How to enter the internal Tor network. Safe Web: Installing and Configuring the Tor Browser Correctly. Changing the search engine in Tor

Due to the tightening of access to some sites, more and more people began to use VPN and Tor to access them, as well as to surf the Internet anonymously. We already talked about VPN in one of the earlier, now let's talk about Tor.

I'll make a reservation right away - the article will not contain instructions on how to download and configure Tor browser- only a technical description and principles of the network itself.

Tor history

The onion network concept was introduced in 1995 with the support of the US Navy Research Laboratory. In 1997, the development was joined by DAPRA, a department of the US Department of Defense responsible for developing technologies for their subsequent use for the benefit of the US military (by the way, the same department invented ARPANET, a network that later grew into the Internet known to all). In 2003, the source codes of the network were published for free access, and the network began to actively develop (like ARPANET twenty years earlier) - by 2016, the network had more than 7000 nodes and about 2 million users.

How the network works

For the user, the network works quite simply: his data first goes to the security node, then goes through an intermediate node to the output node, and from the output node to the destination:

It is unrealistic to trace the security node through the other two nodes, besides, everything looks as if the user data appeared immediately from the exit node. Given that a variety of traffic (including illegal) can pass through this node, the owner of this node will be responsible for it, so if you meet him in real life, shake his hand, because he has enough problems with the law ...

Principles of the device of various nodes

Let's take a closer look at the nodes.

The Entry (or Guard, or Sentinel) Node is where your data enters the Tor network. Moreover, it is not the closest node that is selected, but the most reliable one, so do not be surprised if the ping turns out to be at the level of a couple of hundred milliseconds - this is all for your safety.
Intermediate node - created specifically so that the input node cannot be tracked using the output node: the most that can be tracked is just an intermediate node. The host itself is usually a virtual server, so server operators only see encrypted traffic and nothing else.
The exit node is the point from where your data is sent to the desired address. Again, the most reliable server is chosen (what exactly this means - we'll talk below), so the ping can be very, very large.

As a result, the traffic, before getting to the required server, can go around the entire globe, and more than once.

How encryption works, and why the network is an onion

Tor stands for The Onion Router, and then the question arises - what does the bow have to do with it? It's all about the encryption method: it is created on the principle of an onion, that is, in order to get to its center (to your data), you need to sequentially remove all layers (encryption).

In fact, it looks like this: the client encrypts the data so that only the exit node has the decryption key. On it, they are again encrypted, but in such a way that only an intermediate node can decrypt them. On it, the data is again encrypted so that only the watchdog node can decrypt it:

As a result, the traffic after the exit node is completely encrypted, and the intermediate node is not responsible for anything - it only transmits encrypted data. But traffic can go to the exit node via HTTP and FTP, and it is not difficult to extract confidential information from it.

How can you block Tor

Of course, not all governments are "happy" that their citizens calmly visit prohibited sites, so let's figure out how, in theory, you can block Tor.

The first option is to block Tor exit nodes. That is, users will simply not be able to get out of the network, and it will become useless for those who want to use it for anonymization. Alas, for obvious reasons, the list of all exit nodes is known, and in theory, if all of them are blocked, Tor's popularity will drop sharply. In theory, because even if you block all outgoing nodes on the territory of one country, no one bothers to use the nodes of a neighboring country, which may not block such traffic. Considering that there are several thousand nodes, blocking even a hundred will not greatly affect the stability of the network.

The second option is to block all Tor users. This is already much worse, because it makes the network completely useless, because it is clear that it will not work to use the exit nodes of other countries (because what is the exit node if it is impossible to get into the network). Again, the list of all sentry nodes is publicly available, and Tor would have already been blocked, if not for one trick - bridges.

What are bridges

Bridges are nodes that are not publicly available. But then the question arises - since this is not a public site, how will the user know about it? It's simple - when trying to connect to the network, the user is given the addresses of only a few bridges - this makes sense, because the user does not need many input nodes at once.

At the same time, the full list of all bridges is strictly secret, so the maximum that governments can do is block several bridges at a time. However, since the complete list is not known, moreover, new bridges are constantly appearing - it all looks like a fight against windmills. The most serious attempt to find bridges was made by researchers using the ZMap port scanner - it found, according to some sources, up to 86% of all ports. But 86 is not 100, besides, as I already wrote, new bridges appear all the time.

