overview.html (63b643142) - tor-webwml.git

63b6431426cee71bde5368b2ddca0161b986537e

first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`1) <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> 2) 3) <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> 4) <head> 5) <title>Tor: Overview</title>`
clean up my meta and br tags Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`6) <meta name="Author" content="Roger Dingledine" />`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`7) <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> 8) <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="default.css" />`
list the favicon on every page Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`9) <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.ico" />`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`10) </head> 11) 12) <body> 13) <div class="menu" id="side"> 14) <!-- <img id="logo" src="tor.jpg" alt="cute tor gate" /> -->`
clean up my meta and br tags Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`15) <a href="index.html">Home</a> <br />`
website patches from annalee Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`16) <a href="howitworks.html">How it works</a> <br />`
clean up my meta and br tags Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`17) <a href="download.html">Download</a> <br /> 18) <a href="documentation.html">Documentation</a><br /> 19) <a href="contribute.html">Contribute</a> <br /> 20) <a href="developers.html">Developers</a> <br /> 21) <a href="research.html">Research</a> <br /> 22) <a href="people.html">People</a> <br />`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`23) </div><!-- #side --> 24) <div class="main" id="main"> 25)`
give Tor: Overview a differ... Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`26) <h2>Tor: Overview</h2>`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`27) 28) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`29) Tor is a network-within-a-network that allows people and groups to 30) improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables 31) future software developers to create new kinds of communication tools 32) that have built-in privacy features. Tor can provide the foundation for 33) a whole range of applications that allow organizations and individuals 34) to share information over public networks without compromising their 35) privacy.`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`36) </p> 37) 38) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`39) Individuals can use Tor to shield themselves and their family members 40) from being tracked by remote websites. They can also use it to connect 41) to resources such as news sites or instant messaging services that are 42) blocked by their local Internet service providers (ISPs).`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`43) </p> 44) 45) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	46) Groups such as the German "Diabetes People" organization recommend Tor 47) for safeguarding their members' online privacy and security. Activist 48) groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are supporting 49) Tor's development as a mechanism for maintaining civil liberties online. 50) Corporations are investigating Tor as a safe way to conduct competitive 51) analysis, and are considering using Tor to test new experimental projects 52) without associating their names with these projects. A branch of the
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`53) U.S. Navy uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering, and one of its`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`54) teams used Tor while deployed in the Middle East recently.`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`55) </p> 56) 57) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`58) The variety of people who use Tor is actually part of what makes it 59) so secure. The more populous and diverse the user base for Tor is, 60) the more your anonymity will be protected. 61) </p> 62)`
clean up tor website furthe... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`63) <h3>Why we need Tor</h3>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	64) 65) <p> 66) Using Tor protects you against a common form of Internet surveillance 67) known as "traffic analysis." Traffic analysis can be used to infer 68) who is talking to whom over a public network. Knowing the source 69) and destination of your Internet traffic allows others to track your 70) behavior and interests. This can impact your checkbook if, for example, 71) an e-commerce site uses price discrimination based on your country or 72) institution of origin. It can even threaten your job and physical safety
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`73) by revealing who and where you are. For example, if you're travelling 74) abroad and you connect to your employer's computers to check or send mail, 75) you can inadvertently reveal your national origin and professional 76) affiliation to any local observing the network, even if the connection`
make it clearer there's mor... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`77) is encrypted.`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`78) </p> 79) 80) <p> 81) How does traffic analysis work? Internet data packets have two parts:`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`82) a data payload and a header used for routing. The data payload is`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`83) whatever is being sent, whether that's an email message, a web page, or an 84) audio file. Even if you encrypt the data payload of your communications, 85) traffic analysis still reveals a great deal about what you're doing and, 86) possibly, what you're saying. That's because it focuses on the header, 87) which discloses source, destination, size, timing, and so on. 88) </p> 89) 90) <p>`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`91) A basic problem for the privacy minded is that the recipient of your 92) communications can see that you sent it by looking at headers. So can`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	93) authorized intermediaries like Internet service providers, and sometimes 94) unauthorized intermediaries as well. A very simple form of traffic 95) analysis might involve sitting somewhere between sender and recipient on 96) the network, looking at headers. 97) </p> 98) 99) <p> 100) But there are also more powerful kinds of traffic analysis. Some 101) attackers spy on multiple parts of the Internet and use sophisticated 102) statistical techniques to track the communications patterns of many 103) different organizations and individuals. 104) </p> 105)
clean up tor website furthe... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`106) <h3>The solution: a distributed, anonymous network</h3>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	107) 108) <p> 109) Tor helps to reduce the risks of both simple and sophisticated traffic 110) analysis by distributing your transactions over several places on the 111) Internet, so no single point can link you to your destination. The idea 112) is similar to using a twisty, hard-to-follow route in order to throw off 113) somebody who is tailing you -- and then periodically erasing your 114) footprints. Instead of taking a direct route from source to 115) destination, data packets on the Tor network take a random pathway 116) through several servers that cover your tracks so no observer at any 117) single point can tell where the data came from or where it's going. 118) </p> 119)
put ren's how-tor-works dia... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`120) <img alt="tor circuit step one" src="img/htw1.png" align="center" /> 121) <img alt="tor circuit step two" src="img/htw2.png" align="center" /> 122)`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	123) <p> 124) To create a private network pathway with Tor, the user's software or 125) client incrementally builds a circuit of encrypted connections through 126) servers on the network. The circuit is extended one hop at a time, and 127) each server along the way knows only which server gave it data and which 128) server it is giving data to. No individual server will ever know the 129) complete path that a data packet has taken. The client negotiates a 130) separate set of encryption keys for each hop along the circuit to ensure 131) that each hop can't see what these connections are as they pass through.
