THE TOR BROWSER

-




With time everyone wants CIA i.e., confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their data. But while using a browser like Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc it is easy to get knowledge about your activity on the internet for example which site you had visited, online post and messages, etc. The Tor Browser is going to be the proper solution to keep up the privacy of your data.


What is Tor Browser?


Tor is a Freely distributed Application Software, which enables us to surf the Internet anonymously, making it easy to guard our identity online. It's open-source which is safe and reliable. 

Also known as “Onion Router” because of its working mechanism written in C programming language. Can be downloaded on Mac, Linux, Window,s and mobile devices too.


How does it work?


Tor runs on the concept of Onion routing. In onion processing, layers are built into each other just like other onion layers. It uses identical servers, consecutive TCP / IP codes, and also the same encryption algorithms used by the other internets. Tor browser looks and sounds like any other modern web browser. But while other browsers like Firefox and Chrome send their internet traffic directly to the websites requested by the user, the Tor browser sends traffic via the Tor network. 

Tor network consists of three relays- middle relays, exit relays, and bridges. The data is integrated into an encrypted package when it enters the Tor network.

One layer of encryption is decrypted at each successive Tor relay, and therefore the remaining data is delivered to any random relay until it reaches its destination. For the destination server, the last Tor node/exit relay seems like the origin of the data. Thus, this way Tor protects the IP addresses of your servers.

Advantages of tor


  1. Anonymous: Individual data packets bounce through multiple nodes, making surveillance impractical. IP addresses are also improbable to track or trace.

  2. Secure: Because it’s open-source software, it’s difficult to hide malware in Tor. There’s security against malicious code, but few criminals bother targeting this niche browser.

  3. Free: Free and accessible worldwide. Downloading Tor is free, and works on PCs, Macs, and Linux computers. No unwanted advertising or cookies, either.

  4. Access to the deep web: It accesses the deep web. Sites with a .onion suffix (most of the deep web) are accessible through Tor, but not through other mainstream web browsers.

  5. Door to large content.


Disadvantages


1. Performance. Due to the distribution of layer-like data, Tor browses very slowly. You may have difficulty viewing the content of streaming media, even across broadband fiber. It also takes ages to load its homepage 

2. Data isn’t encrypted. Because it’s effectively anonymous, Tor doesn’t try encrypting data. As for encryption of data, a separate VPN will be required which will contribute to further slow transferring of the data.

3. Security flaws. Information is delivered anonymously, but the browser software comprises vulnerabilities, especially when viewing HTTP sites rather than encrypted HTTPS ones.

4. Illegal: In many countries, it is illegal to work on tor because illegal marketplaces and panels are easy to set up and directly accessible by the ‘benefit’ public. 

References 



Shreya Goel

Roll No:1900290100149 

V Sem

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

QUANTUM STORAGE & MEMORY

-
Image
  Quantum computers stand to transform the world of computers. They have the capacity to be greatly more powerful than our current digital devices, with the power to solve important computational problems and simulate complex physical systems with unmatched efficiency. Like memories are an important component for computers, that’s like quantum memories are also essential components for quantum computers, a new generation of data processors that follow the laws of quantum mechanics and these laws help to overcome the limitations of classical computers. Quantum computers are expected to be much faster and more powerful than their traditional analogue as information is calculated in qubits (the fundamental unit of computation in quantum computing)  in quantum computers while the older units are bits which used in classical computers, can represent both 0 and 1 at the same time. Quantum memory is used as a key element in information processing, such as optical  quantum comp...
Read more

QUANTUM COMPUTING: CAN FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

-
….IN AN INFINITE UNIVERSE ANYTHING THAT COULD BE IMAGINED MIGHT SOMEWHERE EXIST.                                                                   - Dean Koontz Quantum computing is an emerging domain that is yet to enter our lives. However, the researchers are working hard to bring it into existence. Quantum computing can make the impossible possible. There are some problems that even supercomputers can’t solve. Quantum computers will however have the potential to solve such problems. In the same way that bits are used in a classical computer, quantum computers use quantum bits or qubits which can store information in the quantum form. A qubit can be 0 or 1, or ...
Read more

BLOCKCHAIN: HOW IT WORKS AND WHY SO POPULAR

-
Image
Merely, 12 years ago on 31 st October 2008, SATOSHI NAKAMOTO published a paper on the internet about the idea of bitcoin. The Paper’s first few lines almost depicted all. The lines – “A version of electronic cash that would allow payments to be sent directly from one party/person to another party without involving a financial institution.” The value of bitcoin in 2010 was ~ 0 INR and value in 2020 ~ 15 lakhs INR. Recently, it touched its high price point, and now again is the topic of discussion among the market and media. Why so much difference? Like the US dollar is controlled by the Central Bank of US and the Indian rupee is controlled by RBI. Normally, our financial systems are based on “TRUST”. Whereas Cryptocurrency is a digital asset over which central banks or financial institutions have no control or rules/regulation. The currency notes and coins have value just because they are guaranteed by the government and central bank. Every currency has a promissory note with the signa...
Read more