I have talked about anonymity and internet censoring couple of times before, and told you about free Ultrasurf Proxy software, which let you browse websites which you are not allowed to access. If you are one of those who keep interest in internet security, you must be knowing about NSA (National Security agency) desperate attempt to spying on internet.
As an end user, I would not like to be spied upon or someone peeking inside my web-usage. We have many ways by which we can hide our traces, for example using a VPN tool or using Tor Browser bundle. Today I will be sharing about Tor project, and how you can set it up to hide your I.P. and surf without worrying about someone tracking your internet usage.
What is Tor Browser and How to Setup for anonymous browsing
Before you download Tor and start using it, let me share about  history of this project. Tor is a browser software which let you browse internet anonymously, to safeguard your privacy.  It was developed with the U.S. Navy in mind, but later on it was available for everyone to use. Tor browser also become more famous after it become the safest way to browse Silkroad sites (Dark internet).
If you want to get the overview of Tor project, you can find it’s working and complete details over here. Also, now lets look at the setting up part. Head over to download page, and download the latest version of Tor browser bundle. It’s available for all major operating system, and here are screenshots from my Mac OS.
Once you have downloaded the software, install it and run the Tor browser. Like Chrome, Opera; Tor browser bundle allows you to run it as a standalone browser. Â Once you open the software, it will open ups control panel (vidalia control panel) which will try connecting to Tor network.
If you are in a network where you need to add proxy settings to connect to internet, in that case click on Settings > Network and add your proxy settings. Also if only certain ports are allowed in your network, you can configure that too from here. If you can connect directly to internet, you don’t have to do anything here. Once your Tor client is connected to Tor network, you will see a success message like this on Tor browser.
Now, you can start using this free piece of software, and hide your I.P. from the world. There are few things which you should know:
- Instead of Google use other search engine on Tor, as you will keep getting captcha challenge.
- Don’t use Tor to download Torrent files, as Torrents sometime make direct connection and this may reveal your system I.P.
- Don’t install any browser plugin, as it may reveal your original I.P.
There are many ways we can use Tor in our day-to-day life. For example, journalists are using Tor to post sensitive informations online, companies are using it to keep their employee privacy protected, people are using to surf blocked websites or to hide their I.P, this is the best way to surf .onion sites. Â I highly recommend you to Download Tor browser bundle and use it when ever you need be hidden on internet.
Do you know about any other trick which may help us surfing internet without revealing our I.P. ? If you find this tutorial informative, do share it on Facebook and Google plus.
Comments on this entry are closed.
I have used Tor browser many times in the past, but recently there have been reports stating that the Tor browser has been developed none other than the NSA itself (source BusinessInsider). I dont know how true this news is but I still have to worry about privacy.
Thanks for the eye opening article
Very good article, interesting to read this how to use browser being anonymous
Keep up the work.