Digital Forensic Certification Practice Exam

Which protocol is primarily associated with the Tor browser for web traffic?

1. HTTPS

2. HTTP

3. FTP

4. TOR protocol

The correct answer is: TOR protocol

The Tor browser is primarily associated with the Tor protocol, which is specifically designed to anonymize web traffic. This protocol operates by routing internet traffic through a series of volunteer-operated servers called nodes or relays, effectively obscuring the user's location and usage from network surveillance or traffic analysis. The Tor protocol enables Tor users to access the internet in a way that keeps their identity and activity private. It achieves this by creating multiple layers of encryption, similar to layers of an onion—hence the name "Tor." Each node decrypts a layer of encryption to reveal the next destination, ensuring that the origin of the traffic remains unknown to any single node in the path. While HTTPS and HTTP are protocols for transferring data over the web, they do not inherently provide the anonymity and privacy features that the Tor protocol offers. FTP, on the other hand, is a protocol used for transferring files and is not related to web traffic per se. Therefore, the effectiveness and specific design of the Tor protocol make it the correct choice in the context of web traffic anonymity.