【TOR NAVIGATOR】 ▷ What is it and how does it work? ▷ 2024

There are many rumors and myths about the anonymous browser Tor . That it is illegal, that if it is not safe, that if it incriminates you … The truth is that, although it is not the most effective in all aspects, it is very interesting in certain circumstances, such as, for example, to enter the deep web , which is the way in which almost everyone has known him.

TOR is a not too long-lived browser that promises us anonymity and security , which is why it is increasingly used for all types of queries, in part, fleeing from the aggressive collection of data that It is done through other browsers and networks.

If you want to keep your data safe and navigate quietly, the best thing you can do is c know everything about TOR: what is this search engine, how it works, what it offers you, what it is for and how we can access it We see all this below.

What is it, what is the Tor browser for and what are its advantages?

TOR or The Onion Router is a web browser based on Mozilla but that obviously differs from this in many things, mainly in terms of managing our data . We are talking about an anonymous browser that is part of a project to develop a communication network at low latency and that is superimposed on the internet.

The most remarkable feature of this project is that the exchange of messages between users does not reveal their identity , maintaining the integrity and secrecy of the information. To do this, this free software , The Onion Router, is created, which is flexible and resistant to many attacks, although improvable.

Navigation with this occurs by connecting to three layers of encryption , always seeking the non-compromise of user data. The connection is going to be transmitted to three different servers located all over the planet , looking for the anonymity of those who browse to be a guarantee. Thus, none of the sites you visit will know from where you are doing . This action is called Circuit.

In other words, the information sent by our team, data by data, randomly bounces through the connected nodes , in addition to being encrypted. Each of the nodes only knows which will be the next node to which it will bounce, but it is impossible for it to decipher the information. The exception is given by the last of these, who, if desired, can obtain the information, but will not know the source.

Navigation is done by connecting to the Tor network . Eye because network and browser are not, at all, the same. This is maintained by volunteers who give up their bandwidth and has no point of failure or centralized entity , as with VPNs . It is, in fact, a kind of peer to peer network, although, in addition to nodes it also has traffic routers. To know more about a VPN enter here.

This will isolate cookies and delete your browsing history after each session to protect both security and privacy. These benefits have some consequences, such as longer charging time or items that don’t work.

It is important to also emphasize that, with observation time, we can end up discovering , although that is something that would require the attention of someone who wanted to identify us, something that will not be usual if we do not Nothing remarkable.

Steps to download and install Tor Browser on your computer

If you want to download the anonymous Tor browser, don’t worry because it’s nothing complicated. We show you how to do it from the three main operating systems: Windows, Mac and Linux.

For Windows

Using Tor on Windows requires:

Download TOR for Windows on the official website of TORProject . Click on the version of your choice.
This will make you have a file called “ Start TOR Browser ” that you will have to run to start the “ installation > «, Which is nothing more than the choice of browser accommodation.
You will have to choose the route of your interest, that is, the place where you want it to stay.
When you want to start using the browser, you just have to double-click.
The opening of the browser will take a few seconds, which are what are needed to make the connection to the TOR network. That is why you will see a status box that will disappear quickly.
When the time comes, the browser will run and you can use it. Of course, it is best to take a look at its configuration and modify it to your liking considering the ISP, the firewall or the proxy .
Currently you have a tutorial offered by TORProject within the browser itself, on the main page that appears as soon as it is opened. This is located on the upper left; just click on the globe icon and it will begin.

For Mac

Download TOR for MAC on the official website of TORProject . Choose the version you prefer.
Depending on the browser you are currently using, you will be asked if you want to save the file or open it or, directly, it will be downloaded in the predestined folder for it. If you have the possibility, always choose to save the file instead of opening it directly.
If you do not have the third-party download option enabled you will have to do so by entering the menu « Configuration and security» and, here, in “Privacy” .
When you want to continue, you just have to go to the download folder where the file has been saved and do double click on it.
A verification will be carried out by the team to ensure that there is no manipulation of the file and the installation will begin, that will perform, by default, in the folder « Applications «.
You can run it both from this folder and from your Lanchpad .
The result will be a source warning box. Click on « Open «.
On this first occasion we will be given the option to make some modifications. You can now configure the settings according to your preferences or click directly on « Connect «.
When you log in, a process window will open indicating that the connection to the connection is being made. network.
You only have to start the tutorial by clicking on the icon of the globe in the upper left corner of its home page.

