Why Tor Exit Nodes are Often Blacklisted

Introduction: The Bad Neighbor Problem

You try to visit a website on Tor, and you get a message: "Access Denied". This usually happens because the site has blacklisted the Exit Node you are using. But why would they block a whole server just because one person used it?

The Shared Reputation

Thousands of people share the same Exit Node IP address. If one of those people starts an automated 'Bot' attack or tries to spam the site, the site's firewall will block the IP address. Unfortunately, this blocks every other innocent person using that node too.

Conclusion

Being anonymous on Tor often means sharing a reputation with 'bad actors'. It’s the price of total privacy. Check your exit node's reputation here.