Intelligence agencies can easily figure out the real names of Tor users. Why it is still possible to ban Tor in the country and how it will work

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. You probably know that any of your actions on the network (website pages viewed, files downloaded, videos watched) can be tracked, and from completely different places (by contacting your Internet provider, rummaging through your computer, or searching in the logs of the sites you visited ). Anonymity on the Internet exists only if you don’t start “digging deep.”

There are some solutions to the “leaving trace problem” that we have already covered. For example, you can and then no traces of your visits will be saved on your computer. Or, for example, when blocking access to some sites (for example, to log into Contact or Odnoklassniki from a work computer).

But there is a much more comprehensive solution - this is the so-called TOR. Essentially, this is software that, with a very high degree of probability, allows you to hide from prying eyes everything that you do and have done on the Internet. It’s precisely on the basis of this technology that it works Tor Browser, which will be discussed today. Essentially, it wraps complex technology in the shell of a normal-looking browser, accessible to any Internet user, which everyone can use. But its filling is unusual...

What is TOR?

I don’t want to overload you with technical terms and concepts that, by and large, will be superfluous. I’ll just literally outline in a nutshell (on my fingers) the principle of operation of the Tor technology and the Tor Browser built on its basis. This knowledge will allow you to understand what to expect from this software, what strengths and weaknesses it has, so that you can consciously use it for your needs.

So, initially all this was brewed in one of the US military departments. History is silent about why they needed this, but at the beginning of the 2000s, the beginnings of Thor technology were completely unexpectedly made available to the public. Moreover, the source codes were open and this software became freely distributed. What does it mean? And how much can you trust such a “gift”?

The question is fair, but you can trust it precisely because the code of this technology is open. The fact is that since then (over a decade and a half) these program codes have been studied (and made changes) by hundreds, if not thousands of people who understand this, and no “bookmarks” or “secret doors” have been found. Where it's about safety(in our case, transfer and storage of information), it is better to work with open source software (software).

By the way, this is why when choosing n, but for . They simply belong to the category of free software and their code has been checked by thousands of competent specialists. It’s somehow calmer, because I store a lot of passwords for services tied to money and losing them would be very expensive.

So, TOP technology allows you to access websites and download something from the network without leaving any traces behind. That is, when you open, for example, a website through the Tor Browser, it will be impossible to track the IP address of your computer on this website (and therefore to identify you). Even your Internet provider will not understand (even if you want) that you visited this site (and it will be impossible to prove it). Well, the browser itself will not store all traces of your wanderings on the Internet.

Wonderful, isn't it? I understand that in this way people can cover up their dark affairs. Not without this, of course. But the general idea of Thor is still bright - to provide the Internet user with real freedom in the form of complete anonymity. For example, in some countries access to certain resources may be blocked without justification, but Tor Browser will allow you to bypass these obstacles and not be punished for this violation, because they will not know that you did it (or will not prove it). But that's not the point...

How TOR works? This is called onion routing. Look. There is a network of nodes owned by adherents of this technology. Three arbitrary nodes are used to transmit data. But which ones? And this is precisely what no one knows.

The Tor browser sends a packet to the first node, and it contains the encrypted address of the second node. The first node knows the key for the encryption and, having learned the address of the second, forwards the packet there (it’s like removing the first layer of an onion). The second node, having received the packet, has a key to decrypt the address of the third node (another layer has been removed from the onion). Thus, from the outside it is not possible to understand which site you ended up opening in your Tor Browser window.

But please note that only the path is encrypted(routing), and the contents of the packets themselves are not encrypted. Therefore, to transmit secret data, it would be better to first encrypt it (at least in the TruCrypt mentioned above), since the possibility of intercepting it (for example, using sniffers) exists.

In addition, this technology there are a few more disadvantages(or features):

Your ISP (or anyone else who monitors your traffic) may realize that you are using Tor. He won't know what you're watching or doing online, but sometimes the mere fact of knowing you're hiding something can have consequences. Take this into account and, if possible, study ways to enhance camouflage (and they exist), if this is critical for you.
The TOR network does not use special high-speed equipment, but, in fact, ordinary computers. This brings up another drawback - speed the transmission of information in this secret network can vary significantly and sometimes it is clearly not enough for, for example, viewing media content.