The Tor Network Consensus Principle

Of course, this entire network of 7000 nodes needs to be supported somehow. For this, 10 powerful servers have been created, supported by a certain circle of proven volunteers. Every hour they check the operability of all nodes, through which nodes more traffic passes, which nodes are cheating (more on that below), and so on. Moreover, the publication of all data takes place in open form via HTTP (of course, except for the list of all bridges) and is available to everyone.

The question arises - since all decisions on the network are made together, why are there 10 servers - then a tie is possible (5 vs 5)? It's simple - 9 servers are responsible for the list of nodes, and one for the list of bridges. So you can always come to a consensus.

What are sniffer nodes

Of course, many who keep the exit nodes, the thought occurred to them - since traffic passes through their nodes exactly as if it were coming from the user's device, why not profit from logins and passwords (and other confidential data)? Considering that most of the traffic goes through open protocols (HTTP, FTP and SMTP) - the data is transmitted directly in the clear, take it - I don't want to. And, alas, this passive wiretapping (sniffing) cannot be tracked by the user in any way, so the only way to fight is to send your data through Tor only in encrypted form.

Of course, the creators (and users) of Tor don't like this in any way, so a flag in the consensus called BadExit was coined. Its meaning is to catch and put special labels on the outputs that listen for traffic. There are many ways to determine wiretapping, the most commonplace is to create a page where you can enter logins and passwords, and transfer them to the Tor network via HTTP. If then from this node there is an attempt to enter this site with these logins and passwords, then this node is engaged in sniffing. Of course, no one bothers to use it, but, as I wrote above, encrypt your data, and then the owners of such nodes will be powerless.

Of course, not all exit nodes are like this (according to some sources, there are about 5% of them), and most of the node owners take their role very seriously and take all the risks on themselves, helping the Tor network exist everywhere except Antarctica (I think the penguins do not mind , like the polar explorers - they still have more important things to do), for which we are very grateful to them.

Once upon a time, the TOR browser was known only to a small circle of advanced users and developers. To date, this system has also gained popularity among fans of absolutely safe Internet surfing. This is not surprising at all, because recently more and more users are faced with difficulties closed access to Internet resources. The Roskomnadzor car functions quite efficiently, however, unfortunately, it is based on the principle “we chop wood, chips fly”. Therefore, under the blockage there are always portals that pose absolutely no danger, but have many useful information that people need. And not every user will like it when it is not he who decides which sites to view, but someone else. From a number of these problems, anonymization methods began to improve and the most comfortable and practical tool for confidential surfing - TOR. Let's let him correct those minor misunderstandings that are popping up on the Internet today.

Use TOR extremely simple. The most efficient method for confidential access to the network is to download the browser installer from the official portal. The installer will unpack the TOR browser files into the specific folder you specified (by default, this is the Desktop) and at this, respectively, the entire installation process will be completed. All that remains for you to do is launch the program and wait for the connection to the confidential network. Upon successful launch, a welcome page will open in front of you with a notification that the browser is successfully designed to connect to TOR. WITH of this moment, You will be able to navigate the Internet absolutely without any problems, while maintaining confidentiality.

All the necessary options are initially indicated in the TOR browser, so most likely you will not have to change them. You need to pay attention to the plugin "No script"... This TOR browser add-on is required to control Java and other scripts that are hosted on the portals. The point is that certain scripts can be dangerous for a confidential client. In some cases, it is located in order to de-anonymize TOR clients or install virus files. Remember that by default “NoScript” is enabled for displaying scripts, and if you want to visit a potentially dangerous Internet portal, then do not forget to click on the plugin icon and disable the global display of scripts.

Another method of accessing the Internet confidentially and using TOR is to download the distribution kit “The Amnesic Incognito Live System.” The system includes a system that has many nuances that provide the highest protection for confidential clients. All outgoing connections are sent to TOR, and normal ones are blocked. Moreover, after application TAILS there will be no information on your personal computer about your actions. The TAILS distribution kit includes not only separate browser TOR with all the necessary additions and modifications, but also other functional programs, for example, a password manager, cipher applications and an i2p client for accessing "DarkInternet".

