I'm using a hotel's wifi service and need to send sensitive documents back home. A coworker has suggested using tor but I'm uncertain when and where the decryption takes place.
Is it decrypted at the exit node? If it is, when you send or receive a document through tor while using a public network, won't others on the same network be able to view the contents?
With tor, the data is decrypted at the exit node. The exit node, plus all routers and networks between the exit node and the target server can see the unencrypted data. Furthermore, you have no control over the exit node, so it may be in any of a number of countries.
What you want is a VPN. Hamachi is a good, easy-setup VPN if both ends are windows clients, but there are other solutions such as OpenVPN if want to ensure you have full control over the entire process from end to end.
Yes just use tor. It is secure and no one will see the contents or know where you are. Proxy VPN or anything has the same vulnerabilities after exit. The only solution is to use https to the server in which case you don't even need tor at all unless you want anonymity.
