HOW TO USE TOR?

HOW TO USE TOR

How is TOR Used?

Now that you know what is TOR, let see why use TOR. The main use of TOR Browser is to mask the users IP. Similar to a proxy connection, this main function is used to either hide your browsing from malicious software, persons or governments infringing on your freedom, but also as a way to surpass the restrictions some companies put on their services based on their location such are for example HULU and Netflix, as well as other streaming services.

Even though all types of uses are available to all users, most people who have TOR are connecting through it as to mask their IP address, and because they have concerns with connecting over stationary proxy providers. While in more democratic and liberty-focused countries this is sometimes used for malicious purposes, in most places in the world it is used to surpass any chokehold on the flow of information between the user and the rest of the internet.

How does TOR Work?

There are three main parts of the whole process behind the TOR project itself that can be viewed as separate steps between you and the data you are wanting to access with your IP address masked, those being you as user, the user network, and the request complier which is the website, server or user you are receiving the information from. The biggest part of the idea of TOR is that any user can be any of those steps, depending on the circumstance, making it impossible to pinpoint where the information is going and from whom if you are on the outside.

Legislation of TOR project

The TOR project, as well as all of its assisting software, could be best described as not illegal, as there is no legislation that explicitly forbids the use of this software or this type of software in the world. This may be because this is still a new technology from the perspective of any legislator, but even if we were to imagine why would TOR be banned there is nothing explicitly illegal in the software itself.

This being said, most governments, and especially those who have made a habit of restricting the communication between their citizens, have come up with some measures as to prevent people from using TOR.

As the program only masks the identity of the user but not the fact that they are using the TOR browser, some servers and ISPs have blocked those using TOR from accessing any of the information they may be storing. This prevents anyone with a TOR browser to request any data through that specific ISP.

Similarly, some companies deny access to anyone reaching them through TOR and prevent the use of their services with this browser.

All of these obstacles may be circumvented with adequate IT skills, but for most users that will be beyond their level of expertise.

Risks of using TOR

The whole TOR project has identified two weak points in the whole of their functions, primary being the network of users itself, as this makes the entrance to any attack quite obvious, and the other being the fact that TOR is an open source program, meaning that its source code is available to anyone wishing to see it.

There are several ways hackers have exploited these weaknesses in the past, with only some being patched completely and other only being mended for the time being. Most of these types of attack require considerable resources and are available only to larger corporations and organized groups of hackers.

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When attacking, the attacker can either focus on some node (the user who is neither a primary nor the final destination of the data) or a group of nodes as to prevent them from processing any other requests but the ones they themselves are sending. Once blocked, the user stars showing their own browsing data as the program can’t process any more request but the ones being directly targeted through that node.

The other popular way of attacking the network is by infiltrating it and leaving malicious software embedded in some type of media that is used to hash out all the IP addresses it goes through, sending the information back, slowly mapping the pathways and the end users. This is basically a virus, made to spy only on your IP address and to send that information back to whoever made it.

One of the more comforting aspects of these risks is that most of them are found and mended by the community working on the TOR project itself, or on some of the third-party applications. This is the case with both of the previously mentioned attack types, as well as some quite ingenious ones, like mouseprint tracking; the idea that mouse movements on the screen recorded by JavaScript would be unique for every individual user. This was uncovered in March of 2016 by a researcher in Barcelona.

Choosing between TOR, Proxy, and a VPN?

There are visible differences between these three types of services. Roughly, they could be rated from the most basic, that being the proxy server connection, to the most advanced being the VPN provider. TOR is somewhere in the middle, providing much more privacy than a regular proxy connection for free, but requiring some technical knowledge to be used correctly.

As a recommendation, all users on the internet should use some kind of proxy at all times, provided that they trust the server if nothing as to be protected from ads and to have another layer of protection for their computer.

Those slightly more tech-savvy should try out the TOR browser as a free and interesting alternative, which is much safer and protects your anonymity much better.

Finally, all those who have a need for true anonymity who will be protected and monitored through a secured system supervised by professionals should opt for a VPN. High-quality VPNs are not free, but they have become quite accessible in the last few years and if you don’t want to learn how to code and cover your tracks going with a VPN is probably the best choice.