TOR can be used not only for viewing Internet portals, but also for accessing sites located in the pseudo-domain area .onion. In the process of viewing * .onion, the client will receive even greater confidentiality and reliable security. The addresses of the * .onion portals can be found in a search engine or in separate directories. Links to the main * .onion portals can be found on Wikipedia.

BoingBoing recently published an article about how some librarians in Massachusetts have installed Tor software on all of their public PCs to anonymize their visitors' habits. Librarians do this as a counter to passive government oversight, as well as companies that track Internet users and create dossiers to serve highly targeted advertisements. In this article we will talk about how to use TOR Browser and why is it needed.

it interesting a project and a bold stand for user privacy. But the good news is that if you want to browse anonymously, you don't need to go to the library to use Tor. Connecting to the Tor network from your PC is fast and painless thanks to the dead simple Tor browser. (Want even more privacy? Check out the best choices from our VPN reviews.)

What is Tor how to use the TOR Browser?

Tor — computer network volunteers all over the world. Each volunteer launches a so-called relay, which is simply a computer that runs software that allows users to connect to the Internet over the Tor network.

Before getting into open internet The Tor Browser will connect to several different relays, wiping tracks at every turn, making it difficult to determine where or who you really are.

While Tor is gaining a reputation as a tool for buying illegal goods online, the software has many legitimate uses. Activists disguising their location from repressive regimes and journalists talking to anonymous sources are two simple examples.

If, like librarians in Massachusetts, you don't have an exotic reason to use Tor, it's still good tool to keep your browsing private.

Where to begin?

The easiest way use Tor - Download Tor Browser. This is a modified version of Firefox, as well as many other programs that connect you to the Tor network.

Once you've downloaded the installer, you have two options: you can simply install software, or you can check GPG signature first installation file... Some people like to check the setup file to make sure they are uploaded the correct version of the browser, not something that has been tampered with.

But verifying the GPG signature is not a painless process and requires additional download software... However, if this is what you would like to do, the Tor project must somehow explain what is required.

Installing Tor Browser

How to install Tor Browser on Ubuntu? This is done very simply and quickly. Just go to the official website and download the file.

Regardless of whether you've verified the GPG signature, the next step is to install the Tor browser itself.

You can install the Tor browser on a USB stick.

For Ubuntu Tor browser It comes as a TAR.XZ file, so it is like installing any other program. The main difference is that the browser does not have the same default location as most programs. Instead, it offers your desktop as the installation location.

The Tor browser does this because it is portable software and does not integrate into Ubuntu system as typical programs do. This means that you can launch the Tor browser from almost anywhere: your desktop, your document folder, or even a USB stick.

When you come to the window " Select installation location", Click" Overview»… And then select where you want to install the browser. As you can see in the image above, I installed it on a USB stick that I am using in my keychain.

Once you have chosen your location, simply click “ Install", And Tor will take care of the rest. As you can imagine, the installation of Tor Browser is very fast. But how do you set up the program?

So how do you use Tor Browser on Ubuntu or other operating systems?

How to use TOR Browser

Once the browser is installed, you will have a simple old folder called Tor Browser. Open it up and inside, you will see "Launch Tor Browser". Click that file and a new window will open asking if you want to connect directly to the Tor network or if you need to configure your proxy settings first. Also, the program can be found in the list installed applications and run.

For most people, the direct option is best, so select Connect. In a few seconds, the Firefox version will launch, and you will now be connected to the Tor network and can use the browser in relative anonymity.

To make sure you're connected to Tor, head over to the whatismyip .com page, which will automatically detect your location based on your internet protocol address. If your browser shows you came from a location that isn't your own, you're good to go. Just make sure you do all anonymous browsing from the Tor browser itself, as no other programs on your system are connected to Tor.

But browsing Tor anonymously is not as easy as downloading a program. There are also some rules road traffic which you must respect, for example connecting to each site using SSL / TSL encryption (HTTPS). If you don't, then everything you do on the network can be watched by the person running your exit node. The browser has built-in HTTPS Everywhere Foundation Frontier Foundation add-on by default, which should cover your SSL / TSL requests most of the time.

The Tor Project has more tips for browsing anonymously.

