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+<h2>Tor FAQ</h2>

+<hr />

+<ul>

+<li><a href="#General">General questions</a></li>

+<li><a href="#foo">Compilation and Installation</a></li>

+<li><a href="#foo">Running Tor</a></li>

+<li><a href="#foo">Running a Tor client</a></li>

+<li><a href="#foo">Running a Tor relay</a></li>

+<li><a href="#foo">Running a Tor hidden service</a></li>

+<li><a href="#foo">What happens to my donation?</a></li>

+</ul>

+

+<hr />

+

+<a id="General"></a>

+

+<a id="WhatIsTor"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#WhatIsTor">What is Tor?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+Tor is an anonymity network.  It protects your privacy on the

+internet.  Tor uses a series of three proxies - computers (or

+nodes) which communicate on your behalf using their own identifying

+information - in such a way that none of them know both your identifying

+information and your destination.  Tor can also help people get around

+restrictive firewalls which censor web content.  Read the <a href="<page

+overview>">Tor overview</a> to learn more about Tor and what it can do

+for you.

+</p>

+

+<a id="CompatibleApplications"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#CompatibleApplications">What programs and

+applications work with Tor?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+Tor presents a SOCKS proxy interface to applications, so any application that

+supports SOCKS (versions 4, 4a and 5) can be anonymized using Tor. Most

+web browsers, many instant messaging and IRC clients, SSH clients and

+email clients already have built-in support for SOCKS.  However, not all SOCKS 

+interfaces are equal.  See [#SOCKSAndDNS below] for information about how some 

+SOCKS interfaces may leak information via DNS about where you are going on the 

+internet, and how you can avoid this.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Since Tor does not filter message content, additional software

+agents should be used to filter content. For example, <a

+href="http://www.privoxy.org/">Privoxy</a> is a good HTTP proxy for

+filtering dangerous or annoying web content, such as tracking scripts

+and ads.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+We have compiled a <a

+href="https://wiki.torproject.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/SupportPrograms">list

+of applications that help you direct your traffic

+through Tor</a>, and a list of instructions for <a

+href="https://wiki.torproject.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorifyHOWTO">Torifying

+specific applications</a>. Please add to these lists and help us keep

+them accurate!

+</p>

+

+<a id="Volunteer"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#Volunteer">How can I help?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+We've set up a preliminary <a href="<page volunteer>">"volunteer"

+page</a>, which lists a few ways to help. If you have something to

+contribute that we haven't listed there, chances are we still need it.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+There are also more answers in the <a href="#WhySlow">Why is Tor slow?</a>

+answer and the <a href="#Funding">What we need to work on</a> answer.

+</p>

+

+<a id="WhyCalledTor"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#WhyCalledTor">Why is it called Tor?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+Because Tor is the onion routing network. I kept telling people I was

+working on onion routing, and they said "Neat. Which one?" Even if onion

+routing has become a standard household term, this is the actual onion

+routing project, started out of the Naval Research Lab.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+(Theories about recursive acronyms are ok too. It's also got a fine

+translation into German.)

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Note: even though it comes from an acronym, Tor is not spelled "TOR".

+Only the first letter is capitalized.

+</p>

+

+<a id="Backdoor"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#Backdoor">Is there a backdoor in Tor?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+There is absolutely no backdoor in Tor.  Nobody has asked us to put one

+in, and we know some smart lawyers who say that it's unlikely that anybody

+will try to make us add one in our jurisdiction (U.S.).  If they do

+ask us, we will fight them, and (the lawyers say) probably win.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+We think that putting a backdoor in Tor would be tremendously

+irresponsible to our users, and a bad precedent for security software

+in general.  If we ever put a deliberate backdoor in our security

+software, it would ruin our professional reputations.  Nobody would

+trust our software ever again — for excellent reason!

+</p>

+

+<p>

+But that said, there are still plenty of subtle attacks

+people might try.  Somebody might impersonate us, or break into our

+computers, or something like that.  Tor is open source, and you should

+always check the source (or at least the diffs since the last release)

+for suspicious things.  If we (or the distributors) don't give you

+source, that's a sure sign something funny might be going on. You

+should also check the GPG signatures on the releases, to make sure

+nobody messed with the distribution sites.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Also, there might be accidental bugs in Tor that could affect your

+anonymity.  We don't know of such bugs right now.  If we learn of any,

+we will let you know.

