Browse Anonymously Using Tor Browser on Ubuntu

Install and Use Tor Browser on Ubuntu

What is Tor?

The Onion Router, or Tor, is a free and open-source service that allows users to surf the web anonymously. It may be used to prevent websites and apps from tracking or attempting to identify your whereabouts. This is accomplished by routing your network traffic across a global network of servers and removing identifying information from packet headers.

It’s frequently used to get around regional restrictions. It is popular among users since it stops ad-tracking businesses from creating a profile of you based on your surfing activities and presenting tailored adverts.

Others, on the other hand, are concerned about their privacy in this digital age and welcome knowing that no one is watching their online activities.

Tor Browser

The Tor browser is really a Firefox browser that is customized to use the Tor network. It provides all the ease of browsing that Firefox brings while keeping you safe and anonymous. This tutorial is a beginner’s guide to Tor and Tor browser installation on Ubuntu for such users.

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu or any other Linux-based distribution
  • A user account with root or sudo privileges
  • Terminal access
  • Internet access

Note: Although the commands used in this tutorial are specifically for the Ubuntu system, all the methods are also valid for any other Linux-based system.

Install Tor From the Official Apt Repository

Tor/Onion Router comes by default in Ubuntu, but it is almost always the older version, so you need to install Tor’s latest version from the official apt repository.

Provide Access to Repositories over HTTPS

You need to install the transport package to get access to repositories securely.

sudo apt install apt-transport-https

Install HTTPS transport for apt

Add Tor Repository

Add the Tor repository using the following command.

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org $(lsb_release -sc) main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tor-project.list'

Add TOT repository in Ubuntu

Download the latest keyring

Go to this link and download the latest keyring available.

Download keyring

Save the deb file.

Save deb file

Once the download is finished, you can open the deb file and hit Install.

Install TOR Keyring

Authenticate and finish the installation.

Authenticate as admin

Or install the deb file using the following command.

sudo apt install ./Downloads/deb.torproject.org-keyring*.deb

Install Keyring on the shell

Update Your System

Now, update packages using the following command.

sudo apt update

Update package lists

Install Tor

Finally, you can install Tor using the following apt command.

sudo apt install tor

Install Tor Browser

Check and verify that the Tor installation is the latest using the following command.

tor --version

Installed Tor version

Check the Tor Status

Check the status of the Tor service using the following systemctl command.

systemctl status tor

Check Tor status

Install Tor Browser

Now, you can install the Tor browser by installing the torbrowser-launcher package on your system.

sudo apt install torbrowser-launcher

Install Tor Browser

Once installation is finished, there are two ways to install the Tor browser.

The first one is to go to the Applications and search for the Tor keyword. Launch the Tor Browser Launcher.

Tor Icon

You will see the following window, Click on the Install Tor Browser.

Tor Browser launcher

The second method is to simply open the Tor Browser from the Applications.

Open Tor Browser

The Tor Browser will automatically install itself on the first use.

Downloading Tor Browser

Connect to Tor

Remove Tor and Tor Browser from Ubuntu

Uninstall the Tor browser using the following command.

sudo apt remove torbrowser-launcher

Remove Tor Browser

Similarly, remove the Tor service using the following command.

sudo apt remove --autoremove tor

Remove Tor service

Conclusion

You learned how to install Tor and the Tor browser on your Ubuntu machine in this article. The Tor Browser is a customized version of Firefox that uses the Tor network to encrypt and anonymize online traffic.

When you surf the web with the Tor Browser, your connection to the website is protected from network surveillance and traffic analysis. There are, however, a few drawbacks to using the Tor Browser. Some well-known websites forbid Tor users. A government-mandated firewall also restricts Tor in some regions. Also, Tor is slower than a conventional Internet connection when it comes to viewing the web.

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Categorized as Ubuntu