Also, remember that viewing your anonymity does not make you immune to viruses and other malware... If you travel to the narrower parts of the Internet, Tor cannot protect you from malicious software that can be used to reveal your location.

However, for the average Internet user, the Tor browser should be sufficient to stay online.

Translation from an excellent English resource PCWorld.

Earlier we talked about one or a list.

conclusions

We hope you understand how to use TOR Browser on Ubuntu. Installing TOR Browser is very simple. If you still have any questions on this topic - write them in the form of comments for a faster response.

If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.

Hello guys. Today I will show you how to install the Tor browser and show you how to use it, although there is nothing to be able to do, everything is simple there. That means a little bit of information, so to speak. What is Tor? This is an anonymous network so that you can view sites, communicate, but at the same time so that no one can understand where you are from. Well, that is, you will be anonymous.

In general, the Tor network is such, really serious in its structure, the data inside it is all encrypted and transmitted through several servers (they are called nodes). Everywhere on the Internet they write that Tor is slow, but I can't say anything here, for some reason I have it normal, not super-fast, but not a turtle either

By the way, first of all I have a picture showing an onion, do you know why? Because the Tor network works like that, onion principle, there is even such a thing as onion routing. Three servers are used to transfer data, which ones can be found in the Tor browser (this is called a type of server chain). Well, the traffic from you goes encrypted three times, and each server can remove only one protection. That is, the third server removes the last protection.

I'll also write this, there are such people, well, not entirely normal, in short, do you know what they do? I've written that traffic is encrypted and transmitted over three servers. And already on the third server, it is decrypted and becomes available to the recipient, well, figuratively speaking. Well, not quite normal people set up such a server at home, so to speak, they raise a node and comb the traffic that goes through it. For this node will definitely be the last one for someone. Well, you understand, yes, what happens? The last node, traffic is already completely decrypted on it and it can be scanned, well, combed there for your own purposes, so to speak. Therefore, I do not advise you to enter your login and password somewhere in the Tor browser, well, there, for example, VKontakte or in other social networks, because in theory you can be simply stupidly hacked

All right, stop talking, let's get down to business. How do I install the Tor browser on my computer? Spakuha, everything is simple here. So you first need to go to this site:

There you need to click on the purple Download button, this button:

Just keep in mind that it is better to download only the stable version (Stable Tor Browser), they, in principle, go first. It's just that then there are experimental versions (Experimental Tor Browser), in which there may be errors, I do not recommend downloading this version

That's it, then the Tor browser installer will start downloading. By the way, the browser itself is made on the basis of Mozilla, which is good, because Mozilla does not eat a lot of operatives, it works quickly and all that. I downloaded the Tor browser installer, launch it:

I downloaded it in Chrome, in another browser something similar will be. Then you will have a security window, well, there is some kind of warning, in short, click here Run:

By the way, you may not have this window. So, then you will have a choice of language and Russian (Russian) should already be selected there:

Then there will be a window where it will be written where exactly the browser will be installed, so it wants to be put on my desktop, well, so be it. If everything suits you here, then click Install (well, or click the Browse button to select another folder for installation):

That's it, then the installation will start, it will go through quickly:

At the end of the installation, you will have two checkboxes:

The first is, I think, understandable, and the second is to add Tor browser shortcuts to the start menu and to the desktop. If you need shortcuts, then do not remove the check mark. In general, we click ready, and if you did not remove the first checkmark, then the Tor network settings window will start immediately, this is the window:

Well, from this place, so to speak, let's talk in detail. So what do we see in this window? There is a Connect button, there is a Configure button. The Connect button, this will use the usual settings, that is, you can not sweat it, but take it and click the Connect button and wait a little. The second button is for configuring Tor, and now I'll press it to show you what settings are there. So I pressed it and this window appeared:

What do we see here? And we see here that we are asked whether our provider is blocking Tor? There are such unusual providers that have nothing to do and they block Tor, there are those that even cut the speed of torrents, these are the pies. I'll choose here Yes, to show you again additional settings, here's what window then opened:

