Spokane developer builds web browser that increases privacy
PCWORLD had this write-up on the web browser Spokane's Mike Tigas built for Apple devices. Tigas is also a web developer for The Spokesman-Review.
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG-News-Service:Sydney-Bureau
A new privacy-enhancing web browser aimed at Apple users has steadily risen in popularity in the company's App Store.
The "Onion Browser," built by Mike Tigas, uses The Onion Router (TOR) network, a system originally built by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory that routes browsing traffic worldwide through a network of servers. The Onion Browser is compatible with iPhones and iPads running iOS 5.0 and higher.
Tigas, a web developer with the The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane, Washington, wrote since the application went on sale last week, it hit number one in the rankings for paid utilities for the iPad and iPhone last Thursday and Friday.
The browser is useful for people who want to maintain greater privacy. Web sites visited using the Onion Browser will not see a user's true IP address. Web traffic is also encrypted, which prevents an ISP from recording sites that have been visited, and the traffic usually can pass through firewalls configured to try to block certain content. Since TOR routes traffic through many other servers, web browsing is slower, however.
