Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security.

People can donate their bandwidth to the Tor network and support human rights. Many people in Finland have done this.

Especially Tor network needs fast exit nodes which are final nodes before traffic reaches its destination. Because Tor traffic exits through these relays, the IP address of the exit relay is interpreted as the source of the traffic.

If a malicious user employs the Tor network to do something that might be objectionable or illegal, the exit relay may take the blame. People who run exit relays should be prepared to deal with complaints, copyright takedown notices, and the possibility that their servers may attract the attention of law enforcement agencies.

In Finland, Juha Nurmi has been establishing good relationships with ISPs and law enforcement agencies to keep Finnish exit nodes online.

Juha Nurmi

Juha Nurmi (age 28) is the founder and project leader of the Ahmia search engine project. He is a security researcher and has been involved in numerous projects funded by both the commercial and government spheres, including DARPA Memex project in the Silicon Valley. Juha is also a noted lecturer and public speaker. Juha's work on Ahmia has been in part sponsored by the Google Summer of Code.