SOCKS and HTTP proxies provide no encryption, whereas HTTPS proxies offer the same level of encryption as any SSL website. The primary proxy protocols in use today are SOCKS and HTTP/HTTPS. While there are public and private proxy servers, only private proxies, usually paid, provide any type of stability or reliability. This could potentially lead to you being earmarked as a criminal type and having all of your online activity monitored.Ī proxy, like a VPN, directs your traffic via another computer instead of your own. Because Tor has been widely used by political dissidents, journalists, and even criminals, many governments are watchful of Tor users.

Navy and is still used by many government agencies. For those concerned with the prying eyes of the government, Tor was created in conjunction with the U.S. Tor has a known drawback of substantially slowing down your browsing because of the numerous hops your data is relayed through. While your data is encrypted along each of the relay nodes, the final connection point at the last relay in the chain can be compromised if the requested site does not use SSL. The benefit of this method is that your IP address is hidden from the sites you visit by bouncing your connection from server to server at random, in essence, losing the trail. It is a decentralized system that allows users to connect through a network of relays rather than making a direct connection.

Tor or “The Onion Router” is a service created to allow people to anonymously browse the Internet.

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