Last month, we discussed all things VPN.
This week, we’re exploring the world of Tor, and how this service compares (and doesn’t) to a VPN.
So, what’s Tor?
Tor stands for The Onion Router. Originally developed with the US Navy to protect the anonymity of all its users, Tor now exists as a non-profit organisation that focusses on research and development of online privacy utilities.
It provides its tools for free to anyone who might need to use the Internet anonymously, and as such, it has developed a diverse user base.
It’s a simple idea, and makes use of the ‘onion’ analogy to symbolise how it works. Your identity is protected ‘layer by layer’, as your traffic is bounced across different Tor servers across the globe. This traffic is encrypted as it goes along, making it almost impossible to trace back to you.
In fact, the difficulty level of tracing Tor traffic is probably akin to chasing a chicken around a large-acre property. All you will see are seemingly random connections throughout the Tor network, with nothing to show that your computer is behind it all.
How do you use Tor?
Tor access relies on you having a special browser, called the Tor browser. All you need to do is install and run this browser in order to access the Tor network.
When using Tor, you’ll have to be patient. Very patient. Since your connection is bouncing around the world multiple times for a single page download, it’s going to be a much more sluggish browsing experience than you’re probably accustomed to.
Indeed, Tor includes a network of hosted sites that are only accessible to other Tor users. These websites are often a step back in time to a simpler, Web 1.0 era – static HTML pages with minimal resources, and often carry a ‘.onion’ suffix, rather than ‘.com’ or ‘.net’.
How does Tor compare to VPNs?
The difference between Tor, besides the technicalities, is subtle but important to remember.
Tor anonymizes your connection, while VPNs secure it.
Securing ensures that your data isn’t compromised by unintended third parties, while anonymising ensures that the data can’t be traced back to you. While these two points might sound like one and the same, they’re two distinct roles – apples and oranges, if you like!
A VPN, while shielding you from snoops, is not a good option if you really, really can’t afford having your identity traced – for example, you live in a country with Internet restrictions or are a Snowden-esque whistleblower.
While many VPN companies don’t keep logs of your traffic, the connection you make to your VPN still comes from a single source (your machine), and thus your location and identity might not be entirely secured if the VPN company comes under legal pressure. However, almost every other regular Internet user who has no need for anonymity is better off enjoying the higher speeds and peace of mind of VPN use.
Low threat situations lend themselves very well to VPN use, with a great (and almost indispensable) application being protection while using public WiFi networks.
It’s unfortunate that Tor and VPNs are often pitted head-to-head, as the two have vastly different specialties. Remember: it’s not a matter of either/or, it’s which tool happens to suit your purpose.
