When the final layer is decrypted you get the plaintext (non-encrypted message). Each layer contains the next destination - the next router the packet has to go to. This series of computers is called a path. The resulting onion (fully encapsulated message) is then transmitted through a series of computers in a network (called onion routers) with each computer peeling away a layer of the ‘onion’. This is why it’s called The Onion Routing Protocol, because it adds layers at each stage. Each layer in Tor is encryption, you are adding layers of encryption to a Tor message, as opposed to just adding 1 layer of encryption. In onion routing messages are encapsulated in several layers of encryption. The core principle of Tor is onion routing which is a technique for anonymous & secure communication over a public network.

Tor creates a twisted path through 3 Tor nodes, and sends the data via that circuit. Using Tor, your computer never communicates with the server directly. But, sometimes all an adversary needs to know is who you’re connecting to. If you’re using HTTPS, no one will know what the message said. As well as what port you’re connecting to. They can find out what website you’re visiting and your IP address. Anyone monitoring your internet could read the TCP packet. When you normally visit a website, your computer makes a direct TCP connection with the website’s server. According to Kings College much of Tor is legal. Tor is much larger than what the media makes it out to be. You may know Tor as the hometown of online illegal activities, a place where you can buy any drug you want, a place for all things illegal. Ironically, Tor has seen widespread use by everyone - even those organisations which the U.S. The United States Naval Research Laboratory developed The Onion Routing Protocol (Tor) to project U.S. This article is designed to be read by anyone, with **ZERO **knowledge on networking or Tor.

Just a deep-dive into the technical stuff of how Tor works. Without speculation and without exaggeration of what Tor is. No mention of how to access Tor, no mention of what might be on Tor. Today, we’re going to do a technical deep-dive into how Tor really works.

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