What do we see here? And we see some bridges here, and what kind of bridges are they? These bridges are, so to speak, the servers through which Tor will work, that is, it is from these servers that Tor will go out into its network. But such a server, that is, a bridge, there can be only one, you can choose only its type. This works very well, but the speed may or may not be slower, depending on which type of bridge you choose. In general, these bridges, well, that is, servers, they are called repeaters. You can also enter them manually, having first received them on the Tor website, I don’t remember exactly what the site is called, but I don’t see much point in this, if the Tor browser setting itself can do it In general, I didn’t touch anything here, I didn’t change the transport, I click Next ... Then there will be such a window:

Here we are asked, how do we go to the Internet, through a proxy or not? Well, what can I say here, here you need to specify a proxy if the Internet access goes through it. But damn it, you can just specify the left proxy (the main thing is to have a worker), so to speak, to increase your anonymity! In general, I'll choose Yes here to show you the window where the proxy is entered, this is how it is:

But I won’t enter a proxy, I don’t have it stupidly, and it’s free and working, then I’m too lazy to look for it, because it’s not so easy to find such a proxy. So I clicked the Back button, and then there I chose No and clicked the Connect button. The process of connecting to the Tor anonymous network has begun:

If everything turned out fine, there are no jokes and jambs, then the Tor browser itself will open, this is how it looks:

Well, all guys, I congratulate you, the main thing is that you have done, that is, you have installed the Tor browser and I hope that it will work for you as well as for me! Or didn't it work? Well, guys, it means something went wrong, I don't know what exactly, but personally I did not find jambs in the Tor browser. No, I'm not saying that you have crooked hands, it's just probably antivirus or firewall, so check this moment.

So, the Tor browser has opened, it will load start page... First, you can click on the Open security settings button (though I don’t know if you will have such a button, I got it right after starting the browser):

You will see the Privacy and Security Settings window:

Well, here I do not recommend changing anything, except that you can turn the slider up for better anonymity, but to be honest, I did not touch it. This window can also be opened by clicking on this triangle:

As you can see, there are other useful items in this menu. So there is such a thing as a New Personality, what is this? You know what it is? This is to just restart the Tor browser, that is, it will close and then automatically open. This will change the IP address in the Tor browser. The second point is the New Tor chain for this site, this is to change the IP address in the browser itself without closing it (if I understood correctly). At first I thought it was to change the IP address for the current open tab, that is, the site, after all, it is written there for this site, but I checked and realized that no, this is changing the Tor chain for the entire browser along with all tabs. The third point is that you already know what it is. The fourth point, that is, the Tor network settings, then there you can change the relay, set the proxy and specify the allowed ports. I opened the network settings and put two checkboxes there (a little lower) so that you can see all the options, so to speak, here, look:

Well, the fifth point is just checking for updates, by the way, I advise you not to ignore them.

Another thing I advise you to do, not often, but you know, well, to check the Tor browser. You launched it, right? Well, the start page will open, on it you click Check Tor network settings:

After that, you should see the following page with this congratulation:

If you saw her, then everything is just super, you have all a bunch of guys

By the way, after such a check, if you press that triangle again, well, opposite the button with the bow icon, then you will see through which countries the current Tor chain works:

All these countries (that is, servers) seem to change regularly, but if you need to change right now, you can click New Personality, well, in principle, I already wrote about this above

Truth is, the only thing I didn't understand is whether the repeater belongs to the servers? Well, that is, I mean that the Tor network has three servers, so does the relay apply to them? That is, here I created a connection through a relay and I see what goes like this: relay> server 1> server 2, and I don't see the third one. So the relay is included in the total number of servers, so to speak, in the top three? So I turned off the relay, clicked New Identity, the browser restarted, then I clicked Check Tor Network Settings and this is what I saw:

That is, as I thought, if you turn on the repeater, then it will play the role of the first server, so to speak

So, what else I want to tell you. So when you clicked on Check Tor network settings, well, it will say all the oceans, everything in a bunch, and so there will still be something down there that you can see the information about the output node (server) and for this you need to click on Atlas:

What is this anyway? Well, here you can find out the country of the node, it seems like you can also find out the server speed .. In general, such infa, so to speak, is not particularly interesting, but still .. In general, this is the page you will see if you click on Atlas:

Well, have you more or less figured out how to use the Tor browser? That is, this is a regular browser, but which connects to the Internet only through the Tor network. The settings of the Tor network itself are conveniently made, everything is quite clear, I personally had no errors, the network works as not the slowest Mobile Internet, well, it's me in terms of speed

By the way, I went to the 2ip website, and here's what information he gave me about my IP address:

Well, that is, as you can see, there are no problems with the substitution of the IP address, and even where the Proxy is written, it also says that the proxy is not used. But do not rush to rejoice! Even 2ip in most cases determines that the IP address belongs to the Tor network .. You just need to click on specify opposite the Proxy ..

