The Tor Browser comes as a hardened Mozilla Firefox browser and it’s a standalone application
which means that it can be run without installing it.
There are versions for Windows, Linux, Mac or Mobile phones.
If you want to do a Windows installation, you just download the installation kit from the official
website, which is torproject.org and follow the instructions
which are off type next, next and finish. The entire process
takes a few seconds. Let's
do it.
I'm downloading Tor for Windows.
I'm opening the installation kit.
I'm selecting the language English.
OK.
And install.
And that's all.
This is Tor, for Windows.
Now let's see how to install the Tor browser on Linux Even though you don't use Tor on Linux
I advise you to watch this part of the video tutorial, because I'm going to show you also other interesting
things like how to check the digital signature of Tor or how to use bridges.
Let's get started!
I have this Linux Mint VM and I'm downloading the installation kit for Linux.
I'm saving it locally, on my disc.
But what can it be done if the website is blocked due to censorship?
Note that Tor is censored in some countries. In this table
we see the top 10 countries by possible censorship events as obtained from the Tor anomaly based censorship
detection system.
If the Tor website is blocked in your country and you cannot access the torproject.org and download
the Tor browser, then in this case, there is a service called the Get Tor that provides alternative
methods to obtain the Tor browser, especially for people living in places with high level of censorship.
The idea behind the Get Tor is very simple.
You just have to send the request to get Tor at torproject.
org specifying your operating system and your language like, say, Windows
es
from Spanish and Get Tor will send you back a reply with links to download Tor browser from a supported
provider.
That email will also contain a link to the digital signature of the Tor browser so that you can verify
that it's legitimate.
Take a look at the gpg lecture where I ‘ve explained how to check a digital signature.
Tor is not the blocked in my country,
so I was able to download it.
It's in the downloads folder, in the user's home directory.
I'm moving to that directory.
The next step, even though it's optional, it's highly recommended, especially for applications like
Tor.
This step means to verify the digital signature.
Only this way you'll be sure you've downloaded the legitimate application and not a clone with back
doors or other flaws.
I am also downloading the digital signature.
I am clicking with my right mouse button and then select copy link location.
And in the terminal, I'm downloading the signature using wget.
wget
And I'm pasting the url, the address.
OK.
This is the archive of the Tor browser
and this is its digital signature. In order to verify a digital signature
you also need the public key of the entity that signed the software, the application.
I don't have the public key, so I have to import it.
Let's try to verify the digital signature without having the public key.
So gpg --verify the signature and the file
I want to verify.
And I'm getting an error.
It says no public key.
But what's interesting, it also says the idea of the public key that's missing.
This is the Keys I.D..
Having the Keys I.D., I can import it from a key server.
So gpg -- keyserver, a key server,pgp.mit.edu-- recv
And I'm pasting the key id.
It's importing the key.
It can take a few seconds or even tens of seconds.
OK.
The key was imported.
If you get an error in the first attempt, try again.
Now I can verify the signature, so I'm executing the same command
again, gpg -- verify the signature
file and the application
the Tor archive.
And I've got a good signature.
Perfect.
After verifying the digital signature, I'm extracting the archive.
tar -xvf and the file
x comes from extract, v from verbose and f from file.
It's extracting Tor.
A new directory was created.
I'm moving to that directory.
And I'm starting Tor, like this.
You can also start it by going into that directory and double click the file, this file. Tor for
Linux has been started. When you started the Tor browser for the first time
you will be asked if you want to configure it,
if you are in a country that censor Tor. Let's see how to break through censorship of barriers
even when Tor is blocked.
I'm clicking on "Tor is censored in my country".
In fact, to circumvent censorship, Tor uses bridges; they are useful for Tor users living in oppressive
regimes and for people who want an extra layer of security because they are worried somebody will recognize
that they are contacting a public relay IP address.
A bridge is basically a private
Tor relay that helps you hide the fact that you are using the Tor network.
You can run a bridge by yourself if you want to help censored users connect to the Tor Network.
The requirements are to have a 24/7 Internet connection and the ability to expose TCP ports to the
Internet
(so NAT is not working).
For more details about how to set up a Tor bridge follow this guide.
OK, let's return to the Tor browser.
You have three options:
select a built-in bridge which is the default option,
request a bridge from torproject.org or provide a bridge
you already know.
Leave the default option if you don't know what to do.
In my case, I won't use a bridge.
It's not necessary because Tor is not censored in my country.
I'm connecting to the Tor network.
And the Tor browser has started.
Now I can browse the Internet anonymously and freely.
By the way, you can always change the bridge settings by going to preferences
and then to Tor.
At the end of this lecture, I'd like to tell you that another easy way to connect to the Tor Network
is to use another browser called Brave that has Tor built-in.
It is based on a Chromium web browser, blocks
ads and web trackers and provides a faster and safer way to browse the Internet.
It was built with security and privacy in mind.
You can download the Brave browser from brave.com.
After downloading and installing Brave, which is a straightforward process, to connect to the Tor
network, you just go to the three dots menu and click on the new private windows with Tor.
And you are in the Tor network.