The Variety of uses of TOR and How it can benefit you.

 

Why is TOR Used?

TOR is a remarkable project to protect everyone from surveillance. It is becoming more and more essential in today's world thanks to the constant presence of government and other institutes in our day-to-day life. The world has become an Orwellian nightmare and thus, Tor and other such ways of staying anonymous are a boon for the society. TOR has many uses and users, all with different purposes. In this chapter, let us have a look at the variety of uses of Tor, which will promote you to try and use it. The uses have been divided into multiple sections for convenience.

Why common people use Tor?

Protection

As mentioned earlier, the world is rapidly becoming an Orwellian nightmare thanks to the constant surveillance of the government and various other institutes. Our ISPs or Internet Service Providers can track and access almost all of your browsing and surfing data. Though ISPs do proclaim that they protect your data and information most of them can sell it to buyers for the right price. Your data includes everything right from a database of every site that you have visited, your search details, and in some cases even your User Id and passwords. As it is clear, this information is very sensitive and thus theft of this data can prove to be a nuisance. Other than your ISPs, even regular websites can access the above-mentioned sensitive information. Smart websites can also intercept and track your communication data as well. You cannot trust anyone with your data. No wonder all technology gurus recommend people to use Tor to keep their data safe from breaches and betrayers. Although most of us do not share personal data over the Internet yet even simple things like IP address can prove to be harmful. For instance, it is now possible to trace your location using your IP address. This technology is becoming so sophisticated that now it is possible even to trace your street address. 

Censorship

Many nations do not allow their residents to use the Internet freely. Often various social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. are blocked on these nations. These sites are often blocked behind a national firewall. The firewall often blocks sensitive information as well. For instance, if the topic of your research is AIDS, sexual diseases, birth control, abortion, religion, terrorism, etc. You cannot access these without raising red flags. Hence, if you want to conduct your research without any fear, Tor is essential. 

Surveillance

You will be surprised how even your simple, surface web browsing can make authorities suspicious. Your browsing history can cause a lot of problems if it does not remain private. And don't think that Incognito mode of the various browsers can protect you. Only Tor can keep your online and offline life separate.

How Tor can help media and journalism

In today’s world even the pillar if democracy that is media is not safe. Nowadays media is often biased, and paid media is a harsh reality. However, all of the media is not bias and many honest journalist exits unfortunately for them most of the media is now controlled and censored by the government of the world. This government does not let these honest journalists and media persons present their point of view in an unbiased and uncensored way. Tor can help such trapped media persons to present their honest views with full security, privacy, and anonymity. Using Tor, media persons can present the truth of their homeland with total security. With this the people who want unbiased news can get it from Tor as well. It should not come as a surprise that various American institutes support Tor to promote free speech and independence. Tor can also help you research controversial topics without any problems. These topics include sensitive subjects such as religion, terrorism, abortion, etc.

Use of Tor by Law Enforcement

The title of this section might surprise you thanks to various myths and legends prevalent about Tor and Dark web on the Surface web. One of the most common myths about Tor is that it is illegal and that it is only an interface to conduct illicit activities. However as said earlier this just a myth which is why law enforcements all over the world use Tor for a variety of purposes. The most common use is online surveillance Although it is quite possible to keep an eye on various illegal activities on the Surface web, it is a time and money-consuming affair. For instance, even if the cop is well versed in street slang and language their cover might blow away due to the simple fact their IP can be traced by these illegal sites. Hence cops often use Tor to conduct online surveillance. Tor can keep your IP, and all other details secure and hidden from everyone hence, making it one of the best options of surveillance to law forces. But do not worry, police forces only track people who are already under suspicion of illegal and illicit activities. So you can be sure that the forces won’t track you unless of course you visit and use these illegal sites

Sting operations

Law enforcements can also use Tor to conduct various sting operations on suspicious people. These sting operations are far more sophisticated and safe than the real-life sting operations.

Anonymous Tip Lines

Law forces all over the world agree that anonymous informants are the best informants available. However, these informants need to be protected, and their security is a sensitive issue. Although many Tip software and lines exit on the surface web but they are not truly anonymous, and a person with sophisticated technical knowledge can trace the location or the details of the tipper. To prevent this, there exist many anonymous Tip lines on Tor. These lines are often untraceable and quite secure. Tippers can send information without any second thoughts.

How Whistle-blowers can use Tor

The world is becoming more and more violent day by day, which has led to the rise of human rights activists all over. However, due to censorship and archaic laws many human rights advocates cannot promote their cause freely. They cannot present their reports of abuses and dangers without threatening their lives. Tor can help these activists to present their point of view without any worry. Tor thus allows them to continue their work without the fear of persecution and in some cases execution. One of the major humanitarian organizations, the Human Rights Watch recommends Tor in its report Internet Censorship. This report has a section on how it is possible to break the Chinese firewall. Other prominent organizations such as Amnesty and Global Voices also recommend Tor. In many nations, whistle-blowers do not enjoy any legal protection provided by the government. However, whistle-blowers can continue with their work if they use Tor. They can continue their journey of seeking the truth without any problems.

How can celebrities and underprivileged people use Tor? 

Everyone is obsessed with celebrities, and the fan girl culture has gained momentum over the last few years. We love our stars and want to follow them. However, all this limelight often disturbs their lives, which often causes them a lot of problems. The constant interference can be avoided if Tor is used. Celebs can keep blogs and present their political or other views online without ruining their image. Along with celebs, this can also help other high profile people who cannot enjoy a private online life. Underprivileged and people who live in poverty too cannot enjoy an entirely private life. They cannot participate in the society in totality. They constantly need to worry about their jobs, social workers, and others. A single bad comment can ruin their life. However, Tor can help such people to present their views without any fear. It gives voice to the voiceless. The poor, the dejected and the harassed can voice their opinion online without fearing any backlash.

Illegal Uses 

As said earlier, there exists an illegal side of the Dark Web. However, as this is a complete guidebook for Tor, I also include some information about this side here. An unknown side of the Dark Web is that it is one of the biggest libraries. You can access and find almost every book in the annals of Tor. This is especially useful for the residents of nations where books are banned and censored heavily. This is also useful for people who want conduct a variety of research. You can find almost all kinds of books on Tor and can read them online or download them. However, downloading is not recommended unless you know what you are doing as Dark Web is not as simple as the Surface web. One of the most frequently talked about aspect of the Dark Web is the presence of various markets. These markets often trade in a variety of illegal goods and services such as weapons, recreational drugs, fake IDs, etc. There are other markets on the Dark Web that are not as dangerous as the ones dealing with the above goods.

So, these were some of the many uses of Tor. In the next blog let us have a look at how you can access the Dark Web using Tor.