Beyond any doubt, surfing the Internet has nowadays become notably thorny and very risky. While online surveillance is growing more powerful and prevalent by the hour, people are anxiously seeking safe and private methods to navigate anonymously or secure their sensitive personal information. It is a fact that all of your online activities can be very easily tracked by hackers, phishers or anybody else; however, there are various ways to keep your identity and your personal information immune to all prying eyes. The most commonly used and trusted methods are Tor or VPN services.
Tor or VPN both enable you to hide your actual location and original IP address so that all your online activity becomes untraceable by any third party. These services also allow you to unblock censored and geo-restricted web content. But what is Tor or VPN? How are they different? More importantly, who wins in the vicious battle of internet security, Tor or VPN?!
What is Tor?
Tor, which stands for The Onion Router, is a network that was originally developed by the US navy to anonymize the user’s data and location online. In other words, Tor is a gateway to surfing the internet anonymously with maximum privacy and security for individuals, websites and even other servers as well without any tension. It makes it impossible for others to trace your online activity and reveal your real location.
How Does Tor Work?
Through a massive global network of more than 5,000 relays (run by volunteers) around which all your internet traffic is bounced and passed between a number of nodes where it is encrypted and re-encrypted many times. In other words, only the first server knows your real location then send encrypted data to the second server which in turn re-encrypts it then passes it to the third server, and so on and so forth. When data reaches the exit node, the last encrypted layer is decrypted to forward the data to the specified destination without revealing the identity of the sender.
Moreover, every 10 minutes Tor‘s relay circuits are reset at random so that your activities cannot be linked to each other. Further, it is impossible for a third party to know the websites you visited and those websites will not be able to know or track down your actual IP address; i.e, adding more efficient security to your browsing experience.
As it is mentioned on their website, “Tor helps to reduce the risks of both simple and sophisticated traffic analysis by distributing your transactions over several places on the Internet, so no single point can link you to your destination. The idea is similar to using a twisty, hard-to-follow route in order to throw off somebody who is tailing you — and then periodically erasing your footprints. Instead of taking a direct route from source to destination, data packets on the Tor network take a random pathway through several relays that cover your tracks so no observer at any single point can tell where the data came from or where it’s going.”
What is VPN and How Does It Work?
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) service is very similar to Tor since they (Tor or VPN) operate to encrypt your personal data and provide you with unlimited and unrestricted web browsing. However, a VPN masks your IP address and encrypts your connection then passes it through a server; for example: instead of connecting to Facebook directly, your computer contacts a server first, then connects to Facebook. In this way, VPN operates at a much faster speed since it only uses a server between the user’s system and the requested destination. This is very efficient if you are using a public Wi-Fi or a Hotspot connection. Only the VPN operator is aware of any activity you carry out if the VPN service you are subscribed to keeps traffic logs. Unlike Tor, VPNs offer protection against malware and identity theft.
You can learn more about the best VPN service providers that offer honest free trials and download them, here:
https://www.vpnanswers.com/download-best-free-vpn-trials-available-online/
Tor or VPN?
So which is better, Tor or VPN? Considering the fact that both services have so far indeed succeeded in satisfying their users in terms of anonymity and security, they are often compared to each other and are regarded as competing brands. Simply put, comparing Tor with VPN is just like comparing apples and pears. However, they both have their advantages and disadvantages, so when it comes to Tor or VPN, it’s entirely up to you to choose.
Tor pros:
- Free and easy to install.
- It is impossible to trace back any websites you visited to your actual IP.
- With its massive and widely spread network, Tor is immune to be shut down by any organization or even by governments.
- Ideal for high level threats that require supreme anonymity.
- Works best with low bandwidth browsing.
- Large number of relay volunteers which strengthens network security.
Tor cons:
- Slow – due to its numerous relays.
- Not recommended for P2P sharing or streaming videos.
- Can be detected by certain ISPs, hence, some of its relays can be blocked.
- Your personal traffic at Tor’s exit node can be seen since it isn’t encrypted. Further, any person can establish a Tor exist node making it easy to spy on users.
VPN pros:
- High speed compared to Tor’s, since VPNs use only one server between your computer and the website you’re contacting.
- Ideal for common use and low level threats.
- Works perfect with high bandwidth, hence, downloading torrents, and streaming media.
- Provides higher security and more privacy.
VPN cons:
- Costly. The best VPNs require a paid subscription whereas free VPNs have ads.
- Not recommended to use in situations that pose high threats and require a high level of anonymity.
Who wins?!
So who wins this battle, Tor or VPN? With Tor you needn’t worry about your anonymity being compromised. However, it is painfully slow and inefficient when it comes to file sharing, streaming media and downloading torrent.
Unlike Tor, VPN shines with its impressive speed and effortless performance. As long as your VPN doesn’t keep traffic and offers a no logging policy, you don’t have to worry about risking your privacy.
Strictly speaking, bulletproof anonymity services don’t exist — yet, but this doesn’t mean that you can maximize your security level to enjoy your dream of unlimited internet freedom and sheer privacy (check how you can do that in simple steps here: https://www.vpnanswers.com/6-easy-tips-make-vpn-more-secure/). Whether it’s Tor or VPN, both products are very popular with internet users and have earned their respect over the years. It’s all up to you to use Tor or VPN!
