Icon of program: Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle for Windows

By The Tor ProjectFreeUser Rating
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Key Details of Tor Browser Bundle

  • Protect your privacy and defend yourself against network surveillance and traffic analysis
  • Last updated on 04/08/20
  • There has been 1 update within the past 6 months
  • The current version has 0 flags on VirusTotal badge_icon
  • Also available on Android and Mac
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Editors' Review

Download.com staff

The free Firefox-based Tor Browser Bundle integrates the Tor network's enhanced privacy and security. If you would have thought Onion Routing involved wooden crates and flatbed trucks or maybe a sandwich order, you might be surprised to hear it's actually an online security technology. Think of an onion's layers: in Onion Routing, layers of encryption make it impossible to trace messages back to their point of origin. Once a secret project of the U.S. Naval Research Lab, it's now the concern of the Tor Project, an open-source community devoted to developing Tor, the software implementation of second-generation Onion Routing technology, and to maintaining the Tor network.

It includes the Vidalia network connection utility, but it's much less fiddly than previous Tor implementations. Basically, the Tor Browser does it all for you. Both the Tor Browser and access to the Tor network are free.

We extracted and opened the Tor Browser, which includes the Vidalia Control Panel, a small dialog box for configuring and managing your connection to the Tor network. But the software did it all itself, connecting and opening the browser in a Tor start page. Though the browser uses a green globe icon, it's basically Firefox 10 with Tor-specific features added to the toolbar. The Tor Browser's extras include NoScript, which by default is set to Forbid Scripts Globally. The green onion icon is called the Torbutton; it's the key to Tor's features and settings. Its menu let us create a New Identity, open the Cookie Protections manager, and set the program's Preferences on three tabs: Proxy, Security, and Display settings. The Security Settings offers by far the most choices, with eight submenus of options.

In use, we found the Tor Browser to be just like other Firefox clones. We know what you're asking: did the Tor Browser slow down our surfing? Yes; there's no doubt that some familiar pages loaded more slowly than usual. Was it annoying? Hardly. Most users will see similar slowdowns on a daily basis. Bottom line: the Tor Browser Bundle makes it easy to take advantage of Tor's proven benefits.

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Full Specifications

WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 9.0.8
Version 9.0.8 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
GENERAL
Release
April 8, 2020
Latest update
April 13, 2020
Version
9.0.8
OPERATING SYSTEMS
Platform
Windows
Operating System
Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows XP, Windows 7
Additional Requirements
None
POPULARITY
Total Downloads
1,388,065
Downloads Last Week
18
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User Reviews

3.5/5

27 User Votes

Developer's Description

By The Tor Project
Protect your privacy and defend yourself against network surveillance and traffic analysis.

Tor protects you against a common form of Internet surveillance known as "traffic analysis." Traffic analysis can be used to infer who is talking to whom over a public network. Knowing the source and destination of your Internet traffic allows others to track your behavior and interests. This can impact your checkbook if, for example, an e-commerce site uses price discrimination based on your country or institution of origin. It can even threaten your job and physical safety by revealing who and where you are. For example, if you're traveling abroad and you connect to your employer's computers to check or send mail, you can inadvertently reveal your national origin and professional affiliation to anyone observing the network, even if the connection is encrypted.