TOR—Anonymous Internetworking
I’ve recently discovered TOR (The Onion Router), an anonymous Internet communication system. The name references an onion’s multiple peel layers. In a TOR network, data sent from one router to the next is encrypted with an added layer of encryption. Using TOR, data sent or retrieved is untraceable. While this offers a substantial measure of anonymity to those who wish to communicate freely, it also posses several security concerns (this technology seems tailor made for terrorism).
For an example of the power of TOR, install TOR and check out the Hidden Wiki. This web server resides in an unknown site and is nearly impossible to locate. At this site, TOR users can post information and files without fear of being sued. For example, someone posted Mike Lynn’s recent Cisco router vulnerability presentation and pictures. Other sites have been forced by Cisco legal to remove the information, but because the Hidden Wiki is untraceable, Cisco lawyers have no one to sue. Definitely a two-edged sword.
Anthony Vance » Torpark–Simplied Anonymous Web Browsing said,
Wrote on September 22, 2006 @ 11:01 pm
[...] I’ve written before about TOR–a means of accessing the Internet anonymously. Whereas typical web browsing can be easily tracked by Internet Service Providers or governments, TOR sends traffic through a random, encrypted mesh of routers so that data is very difficult to track. Until now, TOR has required some computer know-how to setup. However, a new web browser, Torpark, has made anonymous web browsing easy and transparent. [...]