Table Of Content
torproject.org
The Tor Project did not gain its 501©3 nonprofit certification until 2006, although the research and coding that led to the concept of ?onion routing? began in the mid-1990s.
Let's first take a look at the Tor Project, which is a private and encrypted web browser. This is particularly helpful if you're looking to watch TV or movies online, as it can help protect your privacy. Tor has been around for many years, and is based on the same philosophy that led to its creation - preserving online privacy.
If you look at the About section of torproject.org, you will see that the developers, researchers, and founders who have made Tor possible are a diverse group of people. All of these individuals share a common belief that internet users should have private access to an uncensored web.
And this is basically what Tor stands for, which is protection of privacy. As we see the traditional internet or the Clearnet become increasingly censored, moderated, surveilled, and mined for data, Tor offers a version of the internet that is of the people and for the people. With everything that one does on the Tor browser being sent through a complex network of encryption, you are virtually guaranteed not to be tracked. Your web history and data will not be easily collected (if at all). In short, Tor offers the closest thing to 100% privacy on the web - a rare and highly valued commodity.
History
As it became evident that online user activity could be easily tracked in 1995, David Goldschlag, Mike Reed, and Paul Syverson - researchers at the United States Naval Research Lab - began to question whether it would be possible to create an entirely anonymous web browsing experience. From this bold question, the first designs for what would become known as an onion network were drawn up.
the network is also known as a ? onion routing? network.
An onion network is created by routing traffic through numerous different servers, encrypting all data transmitted through them every step of the way. This is, essentially, the same way that the Tor browser works to this day. The term "onion network" refers to the many layers of encryption at play; thus, the network is also known as a "onion routing" network.
An onion network consists of routing internet traffic through as many different servers as possible, encrypting the data constantly along the way. More or less, this is how the Tor network of today works. This is why it is referred to as ?onion? routing - it consists of multiple layers and layers of encryption and privacy.
Many years passed by, many trials were conducted, and onion networks proved to be successful. The three men who created the first onion network had accomplished what was previously thought impossible: a decentralized, 100% private version of the internet. Onion networks were shown to successfully be able to bypass government firewalls (thereby sidestepping censorship laws). This led to the Tor Project becoming an invaluable resource for activists, journalists, and revolutionaries living under dictatorships in the mid-2000s.
The Tor browser was officially put into place in 2006. It is aligned with the liberty focus of encryption and privacy, and is given a worldwide release as freeware - anybody can download it free of charge and without any sign up required. The browser still exists as freeware to this day, just like web browsers with less anonymity (i.e. Chrome, Firefox, etc.). All Tor requires is a quick download, and you are good to go. The network re-routing and encryption are all automatically done for you by the browser itself.
Despite its highly successful encryption power and potential for anonymity, Tor has resulted in the creation of some of the darker aspects of the internet. In other words, the 'dark' web (sometimes called the 'deep web?) can be accessed by Tor. A hotbed for illegal activity, in a twist of irony, this decentralized version of the internet that was created by the US military has become one of the biggest challenges to federal authorities.
It would be irresponsible to discuss the dark web without giving a word of caution. This can be a dangerous and potentially traumatizing underbelly of the internet to casually browse around. To put it one way, there is content to be found here that cannot be unseen. So, if you are using the Tor browser, proceed with caution. It is generally not advisable to click around on random links found on the dark web. That being said, if you just want to privately and anonymously stream from sites that you already know and trust, you will have nothing to worry about.
Design
So, if you're thinking of downloading the Tor browser, it's a good idea to know what it looks like and how it works before making a decision. The design is similar to Google Chrome, so you should be able to get used to it quickly. There won't be a lot of new information for you to learn (or unlearn), so streaming your favorite shows and movies will be easy.
You will find your collection of tabs at the top of the browser, which you can click between and move around as you would expect. In the top right-hand corner of the browser, you will find a settings dropdown menu, where you will be able to access your library of saved sites and content, a list of your logins and passwords, extensions, page viewing options, etc. One thing that might be notably missing from this menu is a history button - because that's part of Tor's purpose, it does not track your history.
Desktop and Mobile Experience
As a user, the experience of using Tor is just as intuitive and familiar as any other non-encrypted web browser. The hotkeys are all the same, and there is no learning curve to use it. Plus, whether you're using the desktop version of the mobile app version of Tor, you're guaranteed a smooth and reliable experience.
However, there are some downsides to using Tor that other web browsers do not necessarily create. You will likely notice a lag in loading and buffering times. This is just a required price to pay for privacy, unfortunately. This is because of the fact that, as I laid out earlier, the nature of a decentralized network is to constantly encrypt and scramble your data across a massive server network. So, your data has to be sent out across numerous servers and scrambled multiple times over before it can make it back to you unencrypted.
This may be frustrating, of course, for anyone who enjoys streaming high definition video content (especially if you prefer to live stream). In fact, you may even find yourself growing impatient with the buffering speeds of lower quality streams. However, deciding whether or not to use Tor is going to probably be a matter of deciding how much you value your online privacy. In other words, what do you value more: speed of downloading and streaming content or a fully encrypted private online experience?
That being said, you can still take advantage of most of the bells and whistles that a traditional web browser offers. Even though your data is not trackable, you can still make and save bookmarks and login information. There are also extensions available for Tor. However, it should be noted that the Tor Project itself does not recommend using them ? at least if true anonymity is your goal. Makers of add-ons, of course, can potentially access your data and Tor, therefore, cannot regulate what those add-on software developers do with it. Therefore, an ad blocker, for example, could be used with Tor ? but it could potentially undo the whole purpose of using Tor in the first place; it could endanger your privacy.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Tor is an excellent tool for protecting your data and anonymity online. However, if you are looking for fast and lossless streaming video, you may prefer other browsers. Again, it all comes down to what is most important to you in terms of your online experience.
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