The last server always acts as the exit server, which thus provides the end of the digital connection communication. Once the user has connected to all three servers, data can finally be transferred. According to the developers, three servers is a good compromise because it ensures a correspondingly high level of anonymity without unnecessarily lengthening connection times. The network itself does not use just one server, but usually connects to at least three servers to increase the quality of anonymization. READ: What is AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)?įinally, once the user has received the list on his computer, a random route through these Tor servers takes place. The servers have a public key to prove that they authentically belong to the network. This software then connects to the Tor network and provides a list of all available servers to which the user can connect. To use Tor, the user must first download a client (software), which in technical jargon is called a “proxy”. Even though the way it works has been preserved, the Tor network is now spelled simply “Tor”, without capital letters. Tor works on the basis of onion routing, which also gave rise to the project’s first working name: The Onion Routing (TOR).

Since 2012, Tor has been largely funded by private donations. The project found numerous financial supporters shortly after its inception, much of which came from various American organizations. The beginnings of Tor can be traced back to 2000, although the first functional version was released by inventor Matej Pfajfar only two years later, in 2002.

Tor network security