All Questions
5,807
questions
3
votes
1
answer
177
views
Which countries contribute the most to the Tor source code?
Amongst the developers working on the Tor source code, which countries have the maximum representation in terms of number of contributors and overall contributions?
- 1,053
14
votes
2
answers
233
views
How would I effectively deploy a current version of Tor on an Ubuntu system?
With the packaging of Tor in Debian and Ubuntu set where neither will ship the latest version of Tor for users as it is in the Debian "experimental" repository, what alternative repositories are ...
6
votes
1
answer
955
views
What is the "TLS write overhead" percentage reported in Tor log entries?
Tor sometimes logs entries similar to this:
Sep 27 03:21:32.000 [notice] TLS write overhead: 13%
What does this line mean? Is there a value where this indicates problems?
- 8,570
3
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What is OnionCat?
With Tor itself, it is only possible to do TCP due to SOCKS5 limitations. OnionCat allows you to do more than TCP through Tor; how does this work?
- 139
3
votes
2
answers
262
views
What are the threat differences to accessing hidden services compared to the regular internet over Tor?
I understand many of the possible attacks against a user visiting a regular website over Tor but I am wondering, what are the potential attacks to identify a connection between a user and a hidden ...
- 1,485
9
votes
4
answers
419
views
Where in the world does Tor provide the highest degree of anonymity?
As we know, Tor hides users amongst the other users on the network, so the more populous and diverse the user base for Tor is, the more everybody's anonymity will be protected. So, in which part of ...
- 1,053
2
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How does onion routing work? [duplicate]
How does onion routing work? How would it be explained to someone who has a basic understanding of networking?
8
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Should I choose a new guard if the network is overloaded?
When I start the Tor Browser Bundle I sometimes see the message:
Your Guard … is failing more circuits than usual. Most likely this means the Tor network is overloaded.
If this one guard node is ...
- 8,570
4
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Does the Tor Browser Bundle cache relay information?
When I restart the Tor Browser Bundle shortly after I've closed it I have the impression that relay information load faster. So I assume that the information about running relays is cached somehow. Is ...
- 8,570
12
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Are short-lived relays useful to the Tor network?
I have some dedicated servers which are not used at the moment. However this can change on a weekly basis. Would it be useful to the Tor network for me to configure them as relays during the times ...
- 8,570
40
votes
5
answers
51k
views
How can I anonymize my SSH traffic using the Tor network?
I have a working installation of Tor. I am able to both access hidden services and proxy my clear-net traffic through Tor. My main source of traffic so far has been HTTP.
I would like to know how I ...
- 545
2
votes
1
answer
71
views
Is there a list of applications which are know to leak or not to leak information when using with Tor?
Some applications can either leak sensitive information through the Tor channel or they can make communication outside of the Tor channel which could lead to identification of your computer in the Tor ...
23
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How to prevent the Mevade botnet from abusing the Tor network?
If the botnet admin decides to transmit data, maybe he alone could bring down the whole Tor network. The NTor circuit-level handshake in Tor 0.2.4 solved some problems, but the botnet is still ...
- 332
28
votes
3
answers
13k
views
How does a Tor client pick Tor nodes for circuit creation?
A Tor client initially contacts Directory Authorities to fetch the consensus (i.e. a file containing all relays of the Tor network at that time with details such as IP address, exit policy, public key ...
- 2,526
8
votes
4
answers
565
views
How to detect tampering with Tor binaries downloaded from unofficial sources?
If I've download a Tor binary from an unofficial source is there a way to verify that the binaries haven't been tampered with?
user5
16
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does Tor insert random delays or perform packet re-ordering to make the discovery of the communication path harder?
If an attacker can observe the Tor user, and the website being visited, it is possible to correlate the traffic by looking at time and size distributions of the communication.
Techniques such as ...
18
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Is it possible to make the Tor onion-routing path longer?
By default, Tor uses an onion-routing path with three hops: entry, relay (middle) and exit. Is it possible to configure (or, if necessary, recompile) Tor to use more than three hops? This would lessen ...
