FYI � "TOR: What is it, exactly?" (Answered)
by sundialsvcs from LinuxQuestions.org on (#6M6R7)
TOR stands for, of all things, "The Onion Router." The origin of the term was apparently slang used by the original team, referring to "layers of protection" being added "like the layers of an onion." And, it stuck. Just like a VPN, the technology sits in the internet stack, functioning like a TCP/IP router.
It is a technology originally designed to conceal the fact that an internet exchange is taking place. Just the thing that you might need if you are, say, a spy. Or, if you don't want an eavesdropping competitor to know about negotiations that your business is now conducting with a partner he would recognize. The technology works by scattering packets through multiple communication channels, then reassembling them in the proper order at the far end. (The packets are also encrypted.) The technology was originally created by government, then openly released to the public, where it has been developed since.
TOR is also one way that certain users (perhaps, necessarily ...) employ in an attempt to evade "firewalls" and other barricades that are intended to block communications which they want to pursue. However, it does have some serious problems. The "scattering" effect can cause packets to be lost, and the transmissions - when successful - can be (very ...) slow. And, if you are explicitly watching for it, a TOR exchange can be detected, at least for traffic-analysis purposes.
It is a technology originally designed to conceal the fact that an internet exchange is taking place. Just the thing that you might need if you are, say, a spy. Or, if you don't want an eavesdropping competitor to know about negotiations that your business is now conducting with a partner he would recognize. The technology works by scattering packets through multiple communication channels, then reassembling them in the proper order at the far end. (The packets are also encrypted.) The technology was originally created by government, then openly released to the public, where it has been developed since.
TOR is also one way that certain users (perhaps, necessarily ...) employ in an attempt to evade "firewalls" and other barricades that are intended to block communications which they want to pursue. However, it does have some serious problems. The "scattering" effect can cause packets to be lost, and the transmissions - when successful - can be (very ...) slow. And, if you are explicitly watching for it, a TOR exchange can be detected, at least for traffic-analysis purposes.