Three ways Tor Browser is making the world a better place

When we hear the word ‘Browsers’, we instantly think Firefox or Chrome, and while these are powerful browsers with massive user bases, they can’t fully protect your information or prevent someone from actively spying on you. For those cases, there is the Tor Browser, a bundle that includes a modified Firefox browser connected to the Tor Network, ensuring almost complete anonymity. You can find a Tor Browser download on Rocky Bytes.

Over the past few years, Tor’s ‘Darknet’ has been labeled a criminal underground by various intelligence agencies around the world, stating that only criminals use it and that is only has nefarious purposes, completely ignoring all the good work that is done with Tor all over the world.

Internet Security Research

In the past, when students and researchers came up with new attacks on systems, it was done on a mostly theoretical basis, as were the defense researches. Thanks to Tor’s robust security, researchers can now test out their attacks against the network, finding out if their theory is sound, and in the process finding vulnerabilities in the network, allowing its developers to fix them.

There wouldn’t be SSL without these studies and tests. The safety we rely on for all our transactions wouldn’t exist. Without attacks, there can be no defence. Now imagine how security can evolve with Tor providing a playground for researchers to have a go.

Child Protection

As Roger Dingledine, project leader for the Tor Project said in one of his lectures, before your child has even said something on a chat room while using regular browsers, there’s a ton of information that can be gleamed about them by potential predators just by the IP address. Protecting children is paramount on our minds, not only parents’, and the Tor Browser helps in that regard, preventing anyone from knowing details about your child’s activity on the internet.

Freedom of Expression

From the 2011 Egypt protests to the current situation in Venezuela, where the Governments crack down on internet access, blocking social media and news outlets so people can’t tell world know what is happening, or how bad things are, or what each side is doing. In those cases, Tor Browser has proven to be a reliable tool for them, allowing them to circumvent the unjust blocks preventing them from expressing their views and letting others know of the situation in their country.

It’s not just them. Around the world, there are heavily controlled states where dissidence isn’t tolerated and speaking out can be a serious risk. Tor helps those people have a voice without risking their lives.

As I previously stated, these are just three examples. There are many more, and the people at the Tor Project give lectures every day, to educate people on the beneficial uses of the Tor Browser and network, from journalism to Law Enforcement. On their site, you can find numerous examples of how military and police forces currently use Tor (the same law enforcement agencies that condemn or persecute Tor).