Tor

What Is Tor?

Tor is just a decentralized network that encrypts users' web traffic and routes it through a number of relays before it arrives at its destination. Tor ensures anonymity by encrypting internet activity.  

The network also has its own '.onion' domain, which users can utilize to offer access to websites as well as services that are only accessible through the Tor network. The Tor Project, a non-profit organization, maintains it and has also released Tor Browser, an open-source internet browser that instantly routes traffic through Tor.

Working Mechanism of Tor

Tor routes each user's traffic across three random nodes or relays before transferring it to its goal. Every step of the journey is encrypted independently, and every relay is just aware of where the traffic originated from and where it is heading immediately afterward, implying that no node can ever know the whole path of any traffic. 

The network is likely most known for serving as a portal to dark websites and markets accessible via ".onion" addresses. The most notorious of these platforms was the now-defunct Silk Road, in which users could use Bitcoin to buy illicit products such as narcotics and phony driver's licenses anonymously (BTC). 

Tor, on the other side, is used by journalists, activists, dissidents, law enforcement agencies, intelligence services, and other individuals who need to remain anonymous online for their protection and security. The Tor network conceals your IP address; however, various conditions can make your Tor browser activity less than entirely anonymous. 

Using a web browser designed to use Tor as a proxy, a torrent file-sharing application, or perhaps some browser plug-ins can all lead to the disclosure of your online identity. Tor is a free browser to download and also use. Tor is compatible with web browsers for Windows, Android, as well as Apple devices.