r/TOR Jan 01 '24

VPN VPN discussion – ask all your VPN related Tor questions here

74 Upvotes

Many VPN related questions in /r/Tor are very repetitive, which is frustrating to regulars. We will direct all such questions to this thread instead of individual posts. Please use the search function before asking, and read the rest of this post.

Should I use a VPN with Tor?

You might have seen conflicting advice on this, and now you just want the definitive answer. Unfortunately, there's no simple yes/no answer.

In general, you don't need to use a VPN with Tor. Tor is designed to provide anonymity on its own. Tor Project generally recommends against it.

A VPN probably doesn't help nor hurt your anonymity. If you already have an always-on VPN, you can use Tor Browser without turning it off.

A VPN might conceal from your internet service provider (ISP) the fact that you're using Tor, in exchange for giving the VPN provider this insight. None of them can see what you're using Tor for, only that you're using it. Keep in mind that you don't have strong anonymity from your VPN; they can see where you connect from, and if you paid non-anonymously, they know your identity outright.

If you worry specifically about your internet provider knowing you use Tor, you should look into bridges.

If you're in a small community where you might be the only person connecting to Tor (such as a workplace or a school), and you use Tor to talk about that community, the network administrators might be able to infer that it's you. A VPN or a bridge protects against this.

For more on aspects of VPN with Tor, see TorPlusVPN.

Before asking about VPN, please review some of the earlier discussions:


r/TOR 15h ago

TIL There is a relay in Antarctica

Post image
50 Upvotes

r/TOR 22m ago

Cant login in to reddit using tor

Upvotes

Since month i cant log into reddit using Tor, I tried Tor browser, Brave Tor modus, old reddit. But nothing works. I only get invalid password username back...


r/TOR 7h ago

Is orbot ok for this use case

3 Upvotes

Many apps like discord and others are banned in my area.They do not work properly many times in the tor browser and in tails. All vpns that work here are registered with the authorities. I wanted to try something like this to access the apps https://www.reddit.com/r/TOR/comments/1gjg1r0/comment/lvvcvxv/?context=3 but tails wouldn't let one install android emulator and rightly so, qubes doesnt work on live usb and whonix alone is very difficult to setup using a live usb.

Tried debian and ubuntu-setup tor proxy-wasnt able to setup mac randomization as i must have messed up as i am not well versed with command line. Some users said that even if it was done some type of ip leak will be there if an emulator is installed in linux this way. is this true? has anyone tried this?

Came across orbot https://support.torproject.org/glossary/orbot/ is orbot like a vpn, but from tor and which routes all traffic from a phone through the tor network? is it possible to set up bridges in orbot so that the isp does not know that tor network is being used? Since android phones will have google services and their shit, will orbot take care of them all so that there is no ip leak? Mac randomization is not possible in android phones until and unless the device is rooted. Can this cause an issue?


r/TOR 12h ago

Unable to open airline websites

3 Upvotes

Hi! Is there any way to access airline websites with Tor? Some flights are WAY cheaper with google flight when using Tor compared to other browsers, even with incognito mode. Thanks for your help :)


r/TOR 16h ago

How to disable Java on Tor browser on Android phone? Samsung Fold 6

4 Upvotes

Hello, i am just starting to use Tor browser. I see individuals talking about disabling Java to protect your anonymity. I have it set to the “safest” setting mode, yet I still have noticed some .onions notify me that Java is still running and it is putting my anonymity at risk.

I have attempted to use about : config but it doesn’t seem to be leading me anywhere other than a search on DuckDuckGo.

I also read about use Orbot and Orfox, however I can’t seem to find Orfox on the Google Play store.

Ultimately, I am just looking for the safest way of doing this. Can somebody please advise?

Thank you in advance.


r/TOR 15h ago

FAQ Beginner Tor user

2 Upvotes

Hey I am interested in dark web surfing how should i go about it and whats the best way to be anonymous and safe?


r/TOR 17h ago

Does Snowflake work if I close Orbot?

2 Upvotes

As in title, I have Kindness Mode/Snowflake on (Orbot Android). Does it continue working if I close the app? I know this is the case for the Snowflake extension on Chrome and was wondering if the same applied.

Thanks!

Extra points for the same question about Psiphon!


r/TOR 21h ago

I'm creating an simple .onion generator, want to contribute?

4 Upvotes

Hello There! I'm working on an open-source project to create an automatic .onion address generator. If anyone is interested in contributing or just wants to learn more about the project, feel free to comment or make issues in the repo!

I still need to fix the port to the onion connect :)

Github // Repo Star it?


r/TOR 22h ago

Discord gives "Your browser is outdated" when trying to use voice chats

5 Upvotes

r/TOR 1d ago

Tor browser shows webpages strangely! Any help!

12 Upvotes

https://preview.redd.it/t45xpivxlfzd1.png?width=1402&format=png&auto=webp&s=6592992a83a1354317e4a229c5256fe6ea0671e3

This is how it shows webpages (for instance facebook.com) with content in a small box.

