7 Things You Need to Know About Tor

We posted last week about theTor Challengeand whyeveryone should use Tor . Since we started our Tor Challenge two weeks ago we have sign up over 1000 new Tor relay . But it appears that there are still some democratic misconceptions about Tor . We would wish to take this opportunity to dispel some of these unwashed myth and misconception .

1. Tor Still Works

One of the many thing that we read from the NSA escape is that Tor still work . According to the NSA“Tor Stinks”slides let on by the Guardian last year , the NSA is still not able to all parry the anonymity ply by Tor . They have been able to compromise certain Tor user in specific billet . Historically this has been done by finding an effort for the Tor browser app Bundle or by exploiting a user that has misconfigured Tor . The FBI — possibly in junction with the NSA — was able to obtain one serious exploit for Firefox that conduct to thetakedown of Freedom Hostingand effort of its user . Firefox was patched quickly , and no major effort for Firefox affecting Tor user appear to have been found since . As the Tor developersnoted in 2004 , if someone is actively monitor both your electronic internet dealings and the internet dealings of the Internet divine service you ’re communicating with , Tor ca n’t prevent them from deduce that you ’re verbalize to that service . Its design does sham that at least one side of the connective is n’t being monitor by whomever you ’re trying to stay individual from .

We can reason from this that Tor has probably not been broken at a cryptanalytic spirit level . The best attacks on Tor are side - duct attacks on web internet browser bug or user misconfiguration and traffic correlation coefficient attacks .

2. Tor is Not Only Used by Criminals

One of the most common misconceptions we hear is that Tor is only used by criminal and pedophiles . This is simply not true ! There are many case of the great unwashed that habituate Tor . Activists use it to circumvent censoring and allow anonymity . The military uses it for untroubled communication and planning . kin use Tor to protect their nipper and carry on their privateness . journalist use it to do research on level and put across securely with source . The Tor Project website has an fantabulous explanation of why Tor does n’t aid malefactor very much . To rephrase : criminal can already do bad affair since they will dampen Pentateuch they have much well prick at their garbage disposal than what Tor offers , such as botnets made with malware , stolen devices , identity theft , etc . In fact using Tor may help you protect yourself against some of these tactics that criminals practice such as identity element theft or online stalking .

You are not helping criminals by using Tor any more than you are helping criminals by using the net .

3. Tor Does Not Have a Military Backdoor

Another common belief that we hear is that Tor was created by the military and so it must have a military backdoor . There is no back door in the Tor software . It is on-key that initial development of Tor was funded by the US Navy . However , it has been audited by several very smart cryptologist and security professionals who have confirmed that there is no backdoor . Tor is assailable source , so any programmer can take a look at the computer code and verify that there is nothing fishy going on . It is ferment on by a team of activists who are extremely dedicated to privacy and namelessness .

4. No One in the US Has Been Prosecuted For Running a Tor Relay

As far as EFF is cognisant , no one in the US has been sued or prosecuted for lead a Tor electrical relay . Furthermore we do not believe that running a Tor electrical relay is illegal under US law . This is , of course , no warrantee that you wo n’t be contacted by police force enforcement , especially if you are running an loss relay race . However EFF believes this fact so powerfully that we are running our own Tor electrical relay . you may find out more about the legalities of running a Tor relay at theTor Challenge Legal FAQ . However , if you are last to use Tor for felonious activity ( which the Tor projection ask that you not do ) you could create more trouble for yourself if you get engage . vicious natural process also brings more scrutiny on to Tor making it worse for the public as a whole .

5. Tor is Easy to Use

You might consider that because it is privacy package Tor must be toilsome to apply . This is simply not true . The easiest way to get begin with Tor is to download theTor web browser Bundle . This is a web browser app that comes pre - configure to use Tor in a secure manner . It is easy to apply and is all you want to set out browsing with Tor . Another leisurely means to use Tor is withTails . backside is a alive operating organization that runs on a DVD or thumb drive . fundament routes your entire cyberspace connection through Tor . And when you keep out it down , Tails “ forgets ” everything that was done while it was running .

6. Tor is Not as Slow as You Think

It is straight that Tor is slower than a steady Internet connection . However , the Tor developer have been doing a lot of hard piece of work to make the Tor meshing quicker . And it is faster today than ever before . One of the best things that can be done to zip up the Tor meshing is to create more relay . If you would wish to contribute to making the Tor net faster , you could condition out ourTor Challenge

7. Tor is Not Foolproof

Tor is not perfect ; you may destruct your own anonymity with Tor if you use it falsely . That ’s why it is important to always use Tor browser app Bundle or Tails and verify that you keep your software system up to day of the month . It is also crucial to commend that if you log into services like Google and Facebook over Tor , those services will still be able to see your communication within their system . Additionally Tor user should be mindful of the fact that an adversary who can see both side of there connection may be able to perform a statistical analysis to reassert that the dealings belongs to you .

Tor is some of the potent anonymity software program that exists . We opine that it is significant to dispel misconceptions about it so that the public can be more informed and convinced in its usefulness . There are many great reasons to utilise Tor and very few reasons not to . So get started with Tor , and take back your secrecy online .

This clause first appeared on theElectronic Frontier Foundationand is reproduce here under the Creative Commons license .

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