Tor Network

Tor, short for "The Onion Router," is a free, open-source software and network that helps users defend against internet surveillance and traffic analysis. When you connect to the internet through Tor, your internet traffic is routed through a network of servers (called nodes or relays) operated by volunteers all around the world, making it extremely difficult for anyone to trace your online activities back to you.

Here's how it works: when you connect to Tor, your internet traffic is first encrypted multiple times. Then, it's routed through a random series of Tor nodes. Each node only knows the location of the immediately preceding and following nodes, not the full path that the data has taken or will take. At each node, one layer of encryption is removed (like peeling an onion, hence the name), revealing the next destination. The final node (called the exit node) decrypts the final layer and sends the data to its ultimate destination.

This process makes it incredibly difficult for anyone to trace the traffic back to its original source. Even if someone is monitoring one of the nodes, they can't see the full path of the data. This provides a high level of anonymity for the user.

Tor is commonly used by journalists, activists, and whistleblowers who need to communicate securely and avoid censorship. It's also a critical tool for people living under oppressive regimes where internet access is restricted or monitored.

Documentation

• Tor Project user documentation
• Tor community portal
• Research papers:
  • "Tor: The Second-Generation Onion Router"
  • "Users Get Routed: Traffic Correlation on Tor by Realistic Adversaries"

Metaphorical Example

Tor is like a maze of underground tunnels for your internet traffic. Your data is wrapped in multiple layers of encryption (like the layers of an onion) and passed through a series of random servers (the maze) before reaching its destination. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to trace your online activities back to you.

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