Where can I download the official Russian version of Tor Browser?

On this blog I have already published an article on that. There was also mention of the Torah. Naturally, it is better and safer to download any product from the developers’ website, i.e. the official one (I think you know). The Tor Browser download page is located at this address (I repeat once again that for security reasons it is better to download from the official website):

Please note that before clicking on the download button, you must select a language. The default is English, but you can select a dozen more options from the drop-down list, including fully localized Russian version. This is how it will work more pleasantly when the interface language is native.

Although, during installation you will again be asked about your preferred interface language and you can also select Russian there. Otherwise, the installation process is no different from installing any other browser.

However, when you first launch you will be asked if you need to make additional settings to connect to the TOR network. In the vast majority of cases, it will be enough to simply click on the “Connect” button:

It will take some time for the browser to successfully connect to the Tor network:

After this, a window will open in a browser that looks normal at first glance, but works with the Internet by creating encrypted tunnels (analogues).

However, the developers themselves emphasize that Thor is not a panacea(at least with default settings). Therefore, those who are paranoid about absolute anonymity are advised to follow the link for clarification on this matter.

How to use the Tor browser?

When you first load the browser, you are immediately prompted use anonymizer to search at disconnect.me. Actually, it is this service that will be used as “ ” in this browser (you can change this in the settings), i.e. when entering a request in newly opened browser tabs or when entering it through the address bar in any tab, the disconnect.me anonymizer will open with search results.

The search is actually carried out by Google (you can select from the settings in the top panel of the service - see the screenshot below), but no traces of who exactly conducted the search remain (remember, I wrote about the fact that, but in fact, nothing can be permanently deleted , so those who are concerned about anonymity need to remember this).

Don't forget also select search language(in the top panel of the disconnect.me window on the right), because thanks to the anonymizer, Google will not be able to recognize your preferred language automatically. Although, by choosing, for example, Russian, you to some extent lift the veil of secrecy about your incognito for this search engine. But here you need to make a compromise - either convenience or paranoia.

Yes, the Tor browser will also warn you when you first click on the link that it is better to load pages in English, to avoid, so to speak.

Personally, I chose the “No” option, because convenience is more important to me, and I don’t speak any other languages besides Russian. Alas and ah.

By the way, you can check it yourself that you have really been “encrypted”. To do this, it will be enough to go to the site from any other browser, and then do the same from under Thor. As you can see, TOR replaces (I became a sultry Norwegian) and this is only a small part of protecting your anonymity.

By the way, if you click on the onion to the left of the address bar, you will be able to see the same chain of three nodes (proxy) that separates your computer from the site you are visiting (I wrote about onion routing just above):

If desired, this chain of nodes can be changed. You can also change your “browser-created personality” if you don’t like the current one. However, this will close all open tabs in Tor and it will be automatically reloaded.

Here you can also access security settings:

By default, all privacy settings (anonymity are enabled), but the security level is at the lowest level due to the fact that only in this case you all functions of this browser will be available. If you set the security settings of the Tor browser to “high”, a whole bunch of browser functions will be available only after you force them to be activated (i.e., everything is disabled by default). For me this is overkill, so I left everything as it was, but you can choose something in the middle (compromise).

Otherwise Tor Browser is similar to Mozilla Firefox, because it is essentially assembled on its basis. This will be clearly visible when you go to settings (by clicking on the button with three horizontal lines in the upper right corner):

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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What is Tor

For now, let’s put aside the option with a proxy server as a last resort and consider other alternatives. One option is to use the Tor program. Its essence is that not one server, which is easy to block, but many servers are used as proxy servers. The servers are often the computers of other users of the Tor network. Moreover, each transmitted packet passes not just through one proxy server, but through several servers selected at random. In this way, they achieve anonymity of data transfer, since it is very difficult to track the entire chain that a packet passed from server to server (let’s put it carefully). Tor is primarily positioned as an anonymizer, when your real IP address is not transmitted to the server, but it can also bypass censorship.

What about password security? All data transmitted via Tor from server to server is encrypted. Thanks to this, you do not know who is transmitting what data through your computer. True, there is one “but” here. The fact is that the last node through which traffic passes, and which communicates directly with the site server, already works with decrypted data, so in principle it is possible to intercept traffic at this last node. However, this last node does not know for which client it is currently redirecting traffic, in addition, you can periodically change the chain through which packets are transmitted from you to the site server. But we must remember that from a security point of view, Tor is still not a panacea.