13
votes
2
answers
674
views
Are there trustworthy third-party audits of the Tor source code?
Was the Tor source code trustworthily audited by a third party to check if it does not contain a back-door?
Are such audit results freely available?
20
votes
8
answers
35k
views
Can Tor be used with applications other than Web browsers?
From what I can see Tor mainly handles your web browser's traffic, but is there a way to do all of your connections through it? Like email, Dropbox, Carbonite backup, Skype etc?
(Please explain ...
- 375
28
votes
4
answers
65k
views
Should I run Tor in a VM?
I've heard advice that to further protect my anonymity/privacy it's best to run Tor (the Tor Browser Bundle) in a Virtual Machine, which you would ideally roll back after each use.
What extra ...
- 972
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Are there any vulnerabilities in the process of onion routing?
In onion routing, messages are repeatedly encrypted and then sent through several network nodes called onion routers. Each onion router removes a layer of encryption to uncover routing instructions, ...
- 1,053
23
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How can I prevent my different activities carried out over Tor being linked?
I know there are potential risks of carrying out multiple activities over Tor at the same time, when I don't want them to be linked.
For example, I might browse one website giving one pseudonym, then ...
- 1,730
18
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Can I detect when someone is connecting to my server via Tor?
I run a web server. Can I distinguish between traffic that has been routed via Tor and that which hasn't?
- 972
16
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is Tor's security compromised if other services are connecting in the clear?
I am using the Tor Browser Bundle, so all my internet browsing traffic is routed via Tor. However if I have other services like Dropbox, another web browser, etc. running on my machine that aren't ...
- 972
15
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Can government agencies track what sites I'm visiting when using Tor?
Can agencies such as the NSA or GCHQ track what websites I'm visiting if I'm using the Tor Browser Bundle? What about hidden services?
- 972
8
votes
2
answers
7k
views
How do I create a launcher / script that opens an URL in TorBrowser (from the bundle)
If I do tor-browser_en-US/App/Firefox/firefox-bin http://example.com it opens in my regular Firefox browser. Is there a way to make a launcher/script that opens a link in the Tor Browser?
- 283
29
votes
3
answers
22k
views
My ISP/Network/Government has blocked access to the TorProject website. How can I download Tor?
I'm trying to download Tor but my ISP/Network administrator/Government has blocked access to the TorProject website. How do I download Tor?
- 2,754
19
votes
3
answers
17k
views
How can I install Tor from the source code in the Git repository?
It is sometimes desirable to compile Tor from source, and perhaps run an unreleased version (e.g., to test the latest changes, use new features unavailable in the latest release, etc.). What is the ...
- 2,754
1
vote
2
answers
226
views
How does Tor pass my traffic around and should I be worried about malicious relay operators? [closed]
I am not sure how does Tor work, how safe is it as I heard that some relays are ran by bad people or government agencies.
- 189
2
votes
0
answers
170
views
How do torrent clients over Tor affect the network? [duplicate]
This blog post from a few years ago, suggests that:
The first answer is "don't run Bittorrent over Tor". We've been saying for years not to run Bittorrent over Tor, because the Tor network can't ...
- 1,053
50
votes
7
answers
149k
views
How can BitTorrent traffic be anonymized with Tor?
This blog post from a few years ago suggests that using BitTorrent services over Tor is a bad idea for multiple reasons. However, it also suggests some fixes to get over these problems.
Is using a ...
- 1,053
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is it safe to run an entry node server?
After some research, I found that there are mostly relay (middle) nodes, and less exit and entry nodes. But why? The connection from the client to the entry node is encrypted, so there should be no ...
- 285
25
votes
5
answers
15k
views
Securely hosting a Tor hidden service/site
There are some detailed instructions for setting up a Tor site at torproject.org1. It seems that it would be most secure to use a dedicated machine for this task if possible. I've read elsewhere that ...
- 749
17
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How can I switch from one Tor Browser Bundle version to another? [closed]
I'm trying to use the Tor Browser Bundle (TBB) for everyday surfing. For convenience reasons I use bookmarks and sometimes install some addons. When a new version of the TBB comes out, I lose all of ...
