Tor Anonymity Software Network Continues to Grow

September 15, 2015 at 1:34 pm By

It’s not very often that an online privacy tool lasts too long before competition causes it to fold. The Tor anonymity software however, has become one of the most globally used pieces of privacy software and it only seems to be growing.

“The Tor network is a group of volunteer-operated servers that allows people to improve their privacy and security on the Internet,” according to Tor. 

“People think that Tor is 10 people running computers in their basements,” said Luke Millanta, a freelance coder out of Sydney who launched Onionview, a web-based geographic tracker of tor nodes, according to Wired.

“When people see the map, they say ‘Holy sh*t. That’s what 6,000 nodes around the world looks like.'”

Millanta’s Onionview created a large map that really shows widespread use on every continent. The top three countries using Tor networks are Germany, United States and France according to the map. The map is highly skewed towards the United States and Europe where there is a flurry networks popping up.

“Onionview’s visualization also captures just how much Snowden’s NSA surveillance revelations swelled Tor’s footprint: Five years ago, the network consisted of less than 2,000 nodes, compared with 6,425 today,” according to Wired.

“Even in 2012, Snowden’s leaked NSA documents showed that the agency was having trouble identifying Tor users. With thousands of more turns now in the network’s global maze, tracking Tor users online is likely harder than ever.”

With the latest gang of leaks, Tor networks can only rise in popularity as if it hasn’t already. Cybersecurity concerns are growing and so are countries’ enthusiasm when it comes to Tor networks and the level of security it brings.

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