If you feel sorry for your Internet channel, then you don’t have to turn on the Tor server, but use only the Tor client, which will redirect traffic from your computer to the final site server through a chain of intermediate servers.

Since now traffic reaches you not through good servers with wide channels, but through users who, in principle, can even use modems, the speed of work via Tor is usually noticeably lower, but you have to sacrifice something for security.

Working with Tor

From the user's point of view, Tor works as a local proxy server, that is, a proxy server that is installed not by some kind uncle, but directly on your computer.

Working with Tor is very simple, the client and server programs can run on different operating systems, there is even a version for Android. But in this post we will talk about Tor Browser - a browser build based on Firefox with a pre-installed Tor proxy server and some extensions. Thanks to this, you don’t have to go into the settings every time and enable Tor when you need anonymity, or disable it when you have nothing to hide, but need high data transfer speeds. The program has support for the Russian language (however, sometimes there are phrases that are not translated), so from now on I will use the Russian names of the settings.

The downloaded archive contains three programs: Tor itself, Vidalia, a program for visually configuring Tor, and the Tor Browser.

As soon as you run the executable file, the Vidalia program will immediately launch, it will connect you to the Tor network (if everything goes well, a green onion will appear in the tray), then the Tor Browser will open and you will see something like the following window:

By default, the Tor Browser comes with the HTTPS-Everywhere extensions to use the HTTPS protocol by default wherever possible, NoScript to disable scripts on sites, and Torbutton for quick access to Tor settings.

Pay attention to the IP address shown in the window. This is not your real IP, but essentially the IP of the last node in the chain of transmitted data. That is, for sites you will be visible precisely under this IP address. You can easily change this IP address using the Torbutton extension (you need to select the New Identity menu item):

The same effect can be achieved through the Vidalia program window by clicking the “Change Identity” button. When you change your identity, the entire chain through which data is transmitted changes.

You can check that you are visible under this IP address, for example, on the website http://2ip.ru/. Here is an example of a screenshot with information about me from this site when accessing through Tor:

It’s a pity, however, that Tor Browser uses an outdated version of Firefox - Firefox 10 (at the time of writing these lines, the latest version of Firefox is 13.0.1).

In principle, immediately after installing Tor Browser, you can use it and not think about the settings, but it’s better to look there and at least switch yourself to one of the relay modes, then you will not only use the Tor network, but will also help other users by skipping through other people's traffic. To access these settings, in the Vidalia control panel window, you need to click the “Repeater” button.

There is a switch in the settings window on the “Share” tab. If it is set to "work as a client only", then you will selfishly use the network without helping it yourself. If the switch is in the “Relay traffic within the Tor network (not an output relay)” mode, then your computer will be used as an intermediate link when exchanging encrypted traffic. If the switch is in the "Relay Tor network traffic (output relay)" position, then your computer will be used directly to exchange traffic with the site server. This is already more dangerous for you, since it is your IP address that will be registered on various sites. There were cases when the German authorities tried to prosecute the owners of such end repeaters, but, as far as I know, they were never able to prove anything.

If you are ready to become an output relay, then in the same window you will have access to the “Exit Rules” tab, where you can choose which network services users can connect to through you (by default, all checkboxes are unchecked):

There is also a fourth mode called “Help blocked users access the Tor network.” This mode is used if you want to help residents of countries where authorities are trying to block Tor. Such countries include, for example, China. In fact, “they block Tor” is a loud word, they block well-known public Tor servers, and since it is impossible to block all users who can act as a server, it is enough to find one of them and the path to information will be open. In this case, an identifier will be generated for you, with which the owners of Tor clients will be able to find your server (in this case, you will be called a bridge):

True, they say that China has learned to block not only public servers, but also such bridges (China has learned to block Tor traffic). In this mode, you can even see which countries' users have used you as a bridge:

In this case, you can use the “Automatically distribute my bridge address” checkbox.

If you are on the other side of the Great Firewall of China and want to access the Tor network, then you must go to the “Network” tab, check the box “My provider blocks access to the Tor network,” and add a bridge known to you in the field that appears.

