The Tor Network—short for The Onion Router—is a free, open-source system designed to enable anonymous communication online by routing internet traffic through a series of encrypted relays operated by volunteers worldwide. Originally developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to protect government communications, Tor now serves millions of users seeking privacy, from journalists and activists to everyday citizens and, controversially, cybercriminals2. Its layered encryption—like the layers of an onion—ensures that no single point can trace both the origin and destination of data, making surveillance and tracking extremely difficult1. The Tor Browser, its most popular tool, allows users to bypass censorship, resist fingerprinting, and browse without revealing their identity.
