Why does TOR stream data when it’s not in use?

[F. Fox]

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MORTEN HAGEN wrote:
> Hi,
>  
> I’m new to TOR. I’ve been using it for some weeks for online privacy.
>  
> I’ve installed TOR and Privoxy from the latest Windows Vidalia Bundle
> and configured my Internet Explorer 7 manually. Everything seems to work
> fine when I test my connection on such testing sites on the internet.
>  
> My question is: When I start Privoxy and TOR, my computer starts
> immediately to stream data over the internet. It mostly downloads, and
> sometimes it downloads 1MB of data each minute, or more, for a long
> while. It also sends data, but in a much lower rate.
(snip)

AFAIK, when activated, Tor will:

1.) Download some directory information - this can be quite a bit, if
it's the first time Tor's been run on a particular install;

2.) Send some data for the purpose of opening up a few circuits, so it's
ready for use when an application wants it.

If by "a long while" you mean more than a couple of minutes, I'd say
that's pretty odd - that's much more than is needed for a directory
download (IIRC).

> Is every TOR user a TOR Server or Exit Node as well?
(snip)

By default, Tor will act only as a client; it will not relay data, nor
act as an exit node.

- --
F. Fox: A+, Network+, Security+
Owner of Tor node "kitsune"
http://fenrisfox.livejournal.com
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