Where you look for bridges is a separate issue, which is covered in a small section in the Tor help. The help (which, by the way, is also translated into Russian, although it’s a little crooked in places) suggests asking your friends to organize a bridge for you or looking for public bridges. A list of such bridges can be found at https://bridges.torproject.org, the list is updated every few days. You can also send an email to [email protected] with the line “get bridges” in the body of the letter, then in response they will send you the address of one bridge. But at the same time, you must send letters from the address @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. However, I was never able to connect to Tor through the bridge. Perhaps he just did it at the wrong time.

It would also be correct if in the settings window you select the speed of your Internet connection so that the program more accurately selects the traffic passed through you.

If you're an active Tor user, you might be interested in looking at the traffic that passes through you. To do this, in the Vidalia window, click on the “Traffic Graph” button. As a result, you will see something like the following picture.

Or you can look at the network map.

Another interesting thing is that Tor is very sensitive to the nodes that are connected to you. If you want to close Tor, the program will warn you that some nodes are connected to you and ask if you give them time to reconnect to other nodes so as not to interrupt traffic. If you agree to wait a few seconds, Tor will be put into a disconnected state where no new nodes will connect, but Tor will finally close when the nodes connected to you find a replacement for you. Of course, you can refuse to wait this time and close Tor immediately.

That's all I wanted to tell you about the Tor network, I hope you will start using it, because the more users on the network, the greater its bandwidth. In addition, the longer you are online, the faster sites will open for you, just don’t forget to share traffic if you have the opportunity.

Some other time we’ll talk about other anonymous and distributed networks, in particular I’d like to talk about Freenet, GNUnet, I2P, Turtle F2F and Osiris.

As a rule, some Internet users, for various reasons, try to ensure their privacy, so they regularly review the main methods for anonymizing traffic from the Internet, which are available for use by the average user. In principle, everyday use of a VPN can help solve this problem, but this method will not be convenient for everyone. Therefore, in this article we will talk about TOR - an anonymous distributed network.

So, what is the Tor network?

Nowadays in RuNet, with the advent of government control and a toughening of the position towards ordinary users, we are talking about the future fate of TOR and similar anonymizers. They have long been trying to ban the Tor network, reviews of which are extremely positive. Information is already appearing in the media about the “TOR ban” at the suggestion of Russian security forces. Thus, the Izvestia newspaper contains a direct indication that today there is a proposal from the security forces to ban programs that are hidden on the user’s network.

The Public Council under the FSB of the Russian Federation considers it necessary to provide legal regulation of the activities of legal entities and individuals on the Internet. Therefore, he formed proposals on the need to ban anonymizers - programs that mask data and IP addresses.

If a court decision denies users access to a particular site, users using an anonymizer will still be able to access the site (for example, using a search on the Tor network). For example, users from China and Belarus easily visit sites that are blocked by local authorities.

The security forces' proposal involves banning software or browsers that have built-in anonymizers (the Tor Internet network, for example). In addition, web servers are also classified as camouflage tools. These are autonomous sites through which users can switch with a different IP address to There is also an indication that similar amendments will be made to federal law.

To date, the state’s position on this matter has not yet been fully determined.

Why is this network needed?

Why is the Tor network needed for the average and average user?
Logically, every citizen who does not break the law should think: “Why should I hide myself on the Internet using an anonymizer? I’m not planning any illegal actions - hacking websites, distributing malware, cracking passwords, etc.?” In a general sense, this question can be answered this way: some sites containing content for free downloading are blocked very quickly and thereby become inaccessible to most users. In addition, some employers restrict access to social networks and entertainment sites, and the resources of the Tor network make it easy to bypass these prohibitions.

At the same time, we can cite the original opinion of one developer of the free software TOR, which he voiced in an interview.

Expert opinion

Why is anonymity required for ordinary Internet users who, by definition, have nothing to hide?

The whole point is that “there is nothing to hide” - this is not a reason for complete control of all user actions on the Internet by government agencies. These structures employ the most ordinary citizens, guided in their work by laws illiterately written by other incompetent citizens. If such people don’t like something, they will have to spend money, time and health to prove their innocence with unpredictable results. Why take such a risk if there is a simple technical solution that is supported by other, smarter people.

