> What Is Tor?

Tor — originally The Onion Router — is a free software project that enables anonymous communication. Unlike regular internet traffic which goes straight from your computer to the destination server, Tor routes your connection through multiple volunteer-run servers, called nodes or relays. Each hop encrypts the traffic again, creating layers of encryption like the layers of an onion.

The result: nobody along the path knows both who you are and where you're going. The first node (entry guard) knows your IP but not your destination. The middle nodes know neither. The final node (exit relay) knows your destination but not your source.

This design makes it incredibly difficult for anyone — ISPs, governments, surveillance agencies — to correlate your online activity with your physical location.

🕸️> How Onion Routing Works

Let's trace what happens when you access a website through Tor:

If one node is compromised, it cannot de-anonymize you alone. Only if all three nodes are controlled by the same adversary simultaneously can someone potentially correlate timing and break anonymity. This is statistically unlikely — but not impossible.

🎭> Hidden Services (.onion)

This is where things get interesting. Just as you can browse anonymously with Tor, you can also host services anonymously — this is called a Hidden Service.

A Hidden Service never reveals its real IP address. Instead:

1. The server creates a public/private key pair. The public key becomes your .onion address (like 3syxsh7q3h4lhardkw7u4tvezf7exyalf3dh32cox6b6hkoigo2aikid.onion)
2. The server connects to the Tor network and announces introduction points
3. When a client wants to connect, they pick a random circuit point called the rendezvous point
4. Client and server meet at the rendezvous point — neither knowing the other's real IP

This is why this site runs on both clearnet and .onion. Same content, two different access methods. For visitors in restrictive environments, .onion bypasses censorship. For everyone else, it's another option.

> Access This Site Via Tor

This website is also available as a Tor Hidden Service. If you want to access it anonymously, or if you're in a region where the clearnet domain is blocked, use the address below in your Tor Browser:

Don't have Tor Browser? Download it from the official Tor Project: torproject.org/download

⚡> Speed vs Anonymity Tradeoff

Tor isn't fast. Three hops, multiple encryptions, volunteer bandwidth constraints — it's inherently slower than direct connections. But speed isn't the priority here. Anonymity is.

Common misconceptions:

• "Tor is only for illegal activities" — Wrong. Journalists use it to communicate with sources. Activists in authoritarian regimes use it to avoid persecution. Whistleblowers use it to leak safely. Normal privacy-conscious people use it to prevent ISP tracking.
• "Tor is completely unhackable" — Wrong. End-to-end correlation attacks exist. Exit relay sniffing exists. Browser fingerprinting exists. Tor provides protection against many adversaries, not all threats.
• "Using Tor makes you suspicious" — Increasingly false. Millions use Tor legitimately. In places like Iran or China, using Tor is normal. In Western democracies, the stigma is fading.

> Who Uses Tor?

The Tor Project is funded by NGOs, government grants (including DARPA historically), and donations. The irony is intentional: sometimes freedom needs funding from systems it critiques.

// the net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it // - john perry barlow