I keep seeing references to Tor, which seems to be a type of software that promises increased security from various hackers and can make you essentially anonymous. I understand that can be a major benefit, but not being computer literate, I’m not sure I see the cons associated with it. We’ve all learned to be skeptical of these types of promises, so what’s the straight dope on this thing?
It’s slow and kind of a hassle. Plus, Tor only anonymizes your network address, not your traffic. The onus is on you to ensure you’re encrypting everything and not sending any identifying information.
So when you use Tor to connect to a web server infiltrated by the FBI, though they can’t tell where your computer is, it’s a moot point when you say “Please send the drugs to 123 Idiot Street and charge them to my American Dumbass card.”
People who are troublemakers often use tor to hide where they are coming from. As a result, a lot of tor nodes end up getting blocked by a lot of sites. Quite a few tor nodes have ended up on the IP ban list for the SDMB due to abuse. Some web sites even have a blanket ban on all tor nodes.
Tor effectively hides your IP from the destination site, but if you are still opening a socket to that site it is possible for someone to hack their way into your computer through that socket. Tor isn’t some kind of super-security thing that will make you invulnerable. It will however stop the script kiddies from just whacking your IP with whatever scripts they have at their disposal.