For Linux

Download TOR for Linux on the official website of TORProject . You have different options so you only have to choose the one that is most convenient for you.
You will be asked if you want to save the installer . Do it. This will start your download. A few moments later you will have it in your default download folder.
Now you have to open the work terminal , either from the desktop or from the dock or simply with the commands Alt + Ctrl + T .
You have to go to the folder « Downloads » including the command « cd Downloads » and by pressing « Enter «. If the download was done elsewhere, you will simply have to command to that location.
It is time to extract the contents of the installer with the command « tar – xvJf full file name > «.
You will find the folder containing the browser. You have to open it by command « cd folder name » (for example, tor-browser_en).
Now you have to run the browser with the command « ./start -tor-browser.desktop «.
The browser window will now open. Click on “ Connect ” or “ Connect ” to start using it.
- You also have the option to configure certain aspects, which you can do now or more late.
When you connect you will have the option to start using the browser through a tutorial with which you will learn how to use it quite simply.

How to configure the anonymous Tor browser correctly to navigate the deep web without risks?

We have already seen that one of the main reasons why many people use this browser is because of the curiosity of accessing the deep web , something impossible to do from conventional browsers such as Mozilla, Chrome , Safari, etc.

However, accessing this type of content can be very insecure , which is why we advise you to make some settings to navigate the deep web safely.

In any case, our advice is that you do the following checks even if you do not enter the deep web; The configuration of a browser is very important, no matter if it is Tor or any other.

Security configuration

To do this:

Click on the onion icon that you will find at the top of the top bar.
Now click on « Security Settings «.
A new window will open allowing you to choose between three security levels:

” Standard “
“Safer”
“The safest”

Compliant the selections you will see the aspects that include each one of them. Choose the one of your choice.
Click on « Accept «.

Anonymous browser network configuration TOR span >

Now we will do the same with the network:

Go to the onion again.
This time you will have to click on « Tor network settings «.
Here you will find three options that you can check:
- « In my country Tor is censored «. Find out about it and, if so, check.
  - If necessary, you will have the options to choose a bridge, request it or provide it.
- « I use a proxy to connect to the Internet «. There is no problem in it; if this is your case, check the box.
  - In this case, a form will appear to indicate the type of proxy you use, your address, the port and the option to set a username and password .
- « This computer goes through a firewall that only allows connections to certain ports «. This will depend on the configuration you have in your firewall.
  - If you enable it you will have to indicate which are the allowed ports.

Once you have checked the corresponding boxes, click on « Accept «.

Update

It is essential to always keep the browser updated. Our advice is to do it daily.

Click on the onion.
icon Now in « Check Tor browser update «.

A window will appear that tells you if there is an update or not and, if so, you will be allowed to do it.

Privacy and security

Click on the three bars icon, top right.
Now go to “ Options “. li >
From the three tabs on the left, click on « Privacy & Security «.
You will see various options regarding forms and passwords, history, Cookies, address bar, protection against tracking, permissions, data usage, security and certificates. Choose wisely what you want to give and receive from the browser and the browsing experience.

How to use Tor Browser?

Once you have made the corresponding configuration, let’s see how to start using the TOR browser. To do this, we will see all the points that we can deal with from this software.

Onion or TORButton icon

We have already seen three of the four options of this icon. The last one, which in turn is the first one offered to us, is « New identity «. If we press it a window will open alerting us that the windows and tabs will close and asking if it is what we want. We are also given the option of not receiving the notice again.

The new identity means restoring everything, that is, removing all traces of what happened in that session, deleting the history, closing the sites, etc.

