Tor
Not necessarily, because you can use
bridges. These are Tor relays that aren't publicly known, as with most Tor nodes, so they help you circumvent censorship. Although, completely hiding that information from your ISP is not really possible, because you have to install somehow Tor (by visiting the clearnet), and even if you do this anonymously, nobody can guarantee you bridges aren't honeypots.
You can also download Tor Browser by email message:
Send an email to
gettor@torproject.org. In the body of the mail, write the name of your operating system (such as Windows, macOS, or Linux). GetTor will respond with an email containing links from which you can download Tor Browser, the cryptographic signature (needed for verifying the download), the fingerprint of the key used to make the signature, and the package’s checksum. You may be offered a choice of "32-bit" or "64-bit" software: this depends on the model of the computer you are using; consult documentation about your computer to find out more.
Just wondering, does people these days still use this method to obtain copy of Tor Browser?
But I guess if you're living in a place where email is heavily censored as well, the next best solution is to try to find a download link for it on IPFS.
Maybe, if some bloke is clever enough to store the download on a blockchain somewhere (probably they already have in one form or another).
Without knowing who store it on IPFS or blockchain, it's gateway to malware.
But if I use just Tor, then my ISP knows that I'm using Tor
Not necessarily, because you can use
bridges. These are Tor relays that aren't publicly known
I find this (Tor bridge nodes) a little unconvincing
the only way to keep the IP of the bridge node private is to never tell anyone about it (and so noone will ever use it). it only serves to perpetuate a cat-and-mouse game, where those with malign reasons to discover the IP of bridge nodes are chasing the newest nodes in order to censor them
But don't forget cat-and-mouse game doesn't apply when you setup bridge only for yourself (and maybe people you could trust greatly). And it's not like all government have resource to join cat-and-mouse game. So i'd say Tor bridge still have some practical usage.