However, Tor can't protect you if your hardware is compromised, such as a key logger. On a related note, Tor provides anonymity at the routing layer. This is where Tor Browser becomes useful. Shortcomings are plugins, fingerprinting, DNS leaks, SSL state leaks, autofill and site-specific zoom. Otherwise, they are vulnerable to fingerprinting and network adversaries. Private modes avoid saving your browsing history and cookies. Why do I need Tor Browser?Ī study from 2010 shows what information leak from browser's public mode to private mode. I already use private/incognito mode in Firefox/Chrome.Third-party Onion Browser is the one to use for iOS. This is likely to be discontinued when a stable version of Tor Browser for Android is released. Orfox is a browser for Android that was developed as part of the Guardian Project. Two popular add-ons that come with Tor Browser by default are NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere.įor Android, there's also Orbot, a proxy that enables Tor access for any mobile app. As of March 2019, an experimental version 8.5a8 is also available for Android. Tor Browser is available for Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOS and GNU/Linux.

What are the variants of Tor Browser for different platforms?.It also prefers DuckDuckGo over Google as the search engine, since Google tracks you and logs your search queries. To prevent cookie-based tracking, cookies and browsing history are cleared when the browser is closed. Tor Browser resists browser fingerprinting. Since each website is isolated from another, this prevents tracking from third parties. From within the browser, users can also request Tor bridges by solving a captcha. This process is transparent to users but Tor Browser allows users to inspect the current circuit and request a new circuit if so desired. What previously required separate installations of Tor, Firefox browser, Torbutton (Firefox add-on) and Polipo ( HTTP proxy), are now conveniently bundled within the Tor Browser.Ī new separate circuit is automatically created for each domain though they share a common guard node. Encryption and decryption are done automatically. Tor Browser is cross-platform and available for x86 and x86_64 architectures. Tor Browser allows us to inspect the current circuit.

What is tor web browser