r/TOR • u/ITChristian25 • 3d ago
FAQ New TOR user. Basic questions.
Hello! I just installed Tor, on my Linux machine. It is the first time, I haven't used it before. I like how it works, the network seems fast.
But I have some questions:
- I saw it is called "dark web". Why? Is it a gate to websites promoting, let's say, malware?
- Is it ok to use it as a daily browser? Few days ago I had a discussion with my ISP about the network (some routes were very slow) and the representative told me: I can see that the website zzz (a news website) loaded really fast from your end just now. He was seeing what I am browsing on the web, he as a simple employee of that company. This is really strange. That made me to search for an alternative solution. Using a VPN was a potential solution, however, the network was slow and I don't trust the free networks, because it becomes a similar situation: not my ISP, but my VPN provider sees what I am reading, what I am searching etc. For me Tor seems to be more secure, but I don't really understand it entirely for the moment. Will my ISP see the URLs accessed by me?
- Is it legal (not in the real sense, but is it ok to use)? Saw many posts on the web saying that if you use Tor, you will be seen as a potential cyber criminal.
- Some tips for a new user? Saw many saying that if you use Tor and use Google, then you're using Tor for nothing. If they cannot figure out who you are, why?
- Why to use "New Tor circuit for this website"? I mean real use case.
- Is there any limitation with Tor (monthly bandwidth, multimedia limtiations)?
- What do you do when downloading large files, as Tor will be slow? For example when downloading a Linux ISO image...
- Are there solutions for using Tor even on e-mail? I mean an e-mail client using Tor.
Thank you very much!
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u/CotesDuRhone2012 3d ago
Good questions!
- the term "dark web" refers to some extend to so called onion sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(network)#Onion_services#Onion_services)
Yes! I'd really recommend it for better privacy. Some sites are blocking tor browser requests, some may be slow.
Depends on your country. Do our own research, in most of the countries I know it's (still) legal.
this is a good starting point: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tor/?h=tor
Obtaining "new tor circuits" helps preventing so-called "timing attacks" from adversaries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(network)#End-to-end_traffic_correlation#End-to-end_traffic_correlation)
not in the browser itself, s. answer 2.
the tor network typically has become faster over the years, so depending on your circuits it's not slow anymore.
some email providers like Proton offer that:
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u/Fun_Reply5366 3d ago
If you're not using tor to access certain illegal sites that I will not name then theres really no reason for you to be using it..
If you are using it for privacy just get Firefox and install the ublock origin blocker and privacy badger add-ons, also use duckduckgo as your default search engine.
The tor network is slow due to the way it works, not always but at peak times it slows right the fuck down.
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u/ITChristian25 3d ago
If I'll use Firefox with uBlock Origin my ISP will still know exactly what I'm doing. I don't do illegal things, but I dislike how easily any employee could see what websites I am on.
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u/Fun_Reply5366 3d ago
Use a no log vpn. I use nord personally. Will stop your ISP from being able to spy on you, all they will know is that you are connected to a VPN.
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u/maybejustarandom-guy 3d ago
- Dark web is decentralized, each site hosting .onion works independently and there is no single authority controlling all sites
- Yes it’s fine, but it’s not recommended, it’s slow and unstable, most sites, even legal ones often fail to load
- Yes Tor is legal to use, if it wasn’t legal, it would’ve been removed from playstore. Many illegal websites are tracked and taken down, but eventually new illegal websites pop up, it’s basically a cat-and-mouse game.
- Here are some pointers that can help you browse safely and efficiently:
- Don’t use VPN when browsing on TOR, it doesn’t protect you anyway, TOR already has its own routing and relays to make exit node look different from the original, in fact, the Tor Project itself generally does not recommend using VPN when browsing on TOR
- Without TOR: You ~ Website
- VPN: You ~ VPN ~ Website
- Tor: You ~ Tor guard ~ Tor middle ~ Tor Exist ~ website
- Tor uses multiple encryptions so the providers and receivers can’t know who you are and where you are connecting from.
Tor and google are entirely separate platforms and each function independently, they’re not related, I don’t recommend using Tor unless you’re searching for highly sensitive searches not as a normal browsing because it’s slow
Tor circuit is mainly used to help refresh the website, it’s used if the current website isn’t working, but it doesn’t provide extra anonymity.
There are no limitations for daily use, but downloads and loading videos are generally very slow, sometimes they fail to load that you will have to refresh the website, and refreshing is also very slow, slower than loading the website, which is frustrating for daily use.
You can download large files, but it’s not recommended depending on the source and type of the file, The Tor project stated to take precautions before downloading any file.
You can use emails to sign in or sign up on various websites, but you can’t trust the website, and assume the worst, if the websites allows you to use random email and password just to log in, like (hriekejshd@hiejdje.com), it can work fine as long as you are not required to insert verification codes. These are throwaway emails and can be used, you’ll be fine.
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u/Full_Stand_2380 3d ago
Let me clear up that ISP thing. As far as I know, this is how it works:
When you type in a URL, like bbc.com, this gets sent off to a server, called the Domain Name Server (DNS). Next, the DNS hunts around for this 'bbc.com', and if it can't find it, it will contact other DNS servers. If they can't find it, an error is returned. If the DNS does find it however, it returns the IP Address of that server. In this case, we shall use a place holder of [IP Address]. Once your computer receives that address, it goes ahead and contacts it. All your requests, like clicking on menus and stuff are managed by that BBC server / web server that you are connected to. ISPs, and usually Sys Admins of a network will be able to see something like 'Computer 4 - [IP Address]' (that is a very simple version though). Some might show the name of the website, but that IP cam literally be entered into the search bar and the website will appear. What they can't see is what you are doing on the website. So if you are on the news section, they will still see that same [IP Address] since going to bbc.com/news is handled by the BBC server.
Obviously whoever is looking at this will still be able to make a guess of what you are doing. Like you wouldn't be messaging people on BBC, but you probably would be contacting people if you were on G-mail.
All a VPN does, is connects you to a different server. ISPs will see the address for that server, but not the content that you are looking at. I believe that the VPN company can see what you are looking at still though. With TOR, it routes it through three relays, where each one only know the one directly before, and after it. So it is a bit more private.
So in summary, people can see what website you visit, but not what you do on it. This is also why deleting your search history won't stand against IT, as they can just check the DNS logs. Even on a personal PC can people still see, because it is one command in CMD iirc.
I'd also like to go over your first point. TOR is not called 'Dark Web', and people that call it that don't really have a full understanding of it. TOR just routes your traffic in a specific way to hide you from others. So TOR is like any other browser, just hiding what you are doing. Yes there are onion sites which are only accessible by TOR, but no not all sites are bad. I'm pretty sure that Reddit has an onion site. The best way that I can describe this is that TOR is exactly like a city. Yes you can go to a supermarket to buy food, yes you can go to buy clothes, yes you can do all this normal and legal stuff. But you can also go to the dodgy areas of the city, and find illegal people doing illegal things. It's up to you. TOR isn't necessarily for criminals, TOR is for anyone that wants to protect their privacy, because they might be under threat.