Among other things, along with anonymity, the user receives protection from online censorship at the state level. Should an ordinary citizen think about which site could be banned today on the initiative of Deputy Ivanov? This is not the business of this deputy, especially if he will never be informed which sites the citizen visited today at his own request.

Tor network: how to use

TOR is a network consisting of virtual tunnels that will allow the user to best protect privacy and

The principle of operation of TOR: the program connects the user’s computer to the network not directly, but through a chain of several randomly selected computers (relays), which also belong to the TOR network.

All data sent to the Internet using TOR becomes anonymous (the source is hidden) and remains encrypted throughout the entire distance between the user’s computer and the last relay. After the data is sent from the last relay and sent to the final destination site, this data is already in the clear, normal form.

When transferring important data, such as a Username or password to log into a website, you need to make sure that the HTTPS protocol is running.

It is worth noting that we owe the emergence of this anonymous network to the American intelligence services. Once upon a time, a spy project took place, which later became notorious. It was called "Open Skies" and for an inexplicable reason was canceled in a short period of time. After this, all data from the closed network, in particular the source codes, became publicly available. Based on the information received, the initiative group, whose members were Internet experts, began creating their own network, not controlled from outside, completely free of charge. This private network is called The Onion Router, which means “Onion Router” when translated into Russian. That is why the symbol of the Tor network has an image of an onion on its logo. This name explains the principle of operation of the anonymizer - a chain of nodes and connections leading to complete privacy can be associated with the layers of an onion. The network works in such a way that connection endpoints cannot be established.

Downloading and installing TOR

Various programs from the TOR package are available for download from the official website of the project. Speaking about the Tor network and how to use it, it should be noted that there is a TOR browser software package. It does not require installation and contains a browser. Most often this is Mozilla Firefox. The browser is pre-configured for secure access to the Internet using TOR. You just need to download the package, unpack the archive and run the TOR program.

Using TOR Brouser Bundle

After downloading the TOR Brouser Bundle software assembly, you need to save the package to your Desktop or USB. Typically, this option is convenient for compact solutions when loading TOR from a flash drive is required.

Speaking about how to get into the Tor network, it should be noted that the user must have a directory that contains several files. One of them is the file start TOR Browser or “Starting the TOR Browser”. This depends on what operating system you are using.

After launching the TOR Brouser Bundle program, the user will first see Vidalia launching and connecting to the TOR network. After this, the browser will launch, which will confirm the use of TOR at the moment. The TOR network is ready for use.

An important point: it is necessary to use the browser that was included in the package with TOR, and not the user’s own browser.

The TOR browser (Mozilla and Torbutton plugin) is already configured to completely disable JavaScript, settings for https and other settings for a secure Internet connection.

For the average user, this software package is the best option for working with TOR.

There is also a stationary option for installing TOR. This is a connection to the Tor network using the Vidalia Polipo TOR assembly.

Here is an example installation for Windows 7

You need to download the program from the TOR project website and install it on your computer.

Safe work on the Internet is carried out only with the Mozilla browser with the Torbutton plugin. If this plugin turns out to be incompatible with the Mozilla browser version, then you need to use the universal FOxyProxy Basic.

Today, TOR developers can offer -bundle packages for download (Vidalia Bridge Bundle or Vidalia Relay Bundle). They already have the “bridges” or “relays” settings.

The need for such additional settings may arise for users whose providers block the TOR network. These are BRIDGE settings that can help if Tor doesn't connect to the network by default.

Correct setup of TOR

If the user himself wants to become a participant in the TOR project, then it is worth familiarizing himself with the RELAY settings.

If your provider or system administrator blocks access to the TOR website, you can request the program itself by email. In this case, the request is made from a gMail mailbox; there is no need to use email located on Russian free domains.

To receive the English package of the TOR browser for Windows OS, you need to send an email to: [email protected]. In the message itself you only need to write the word windows. The "subject" field may be empty.

A similar method can be used to request the TOR browser for MAC OS. To do this you need to write “macos-i386”. If you have Linux, then you need to write “linux-i386” in the case of a 32-bit system or “linux-x86 64" for a 64-bit system. If you need a translated version of the TOR program, then you need to write “help”. In the response letter You will receive instructions and a list of available languages.

If TOR is already installed, but does not work, then this could happen for the following reasons.