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`132) </p> 133)`
put ren's how-tor-works dia... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`134) <img alt="tor circuit step three" src="img/htw3.png" align="center" />`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`135) 136) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	137) Once a circuit has been established, many kinds of data can be exchanged 138) and several different sorts of software applications can be deployed 139) over the Tor network. Because each server sees no more than one hop in 140) the circuit, neither an eavesdropper nor a compromised server can use 141) traffic analysis to link the connection's source and destination. Tor 142) only works for TCP streams and can be used by any application with SOCKS 143) support. 144) </p> 145) 146) <p> 147) For efficiency, the Tor software uses the same circuit for connections 148) that happen within the same minute or so. Later requests are given a 149) new circuit, to keep people from linking your earlier actions to the new 150) ones.
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`151) </p> 152)`
put ren's how-tor-works dia... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`153) <img alt="tor circuit step four" src="img/htw4.png" align="center" /> 154)`
clean up tor website furthe... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`155) <h3>Hidden services</h3>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`156)`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`157) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	158) Tor also makes it possible for users to hide their locations while 159) offering various kinds of services, such as web publishing or an instant 160) messaging server. Using Tor "rendezvous points," other Tor users can 161) connect to these hidden services, each without knowing the other's 162) network identity. This hidden service functionality could allow Tor 163) users to set up a website where people publish material without worrying 164) about censorship. Nobody would be able to determine who was offering 165) the site, and nobody who offered the site would know who was posting to it.
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`166) </p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`167)`
clean up tor website furthe... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`168) <h3>Staying anonymous</h3>`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`169) 170) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`171) Of course, Tor can't solve all anonymity problems. It focuses only on 172) protecting the transport of data. You need to use protocol-specific 173) support software if you don't want the sites you visit to see your`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`174) identifying information. For example, you can use web proxies such as 175) Privoxy while web browsing to block cookies and withhold information`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`176) about your browser type.`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`177) </p> 178) 179) <p>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`180) Also, to protect your anonymity, be smart. Don't provide your name`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`181) or other revealing information in web forms. Be aware that, like all`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`182) anonymizing networks that are fast enough for web browsing, Tor does not`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`183) provide protection against end-to-end timing attacks: If your attacker`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`184) can watch the traffic coming out of your computer, and also the traffic 185) arriving at your chosen destination, he can use statistical analysis to 186) discover that they are part of the same circuit. 187) </p> 188)`
clean up tor website furthe... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`189) <h3>The future of Tor</h3>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`190) 191) <p>`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`192) Providing a usable anonymizing network on the Internet today is an 193) ongoing challenge. We want software that meets users' needs. We also 194) want to keep the network up and running in a way that handles as many 195) users as possible. Security and usability don't have to be at odds: 196) As Tor's usability increases, it will attract more users, which will 197) increase the possible sources and destinations of each communication, 198) thus increasing security for everyone.`
make usability/security dis... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`199) We're making progress, but we need your help. Please consider`
website fixes suggested by... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`200) <a href="cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc.html#installing">installing</a> a <a 201) href="cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc.html#server">server</a>`
revised overview text Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`202) or <a href="contribute.html">volunteering</a> as a <a 203) href="developers.html">developer</a>.`
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`204) </p> 205) 206) <p>`
clean up last paragraph of... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	207) Ongoing trends in law, policy, and technology threaten anonymity as never 208) before, undermining our ability to speak and read freely online. These 209) trends also undermine national security and critical infrastructure by 210) making communication among individuals, organizations, corporations, 211) and governments more vulnerable to analysis. Each new user and server 212) provides additional diversity, enhancing Tor's ability to put control 213) over your security and privacy back into your hands.
first cut of new website Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`214) </p> 215) 216) </div><!-- #main -->`
decide on a format for cont... Roger Dingledine authored 20 years ago	`217) <div class="bottom" id="bottom"> 218) <i><a href="mailto:tor-webmaster@freehaven.net">Webmaster</a></i> - 219) $Id$ 220) </div>`