When talking about Tor, besides the superhero, what comes to mind is the browser that allows us to access the deep web, how striking it is for many. However, this is not works over the conventional internet, it does over a network of the same name, the so-called Tor network, which is special and is the one that is truly in charge of preserving our identity; the browser, despite being the best known, is only an access tool.
The Tor network, as such, it has quite a bit of time. However, the greater knowledge of it and its facilities to connect to it are something quite new, which does not reach two decades. Its operation is very interesting and, above all, useful, so that it is increasingly used.
If you are interested in learning more about her, what are its characteristics, how to access and navigate through it and what are you exposed to if you do keep reading because we will see everything.
What is Tor the anonymous network?
Tor is a distributed network that overlays the internet. and that it has a low latency launched in the year 2002 and that continues to be updated continuously. Its main feature is do not reveal the identity of users When there is an exchange of messages between them, carrying out a routing or routing that allows the information to be sent in the most appropriate way according to the needs of the user and, of course, the characteristics of the network in question.
Another feature, besides the user anonymity (the IP), is the secret of the information that is managed, that remains intact. Its operation is based on an onion routingwhich causes messages to travel to the destination through a large number of onion routers so that they lose track.
This is similar to what occurs in a peer-to-peer networkalthough it is not one of them. There are individuals and organizations that donate the bandwidth and processing capabilities of their equipment. As the participating nodes are distributed, and they are completely changing on each occasion, we find a network that, in general, is not attacked, as it is very difficult to knock down.
On the other hand, we have that, although it calls itself the anonymous network, the truth is that it is not infalliblewell although resists attacks and is flexibleit’s not perfect.
Definitely:
- It is an anonymous network.
- It is superimposed on the internet.
- It works through volunteer nodes.
- The information is encrypted to keep it intact.
- It travels through various nodes.
- Hard to attack.
As a curious fact, to know that this type of network operation was designed so that the communications of the US Navy were more protected, although it later became public domain and free of charge.
How does Tor actually work?
The operating system is calledas we have seen, “routed onion”of English “Onion Routing“, which works to guarantee the privacy of the data and the anonymity of the users. The routing work that is commonly done to consult the websites, the one you have done with your computer or mobile to read this, is direct.
This means that the device has made a direct connection to our servers, creating a simple route computer-router-ISP router-servers. Many data packets are sent along this path, and if someone were to intercept them, they would know where they are traveling from and where they are going.
What onion routing does is send data packets through a non-direct path, making use of several nodeswhich correspond to the systems of other users who connect and give up their resources to enable such information exchanges.
The path followed, considering a computer A that sends messages and another B that receives it, is the following:
- Once inside the anonymous Tor network, A makes a calculation on the route to Bhaving to go through some nodes along the way.
- There is a directory of nodes with which A going to get the public keys of which you will use.
- The message is encryptedusing asymmetric encryption, like an onion, layer by layer.
- First use the key of the last node to be used, so that this is the only one that can decrypt the message. On the other hand, we find instructions necessary for the packet of information to arrive Where corresponds.
- Once encrypted, is sent to the first node.
- This one deciphers it and follow the instructions given.
- The packet is encrypted again to reach another node, and so node to node until reaching the penultimate.
- The further you go, the more protected you are by the various routing layers provided by the different nodes. It is worth mentioning that in this process the IP is continually being changed.
- The last node, the exit node, is the one that sends the message to computer B..
With this process, the data being transmitted is unknown.. We only have the first connection node, which knows where the message comes from, and the last one, which knows where it is going. In fact, the rest of the nodes do not even know at what point they are participating. So much so that not even the existence of spy nodes would be useful to get the information it is distributing.
How to securely connect to and use the Tor anonymous network?
Until not too long ago, the connection to this network brought with it quite a few inconveniences, it was not exactly a fast or light process, requiring the installation of various software that acted as a proxy.
To put a solution to that appear Tor BrowserWhat is it a cross-platform browser specifically designed to be used, with complete ease, precisely on the Tor anonymous network. All you have to do is:
- You will be able to choose the appropriate executable depending on your operating system, its version, language, etc.
- install it like you do with any other software. You will be prompted for a hosting path, asked about creating a shortcut, etc. It is not difficult or out of the ordinary.
- start it. Double click on the folder that has been created and then on the launcher of the browser, “Start Tor Browser”. A window will open.
- Connect to the network. Do it by clicking on the “Connect” button (if you have downloaded and installed it in Spanish).
- At that moment the browser will open, which you can start using now.
About navigationpoint out some things (you can visit ) to know in detail what it is, how it works, how to configure it, etc.):
- You have various configuration options to adjust your privacy and security. These are very effective but it is advisable to only use them if you know how to do it. As in any browser, you have these options in its menu bar.
- Currently you have a default browser and you can choose to have any otheras you usually do with Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Edge or another. In them you can make the searches you want and the main results will be those that are not indexed in the “normal” internet, that is, those that we cannot access regularly because they do not appear in the searches of conventional search engines will appear.
- there is another navigation method with Tor, which is exclusive to Tor and is based precisely on site encryption. This consists of creating spaces (services) with .onion domain and with names that are an automatically generated set of 16 characters. Thus, no one enters by chance but you must know the name of these services, known as “onion services”, which have added protections and are hidden in terms of location and IP.
Dangers and risks when browsing the Deep or Dark Web and how we can protect ourselves
When you go to get down to work, do not forget the following considerations to always keep yourself safe, we are going to see some interesting points that we have to take into account:
Do not enter sites related to us
Don’t even think about accessing your profiles on social networks, accounts on any type of platform or your own website (login id can be given in many ways), nor visit them. In the latter case, it would be more difficult for you to be related to navigation, but it is still possible.
Also, if you have a website with little traffic, it is normal that it is not in the distributed network and that an administration identifier output relay appears. They can get into our account, obtain information from it, carry out transactions on our behalf, suspend our accounts…
Do not use personal information either
Never use any type of information related to youneither your name nor your telephone number, postal address, names of friends (even if they do not include last names), old email addresses (If you need an account for something, create a temporary one with an application of the type )…
Identity forgery would be the best thing that could happen to you if someone managed to get hold of your personal information.
Don’t talk about the deep web on your sites either.
Confessing that you have visited, and moreover giving information about what has been done, will only serve to someone can match your activity to your identity. Do not even think of linking to invisible sites, because you can easily know where they come from.
Use a single identity
The “lies have very short legs” is not an exaggeration. If they invent several profiles for you it is more than likely that eventually these will end up relating somehow.
encrypted information
When you have to send information, make sure you encrypt it first. For this, it is essential to make good use of the browser and use plug-ins such as HTTPS Everywherewhich ensures the security of the information on the way.
Do not alternate Tor with open WiFi
They must be used at the same time so that our MAC cannot be related (your team’s identification address) with the activity you have carried out.
Not even with direct internet connections
If we are two things at once we may get confused and we end up making a mistake when sending data in a network that is not.
Don’t use Tor over Tor
Use only one input and one output to the networkThey are all you need. Creating more than one does not improve security, quite the contrary.
Don’t use Bridges
These are the network relays that are not listed with the intention that they are not blocked by ISPs.
Do not modify the Tor access settings
The default configuration of the access utilities is usually very adequate. For that reason, if you are not sure how to do it, it is better to keep the preset parameters. It would be possible that, instead of improving your security, you create big gaps that end up making it possible for them to track your activity.
Avoid double authentication
The double authentication methods somehow require of a relationship between authentication and some personal informationnecessary to achieve it.
Do not open received files
The files of the deep web or the dark web are full of malware so it is best that you do not download anything and, if you do it by mistake, do not open what you have received.
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