5 ms·

How Tor Works: Part One

178 points by billconan 11y ago

garrettr_ 11y ago
If you use Tor, or want to support those that need it to communicate safely online, consider donating to (their first ever!) end-of-year fundraising drive: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/our-first-real-donations-campaign https://blog.torproject.org/blog/our-first-real-donations-ca...
- griffinmb 11y ago
  Thanks for the link! I've finally put my money where my mouth is and donated.
travjones 11y ago
This was a fantastic post. Granted the high-level view skirts very technical aspects of Tor, this post is perfect for laypeople who hear about "Tor" and ask about it.
- an0nym1ty 11y ago
  Not being factitious here. Do you have a better (more technical) alternative?
  - chei0aiV 11y ago
    Probably the Tor wiki and documentation: https://trac.torproject.org/ https://trac.torproject.org/ https://www.torproject.org/docs/documentation https://www.torproject.org/docs/documentation
  - arthurcolle 11y ago
    Design paper: https://svn.torproject.org/svn/projects/design-paper/tor-design.pdf https://svn.torproject.org/svn/projects/design-paper/tor-des...
    - middleclick 11y ago
      (Do note that many things in the paper have changed, for example, the hidden service design.)
sandworm101 11y ago
In part2/3 or wherever you discuss hidden services, can you please not call them the "dark web"? That term is being thrown around so much lately that it has lost all useful meaning. Imho the "dark web" means those parts of the web not publicly visible, ie not indexed by search engines and/or places not accessible to the public. Most hidden services are indexed and are publicly accessible ... so they are not by definition dark.
- mirimir 11y ago
  I like "onion services".
- griffinmb 11y ago
  I agree that terms like "dark web" and "deep web" have been used so much (and often interchangeably), that they've mostly lost their meaning. That being said, I've always used "dark web" in reference to things like hidden services, i2p, etc, and I've used "deep web" to mean unindexed/inaccessible content.
mirimir 11y ago
This is the best top-level description of Tor that I've ever read!
ShaneWilton 11y ago
Along the same lines, there's an incredible series by Tom Ritter that describes how mix networks work. Here's the first post: https://crypto.is/blog/what_is_a_remailer https://crypto.is/blog/what_is_a_remailer
kevinsd 11y ago
I have read all 1-3 parts that seem available at this time. My immediate questions are: (a) is the client supposed to get a copy of the consensus to start with? (b) what if direct access to all DAs are blocked?
- middleclick 11y ago
  a). Yes, b). That is one of the ways to block access to Tor: either block torproject.org (in which case you use the GetTor service or mirrors), or the DAs, in which case you can't bootstrap. The way around that is to use bridges (unpublished relays to which you connect) or pluggable transports which now come bundled with Tor Browser. (https://www.torproject.org/docs/pluggable-transports.html.en https://www.torproject.org/docs/pluggable-transports.html.en)
  - chei0aiV 11y ago
    There is also some work in progress to add fallback directory mirrors: https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-relays/2015-December/008361.html https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-relays/2015-Decem... https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/FallbackDirectoryMirrors https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/FallbackDi...
jwcrux 11y ago
Oh, hi there! Author here. Glad y'all like the post! I've been on a break recently working on other projects, but I'm finishing up a post for this series soon, so stay tuned! I'll be hanging around off and on, and am happy to answer any questions!

178 points by billconan 11y ago

If you use Tor, or want to support those that need it to communicate safely online, consider donating to (their first ever!) end-of-year fundraising drive: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/our-first-real-donations-campaign https://blog.torproject.org/blog/our-first-real-donations-ca...

griffinmb 11y ago
Thanks for the link! I've finally put my money where my mouth is and donated.

travjones 11y ago

This was a fantastic post. Granted the high-level view skirts very technical aspects of Tor, this post is perfect for laypeople who hear about "Tor" and ask about it.

an0nym1ty 11y ago
Not being factitious here. Do you have a better (more technical) alternative?
- chei0aiV 11y ago
  Probably the Tor wiki and documentation: https://trac.torproject.org/ https://trac.torproject.org/ https://www.torproject.org/docs/documentation https://www.torproject.org/docs/documentation
- arthurcolle 11y ago
  Design paper: https://svn.torproject.org/svn/projects/design-paper/tor-design.pdf https://svn.torproject.org/svn/projects/design-paper/tor-des...
  - middleclick 11y ago
    (Do note that many things in the paper have changed, for example, the hidden service design.)

sandworm101 11y ago

In part2/3 or wherever you discuss hidden services, can you please not call them the "dark web"? That term is being thrown around so much lately that it has lost all useful meaning. Imho the "dark web" means those parts of the web not publicly visible, ie not indexed by search engines and/or places not accessible to the public. Most hidden services are indexed and are publicly accessible ... so they are not by definition dark.

mirimir 11y ago
I like "onion services".
griffinmb 11y ago
I agree that terms like "dark web" and "deep web" have been used so much (and often interchangeably), that they've mostly lost their meaning. That being said, I've always used "dark web" in reference to things like hidden services, i2p, etc, and I've used "deep web" to mean unindexed/inaccessible content.

mirimir 11y ago

This is the best top-level description of Tor that I've ever read!

ShaneWilton 11y ago

Along the same lines, there's an incredible series by Tom Ritter that describes how mix networks work. Here's the first post: https://crypto.is/blog/what_is_a_remailer https://crypto.is/blog/what_is_a_remailer

kevinsd 11y ago

I have read all 1-3 parts that seem available at this time. My immediate questions are: (a) is the client supposed to get a copy of the consensus to start with? (b) what if direct access to all DAs are blocked?

middleclick 11y ago
a). Yes, b). That is one of the ways to block access to Tor: either block torproject.org (in which case you use the GetTor service or mirrors), or the DAs, in which case you can't bootstrap. The way around that is to use bridges (unpublished relays to which you connect) or pluggable transports which now come bundled with Tor Browser. (https://www.torproject.org/docs/pluggable-transports.html.en https://www.torproject.org/docs/pluggable-transports.html.en)
- chei0aiV 11y ago
  There is also some work in progress to add fallback directory mirrors: https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-relays/2015-December/008361.html https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-relays/2015-Decem... https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/FallbackDirectoryMirrors https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/FallbackDi...

jwcrux 11y ago

Oh, hi there! Author here. Glad y'all like the post! I've been on a break recently working on other projects, but I'm finishing up a post for this series soon, so stay tuned! I'll be hanging around off and on, and am happy to answer any questions!