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The Onion Router is Internet privacy software that comprises of a series of tunnels that permits people to enhance their security and privacy. More and more communication tools with built-in privacy features using TOR are being released. People can share information on the Internet without having to compromise on the security aspect.

TOR protects the web sites from being tracked, connect to news sites, and communicate via instant messages even when they are blocked by the Internet providers. Web sites can be published without having to reveal their locations. Communication that is sensitive in nature is conducted using TOR, exchange of information such as diseases, rape, abuse, etc… Dissidents and whistleblowers help journalists by communicating with them using TOR.

The reason why TOR exists is that there is a form of Internet surveillance called traffic analysis. Traffic analysis can be used to find out who is communicating with whom using a public network. Source as well as destination of the Internet traffic is known. TOR is used to sort out this problem by not directly sending a message from the source to the destination. It instead, takes random paths so that the route becomes untraceable. TOR creates a private network by building circuits using encrypted connections in all servers on the network. This circuit moves only in one hop so that no server knows which server provided the data and to which server this data is headed to. Each hop contains a different set of encryption keys. TOR is applicable only in TCP streams. If an application has SOCKS support, it can use TOR.

TOR is also used to provide hidden services, that is, providing services without revealing the IP address. They can be run from behind the firewall. TOR can be used only to protect the transport of information. Support software that is protocol specific must be used to hide the web sites that are visited. Browser information can be hidden using Privoxy in combination with TOR. Privoxy is also used to block cookies.

To sum it up, TOR is used to provide protection in three forms, hiding the location of the source from other web sites and users, protecting ISP and other information that reveals the flow of information, and routing connection through multiple servers so that no traces are left behind.