So, then what else I want to say. So the Tor browser works under such processes as tor.exe (so to speak, the main module for accessing the Tor network), obfs4proxy.exe (if I'm not mistaken, it is responsible for the relay operation) and firefox.exe (modified Mozilla to work with the network Tor). All components are in the Browser folder along with Mozilla itself. By the way, the Tor browser does not conflict with the usual Mozilla in any way, well, suddenly you have it installed.

Actually, I think I should tell you what the Tor browser really is, that is, how it works. So look, in fact, everything is a little simpler. The Tor browser itself, then you already understood that this is Mozilla, well, this is a reworked Mozilla, in which any leaks of your real IP address are excluded. Well, that is, the security is configured strongly, there are also special extensions (by the way, I do not recommend touching them at all). But it still remains an ordinary Mozilla. The most important thing is tor.exe, this is the file that goes to the Tor network. When Mozilla launches it, it brings up a proxy server, so to speak, to which Mozilla connects and then can go to the Internet. This proxy server can be used by other programs, but for it to work, the Tor browser must be running, this is important. This proxy, by the way, is the SOCKS proxy type. In general, this proxy:

That is, it can even be set in Internet browser Explorer and he will also go to the Internet through Tor. How to ask? Well, it's very simple, you go to the Control Panel, there you find the Internet Options icon, launch it, then go to the Connections tab and click the Network Settings button there. Then check the Use a proxy server box, then click the Advanced button and specify the proxy in the Socks field:

But it may be that you will need in the Properties window: Internet (well, when you clicked on the Browser Properties icon in the Control Panel), click not on the Network Settings button, but click on simply Settings (located above), it will be active for you if you have you have a connection in the Configure Dial-up Connection and Virtual Private Networks box! To be honest, I don’t remember what kind of Internet it is, it hasn’t existed for a long time, but I only know that this is the type of Internet that exists. Well, in short, guys, I think that you will figure it out

Everything, after such actions, well, what I wrote above, then after that you have Internet Explorer will already work through the anonymous Tor network. Do you think everything is that simple? No guys! I do not recommend doing this, because Internet Explorer is a regular browser that is not sharpened for anonymous work in the same way that the Tor browser is sharpened. Do you understand? I just told you all this for an example. This SOCKS proxy is suitable for many programs, not only for Internet Exlorer. Well this is all so to tell you on a note

If you are interested, then you can see what extensions are in the Tor browser, for this you need to go to this address:

Well, here are all the installed extensions:

You can press the Settings buttons to see the settings themselves, but here's something to change, I advise you only if you are sure of it! In general, as you can see, Tor is a browser, that is, this Mozilla, it is well modified and contains just a bunch of mechanisms to ensure the maximum level of anonymity. Guys, this is good

So, what else I want to say. You can download it in the Tor browser, the speed can be low or high enough, as for the Tor network, but here you need to play with servers, some may be faster, some slow, the same applies. It's just that when you start the browser, there is always a new server. Honestly, I don’t know if the repeater affects the speed, but if logically it does, I don’t know, but it seems that my speed was lower on one repeater, higher on the other .. Well, it’s like that ... Or is it just a coincidence … I do not know for sure..

I will say again that if anonymity is important to you, then just do not change anything in any network settings Tor, not in the browser itself!

When you start Tor browser, you will have such a small window:

There you can click the Open settings button and configure the connection to the Tor network, well, there it means the relay and proxy settings. By the way, if you choose a repeater, then I advise you to choose exactly obfs4, in principle, as advised by default. Although, all these settings can be accessed already with the Tor browser running, it will be enough just to click on the triangle next to the onion icon:

Well guys, everything seems to be? I just don't know if I wrote everything, but everything seems to be. There is nothing difficult in mastering the Tor browser, I think there will be no problems with the settings either, it is easy to use it, it works stably without glitches and jambs. Well, personally, I didn’t have such a thing that it wouldn’t work. And by the way, I don't know why they say about him that he is terribly inhibited, I certainly do not have it reactive, but you can still use it

I don't know if you need it or not, interesting or not, but I'll write it. Do you know how to change the country in Tor? Well, maybe you know, maybe not, but in the Tor browser it is not so easy to do this, because there is no such built-in feature (in old version like it was). You need to manually edit the torrc config file. In general, I will write how to do this, I think that everything will work out for you, I personally checked it myself, yes, it is POSSIBLE to change the country, but with a joke ..

