How To Use TOR: UNOFFICIAL GUIDE

Truly Private Browsing: TOR Unofficial Guide

Recently in our previous article, we talked about how essential our privacy is, how some big tech giants are controlling our privacy including Google, Facebook, Amazon, and our own Government, and how we can save ourselves from being tracked by them using Epic Privacy Browser. You can read it here. But when we are talking about privacy, and if Tor Browser didn’t come to your mind, well, then my friend I am afraid to say but you really need to improve some general knowledge. But don’t worry. That’s why we are here with one more amazing article which will take you to the tour in the Dark World aka Dark web aka world inside The Onion Router.

Disclaimer: This article is solely for general information and does not intend to promote illegal activities of any kind or comprises legal advice. It should be noted that Tor can be used to access illegal content on the Dark Web, and Digital Trends but we do not condone or encourage this behavior. This article is strictly for educational and understanding purposes only. We are not responsible for any kind of illegal activity you perform or get involved while browsing in TOR.

What is TOR:

Back in the mid-’90s, when the US Navy was looking into ways to securely communicate sensitive intelligence information, a mathematician and two computer scientists emerged from the Naval Research Lab with something called “onion routing.” It was a new kind of technology that would protect your internet traffic with layers of privacy. By 2003, The Onion Routing project, acronym Tor, was in the hands of the public, where its vast network of users — the engine enabling Tor — has since continued to grow.

At a basic level, Tor is software that allows users to browse the web anonymously. Well, that’s quite common in so many browsers. Google has an incognito mode, Firefox has a private window, even Epic Browser is fully anonymous. So what is so different in this browser that makes it different? The difference is how the Tor browser connects you to the internet through the Tor network. Let’s have a look at some key points.

1. How is it different from other browsers?

When you browse the internet using this browser, your traffic is randomly directed through a network of servers before you reach your final destination, in order to protect your location and identity. This process obscures the message content, as well as where the message has been and is going.

To understand how Tor keeps your identity private, it is necessary to understand a few underlying principles.

• All Tor users distribute a copy of their public key and IP address using an integrated peer-to-peer network.
• Tor network anonymity uses a system of relays, also known as nodes. The more nodes that are running, the more robust this browser network is.
• The only piece of data decrypted in the transmission is the forwarding IP address.
• Received data carries the IP address of the “exit node”–the final link in the encryption chain

1. While Tor is an excellent anonymity tool, the exit node can be compromised. Bearing those things in mind, the following is an abstract example of how sending a private and encrypted message on Tor actually works.
2. You open your Tor-enabled browser (client). The client encrypts all data packets sent from your computer.
3. Your computer sends a data packet to Node A.
4. Node A encrypts the already encrypted data packet and sends it to Node B.
5. Node B encrypts the already encrypted data packet and sends it to Node C.
6. This cycle continues until the data packet reaches Node Z — the “exit node.”
7. Node Z decrypts all the layers of encryption on the data packet and delivers it to its final destination.

Each relay only decrypts enough data to know the location of the previous and next relays. Since each path is randomly generated and none of the relays keep records, it’s nearly impossible for your activity to be traced back to you through Tor’s complex network.

1. Who can use Tor, and why?
   it is probably impossible to get an accurate view of its user base. Specific trends become apparent, however, and some Tor advocates are especially vocal about their reasons for using the service. Tor has become popular with journalists and activists in countries that impose restrictions on their citizen’s internet and expression.

More Tor Secret Services:

• Anonymous Mails / Messages
• Bitcoins

To be fair, the fact that Tor allows such communities to grow is troubling. However, it is essential to note that criminal activity on Tor is a consequence of the Project’s commitment to freedom of expression and not a goal. As with many things that are both advantageous and dangerous, the use of Tor is not inherently good or bad, but rather how you choose to implement it.

How to use TOR:

1. Just in case: the author and TheProNoobS.com do not endorse any illegal activity committed by the reader, of any kind. This is education on anonymity and privacy.
2. Tor hidden service addresses use the following format: https://[16-character hash].onion
   The .onion suffix is a special top-level domain that signifies an anonymous hidden service. The 16-character hash address is automatically generated, based upon a public key created when the service is configured. It can become more than a little tricky keeping track of .onion addresses, so we suggest bookmarking your favorites.
3. For example, this is the current link to The Hidden Wiki (uncensored!): http://zqktlwi4fecvo6ri.onion/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Note this service isn’t using HTTPS. Technically, it doesn’t matter as The Hidden Wiki is a repository for other .onion links. You won’t be entering or leaving any personally identifying information.

Why Not Use Tor?

1. While Tor is useful for browsing the web anonymously, it is not without problems. The Tor browser can draw attention to you. Your ISP can’t see what you’re doing, but it can see that you’re connected to Tor. This by itself can be enough to raise suspicion about what you’re doing.
2. While the Tor network is secure from traffic analysis, Tor is vulnerable to attacks and exploits like any other browser. By infecting someone’s computer with malware, governments and cybercriminals can track browser activities, log keystrokes, copy webcam and surveillance footage, and even remotely access and control internet-connected devices.
3. Merely using Tor can make one an attractive target for the government, even if you only use it for legal purposes. Leaked NSA documents have revealed that they primarily focus on “dumb users,” aka Tor users with little internet security knowledge to gain footholds in the Tor network. It means they can use you to get access to nodes and could observe packets traveling and shedding layers and reconstruct the path the data traveled.
4. The biggest drawback to using the Tor browser is speed. Because your data has to travel through multiple relays before reaching your final destination, browsing can be very slow.
5. Tor Browser is not the best choice for streaming and downloading, and its creators strongly discourage torrenting as well. So if you’re looking for a way to stream or torrent, a VPN is much better protection.

So, as you can see, the side not to use tor is heavy compared to Why use Tor. We also recommend you not to get involved in any such activities which can lead you down a destructive path and can be held against you to prove you guilty by your government.

Anyone browsing Tor’s hidden services should be careful about where they click. While many pages are socially acceptable or at the very least legal, such as sites for whistleblowers or Bitcoin exchanges, others are havens for disturbing, even criminal behavior. The cover of darkness helps rebels and monsters alike, and even naively stumbling onto a webpage containing illicit content could land you in legal trouble.

To quote someone with their own famous and controversial reputation, “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby becomes a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

Additional Reads: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/online-privacy-beginners/

BY: DHRUVIL ‘JÊRRŸ’ BHATT

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