Tor (network)
| Tor | |
|---|---|
The Tor Project logo | |
| Developer(s) | The Tor Project |
| Initial release | 20 September 2002[1] |
| Stable release(s) [±] | |
| 0.4.8.18[2] (16 September 2025) | |
| Preview release(s) [±] | |
| Repository | |
| Written in | C,[3] Python, Rust[4] |
| Operating system | Unix-like, (Android, Linux, BSD, macOS), Microsoft Windows, iOS |
| Size | 101–198 MB |
| Type | Overlay network, mix network, onion router, Anonymity application |
| License | BSD 3-clause license[5] |
| Website | torproject |
| Part of a series on |
| File sharing |
|---|
Tor[6] is a free overlay network for enabling anonymous communication. It is built on free and open-source software run by over seven thousand volunteer-operated relays worldwide, as well as by millions of users who route their Internet traffic via random paths through these relays.[7][8]
Using Tor makes it more difficult to trace a user's Internet activity by preventing any single point on the Internet (other than the user's device) from being able to view both where traffic originated from and where it is ultimately going to at the same time.[9] This conceals a user's location and usage from anyone performing network surveillance or traffic analysis from any such point, protecting the user's freedom and ability to communicate confidentially.[10]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
prealphawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "dgoulet" (16 September 2025). "Alpha and Stable release 0.4.8.18 and 0.4.9.3-alpha". Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
openhub-torwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Announcing Arti, a pure-Rust Tor implementation". 2022. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "LICENSE – Tor's source code". tor. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ Collier, Ben (16 April 2024). Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy. The MIT Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-262-37892-5. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
Even years later, getting this wrong (by calling it The Onion Router, or writing TOR rather than Tor) remains a surefire way to get tripped up by the security community.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
usenix-designwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
torstatuswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "ABOUT TOR BROWSER | Tor Project | Tor Browser Manual". tb-manual.torproject.org. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ McCoy, Damon; Kevin Bauer; Dirk Grunwald; Tadayoshi Kohno; Douglas Sicker. "Shining light in dark places: Understanding the Tor network". International Symposium on Privacy Enhancing Technologies.