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h7 Going Dark

x) Read and summarize

7 Things You Should Know About Tor.

The article debunks some common misconceptions about the Tor network.

1. Still works: Attacks typically exploit user errors rather than breaking the Tor network itself.

2. Not only for criminals: Tor is widely used by many types of people seeking privacy and protection online.

3. No military backdoor: Tor is open source, and there is no military backdoor, even though it was initially funded by the US Navy.

4. Legal in the US: No one in the US has been prosecuted for running a Tor relay.

5. Easy to use: Simple and quick to set up with Tor Browser or Tails OS.

6. Not as slow as believed: Tor's performance has been improved, and nowadays it offers decent speeds.

7. Not foolproof: To maintain anonymity, Tor must be used correctly.

(Quintin. 2014.)

The Tor Browser

Introduction

  • Tor is browser modified from Mozilla Firefox that hides users' true IP addresses to enable anonymity.
  • It is user-friendly and does not require technical skills for private online activity.

History and intended use of the onion router

  • Maintained globally by community of people.
  • As an open-source protect, anyone can contribute to its improvement.

How the onion router works

  • Routes user traffic through multiple random relay nodes which adds layers of encryption at each stage.
  • Sending data over Tor is like peeling an onion; a layer of encryption is removed as it progresses through the network.

Tracking criminals using Tor

  • While Tor is effective, its users can be identified due to human errors.

(Shavers & Bair. 2016.)

a) Install TOR browser and access TOR network (.onion addresses).

I downloaded Tor browser to my Windows PC from the torproject.com Downloads section. After downloading the Windows installation file, I double-clicked the .exe file to start the installation process.

The installation wizard opened, and I selected English as the language. I chose a destination folder and proceeded with the installation as the files were extracted. Once the setup was complete, I selected the option to Run Tor Browser.

image

  1. TOR downloaded

To access .onion addresses, I connected to the Tor Network through the browser. Tis established a secure connection and enabled browsing on the Tor network.

b) Browse TOR network, find, take screenshots and comment

  • Search engine for onion sites: Ahmia
  • Open-source search engine making onion services accessible to everyone.

image 2. Ahmia search engine

  • Marketplace: Venus marketplace
  • First marketplace to pop up when seached on Ahmia, selling a wide variety of items. image
  1. Venus marketplace
  • Forum: Suprbay
  • Official forum of The Pirate Bay, featuring discussions across various categories ranging from TV shows to politics. image
  1. Suprbay forum
  • A site for well known organization: Proton
  • The .onion site for Proton, well known company offering encypted services like email and VPN. image 5. Proton onion page

Sources

Quintin 2014: 7 Things You Should Know About Tor. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/7-things-you-should-know-about-tor

Shavers & Bair 2016: Hiding Behind the Keyboard: The Tor Browser. https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/hiding-behind-the/9780128033524/XHTML/B9780128033401000021/B9780128033401000021.xhtml#s0010