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Tuesday, June 11, 2024

What is Tor Web

 Tor, short for "The Onion Router," is free and open-source software designed to protect users' privacy and anonymity online by routing internet traffic through a decentralized network of volunteer-run servers called nodes or relays. Tor aims to prevent third parties, such as internet service providers, government agencies, or malicious actors, from monitoring or tracking users' online activities and identifying their IP addresses and physical locations.


Here's how the Tor network works:

  1. Onion Routing: When a user accesses the internet through the Tor network, their internet traffic is encrypted and routed through a series of randomly selected Tor nodes before reaching its destination. Each node in the network only knows the IP address of the previous and next nodes in the chain, making it difficult to trace the origin of the traffic.

  2. Multiple Layers of Encryption: Tor uses multiple layers of encryption to protect users' data as it travels through the network. Each node decrypts only the layer of encryption meant for it, ensuring that no single node can access the entire content of the communication.

  3. Exit Nodes: The final node in the Tor network, known as the exit node, decrypts the final layer of encryption and forwards the user's traffic to its intended destination on the surface web. From the perspective of the destination website or service, the traffic appears to originate from the IP address of the exit node, rather than the user's actual IP address.

  4. Anonymity and Privacy: By routing internet traffic through multiple nodes and encrypting it along the way, Tor provides users with a high level of anonymity and privacy online. It helps protect against surveillance, censorship, and tracking by concealing users' IP addresses and obscuring their online activities.

While Tor offers privacy and anonymity benefits, it is important to note that it is not foolproof and may not provide complete protection against all threats. Users should still exercise caution and follow best practices for online security, such as using strong passwords, avoiding downloading files from untrusted sources, and being mindful of the information they share online.

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