During normal connection operation, if you cannot connect to the Tor network, you can try the following: open the “VIdala Control Panel”, click on “Message Log” and select the “Advanced Settings” tab. Problems with TOR connection may occur for the following reasons:

1. System clock is disabled. You need to make sure that the date and time on your computer are set correctly and restart TOR. You may need to synchronize your system clock with the server.

2. The user is behind a firewall. In order for TOR to use 443, you need to open the VIdala Control Panel, click Settings and Networks and check the box next to “My firewall only allows me to connect to certain ports.” This will help set up the Tor network and let it work fully.

3. Blocking of TOR by the antivirus database. You need to make sure that your antivirus program does not prevent TOR from connecting to the network.

4. If the computer still does not connect to the Tor network, then it is very possible that the anonymizer is blocked by the ISP. This can often be bypassed using TOR bridges, which are hidden relays that are difficult to block.

If you need an exact reason for the inability to connect to TOR, you should send an email to the developers [email protected] and attach information from the log log.

What is a bridge and how to find it

To use a bridge, you must first discover it. This is possible at bridges.torproject.org. You can also send a letter to [email protected]. After sending the letter, you should make sure that the letter itself says “Get bridges”. Without this, the response letter will not arrive. It is also important that the sending must be from gmail.com or yahoo.com.

After setting up several bridges, the Tor network will become more stable if some bridges become unavailable. There is no certainty that the bridge used today will also work tomorrow. For this reason, the list of bridges needs to be constantly updated.

How the bridge is used

If it is possible to use several bridges, then you should open the “VIdala Control Panel”, click “Settings”, and then “Networks” and check the box next to “My provider is blocking the connection to the TOR network”. Next, enter a list of bridges in the field. Then click “OK” and restart TOR.

Using open proxy

If using the bridge does not lead to anything, you need to try setting up TOR using an HTTPS or SOCKS proxy to gain access to the TOR network. This means that even if TOR is blocked on the user's local network, it is possible to safely use an open proxy server to connect.

For further work there must be TOR/Vidalia configurations and a list of https, socks4, or socks5 proxies.

You need to open the “VIdala Control Panel” and click “Settings”.
Next, click on the “Networks” tab, select “I use a proxy to access the Internet.”

In the “Address” field, enter the Open Proxy address. This is the IP address or name of the proxy, then enter the proxy port.

Typically you do not need to enter a username and password. If this is still needed, then they should be entered in the appropriate fields. Select “Type for proxy” as http/https or socks4, or socks 5. Click “OK”. Vidalia and TOR now have the option to use a proxy to access the rest of the network.

On the TOR website today you can find many other different products for other operating systems (Mac OS, Linux, Windows). Thus, the search engine on the Tor network can be used regardless of what device you use to access the Internet. Differences can only be in individual settings regarding the features of the customized OS.

There is already an implemented solution for using TOR for mobile phones, for example for Android. This option has already been tested and, as it turns out, is quite workable, which is good news. Especially considering that most users have moved from computers to convenient, lightweight tablets.

TOR system for use in smartphones

As mentioned above, it is possible to configure TOR on an Android device. To do this, install a package called Orbot. A description of how to download it is on the TOR website.

There are also still experimental packages for Nokia and Apple iOS. At the same time, after a series of tests and improvements, the output of an excellent tool that allows you to achieve uniqueness on the network is guaranteed.

In addition, TOR developers have launched several more anonymizers, such as Tails. This is a Linux-based OS that provides anonymous and secure network surfing. There are a number of other products on the Tor website that will be of interest to the user.

TOR also makes it possible for users to use hidden services. Without revealing your IP address, you can provide
It is clear that such a service is not in great demand among users, although this information is located on the TOR website along with instructions on how to search the Tor network.

This was the basic information regarding this most famous and well-functioning anonymizer. Today, there is hope that users will be able to launch the TOR network on their computer and then use the secure and anonymous Internet at their discretion.

Tor is an ecosystem of projects built on a network of computers through which information is transmitted in a manner similar to peer-to-peer networks, but in encrypted form. The name Tor comes from the abbreviation The Onion Router - an “onion router system”, so named because of the many layers of encryption that look like the scales of an onion.

