When you send an email, for example, the client application on your computer selects random relays in the network to create an untraceable path to the recipient. The Tor routing process is illustrated in Figure 2. The onion data structure protects messages with multiple layers of encryption to prevent the operators of the relays from reading the contents of the message. This prevents the operators of the relays from reading the contents of the packets.įigure 1.

As the packet traverses the Tor network, each relay in the network decrypts (unwraps) a layer of encryption surrounding the packet. A data packet is first “wrapped” in layers of encryption. Onion routing got its name from the data structure, which resembles an onion, as shown in Figure 1. Today, Tor is used for a variety of purposes by the military, activists, journalists, and people like you. The US Navy created onion routing in 1998 for anonymous communication over a computer network. Tor uses a technique known as onion routing to conceal a user’s location and pass encrypted messages through a volunteer network of servers around the world. It’s a small step that can provide big peace of mind. This guide will help you get Tor up and running on your Mac to protect your privacy and safeguard the information you transmit on the internet. Install the free Tor client application on your computer to encrypt information transmitted to or from your Mac, bypass proxies, keep your physical location confidential, and conceal the identity of the sender and recipient. The nonprofit Tor project (short for The Onion Router) is a distributed network of volunteers who use their computers to route internet traffic anonymously. If this lack of privacy sends shivers down your spine, you’ll be happy to hear that there is a way to preserve your anonymity on the internet while using your Mac. Law enforcement officials, internet service providers, and even website administrators can find out what internet services and resources you accessed, when you accessed them, and what computer you used to access them with. Practically everything you do online with your Mac is logged and traceable back to your computer.

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