12 Things you shouldn’t do while using Tor or else your privacy is as vulnerable.note

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TOR Anonymity: Things Not To Do While Using

TOR

Use Tor safely. By

-

September 14, 2020

The awe-inspiring internet has its nightmares for the ones who get stalked and harassed in the digital

world. They can’t get away from the predicament; one possible recourse is to go anonymous while

using the internet with the help of . Name it, VPN, TOR, or you can use a proxy

server for your anonymity needs.

Apart from all these available options, TOR stands out first in the line when we compare the level of

anonymity provided by various tools. Many people regard The Onion Router project as the best cloak

for those people who want to hide on the internet.

, who came to light after he acted as the whistleblower and exposed NSA’s

unethical surveillance activities, used the TOR browser to do so. The federal agencies also

inculpated him and alleged that his disclosure of confidential information was the impetus behind the

.

The Onion Router has the strength to protect you and hide you from all those stalkers and evil minds

who follow you on the internet. Even if you want to be another Edward Snowden, you can very well

do so by using the TOR browser.

Why should you go anonymous using Tor?

Now, we have already discussed whether Tor is anonymous and what practices you should follow to

be safe on the network. Let’s talk about some reasons and benefits of going anonymous using Tor:

Is Tor safe? Is it really anonymous?

It depends. The Tor browser minimizes the chances of spying and eavesdropping, but nothing is fool-

proof nowadays. The Tor network also has its weaknesses, mostly present at its endpoints where the

traffic leaves the network.

Aditya Tiwari

various tools available

Edward Snowden

Paris death massacre

Your ISP can’t track your browsing activity.

Stalkers won’t be able to follow you.

Websites and services can’t track your data and show personalized ads.

You can do whatever you want without being judged.

You can share confidential data while hiding yourself.

Being optimistic, Tor is one of the best options we currently have. But it’s advised that you shouldn’t

mess with Tor’s default settings unless you know what you’re doing. That’s because enabling

Javascript and other plugins could contribute to leaking your IP address.

Regarding anonymity, one can’t live with the belief that security agencies can’t penetrate the network

and track someone. But in everyday usage, you shouldn’t be much concerned unless you’re some

drug dealer or a high profile person trying to dodge surveillance systems.

However, the popularity of the onion router has motivated hackers to create malware and make it

look like the Tor browser. This is one thing users should worry about. Also, Tor is the

and criminal activities. The type of content available on the dark web isn’t appropriate for

many users.

Moreover, you can’t turn a blind eye to the fact that a little of your mistake will contribute to divulging

your identity on the internet, no matter how secure do you consider yourself. TOR doesn’t magically

read your mind and prevent any of the foolish activities that you may perform. So, there are a few

things you need to keep in mind, and it will help you to be anonymous online.

To know about The Onion Router in detail, you can read the following article:

12 Things you shouldn’t do while using Tor or else your

privacy is as vulnerable as without it

1. Don’t use your mobile phone for 2-Step verification on Tor

Most websites provide a using a mobile number in which an OTP (One Time

Password) is sent to your mobile number, allowing you to log in to your account safely. Be extra

careful when you are using the TOR browser for accessing your account.

If you provide your mobile number to a website, it will only hamper your anonymity status online, as it

will be easier to track you down using your number. Note that even if you are using a SIM card

registered in some other person’s name, your telecom operator can easily track you down as they

also keep your device’s in their database and can be used to track you.

1. Don’t operate user accounts outside TOR

If you use the TOR browser for checking your Facebook, Twitter, or email accounts, don’t ever use

those accounts outside the TOR browser as it will expose your online identity to the website. Almost

every site on the web now logs information like your login and logout time, your location, your IP

address, and other details. Using your account on the open internet even once will be enough to get

your IP address logged and eventually reveal your identity.

gateway to the d

ark web

Everything About Tor: What is Tor? How Tor Works?

2-Step verification

IMEI number

1. Don’t post your personal information

You must embed this point in your heart, do not post any personal information like name, address,

birthday, credit card number while using TOR. It will uncover your identity, and there will no point

using the TOR; hope you can understand.

To keep yourself completely hidden, you need to be pseudonymous. Now, what’s that? It means you

need to present yourself as a person with disparate behavior while using TOR. The new person

should have different kinds of likes and hatred, food choices, fantasies, etc.

For that purpose, create a new user account with a new email address that doesn’t reflect even a bit

of your real identity. You can use that email for your social accounts and enjoy your anonymity and

praise the power of TOR.

Also, don’t confuse between anonymity and pseudonymity.

