Is Tor Trustworthy and Safe?
upstart writes:
[Editor's Note: There is a suggestion that the reason this has surfaced (again) at this time is an attempt to attract more people to VPNs rather than relying on Tor. This is most evident from the later stages of this document. However, from our own experience we have noted that Tor is not a reliable way of maintaining true anonymity. --JR]
There is a lot of misinformation being promoted in various privacy circles about Tor. This article will examine some facts about Tor and assess whether it is the infallible privacy tool it's made out to be by some.
There is a growing chorus of people who blindly recommend Tor to anyone looking for online anonymity. This recommendation often ignores mountains of evidence suggesting that Tor is not the "privacy tool" it's made out to be.
No privacy tool is above criticism or scrutiny, and each has pros and cons. Unfortunately, Tor has garnered a cult-like following in recent years among people who pretend it's infallible. Honest criticism of Tor is often met with accusations of "FUD" and ad-hominem attacks, so as not to disrupt the collective Groupthink.
Never mind the fact that the Tor network is a popular hangout for pedophiles and drug dealers - along with the law enforcement these types attract. Today, Tor is being marketed as some kind of grass-roots privacy tool that will protect you against government surveillance and various bad actors.
According to Roger Dingledine (Tor co-founder) and other key Tor developers, getting people (outside the US government) to widely adopt Tor is very important for the US government's ability to use Tor for its own purposes. In this goal, they have largely succeeded with Tor being widely promoted in various privacy circles by people who don't know any better.
But is Tor really a secure and trustworthy privacy tool?
Here are the facts.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.