I almost forgot the most important thing to write to you, before editing the torrc file, you need to close the Tor browser! The funny thing is that new setting, well, which we bring in, then he can knock down. And then, when you already launch the browser with the selected country, then you do not need to configure anything well in terms of the Tor network, otherwise the setting that you manually set, then it may get lost!

So what needs to be done to change the country in the Tor browser? So, first you need to open the torrc file, I don’t know where you will have the Tor browser installed, but it was installed on my desktop, so the path of the torrc file is here:

C: \ Users \ VirtMachine \ Desktop \ Tor Browser \ Browser \ TorBrowser \ Data \ Tor

There is the word VirtMachine in the path, it's just the name of the computer, well, that is account... You may be in another place, but in any case, the main thing is the inner path, so to speak, I will write again, here it is:

\ Tor Browser \ Browser \ TorBrowser \ Data \ Tor

The torrc file is located in that Tor folder. So, okay, sorted it out. Now you need to open it, double-click on it, there will be a program selection dialog, here you need to select Notepad and click OK:

The following file will open:

This file already contains the settings that I set. Well, that is, here are the settings that are set in the Tor network setup window where the relay and proxy are selected. Do you see the lines that begin with Bridge obfs4? Well, these are the relay teams, so to speak. After all, the torrc file is a configuration file for the Tor network itself, and this file is needed for the tor.exe module, do you understand? Well, so, down there, if you still twist it with the mouse, it will be something like:

This also applies to repeaters, 1 is to use them, and 0 is not to use, everything is logical. These are teams, I hope they figured it out. So what should you do now? And now you need to add a command that will set the country of the destination server (or destination node). Roughly speaking, to change the country, you need to add this command to the end of the file:

ExitNodes (country code)

Where the country code is, then there you need to indicate the country, well, for example RU, BY, UA, and so on. Honestly, I don’t know all these codes, but if you really need it, you can search for this information on the Internet, I don’t think this is a problem. In general, for example, I will ask RU, that is, Russia, here is the command in this case, you need to register:

We write it at the end of the file:

Then close the file, save the changes. Well, understand a little? Then you launch the Tor browser and you will be permanently in the country whose code you specified in the command. But the problem is that when you start the Tor browser, it will pick up the command with the country code and everything will work fine, but there will be NO command in the torrc file itself, it WILL DISAPPEAR. Therefore, next time you will have to manually set the command again, this is such a gambling! I forgot something and didn't write that you can set more than one country, but several, well, for example:

ExitNodes (RU), (UA), (BY)

In this case, the outgoing servers will be the IP addresses of the specified countries. But there is one more command, it is the opposite of this one, it, on the contrary, prohibits the IP addresses of the specified countries. This is the command:

ExcludeExitNodes (RU)

As you can see, I have forbidden the outgoing servers to have Russian IP. Here you can also specify several countries separated by commas. And also add to the file.

In general, these are the guys, it's a pity that the commands from the torrc file disappear after they were picked up by the Tor browser. This is because such commands are not part of the Tor browser functionality! But I think that this is not such a terrible joint. Although the cant is so cant

But in general, you can somehow mess with this Tor browser and with the torrc file, you may find some more working way, well, so that the commands are not deleted. You can make a copy of a file like ..

In general, there are a lot of commands for the torrc configuration file, but it's not always easy to deal with them. In general, guys, here's a link with the teams (this is the official site):

Well, there is a lot of useful information, interesting commands, in general, if you are interested, then be sure to take a look

Personally, I advise you to use the Tor browser only with relays, because there is not much difference, what with them, what without, well, in terms of speed, but relays, so to speak, increase anonymity. Here's a moment.