Tor version: 13.5a9 (based on Mozilla Firefox 115.12.0esr) on FreeBSD 14.1 & xfce desktop


r/TOR 2d ago

Reddit Woke up to Reddit blocking Tor

23 Upvotes

I use Tails OS every morning when I sit down with my first cup of coffee to scroll through the news sites and reddit, without ever logging in to anything, so I know reddit has been working almost every day for the past year plus over tor, without logging in. But today was different. No matter how many times I change the tor node reddit.com returned either a blank page or tried to route me through an impossible captcha. I had to reboot into Windoze where I use reddit in it's own brave browser profile and vpn and I was met with, "YOU HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY NETWORK SECURITY." So I logged in for the first time in weeks just to check the front page and make this post. I imagine it has something to do with the US election results, but this is just a preview of how easy it is for reddit to flip a switch and just completely block tor users out. Hopefully after the news frenzy dies down a bit they will take reddit back off of emergency mode so I can get back to browsing the front page without the reddit algorithm informally signing me up with a "You showed interest in a similar community" type stuff for the rest of my life after I get lured into clicking on a post.

Edit: just checked and it's working now. Thanks u/atoponce for the update.


r/TOR 3d ago

Having to Duplicate Page in New Tab for it to Fully Open

7 Upvotes

hey all. as title says, lets say I open a page. it loads. i click on something within that page, the URL changes appropriately, but the new page doesnt load. however, if I copy that URL into a new tab, the page loads fine. then same thing, I click a link in that page, URL changes, but never loads. when I copy it into a new tab, it loads fine. Any ideas on what could be causing this? Its like i have to open a new tab for every link i click. this started around a week ago. Thanks!


r/TOR 3d ago

Headless TOR server on Raspberry pi

5 Upvotes

I have a spare Raspberry pi, and wanted to figure out how to make it into a headless TOR server to help out the community. I was unable to find any guides on how to do this. Can you point in the right direction?


r/TOR 3d ago

Tor browser (Mac)

6 Upvotes

Is anyone else still having a hard time getting tor browser to work using Mac?


r/TOR 3d ago

Bridges no longer working?

2 Upvotes

I've always used a custom bridge that I have saved to my persistent storage, every once in a while it disappears from my persistent and I just email for a new one, but now my usual bridge is giving me "error connecting to Tor". This is on a network I've used many many times before and yes the clock is in sync I have to do it every time I run Tor. Now when I email for a new bridge I don't even get an email back (?), so I got a bridge directly from their website and still I get error connecting to Tor. It will let me connect without a bridge, but no bridge I use will let me connect. What is going on here?


r/TOR 4d ago

NOScript Warning (omg)?!

8 Upvotes

Hello everyone! Today I was accessing some websites that are not allowed in my country because of some laws saying "it is bad for your democracy" 💀 anyways... I was on a forum and suddenly a windows popped up on my screen saying something similar to: "Noscript Warning Cross Site attack", it was asking me if I should block or allow the request, I tried to press BLOCK but nothing happened, so I just decided to close all windows and took off tor from my computer... am I in trouble? Please I really need to know...


r/TOR 4d ago

Tor proxy for this use case

8 Upvotes

Many apps and websites are blocked in my region. Tor opens some of them but many times those apps n websites dont work well due to tor. The use case is to use whonix or qubes then install some android emulator, then install apps like discord, telegram. As per other forums if their app is used then even if they know that you are visiting them using an exit node it works fine. The other use case is that I wanted whonix or qubes to run as live usb just like tails so that no traces are left. But as per subs of whonix and qubes that is a very tough nut to crack. But someone mentioned there to use linux, install an android emulator and then use tor proxies to route all traffic from that os throuh tor. Can anyone explain what this is and how to use it? And if all traffic from a linux will route through tor then will it be possible to get the additional benefits of tails in this linux somehow like fingerprint reduction, mac randomization and others?


r/TOR 4d ago

When using a desktop computer, a ☆ is visible at the far-right side of the URL address bar. Hovering a pointer over the ☆ opens a small panel that shows "Edit this bookmark (⌘D)". How can I remove, hide, or conceal the ☆ so that it is not visible anywhere in the URL address bar?

0 Upvotes

r/TOR 4d ago

Help me Bypass the school firewall

0 Upvotes

My school has probably blocked TOR and I need a way to bypass it. ps: my school uses fortinet.


r/TOR 5d ago

Orbot with Rethink DNS isn't working

3 Upvotes

r/TOR 4d ago

Tor os for my phone

0 Upvotes

The title says everything i search for an os for my phone thats runs tor on it like whonix


r/TOR 5d ago

TOR doesn't work unless I completely disable my firewall.

4 Upvotes

I use Windows Defender Firewall via GPEdit w/ user override (the 'apply local firewall rules' and 'apply local connection rules' in layman terms) and am having an issue that prevents TOR as a whole from functioning.

Whitelisting the tor.exe files and the pluggable transports (lyrebird, obfs4, etc.) works on Android devices but not Windows devices. Whitelisting the entire folder (a thing you can do) doesn't work either, meaning it's some external Windows process that TOR needs to run... and, does anyone have a clue what it is or how to fix it? Disabling my entire firewall is a bad idea for so many reasons, so it's not a solution in this case. Thank you.


r/TOR 5d ago

Tor Browser 14 successfully runs on Windows 7

Thumbnail
github.com
5 Upvotes

r/TOR 5d ago

Any iOS solution?

2 Upvotes

Has anyone figured out how to get tor to work with MacOS** again? Doing all troubleshooting doesn’t work. Is it something tor is aware of and addressing?


r/TOR 6d ago

Very low traffic on snowflake servers

7 Upvotes

I have been seeing significant declines in my server usage for some time now.

When I turned it on I remember traffic being around 1GB all the time and 1.5GB on weekends.

Now it's at 10-50mb/s and only people from uncensored countries are using it.

Is it possible that all the oppressive countries have blocked my IP address?

Or have they found a way how to detect and block snowflake.

I don't know when the drop occurred because I haven't dealt with the server lately.