Explaining how Tor works is not an easy task. This is most clearly demonstrated by a video prepared by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The MIT video demonstrates how information is transferred from one computer to another (for example, from a Tor browser user to a website owner) and back, encrypted on each node of the Tor network and changing the IP address from which the request is made. Computers on a network that act as proxy servers are called relays. Due to the use of several “layers” of encryption, it is very difficult or even impossible to find out what kind of data was originally transmitted.

However, in addition to decrypting a packet of encrypted data, there are other ways to find out who made the request: for example, when using the popular SSL and TLS encryption protocols, service information remains in the request - for example, about the operating system or about the application that sent the data or is waiting to receive it. However, in Tor, this information is “cut” from the data packet, anonymizing the sender.

In addition, each time a random sequence of computer nodes is selected to deliver data, the number of which in the Tor network numbers in the thousands - this makes it impossible to determine that several different requests are sent by the same person.

How to use Tor

To use the Tor network, you need to install one of the applications, a complete list of which is listed on the Tor Project website.

In 2006, Vidalia appeared - the first application from the Tor ecosystem that establishes a secure connection through the Tor network on a computer, which became popular due to its simple graphical interface. Then, in 2006, for many users Vidalia was the “torus”. With Vidalia, you can configure other applications to transfer data in encrypted form.

In 2007, Vidalia was integrated into the Tor Browser Bundle, a software package that for simplicity is called the Tor Browser. Now the Tor Browser Bundle is the most popular product in the entire ecosystem, because it allows you to access the Internet without any additional settings: you just need to download the application and run it without special installation.

The Tor browser is based on Firefox. Its security has been tested countless times by volunteers and enthusiastic developers—more than any other product in the Tor ecosystem.

In June 2014, the GNU/Linux-based Tails operating system appeared, which can run from a flash drive and “mimic” Windows XP so as not to attract unnecessary attention when working from a public place. Tails has a built-in Tor browser, an email client with encryption support, an office suite, and graphic editors.

Criticisms and disadvantages of Tor

The problem with Tor is that it only provides proper security if the applications you use are properly configured to work with it. For example, Skype will not work correctly through Tor by default, and Flash is disabled by default in the Tor browser, since it can connect to remote servers on its own, not through Tor, thus giving away the user's identity.

The creators of Tor warn that it is dangerous to open even the popular .doc and .pdf document formats when connecting through their network, because they can also load content (such as images) from external sources when opened in third-party programs not configured for Tor. In addition, you cannot use torrents in Tor: firstly, they greatly overload the network, and secondly, due to the peculiarities of the BitTorrent protocol, connections are made through it directly, and not through a network of volunteer computers that anonymize the traffic.

Due to the design of the network, where information is transferred between many computers with different connection speeds and different communication bandwidths, the overall speed of the Tor network has been at the dial-up level for a long time. Because of this, most sites on the darknet still have a primitive design and try not to use images too much so as not to overload the network.

In the fall of 2014, Tor was criticized for a possible security hole after the arrest of the owner of the “revived” online store Silk Road 2.0, which was accessible only through an anonymous network. Another 17 people and about 400 websites were arrested, and the confiscation of computers that served as Tor relays was also reported.

The investigation, which was carried out by Europol in cooperation with the FBI and other intelligence agencies, did not reveal exactly how the arrested persons and computers were found. The Tor network began to be criticized for its vulnerabilities and possible links to the government, which almost caused a split in its community. However, there were also those who drew attention to the mathematical approach to encryption algorithms: even if connections with the government really exist, it will not be possible to deceive science.

Who makes Tor

Despite the enormous popularity of the Tor network and its products, only about a dozen people work on their development. Initially, the creation of the Tor network in the early 90s was undertaken by the US Navy Research Laboratory, and until 2010 it was an active sponsor of the project.

At various times, various government and para-government organizations, including SRI International and DARPA, provided money for the support and development of Tor, which is why many opponents of the project got the impression that it was subordinate to the US government.

In 2006, the Tor Project received a grant from the foundation of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and since 2007, the development of the project has also been sponsored by Google. Ford, the non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation, Human Rights Watch, and one of the American Internet providers, which donated money anonymously, also donated money.

Anonymous donations also came from more than 4,600 people, so in theory, a person in any of the world's governments could be a sponsor of Tor's work.

