Tor web browsing is a group of servers that enables users to improve their online anonymity. The volunteer-operated servers allow users to use their servers by connecting via a series of tunnels instead of performing a direct connection. Individuals and organizations can as a result share important information over open networks while maintaining their online anonymity.
The use of Tor Network
The free software helps you protect against traffic analysis, a kind of surveillance that threatens individual privacy and freedom, state security, and relationships. Traffic analysis is used to find out who is communicating to whom over an open network. Discovering the destination and source of internet traffic enables others track your interests and behavior.
The reason for online anonymity
Traffic analysis works as follows; Internet data packets contain two main parts: a header that is normally used for routing and a data payload. Data payload is the information being sent, whether it’s a webpage, an audio file or an email message. Even if you try to encrypt all your communications, a great deal of what you are doing or possibly saying is disclosed by traffic analysis. The reason for the above being that it remains focused on the header that reveals destination, source, timing, size and so on.
A fundamental problem for those who want to maintain their online anonymity is that the receiver of your information can know that you sent some communication by checking the headers. Intermediaries with legal authority like service providers of the internet or sometimes unauthorized intermediaries too can therefore, access such information. The simplest kind of traffic analysis involves sitting somewhere between the recipient and sender on the network checking for headers.
There are more powerful types of traffic analysis. The majority of attackers spy on some areas on the internet and employ advanced techniques to track patterns of communication of many individuals and different organizations. Encryption does not protect against these hackers since it only masks the internet traffic content and not the headers.
The Best Solution: A distributed anonymous network
Tor assists in the reduction of both sophisticated and simple traffic analysis risks by spreading your online transactions in various areas on the internet, preventing any single point from linking you to your specific destination.
Maintaining online anonymity
Tor can’t solve all your anonymity problems. It only focuses on protecting the transport of your data. You have to use protocol-specific software such as Tor Browser to hide your identifying information to the websites you visit. Be smart in protecting your anonymity. Avoid providing your name in web forms and other revealing information for more privacy and security.
Here is the bottom line; data encryption may not be enough in the maintenance of your online anonymity. Tor network offers you a great help but needs to be backed up by other techniques for the best results.