+</p>

+

+<a id="DistributingTor"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#DistributingTor">Can I distribute Tor on

+my magazine's CD??</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+Yes.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+The Tor software is <a href="http://www.fsf.org/">free software</a>. This

+means we give you the rights to redistribute the Tor software, either

+modified or unmodified, either for a fee or gratis. You don't have to

+ask us for specific permission.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+However, if you want to redistribute the Tor software you must follow our

+<a href="https://svn.torproject.org/svn/trunk/LICENSE">LICENSE</a>.

+Essentially this means that you need to include our LICENSE file along

+with whatever part of the Tor software you're distributing.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Most people who ask us this question don't want to distribute just the

+Tor software, though. They want to distribute the Tor bundles, which

+typically include <a href="http://www.privoxy.org/">Privoxy</a>

+and <a href="http://www.vidalia-project.net/">Vidalia</a>.

+You will need to follow the licenses for those programs

+as well. Both of them are distributed under the <a

+href="http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl.html">GNU General

+Public License</a>. The simplest way to obey their licenses is to

+include the source code for these programs everywhere you include

+the bundles themselves. Look for "source" packages on the <a

+href="http://www.vidalia-project.net/download.php">Vidalia

+download page</a> and the <a

+href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=11118">Privoxy

+download page</a>.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Also, you should make sure not to confuse your users about what Tor is,

+who makes it, and what properties it provides (and doesn't provide). See

+our <a href="<page trademark-faq>">trademark FAQ</a> for details.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Lastly, you should realize that we release new versions of the

+Tor software frequently, and sometimes we make backward incompatible

+changes. So if you distribute a particular version of the Tor software, it

+may not be supported — or even work — six months later. This

+is a fact of life for all security software under heavy development.

+</p>

+

+<a id="SupportMail"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#SupportMail">How can I get an answer to my

+Tor support mail?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+Many people send the Tor developers mail privately, or send mail to

+our internal aliases like tor-webmaster, with questions about their

+specific setup -- they can't get their firewall working right,

+they can't configure Privoxy correctly, or so on. Sometimes our

+volunteers can answer these mails, but typically they need to spend

+most of their time on development tasks that will benefit more people.

+This is especially true if your question is already covered in the <a

+href="<page documentation>">documentation</a> or on this FAQ. We don't

+hate you; we're just busy.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+So if we don't answer your mail, first check the <a href="<page

+documentation>">documentation</a> page, along with this FAQ,

+to make sure your question isn't already answered.  Then read <a

+href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html">"How to ask

+questions the smart way"</a>. If this doesn't help you, note that we

+have <a href="<page documentation>#Support">an IRC channel</a> where you

+can ask your questions (but if they are still open-ended, ill-formed,

+or not about Tor, you likely won't get much help there either). Lastly,

+people on the <a href="<page documentation>#MailingLists">or-talk

+mailing list</a> may be able to provide some hints for you, if

+others have experienced your problems too. Be sure to look over <a

+href="http://archives.seul.org/or/talk/">the archives</a> first.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Another strategy is to <a href="<page docs/tor-doc-relay>">run a Tor

+relay for a while</a>, and/or <a href="<page donate>">donate money</a>

+<a href="<page volunteer>">or time</a> to the effort. We're more likely

+to pay attention to people who have demonstrated interest and commitment

+to giving back to the Tor community.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+If you find an answer, please stick around on the IRC channel or the

+mailing list and answer questions from others.

+</p>

+

+<a id="WhySlow"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#WhySlow">Why is Tor so slow?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+There are many reasons why the Tor network is currently slow.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+Before we answer, though, you should realize that Tor is never going to

+be blazing fast. Your traffic is bouncing through volunteers' computers

+in various parts of the world, and some bottlenecks and network latency

+will always be present. You shouldn't expect to see university-style

+bandwidth through Tor.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+But that doesn't mean that it can't be improved. The current Tor network

+is quite small compared to the number of people trying to use it, and

+many of these users don't understand or care that Tor can't currently

+handle file-sharing traffic load.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+What can you do to help?

