"Free" Software - The Onion Routing (TOR) network
One of the hottest topics on the Internet right now is the free anonymizing
sevice provided by TOR being
published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve
their privacy and security on
the Internet. It also enables software developers
to create new communication tools with built-in privacy
features. Tor provides
the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and
individuals
to share information over public networks without compromising their
privacy.
Note that it is such an effective anonymizer (like Anonymizer.com or GhostSurf)
that the US Navy used
it in "Middle East" recently. On the other hand it
is also a very effective tool for hackers - a near perfect
tool for hiding
music, film and any other downloading!
For corporations, TOR is usable in cases where anonymity in Internet
usage is an advantage, as suggested
for competitive research. For all
other use in a corporate network, TOR is a network monitoring DISABLER
and
should be banned.
The private user can benefit from Tor to keep remote websites from tracking them and
their family members.
They can
also use it to connect to resources such as news
sites or instant messaging services that are blocked by their
local Internet
service providers (ISPs). See more
here.
To use this service a client download is requied plus a relatively involved
configuration exercise, very clearly
explained here.
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