WHAT IS TOR?
Tor is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. The name is derived from an acronym for the original software project name “The Onion Router”. Tor directs Internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer overlay network consisting of more than seven thousand relays to conceal a user’s location and usage from anyone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis. Using Tor makes it more difficult to trace Internet activity to the user: this includes “visits to Web sites, online posts, instant messages, and other communication forms”. Tor’s intended use is to protect the personal privacy of its users, as well as their freedom and ability to conduct confidential communication by keeping their Internet activities from being monitored.
HOW IS TOR DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PROXIES?
A typical proxy provider sets up a server somewhere on the Internet and allows you to use it to relay your traffic. This creates a simple, easy to maintain architecture. The users all enter and leave through the same server. The provider may charge for use of the proxy, or fund their costs through advertisements on the server. In the simplest configuration, you don’t have to install anything. You just have to point your browser at their proxy server. Simple proxy providers are fine solutions if you do not want protection for your privacy and anonymity online and you trust the provider to not do bad things. Some simple proxy providers use SSL to secure your connection to them, which protects you against local eavesdroppers, such as those at a cafe with free wifi Internet.
Simple proxy providers also create a single point of failure. The provider knows both who you are and what you browse on the Internet. They can see your traffic as it passes through their server. In some cases, they can even see inside your encrypted traffic as they relay it to your banking site or to e-commerce stores. You have to trust the provider isn’t watching your traffic, injecting their own advertisements into your traffic stream, or recording your personal details.
Tor passes your traffic through at least 3 different servers before sending it on to the destination. Because there’s a separate layer of encryption for each of the three relays, somebody watching your Internet connection can’t modify, or read, what you are sending into the Tor network. Your traffic is encrypted between the Tor client (on your computer) and where it pops out somewhere else in the world.
What does Anonymity Network mean?
An anonymity network enables users to access the Web while blocking any tracking or tracing of their identity on the Internet. This type of online anonymity moves Internet traffic through a worldwide network of volunteer servers. Anonymity networks prevent traffic analysis and network surveillance – or at least make it more difficult.
NEED FOR ONLINE ANONYMITY
- Identity Protection:
Sometimes you just don’t want anyone to know who you really are, even if you aren’t involved in anything illegal or questionable. There’s a level of social safety that comes with anonymity, and that can be really important for introverts in online communities.
2.PERSONAL HARASSMENT:
Online anonymity also plays an important role in freedom of expression. One of the most amazing things about the Internet is that it can give voices to those who are actively being silenced, allowing them to speak without fear of repercussions.
3. Sensitive Issues:
There’s one other major category of people who benefit from anonymity: those who need more information on a given topic but don’t want to be caught seeking out that information. Most people actually fall into this group without realizing it.
One common example is someone who’s struggling with their sexuality, hasn’t gone public with that struggle, but has many unvoiced questions and concerns. This person can ask all of their questions in an online community without revealing their identity and risking premature exposure.
WHAT DOES ONION ROUTING MEANS?
Onion routing is a technique for anonymous communication over a computer network. In an onion network, messages are encapsulated in layers of encryption, analogous to layers of an onion. The encrypted data is transmitted through a series of network nodes called onion routers, each of which “peels” away from a single layer, uncovering the data’s next destination. When the final layer is decrypted, the message arrives at its destination. The sender remains unknown because each intermediary knows only the location of the immediately preceding and following nodes. There are methods to break the anonymity of this technique, e.g. timing analysis.
WILL I BE SAFE USING TOR?
Levels of security
Depending on individual user needs, the Tor browser offers three levels of security located under Onion tab > Security Settings. In addition to encrypting the data, including constantly changing IP address through a virtual circuit comprising successive, randomly selected Tor relays, several other layers of security are at user’s disposal:
1. Low (default) – at this security level, all browser features are enabled :
– This level provides the most usable experience and the lowest level of security.
2. Medium – at this security level, the following changes apply :
– HTML5 video and audio media become click-to-play via NoScript.
– On sites where JavaScript is enabled, performance optimizations are disabled.
-Scripts on some sites may run slower.
– Some mechanisms used for displaying math equations are disabled.
– Some font rendering features are disabled.
– JavaScript is disabled by default on all non-HTTPS sites.
3. High – at this security level, these additional changes apply :
– JavaScript is disabled by default on all sites.
– Some types of images are disabled.
– Some fonts and icons may display incorrectly.
TO DOWNLOAD TOR BROWSER CLICK THE LINK BELOW :
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