+</p>

+

+<ul>

+

+<li>

+<a href="<page docs/tor-doc-relay>">Configure your Tor to relay traffic

+for others</a>. Help make the Tor network large enough that we can handle

+all the users who want privacy and security on the Internet.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+<a href="<page gui/index>">Help us make Tor more usable</a>. We

+especially need people to help make it easier to configure your Tor

+as a relay. Also, we need help with clear simple documentation to

+walk people through setting it up.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+There are some bottlenecks in the current Tor network. Help us design

+experiments to track down and demonstrate where the problems are, and

+then we can focus better on fixing them.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+There are some steps that individuals

+can take to improve their Tor performance. <a

+href="https://wiki.torproject.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/FireFoxTorPerf">You

+can configure your Firefox to handle Tor better</a>, <a

+href="http://www.pps.jussieu.fr/~jch/software/polipo/tor.html">you can use

+Polipo with Tor</a>, or you can try <a href="<page download>">upgrading

+to the latest version of Tor</a>.  If this works well, please help by

+documenting what you did, and letting us know about it.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Tor needs some architectural changes too. One important change is to

+start providing <a href="#EverybodyARelay">better service to people who

+relay traffic</a>. We're working on this, and we'll finish faster if we

+get to spend more time on it.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Help do other things so we can do the hard stuff. Please take a moment

+to figure out what your skills and interests are, and then <a href="<page

+volunteer>">look at our volunteer page</a>.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Help find sponsors for Tor. Do you work at a company or government agency

+that uses Tor or has a use for Internet privacy, e.g. to browse the

+competition's websites discreetly, or to connect back to the home servers

+when on the road without revealing affiliations? If your organization has

+an interest in keeping the Tor network working, please contact them about

+supporting Tor. Without sponsors, Tor is going to become even slower.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+If you can't help out with any of the above, you can still help out

+individually by <a href="<page donate>">donating a bit of money to the

+cause</a>. It adds up!

+</li>

+

+</ul>

+

+<a id="Funding"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#Funding">What would the Tor project do with

+more funding?</a></h3>

+

+<p>

+We have about 1500 relays right now, pushing over 150 MB/s average

+traffic. We have several hundred thousand active users. But the Tor

+network is not yet self-sustaining.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+There are six main development/maintenance pushes that need attention:

+</p>

+

+<ul>

+

+<li>

+Scalability: We need to keep scaling and decentralizing the Tor

+architecture so it can handle thousands of relays and millions of

+users. The upcoming stable release is a major improvement, but there's

+lots more to be done next in terms of keeping Tor fast and stable.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+User support: With this many users, a lot of people are asking questions

+all the time, offering to help out with things, and so on. We need good

+clean docs, and we need to spend some effort coordinating volunteers.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Relay support: the Tor network is run by volunteers, but they still need

+attention with prompt bug fixes, explanations when things go wrong,

+reminders to upgrade, and so on. The network itself is a commons, and

+somebody needs to spend some energy making sure the relay operators stay

+happy. We also need to work on <a href="#RelayOS">stability</a> on some

+platforms — e.g., Tor relays have problems on Win XP currently.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Usability: Beyond documentation, we also need to work on usability of the

+software itself. This includes installers, clean GUIs, easy configuration

+to interface with other applications, and generally automating all of

+the difficult and confusing steps inside Tor. We've got a start on this

+with the <a href="<page gui/index>">GUI Contest</a>, but much more work

+remains — usability for privacy software has never been easy.

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Incentives: We need to work on ways to encourage people to configure

+their Tors as relays and exit nodes rather than just clients.

+<a href="#EverybodyARelay">We need to make it easy to become a relay,

+and we need to give people incentives to do it.</a>

+</li>

+

+<li>

+Research: The anonymous communications field is full

+of surprises and gotchas. In our copious free time, we

+also help run top anonymity and privacy conferences like <a

+href="http://petsymposium.org/">PETS</a>. We've identified a set of

+critical <a href="<page volunteer>#Research">Tor research questions</a>

+that will help us figure out how to make Tor secure against the variety of

+attacks out there. Of course, there are more research questions waiting

+behind these.

+</li>

+

+</ul>

+

+<p>

+We're continuing to move forward on all of these, but at this rate

+<a href="#WhySlow">the Tor network is growing faster than the developers

+can keep up</a>.

+Now would be an excellent time to add a few more developers to the effort

+so we can continue to grow the network.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+We are also excited about tackling related problems, such as

+censorship-resistance.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+We are proud to have <a href="<page sponsors>">sponsorship and support</a>

+from the Omidyar Network, the International Broadcasting Bureau, Bell

+Security Solutions, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, several government

+agencies and research groups, and hundreds of private contributors.

+</p>

+

+<p>

+However, this support is not enough to keep Tor abreast of changes in the

+Internet privacy landscape. Please <a href="<page donate>">donate</a>

+to the project, or <a href="<page contact>">contact</a> our executive

+director for information on making grants or major donations.

+</p>

+

+

+<hr />

+

+<a id="question"></a>

+<h3><a class="anchor" href="#question">Question?</a></h3>

   </div><!-- #main -->