|
|
@@ -1,132 +1,4 @@
|
|
|
-[This file is obsolete. Check out the online FAQ at the wiki
|
|
|
+This file is obsolete. Check out the online FAQ at the wiki
|
|
|
for more accurate and complete questions and answers:
|
|
|
http://wiki.noreply.org/wiki/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ
|
|
|
|
|
|
-The Onion Routing (TOR) Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
|
---------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-1. General.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-1.1. What is Tor?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Tor is an implementation of version 2 of Onion Routing.
|
|
|
-Go read the tor-design.pdf for the details.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-In brief, Onion Routing is a connection-oriented anonymizing communication
|
|
|
-service. Users choose a source-routed path through a set of nodes, and
|
|
|
-negotiate a "virtual circuit" through the network, in which each node
|
|
|
-knows its predecessor and successor, but no others. Traffic flowing down
|
|
|
-the circuit is unwrapped by a symmetric key at each node, which reveals
|
|
|
-the downstream node.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Basically Tor provides a distributed network of servers ("onion
|
|
|
-routers"). Users bounce their tcp streams (web traffic, ftp, ssh, etc)
|
|
|
-around the routers, and recipients, observers, and even the routers
|
|
|
-themselves have difficulty tracking the source of the stream.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-1.2. Why's it called Tor?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Because Tor is the onion routing system. I kept telling people I was
|
|
|
-working on onion routing, and they said "Neat. Which one?" Even if onion
|
|
|
-routing has become a standard household term, this is the actual onion
|
|
|
-routing project, started out of the Naval Research Lab.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-(Theories about recursive acronyms are ok too. It's also got a fine
|
|
|
-translation into German.)
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-1.3 Is there a backdoor in Tor?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Not right now, but if this answer changes we probably won't be allowed
|
|
|
-to tell you. You should always check the source (or at least the diffs
|
|
|
-since the last release) for suspicious things; and if we don't give you
|
|
|
-source, that's a sure sign something funny could be going on.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-2. Compiling and installing.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-[Read the README file for now; check back here once we've got packages/etc
|
|
|
-for you.]
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-3. Running Tor.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-3.1. What kind of server should I run?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-The same executable functions as both client and server, depending on
|
|
|
-which ports are specified in the configuration file. You can specify:
|
|
|
-* SocksPort: client applications (eg privoxy, Mozilla) can speak socks to
|
|
|
- this port.
|
|
|
-* ORPort: other onion routers connect to this port
|
|
|
-* DirPort: onion proxies and onion routers speak http to this port, to
|
|
|
- pull down a directory of which nodes are currently available.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-3.2. So I can just run a full onion router and join the network?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-No. Users should run just an onion proxy. If you have sufficient
|
|
|
-bandwidth (>= 1MBit both ways) you can consider running a router,
|
|
|
-but just to use the network you don't need to. Note that you won't
|
|
|
-be used by clients much unless you are verified properly by the
|
|
|
-directory administrators (see next question).
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-3.3. How do I join the network then?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-If you just want to use the onion routing network, you can run a proxy
|
|
|
-and you're all set. If you want to run a router, you can do so by
|
|
|
-enabling ORPort, which will make your router get used for some things.
|
|
|
-However, in order to get used for everything, you must become a "verified"
|
|
|
-router. Simply convince the directory server operators (mail
|
|
|
-tor-ops@freehaven.net) that you have a stable machine with enough bandwidth.
|
|
|
-From there, the operators add you to the directory, which propagates out
|
|
|
-to the rest of the network. All nodes will know about you within a half
|
|
|
-hour. Once you are verified clients will pick you as entry and exit nodes.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-3.4. Can I just set DirPort and be a directory server?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-If you are an onion router and set DirPort then you will serve the
|
|
|
-directory to other clients. This takes some load off the authoritative
|
|
|
-dirservers. Your node will not generate its own directory, instead
|
|
|
-it will provide the one it fetched from an authoritative dirserver.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-If you run a very reliable node, you plan to be around for a long time,
|
|
|
-and you want to spend some time ensuring that router operators do in
|
|
|
-fact have enough bandwidth and stable machines, we may want you to run
|
|
|
-an authoritative directory server too. We must manually add you to the
|
|
|
-'dirservers' file that's part of the distribution; users will only know
|
|
|
-about you when they upgrade to a new version.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-4. Development.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-4.1. Who's doing this?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-4.2. Can I help?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-4.3. I've got a bug.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-5. Anonymity.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-5.1. So I'm totally anonymous if I use Tor?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-5.2. Where can I learn more about anonymity?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-5.3. What attacks remain against onion routing?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-6. Comparison to related projects.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-6.1. Onion Routing.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-Tor *is* onion routing.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-6.2. Freedom.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-7. Protocol and application support.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-7.1. http? ftp? udp? socks? mozilla?
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
Roger Dingledine