And I also want to write something, just not everyone knows about it. Tor servers are not only those who are specifically engaged in this, that is, specially created servers to support the Tor network, but also ordinary users. How they do it, I do not know for sure, so I will not say anything. But what do they do it for, what do you think? They do this in order to scan traffic! If the server is the last, then the traffic after it is not encrypted, which means you can view it! Thus, they try to find out logins and passwords from everything that is possible. But this is so, well, there seem to be not many such servers, but it is better not to take risks and not go anywhere in the Tor browser, well, that is, do not enter your username and password. This is just my advice guys

In general, what can I say, well, so to speak, what conclusion can be drawn? I will try briefly. The Tor browser is cool, at one time I got the idea to use the Internet only through Tor, I even managed to download movies through it, but damn it, it's still slow when compared to the regular Internet. Yes, and it is not safe to use your personal mail through it, go to some sites there, well, in principle, I already wrote about this. So, in short, these are the guys.

Well, guys, that's all, it seems that I wrote everything, or not everything, but I tried to write as much information as possible, just tired already the malekha. If something is wrong, then I'm sorry, but I hope that everything is so and that everything is clear to you here. Good luck in life and so that everything is fine with you.

08.12.2016

A very long time ago, only a few advanced Internet users, as well as developers, were familiar with the TOP browser. By the present time period this system managed to gain popularity among those people who prefer safe Internet surfing. And there is nothing surprising here: in recent years, most users have to deal with the fact that there is no access to some sites on the territory of a particular country.

The ill-fated Roskomnadzor is blocking popular sites in the Russian Federation. Its activities
representatives are not always satisfied ordinary users the Internet, because very often the blocking occurs on portals that do not contain dangerous content, which contain a large amount of information that people need.

Not everyone likes this arrangement, so the methods of anonymization began to be actively improved. Among the most comfortable and practical tools for surfing in a confidential form, the TOP browser stands out. We will try to tell you more about its functional features and explain how to use them.

Installing the TOR browser

The TOP browser has such a simple and convenient interface that almost any user can master it. To make a confidential exit to global network, you need to download the browser installer. The file can be found on the official portal. The installer will unpack the files of the TOP browser into the final folder, which is set in the settings by the user himself (the standard location is Desktop). After that, the installation will be finally completed.

Instructions for using the TOP browser

Next, the user will need to launch the program, and then wait until the connection to the confidential network is completed. In case of successful launch, you will see home page, where there will be a notification about the connection with the TOP browser. After that, the user should no longer have special problems with the transition to the sites, as confidentiality will be fully preserved.

The browser has a set of all the necessary options, so there is no need to make any changes to the settings. Be sure to pay attention to the special plug-in “NoScript”. The TOP browser needs this add-on to control Java, as well as other scripts posted on Internet portals, because some scripts may violate client privacy rules.

Sometimes this function is used to deanonymize certain TOP clients or to install files of a virus type.

Please remember that in standard mode the “NoScript” function is activated to define scripts. This means that when visiting dangerous websites, the global display of scripts must be deactivated. This is done by clicking on the plugin icon.

There is also a completely different way to visit the Internet in a confidential form through the TOP - by installing the "TAILS" distribution kit. The structure includes a system that has a large number of nuances, which are designed to provide the highest level of protection for clients using the service confidentially. Each of the outgoing connections is forwarded to the TOP browser, while each regular one is blocked. Also, after the user uses TAILS, there will be no information on the PC regarding all the operations performed. The distribution kit of additional software has not only the TOP browser, which contains a large number of add-ons and modifications. It also contains other functional-type programs, for example, passwordmanager, many applications for working with ciphers, as well as an i2p-type client that provides access to the Darknet.

In addition to viewing blocked portals on the Internet, TOP also allows you to visit sites located in the pseudo-domain section .onion. while viewing it, the client has developed confidentiality, as well as a reliable level of security. The user can familiarize himself with the addresses of these portals by finding himself in an online search engine or in directories of a particular type. The main portals can be found by following the links by going to Wikipedia.

And finally, the browser has some disadvantages:

Internet traffic sometimes significantly slows down the loading of many pages viewed by the user by transferring information across different continents.
Your provider may become aware of the use of the TOP service (it is recommended to study in detail how to ensure your IP masking).