What Is a Tor Exit Node? Understanding Tor Browser Nodes

If you want to browse the web anonymously, you can use Tor. This software works together with volunteer-operated computers to conceal your identity. As the traffic exits the Tor network, it leaves through randomly-selected exit nodes. But what are Tor exit nodes? In this article, learn what Tor exit nodes are, how they're used, and how they can increase or decrease the visibility of your data.

What is Tor?

Tor, also known as the onion router or the Tor Project, is a free and open-source software browser designed to enable anonymous communication online. The Tor network consists of thousands of volunteer-operated servers, often called nodes or relays.

When you use the Tor circuit, your Internet traffic routes through a series of nodes before reaching its destination. The software preserves a user's digital footprint from monitoring. Each node decrypts a layer of encryption before passing the traffic to the next node, making it difficult for anyone to trace the origin of the traffic. This multi-layered encryption is referred to as onion routing.

What is a Tor exit node?

A Tor exit node is the final node on the Tor network before your internal traffic reaches its intended destination on the web. It receives your encrypted data that has passed through other nodes in the network and sends it to the website you wish to access.

Exit nodes are sometimes referred to as exit relays. They are specific gateways where the encrypted Tor traffic emerges on the regular Internet. If you're browsing through Tor, the website will see the IP address of the Tor exit node, not your actual IP address. This helps protect your anonymity while surfing the Internet.

Notably, the exit node has the same role as the virtual private network server: receive your encrypted request, decrypt it, send it to the destination, read the response, and send it back.

While the Tor exit node can't see your original IP address, it does know the website that you're visiting because the data leaving the exit node receives decryption before arriving at its intended destination.

Though Tor offers privacy benefits, exit nodes are a potential weak point. Malicious actors operating on an exit node could potentially capture the unencrypted data that passes through it. For this reason, we recommend you use end-to-end encryption, like HTTPS, whenever possible.

What is a Tor node?

Tor nodes, also known as relays or routers, are servers that participate in the Tor network. These individual servers work together to create a secure, private, and anonymous pathway for traffic.

The role of these nodes is to pass traffic along to the next node in the onion router network. When you connect to the Tor network, your encrypted data goes through a multi-layered network of these nodes. Each node only knows the previous and next node in chain, not the entire path.

In addition to the exit nodes, as discussed above, there are other types of nodes that make up a Tor network. They include guard nodes, middle nodes, and bridge nodes. For added anonymity, all traffic in the onion router goes through at least three nodes before reaching its destination. The first two nodes in this path are middle nodes.

Entry or guard nodes

A guard node, or entry node, is the first relay that a client connects to when entering the Tor network. The node sees the real IP address of the computer connecting to the network. This is because the client needs to reveal its IP address to the entry node in order to establish the initial connection.

In most cases, the list of guard nodes is publicly available in the public list of Tor nodes. It's updated regularly to provide clients with current nodes to connect to.

Middle nodes

Commonly known as middle relays, these nodes form the heart of the network. This type of node forwards the data it receives from one entry node to another middle or exit node.

Because of Tor's design, running a middle relay is generally considered safe. The nodes openly advertise their presence to the rest of the Tor network, allowing any Tor user to connect with them.

This means that even if you run a middle relay on your home network or personal computer, your IP address won't have association with any potentially malicious traffic passing through the relay.

Bridge node

Bridge nodes are special Tor relays that aren't publicly listed in the main directory of Tor nodes. They act as alternative entry points to the Tor network for users in censored regions.

In some countries like China, the government may blacklist the Tor network. Any user who wants to connect to the network will request a list of bridge nodes.

These nodes are not openly published, so they aren't easily blocked by censorship measures. Using a bridge node helps disguise the fact that a user is connecting to the Tor network.

What is a Tor node used for?

There are a few reasons people use Tor. Tor works well for anyone that wishes to keep their online activities out of the hands of unauthorized users. Here are the functions of a Tor node.

• Anonymity. In anonymity networks like Tor, the exit node makes your Internet activity anonymous. When your data exits the network through an exit node, the destination website accesses the IP address of the exit node, not your IP address. This helps conceal your identity.
• Accessing blocked content. Exit nodes can access services that your region blocks. You can bypass these restrictions by routing your traffic through the node in a different location.
• Privacy. In mesh networking tools like Tailscale, exit nodes can be useful for securely accessing the Internet from untrusted free WiFi networks, like cafes or public hotspots.

What are the risks of running Tor exit node?

Running an exit node, especially from your own home, comes with inherent risks. This is especially true if it becomes malicious. An exit node becomes malicious when a bad actor manipulates it. The most immediate risk is that the malicious exit node can monitor the unencrypted traffic that passes through it.

In addition to monitoring, the node can modify the data sent between the user and the destination. Attackers are likely to inject malicious code into websites and redirect users to phishing sites.

Users accessing copyrighted content through your exit node sometimes receive legal notices from copyright holders. In other cases, law enforcement mistakenly associates your IP address with illegal activity if they track it back to the exit node.

Always keep your Tor browser updated to the latest versions to benefit from security patches. Also, use a reputable VPN in conjunction with Tor to add an extra layer of security. A VPN encrypts your traffic before it enters the Tor network.

Frequently asked questions

Who operates Tor exit nodes?

Volunteers around the world operate Tor exit nodes. These individuals run the nodes to contribute to the network's functionality.

Can Tor exit nodes see my data?

Yes. Tor exit nodes see the data passing through them, but they can't decrypt the data unless the user's browser decrypts it.

Can I host a Tor exit node?

Yes, individuals can host Tor exit nodes. The potential hosts should carefully review Tor's guidelines and understand the legal implications in their jurisdiction.

Is using Tor legal?

Using Tor is legal in most countries, including the United States. It's a tool designed to protect online privacy. However, like any technology, users utilize it for both illegal and legal purposes.