- 8,570
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How can I use Chrome through Tor on OS X? [closed]
How do I properly set up Chrome on my Mac OS X machine to run all traffic through the Tor network when the Tor network is running?
Chrome Version: 29.0.1547.76
Mac OS X Version: 10.8.5
Tor: 0.2.3....
- 211
14
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Aside from disabling Javascript in Firefox, how can I make Tor Browser Bundle more secure?
In a recent Tor security advisory, Roger Dingledine writes:
Consider disabling JavaScript (click the blue
"S" beside the green onion, and select "Forbid Scripts Globally").
Disabling ...
- 657
8
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How can I configure my network so that when Tor is running no other traffic can leave the box?
One of the fundamentals of Tor is that it can only really hide you if, when Tor is enabled and in use, you're using it exclusively.
Agents wishing to de-anonymize you can examine requests to ...
- 286
2
votes
0
answers
183
views
Are there any good practices to keep my Tor relay's private key safe? [closed]
Assuming that I run a Tor relay on a virtual private server running linux, are there any good practices to keep my relay's private key safe?
We can take for granted that software packages constantly ...
- 2,526
4
votes
1
answer
133
views
Why does my Tor Cloud bridge receive more traffic than it sends?
I am running a Tor Cloud EC2 instance. From the log files, it looks like it receives more traffic than it sends. What causes this?
user72
6
votes
1
answer
6k
views
What threat model is Qubes OS TorVM most appropriate for?
Why would someone want to use Tor through a TorVM in Qubes, compared to other approaches? This page compares TorVM to Whonix, Tails, and Tor Browser but doesn't come to a firm conclusion as to which ...
- 657
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Which Tor Browser settings can leak my IP address when changed? [closed]
Are there Tor Browser settings that, when changed, can lead to my IP address being leaked?
user72
10
votes
2
answers
497
views
How can I prevent someone looking at my traffic patterns from learning that I use Tor?
Traffic pattern recognition can apparently be used to achieve a high degree of confidence of the origin of certain traffic, based on statistical analysis of exit node traffic.
Is it possible to ...
- 203
28
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How strong is the anonymity of a hidden service compared to an average Tor client? How much easier is it to learn the Hidden Service's IP address?
Another way of putting this: How hard would it be to de-anonymize a hidden service? By "de-anonymize" I mean revealing the IP address of whatever server the hidden service is hosted on. Of course, ...
- 657
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How do I use Tor Browser with Qubes TorVM?
I want to run Tor Browser, without the bundled Tor, using Qubes TorVM. Let's assume I have already got Qubes OS running.
The TorVM documentation states under Future Work: "Create Tor Browser packages ...
- 657
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How does Tor's threat model differ from i2p's threat model?
I2P is an alternative anonymity system, with a very different design - it focuses more on intra-I2P communication, rather than communication with the wider internet. Unlike Tor, every user of I2P is ...
- 2,610
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How can I test an application for proxy leaks?
If I have an application that supports a SOCKS proxy, and I point it at a running Tor instance, how can I be sure that all traffic the application sends (including DNS requests) are sent through the ...
- 681
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How are 'Pluggable Transport' bundles different from 'regular' Tor Browser Bundles?
The Tor Project releases both Tor Browser Bundles, and Pluggable Transport Tor Browser Bundles.
How are these different? How should I decide which bundle to use?
- 2,610
41
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Can a hidden service be hosted by multiple instances of Tor?
Is it possible for multiple Tor clients, running on different machines or even networks, to publish the same Tor hidden service using the same private key to load balance requests between them?
- 1,485
12
votes
2
answers
752
views
How should one explain Tor to a non-technical audience?
How should I explain the operation of Tor to a reasonably-intelligent but non-technical audience? I'm looking for a way to introduce folks to Tor in a way that helps them to understand its basic ...
25
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How do Hidden Services get .onion domains that aren't random?
Hidden Services usually have a long-ish string of alphanumeric characters for their .onion address, and this is generated by Tor as part of the Hidden Service Configuration.
How did some Hidden ...
- 2,610