When a user browses with Tor, web activity and packets are bounced through each server, obfuscating the originating and destination IP address. The Tor network is composed of thousands of servers around the world. The browser itself carefully mitigates common web tracking tools like cookies and analytics systems. What is Tor? Though Tor is built on the Firefox open source protocol, it’s actually actually a number of integrated technologies.TechRepublic’s smart person’s guide is a routinely updated “living” precis loaded with contemporary information about about how the onion router works, who Tor affects, and why privacy-enhancing software is important. SEE: Three ways encryption can safeguard your cloud files (Tech Pro Research report) Conversely, the encrypted browser also allows hackers to snoop safely, and has helped illicit Dark Web markets flourish. Tor enabled the Arab Spring, is used by millions of Chinese users to skirt the Great Firewall, and helps sources and whistleblowers safely share vital information with reporters. The tool is widely used by reporters, political dissidents, hackers, and Dark Web profiteers to communicate anonymously. Tor is complex, yet easy to install and operate. An acronym for ‘the onion router’, Tor is a free web browser and suite of open source software that enhances user privacy by encrypting web packets and browsing activity. And digital outlaws will probably use Tor. When privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy.

The onion browser