Tor (network)

This article is about the software and anonymity network. For the software's organization, see The Tor Project. For the magazine, see Tor.com.

Tor
Developer(s)The Tor Project
Initial releaseSeptember 20, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-09-20)[1]
Stable release(s) [±]
0.4.8.13[2] Edit this on Wikidata (24 October 2024; 31 days ago (24 October 2024))
Preview release(s) [±]
Repository
Written inC,[3] Python, Rust[4]
Operating systemUnix-like, (Android, Linux, BSD, macOS), Microsoft Windows, iOS
Size101–198 MB
TypeOverlay network, mix network, onion router, Anonymity application
LicenseBSD 3-clause license[5]
Websitewww.torproject.org
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Tor[6] is a free overlay network for enabling anonymous communication. Built on free and open-source software and more than seven thousand volunteer-operated relays worldwide, users can have their Internet traffic routed via a random path through the network.[7][8]

Using Tor makes it more difficult to trace a user's Internet activity by preventing any single point on the Internet (other than the user's device) from being able to view both where traffic originated from and where it is ultimately going to at the same time.[9] This conceals a user's location and usage from anyone performing network surveillance or traffic analysis from any such point, protecting the user's freedom and ability to communicate confidentially.[10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference prealpha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "dgoulet" (24 October 2024). "New Tor Stable Release: 0.4.8.13". Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference openhub-tor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Announcing Arti, a pure-Rust Tor implementation". 2022. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "LICENSE – Tor's source code". tor. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  6. ^ Collier, Ben (16 April 2024). Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy. The MIT Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-262-37892-5. Retrieved 18 May 2024. Even years later, getting this wrong (by calling it The Onion Router, or writing TOR rather than Tor) remains a surefire way to get tripped up by the security community.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference usenix-design was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference torstatus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "ABOUT TOR BROWSER | Tor Project | Tor Browser Manual". tb-manual.torproject.org. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  10. ^ McCoy, Damon; Kevin Bauer; Dirk Grunwald; Tadayoshi Kohno; Douglas Sicker. "Shining light in dark places: Understanding the Tor network". International Symposium on Privacy Enhancing Technologies.