A small flurry erupted this week when news sites reported that Comcast was blocking customers from using the Tor browser. If this were true, it was a serious and invasive step for an internet provider.

Tor is a network created to make online browsing anonymous. When you surf online, you leave a lot of clues about who you are and what you like.

The Tor network lets people surf without leaving traces. To take advantage of this, visit http://www.torproject.org and download the free Tor browser.

You'll be browsing anonymously in minutes.

Unsure why you'd want this? There are plenty of legitimate reasons why someone might need to surf without divulging their identity.

Journalists often use Tor to protect their sources, and citizens of countries that restrict online access use it to browse prohibited sites. Some parents use it to keep their children's online activities private.

Not surprisingly, Tor is used for illegal activities, as well, The reports that Comcast had blocked Tor said that Comcast considered it an illegal service, and assumed that people using it were up to no good.

Even for Comcast, however, this would be a step too far.

If it were really blocking anonymous browsing, that would be a huge breach of its customers' privacy. That's why Comcast vice president of internet communications and engineering Jason Livingood came forward right away to say the story was false.

"Our customers can use Tor at any time, as I have myself. I'm sure many of them are using it right now," he wrote in a blog post.

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