An anonymous connection is the one where the webserver to which you want to connect has no idea

about your real IP address/location and your identity.

A pseudonymous connection is the one in which the server you’re contacting has no idea about your

actual IP address/location, but does have an identity it can associate with the connection.

1. Don’t send unencrypted data over TOR

While you were reading the article about TOR, you came across the fact that TOR encrypts your

connection, not your data, and TOR’s exit nodes are vulnerable. So, it is highly advisable not to send

unencrypted data over the TOR network, as someone might access your confidential information

while the data is on the last node.

1. Don’t use TOR with Windows?

Microsoft’s Windows is the world’s for desktops. Older versions of Tor for

Windows have shipped with vulnerabilities capable of revealing your identity even if you are using the

TOR to access the internet. Hence, using Tor on Windows has remained a topic of concern, although,

it doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

Linux systems will serve you well for this purpose. Linux distributions like and Whonix are pre-

configured with TOR. You can configure it manually on any distribution you may like.

1. Don’t forget to delete cookies and local website data

When you access a website, it sends a small file to your computer, known as a cookie. It keeps the

record of your browsing habits and other data so that the website can recognize you on your next

visit. Some websites may also store data locally on your hard drive.

most used operating system

Tails

You should delete those cookie files and local website data after every browsing session you perform

on TOR. These things may allow the website to gather information about you and track your location

and IP address.

Later versions of the Tor browser automatically deleted website cookies and download history after

you end a session. Alternatively, you can click on the New Identity option (click the onion button

before the address bar) to the same without closing the Tor browser.

1. Don’t use TOR for Google Search

If you want to be anonymous while using TOR, don’t use Google to search your queries. Though it

sounds weird, this is because Google collects information like your search requests, stores cookie

files on your computer, and tracks your browsing habits to power its advertisement services.

You don’t want to reveal that, do you? So, you can use other search engines like and

StartPage as they don’t log your IP address or any other activity. In fact, there have been instances

where Google doesn’t work correctly with Tor. The search engine might display an error message or

ask you to solve a captcha. That’s because people reaching Google through Tor becomes seem

suspicious.

1. Don’t use HTTP website on TOR

You very well know that TOR can be exploited using the vulnerabilities present at its exit nodes. So, if

you access HTTP sites using TOR, there are chances someone might access your information while

it is on the endpoints. The data transferred to and from an HTTP site is unencrypted and can be

viewed at the endpoints as TOR only encrypts the connection inside its network.

You can prevent such situations by the use of HTTPS websites. They use end-to-end encryption

protocols like SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security). So, all your data

remains safe, even if it is outside the TOR network.

1. Don’t connect to the same server with and without TOR simultaneously

Here is one important thing you need to keep in mind. If you are accessing a particular remote server

using TOR (anonymously), don’t access the same server from outside the TOR network (non-

anonymously) as it may lead to a revelation of your actual identity. This is because in case your

internet is down, both your connections will terminate at the same moment, and it will not be much

difficult for someone spying on you to relate the pieces and complete the puzzle.

Also, a web server might try to correlate the two connections by increasing or decreasing speed on

one of your TOR or non-TOR connection to see whether the speed fluctuates on the other one and

consequently trace your real IP address.

DuckDuckGo

1. Not Updating regularly

Tor is free software, and like all software, it has some bugs and glitches which are frequently resolved

via updates. Moreover, Tor is just a browser that works on top of your operating system, so if your OS

itself is compromised then, Tor won’t do you any good. Therefore, it is quite essential that you

regularly update your Tor client as well as your operating system.

1. Keeping Java enabled

, , etc. are dominant browser languages that can be used by hackers and

spies to gain access to your system. These languages use virtual machines and run via user

accounts so they have a lot of permissions which can be used to share your personal data online. So

even if you are using Tor to hide your identity, keeping these enabled will do you no good.

1. P2P

Sorry, but no on Tor. BitTorrent and other P2P clients provide information like your IP

address to the peers and end nodes, so if you use P2P while using Tor then again it is a canceling

out factor. Anyone in the peer pool can see your IP address and thus your identity is compromised.

EndNote

Tor is free software to provide people anonymity on the internet. However, it is merely a traffic router.

It cannot, for instance, encrypt all your files and your entire internet connection.

Therefore, the onus is on the users to use it to good effect so that they may reap the benefits of using

Tor properly and succeed in their aim of remaining anonymous on the internet. This article highlights

just some of the ”don’ts” while using Tor. We would advise you to do some more homework to identify

other such issues with using Tor.

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