Surely you can ask a friend to show you how to use a Tor browser !

and doing what we all should be doing!!
Don't have so much time to post, but love reading stories.

They say that the big challenge when creating the first atomic bomb was not knowing it was possible.  Once you know it's possible, the rest is just a matter of engineering!

Sure anybody can figure out how to use a TOR browser or a VPN like hide.me.  But if, like me, you had never heard of such things, it would never even occur to you to ask and seek help.  When TER went dark for the USA I figured that was it, I'd never be able to get back on the site again.  It's only because I am lucky enough to have a local friend who is also a monger and is way more tech savvy than I'll ever be that I'm back.  He told me what to do like it was the simplest thing in the world.  I'm pretty sure most of the guys who used to participate in these forums are gone because they have no idea there's a simple way to get back on.

The same is true for the women, but their need to conduct their business makes it even more important that they get back on TER.  But judging from how very, very few have done so, I'd say most people have never heard of TOR or VPN.

As a bit of unverified trivia I'd like to add that reading various techie sites the preference is for TOR over free VPNs.  I read that the free VPNs actually open a conduit for others to use, just like you get to use others' IP address. That can leave you vulnerable to unknown people doing shady stuff through your real IP. Seems like the paid VPNs don't do that and the architecture of TOR is different and that can't happen with TOR.

I don't know enough about this, but here's my experience.  I tried TOR first and it did not work, at least it did not allow me to get back onto TER.  If you say it works I believe you, so I must have done something wrong, don't know.  Then I tried hide.me, free version of their VPN.  It worked fine, but the free version expires after a while and you have to pay.  I chose to pay their lowest level which as I recall comes to $5.99 per month.  Do you think now that I am a paid user that I don't have to worry about the vulnerability you described?

My low level understanding of TOR is that your packets hop around a random selection of servers until it pops out of one which connects to your final website. If the final server is in the USA, you won't get into TER. I don't know if there is a way to specify the country location of the last TOR server.  I know my NordVPN allows me to select the country where the VPN server is located.

and I always check the list of countries it goes in and out of (You can check those countries by hitting the little arrow next to the onion at the far left of the tool bar at the top of your screen.)

It has never indicated the US as one of those countries.   Usually it is France, Germany, or The Netherlands.

I have seen United States come up as a country a number of times.   Sometimes as the first and third country.  Once in a while on certain sites, when I stay on a page too long, my IP address gets blocked.  Then, I just click to create a new circuit for the site and I'm back in business.

Tor is very easy to install and use.  If one can install Chrome or Firefox, Tor is just as simple.  I've been using Tor more often for other sites just for kicks.  It doesn't hurt to be more anonymous.  

Someone recommended a proxy unblocker site.  That worked to get onto TER, but it was annoying as fuck.  Every other click on a link would launch a pop up ad with audio alert.

If TOR doesn't work the first time you land on TER then click the little onion at the top left and choose New Identity or New Circuit and it'll do its thing!