The Tor browser has been built to improve the privacy of internet users. The US State Department had a hand in supporting the development of the browser (Foreign Policy 2013), as a tool for activists whose goals, it believed, aligned with those of the USA. Of course any activist, of any persuasion can use it.
Tor stands for “The Onion Router” and that’s is how it works, wrapping up and concealing user web browsing data in anonymous layers. These actions separate identity from routing. There is a good description of the process on Wikipedia:
The one key step in this security process is the final relay as it is the point on the process where “real-world” information has to be available to connect the user to the resource and it is this that is under possible attack. Bruce Schneier has an explanation here:
Someone Is Running Lots of Tor Relays – Schneier on Security
Even with this issue I am still running a Tor browser – I take my privacy seriously.
Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles
References and Further Reading
Tor Project | Anonymity Online
Not Even the NSA Can Crack the State Dept’s Favorite Anonymous Network – Foreign Policy
