What exactly is Tor, and why is it important for an average Internet user? If you’re checking this article out, then you’re just as clueless as I was when I first started investigating Tor. Like the old me, you probably heard about it when looking into how to maintain anonymity online. So let’s do this together, dear reader, and dive into a beginner’s guide to understand and use “the secret Internet.”

Who can use it?

Anyone patient enough to go through the process of downloading and setting up Tor can benefit from using it. A household can certainly benefit from having Tor installed in the home computer to protect the privacy of children and not-so-tech-savvy elders. Businesses that often share classified information like financial projections and marketing strategies can also employ Tor (companies can even secretly dig dirt on their competition through it), just like employees can use it to get their snoopy bosses off their backs (although doing so may violate some companies’ policies). Activists use it to report injustices from enemy territory without being discovered, and journalists use it to better protect their sources. Even governments and cyber-criminals have both been known to utilize Tor for their own gain, which is a good example of how a tool can both be used and abused, especially one that’s absolutely free to public access.

The benefits and drawbacks

Obviously, the most important advantage to be had from using Tor is the anonymity and protection of one’s privacy. The way Tor works is it encrypts all the information that is relayed from one server to another, with the current server only knowing the IP addresses of the server that gave it the data and the one it’s supposed to pass the data to, making the process virtually untraceable. No one has to know what you’re up to, and no one has to know who’s on the other end of a conversation you’re having online.

However, like most things that offer awesome features, there are underlying conditions that may not be acceptable. First of all, running Tor can make your Internet connection sluggish, since it has to go through a bunch of relays to mask your location – for added protection and privacy while using the Internet, you would have to trade in a little bit of your connection speed.

Secondly, Tor will always try to withhold your website activity from unwelcome onlookers by default, but the fact that you’re using Tor is easily discoverable by those who know how to track it. There are also some computer applications that you regularly use that might not be included in what Tor protects because they have a tendency to compromise your anonymity by leaving a trace of your actual, non-Tor IP address. There is a workaround available for these issues though: You can complicate the discovery of your Tor use by using a Tor bridge relay instead of using a direct connection to the public Tor network, and you can ensure that you don’t run any external applications while connected.

Bear in mind that Tor is not completely indestructible – there are still attacks that can fall through the cracks of your Tor use, no matter how correct your configuration is. However, for any simple Internet user, Tor provides a good enough privacy and security cloak.

How to fully maximize a Tor connection

The Tor Project website has a comprehensive download page that houses packages for various platforms, namely Windows, iOS, and Linux. It even features an Android bundle and a downloadable source code, for the hardcore developers out there who know what they’re doing. Before you download anything, however, you need to be willing to break a few of your Internet habits and get in the Tor frame of mind. Here are some tips the official website has outlined so you can maximize your experience using the software.

Use a Tor browser. In reality, Tor does not protect all of your machine’s Internet traffic when you use it, but only computer applications that are correctly set up to send traffic through Tor. To ensure that all your browsing activity is kept under Tor wraps, you are encouraged to install the Tor browser bundle, which is already programmed with the necessary privacy and anonymity precautions as long as you use it instead of your usual browser. Other Web browsers may still be unsafe to use even if you have Tor installed.

Forget your love for browser plugins. By default, the Tor browser has the likes of Flash, RealPlayer, and Quicktime blocked since they have been known to reveal your IP address. Having said that, installing additional plugins and add-ons onto the Tor browser is highly discouraged – it may cause Tor to malfunction and may affect your privacy settings. Although YouTube content is generally blocked as well, some videos can work on the Tor browser through an experimental opt-in feature.

Always use HTTPS when visiting websites. It shouldn’t be a problem if you’re using the Tor browser since it already includes HTTPS Everywhere, but just to be completely sure, keep a keen eye on the URLs you visit.

Don’t open downloaded materials while on Tor. Documents and PDF files may reveal your non-Tor IP address when you open it through external applications. Wait until you can disconnect from the Internet before opening these files.

Do not torrent while on Tor. It’s not a safe combination.

Use Tor bridges. Like I previously mentioned, Tor doesn’t really completely stop people watching your Internet connection from detecting your Tor use.

Tell your friends (and neighbors) to use Tor. The more people near you that use Tor, the less susceptible you are to attacks.

Installing Tor is pretty easy – all you need to do is to download and install the Tor browser bundle, the most basic of all available packages on the Tor Project download page. After installing the Tor browser bundle, extracting it, and running the appropriate .exe file, you will get connected to the Tor network via the Vidalia Control Panel.



A Tor browser will automatically pop up soon after, which you can start using. That’s all a basic Internet user will ever need to be able to surf the Web anonymously. However, if you would like to do something more advanced such as running a relay to help the Tor network function better, tutorials are readily available on the Tor Project’s website. You can hit the Stop Tor button on the panel when you’re done.

Why Tor is a necessity (and why anonymity online is important)

It’s not a secret that everything on the Internet is essentially available to the public, and that most certainly does not exclude your personal information. By merely visiting a slew of websites, you leave digital footprints that can easily be traced by anyone watching, especially those who only have malicious intents with your online identity and presence. Tor takes the ease by which these cyber hoodlums operate and complicates the process, giving you back some control over the data you produce. Just like in real life, everyone connected to the World Wide Web deserves to enjoy a part of their experience online free from prying eyes.