What do the State Duma and Roskomnadzor want to achieve?

On February 5, the chairman of the relevant State Duma committee, Leonid Levin, proposed to develop a bill according to which access to anonymous Tor networks would be limited. According to Levin, anonymizers (sites that hide the user’s IP address when browsing other sites or using Internet services) and means of accessing Tor should be blocked without a court order.

According to the deputy, such a law will prevent the dissemination of prohibited information, and will also counter the commercial spread of viruses and illegal access to information. In other words, Levin believes that Tor is used to organize a shadow market for the sale of exploits and other hacking services.

Later that day, Levin’s idea was supported by Roskomnadzor, citing the fact that Tor and other anonymizers allow you to bypass website blocking. According to department press secretary Vadim Ampelonsky, it is possible to solve the problem of blocking anonymizers, but he did not specify how exactly it is planned to do this.

The next day, Ampelonsky told Lenta.ru that in his understanding, the Tor ecosystem is a breeding ground for crime. A representative of the department compared the anonymous network with the Moscow district of Khitrovka, which existed in pre-revolutionary times and was cleared of thieves' dens under the Soviet Union.

There was such a district in Moscow in the last and century before last - Khitrovka. The criminal bottom, the habitat of social waste. Why did the Russian monarchy tolerate Khitrovka within walking distance from the place where the august crowned kings? It is not known for certain, but apparently, having all the ghouls in one place, it was easier to control them.

Here Tor is a global cyber hack. Created and managed by someone we know. What did the Soviet government do with Khitrovka? Read from Gilyarovsky.

Vadim Ampelonsky, press secretary of Roskomnadzor

The speeches of Levin and Ampelonsky are not the first attempts to raise public discussion around the ban on Tor and anonymizers. In June 2013, the Izvestia newspaper reported that the Public Council under the FSB was preparing recommendations on the need to ban anonymous networks. Although the Public Council under the FSB later denied the report on the development of recommendations, in August Izvestia again reported on a legislative initiative to block Tor and anonymizers.

Then the FSB said that on the Tor network, attackers were selling weapons, drugs, and counterfeit credit cards. Director of the Safe Internet League Denis Davydov also supported the idea of blocking Tor, considering the network a place “for communication between pedophiles, perverts, drug dealers and other freaks.”

Why is there no point in trying to block TOR?

According to Irina Levova, director of strategic projects at the Internet Research Institute, Roskomnadzor will not be able to distinguish encrypted traffic going through Tor from IP telephony, banking transactions or even online video. The agency may try to block sites that distribute programs for accessing the Internet via Tor, but users can use other anonymizers that have not yet been blocked to download them.

This happened in 2013 in Iraq, when the government blocked the Tor Project website along with Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube out of fears that they could be used for self-organization by the extremist group "Islamic State" (ISIS). Then activists began launching mirror sites with installation and use instructions in Arabic, which could even increase the number of Tor users.

In 2011, owners of Internet services accessed via an encrypted connection began reporting strange activity from China. When a user from China tried to connect to such services, he sent an incomprehensible request to the server, after which his connection was terminated. Thus, in China, not only access to the Tor network was disabled, but also other foreign services operating through an encrypted channel.

Moreover, it is simply not profitable for the government and law enforcement agencies, which consider Tor a breeding ground for crime, to block access to the anonymous network. According to an Izvestia source familiar with the situation around the 2013 initiatives to block Tor, such anonymous networks are considered safe, which allows intelligence services to successfully catch criminals in them. If Tor is blocked, a new network will appear, and authorities will have to develop new methods of control and search for criminals.

Updated: in the BlockRunet comments @Shara rightly pointed to an article that describes in detail mechanisms for restricting access to Tor of varying degrees of complexity and sophistication. Its main message is that an “arms race” between the government prohibiting anonymous networks and enthusiasts is possible, but using the example of China, one can observe how insignificant the number of those craftsmen who are able to break through a complex filtering system with heuristic analysis is.

On the other hand, the state does not have to achieve complete filtering or decryption of traffic to identify attackers: if it can accurately separate the type of traffic (VPN/I2P/Tor) and achieves a ban on the use of Tor at the legislative level, then the very fact of connecting to an anonymous network will be illegal , and not the transmission of prohibited information or other illegal actions.