Planet icon

This takes you to a simple tutorial .

Options menu

The icon with three horizontal bars takes us, as with any other browser, to a series of options:

New window . Open another browser window.
New identity . Idem that if we do it from the onion icon.
New TOR circuit for this site . Navigation data is restarted but staying on the web where we are.
Catalog . It allows us to access the options of our bookmarks, downloads and history.
Add-ons . It takes us to a panel of extensions, themes, plugins and language for us to install and configure. Note that all these elements reduce the level of privacy. From here we can decide if we perform automatic updates, which we always advise.
Options . Here we have a miscellaneous that includes the tabs:
- General . Spelling check, download options, application management, Firefox related actions …
- Search . Options on the search bar, the default search engine and alternative search engines.
- Privacy & Security . We have already seen it in the previous point on configuration: history, cookies, certificates, etc.
Customize . The quantity of available elements is immense, from changing sizes to sending links, flexible spaces and much more. All these options can be placed in the overflow menu (which we will see now).
More . Here you enable character encoding and offline work.
Developer . A compendium of shortcuts and other tools to make browsing easier and faster.
Help . A help center for various aspects has no further explanation.

Overflow menu

It is created to the right of the address bar (final quotes icon) including all the aspects that we have chosen from « Options»> «Customize «. This is a bookmark that allows us to access these features without having to access the corresponding menus where they are located.

Onion services

These are sites that have added protections , being contrary to censorship and allowing us to share content completely anonymously. They are services whose access is made exclusively through the TOR network, that is, they do not exist anywhere else. Of these we can say that:

IP address and location of these are hidden , so that their detection and censorship is difficult and, of course, the identification of the operators.
The Traffic of these services is encrypted from end to end .
Each service has an automatically generated address consisting of a set of 16 letters and digits with a .onion extension .

There are all kinds of sites encrypted in this way but, unfortunately, they are not found in the search engine. You must know the URL to be able to enter, something that is not difficult either, because there are even encyclopedias (the most famous is Hidden Wiki ) where addresses are continuously incorporated. In case you wonder, yes, these are the contents of the first level of the deep web .

No Script

This pre-activated extension is a blocker that is responsible for alerting us of different situations and from which we can make some decisions . It looks a lot like AdBlock.

You are told the type of page you are on, whether it is reliable or not, it filters the sites based on it, you are given the option to pause alerts temporarily on the site or in general and some other little thing.

Main window

In it you will find a search bar to enter what you want to search. This corresponds to the search engine that you have as default or the one you have set, to your liking, if you have already changed it.

Anonymous browser address bar Tor

In it also you can do a conventional search , which will be done with the search engine you have. However, what is interesting is that you can write an address with domain .onion , that is, onion services.

When you use one of these services, the bar changes to show you, on the left of the URL, an icon of a green onion, which indicates that the connection is completely secure and that, in addition, a onion service. If, in addition, you access a site that is HTTPS , you will also find a lock.

Circuit

We have already talked about the restart of a circuit but … what is it? Where is? This is accessed by pressing to the left of the URL . In doing so you will see the IPs that were used during browsing that you have done and are doing. Also from here you can choose to create a new circuit for the site where you are.

Is it possible to use the anonymous Tor browser on Android or iPhone mobile phones?

The diverse use that has been given over the years and the increasing use of the Internet to do absolutely anything has meant that, of course, the demand on mobile devices of the browser and the network that also increases We are analyzing.

Thus, has already launched the mobile version of Tor, available for Android, in nothing more and nothing less than 29 languages. This is available, of course, on the TOR Project website, being, so far, yes, an experimental alpha version . We also found it in the Google Apps store ; just look for it by “ The Onion Router “, from the developer “ The Tor Project “.

This does not yet have all the active features , so it will be more complete than you initially see when you download it. It is expected that the stable version, ready to simply be updated, is released during the first months of 2019. However, you can already use it for the basics, which, in the end, is what most of us look for when we use TOR : an improvement in our privacy .