Internet, Network, Security

The Tor Browser: An Onion That Changed the World. Can Tor still keep up with the new VPNs? Read our comparison of Tor and VPN.

What is the Tor Browser?

The name Tor Browser came from the way data is transferred, which is inspired by the design of an onion. Each layer of onion represents a different path, each layer being different from the others. The data traveling through dozens of random global nodes anonymizes the data transmission.

It was originally developed by the U.S. government for online communications in unstable countries, which is why they still partially fund it today.The code is open source . So anyone can review it. This ensures that the code remains secure and no one uses it for hidden exploitative money-making purposes.

Worth reading Details About Tor Browser

Tor and the Darknet or Deep Web : Some people say “Deep Web” or Dark Net to the Onion pages. Of course, the native Tow browser was never designed for “dirty business”. The fact is, however, that you can access the dark sides of the web only with Tor or Tor Browser. The Deep Web is not just a place for illegals. There are many journalists, dissidents and people who want to talk (politically) uncensored. They also use the Tor Browser.

Tor has been an important security tool in the past. It became known as the ticket to the Deep Web. Today, however, it is known that Tor logs have already been read and data leaks happen. At the same time, there are efforts to hack Tor security.

Facebook: Although online anonymity and Facebook don’t usually go hand in hand, Facebook uses a .onion address so that people in heavily censored regions can communicate with it.

How the Tornetwork works

The Tor browser sends all data through the Tor network. Some call it the anonymous network. It works by connecting to a server on a list of Tor nodes.

The connection is pushed through 3 different proxies. There are:

one input node
a middle mediator
an output node (chosen randomly)

The connection between the different nodes is encrypted and the IP addresses are not public. Each Tor server knows only its predecessor and successor. This makes the whole process secure and anonymous.

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The are the Advantages & Disadvantages of the Tor Browser

Advantages

Privacy & Anonymity with Tor: Individual data packets hop through multiple nodes, making hacking difficult. IP addresses are generally protected (if there are no data leaks)
The open source software is less vulnerable to malware. At the same time, few criminals target this niche browser.
The Tor browser costs nothing and it is universally accessible. It runs on Windows PCs, Macs and Linux computers. There is also no intrusive advertising or cookies
Access to Deep Web possible. Any page ending with .onion (the largest part of the Deep Web) is visible with the Tor browser. Other popular web browsers cannot access these pages. A search engine “Torrenz”, which protects privacy, is also integrated.

Disadvantages

Loading times: The biggest drawback is the loading times. Tor homepage takes up to 60 seconds after clicking the icon.
Transmission speed: Unfortunately, Tor runs extremely slowly due to the layered preparation of the data. Media content such as videos is very difficult to watch. The browser is also not suitable for file sharing.
Encryption: Unfortunately, the data is not encrypted. A separate VPN is required for encryption. This makes the transmission time even slower.
Outdated interface: The gray banner, the retro fonts – it’s not a browser that would ever come close to modern browsers like Chrome & Firefox
Data leaks: Although the information is transferred anonymously, the browser software contains vulnerabilities. Caution: Call rather encrypted HTTPS pages, HTTP pages are particularly vulnerable. At the same time, we know that US services and the CIA are also present here.

	Tor Browser	VPN
Verschlüsselung	Es werden nur die Daten innerhalb des Tor-Browser geschützt. Sobald man diesen nicht verwendet, surft man ungeschützt. Andere Geräte wie Drucker und Smartphone sind ungeschützt.	Die Ende-zu-Ende- Verschlüsselung & weitere Sicherheitsmechanismen sorgen dafür, dass die Daten geschützt sind. Er werden alle Daten geschützt! Es gibt weitere Sicherheits-Features wie Automatischer Wi-Fi-Schutz und No-Logs-Policy
Übertragung	Insgesamt ist das Tor-Netzwerk sehr langsam	Überlastungen des Netzwerkes kann man umgehen. Es kann zu Geschwindigkeitseinbußen kommen, wenn Daten einen längeren Weg zurücklegen. Mit einem hochwertigen VPN spürt man dies jedoch nicht.
Tracking	Webseiten können deine Surf Aktivitäten nicht nutzen, um gezielte Werbung zu erstellen.	← wie bei Tor Browser
Sicherheitslücken	Tor ist ein geschlossenes System. Software Fehler sind ausgeschlossen. Exit-Knoten können zur Spionage manipuliert werden. Man gibt sensible Infos preis, ohne es zu merken. Vorsicht vor Website Aufrufe außerhalb des Dark Webs und veraltete HTTP Seiten	Es kann zu Fehlern bei der VPN-Software Fehler kommen. Ein automatischer Kill-Switch trennt die Verbindung im Falle eines Fehlers und verbindet sie erst wieder, wenn Ihre Daten geschützt sind. Achtet beim Kauf auf einen automatischen Killswitch VPNs bieten DNS-Leck-Verhinderung
Mögliche Folgen von Nutzung	Überwachungsbehörden können erkennen, ob du Tor benutzt, und das kann dich auf eine Überwachungsliste setzen. Im Darknet zu surfen ist nicht illegal! Man sollte dennoch illegale Seiten meiden.	Bestimmte Banken und Zahlungs-Gateways erkennen, dass man einen VPN nutzt und markieren das Konto als verdächtig.
Kosten	Keine Kosten	Abo-Modelle mit monatlichen Raten sind gewöhnlich und erschwinglich
Gerätekompatibilität	Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android	Alle Plattformen inklusive Router

A Tor Browser is not a VPN

Both a VPN and a Tor browser have the same goal: they encrypt your Internet traffic and IP address. Nevertheless, the structure of both encryption techniques is quite different. Tor is a proxy socks based service. We have already reported on the exactstructure of a VPN.

A real VPN plus: Targeted geoblocking is possible with the VPN, so you can access German media content from anywhere in the world.

To your next Question direct at answer: It does not make sense to combine the two. Those who use a VPN do not need a Tor browser and vice versa. That would be about like wearing double rubber gloves. This is not doubly “safer “and certainly not more comfortable!

Conclusion

In the wake of growing attention about data selling and tracking, Tor browser usage is on the rise worldwide. In this respect, the Tow browser can be a good and free addition. Especially if the darknet is interesting.

At the same time, the Tor browser is not suitable as the main Internet portal. It is not fun to use in the long run because the design is outdated. Video streaming and file sharing does not work. It all just takes way too long and no user is satisfied with that these days.

One holistic protection as well as a full User experience offers simply only a powerful VPN-Connection. Nevertheless, we are pleased that public awareness of the issue of data security is growing rapidly.