Tor

Recommended tools

Tools that work with Tor	Cross-platform	Freemium
Brave is a privacy-focused internet browser built off the open-source Chromium codebase. The browser blocks invasive ads and cross-site trackers by default. Users also benefit from built-in functionalities for added security with automatic secure HTTP connections and Tor-based anonymous network routing. is available in desktop, Android, and iOS versions.	Yes
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Onion Browser is a web browser that reroutes all traffic through the Tor network to protect privacy, circumvent surveillance, and evade censorship on the internet.
OnionShare is an open-source secure file-sharing tool that uses the Tor network to protect the users’ data and privacy.	Yes
Orbot is a proxy app for Android devices that reroutes internet traffic through the Tor network to protect the user’s privacy and identity online.
Proton VPN is a VPN service.	Yes	Yes
Riseup Email is a secure email service by activists for activists. Its security features include full-disk encryption, encrypted email storage, Onion routing, and more.
Tails is an open-source portable computer operating system that protects users from surveillance and helps them circumvent censorship.
Tor Browser is an open-source private internet browser for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android that protects users from tracking, surveillance, and censorship.
Tools that work with Tor	Cross-platform	Freemium

Onion service

Set up a website as an onion service on Debian-based Linux

1. Switch to root user.

   sudo su -
   

2. Install Tor.

   apt install tor -y
   

3. Open the torrc file in a text editor.

   vi /etc/tor/torrc
   

4. Edit the file as follows to point the .onion address to your public IP address, for example 123.45.67.890 using port 80 with the configuration files stored in /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/.

   SocksPort 0
   
   SocksPolicy reject *
   
   HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
   HiddenServicePort 80 123.45.67.890:80
   HiddenServiceVersion 3
   HiddenServiceNonAnonymousMode 1
   HiddenServiceSingleHopMode 1
   

5. Hit the Esc key when done and save the changes.

   :wq
   

6. Restart Tor.

   systemctl restart tor.service
   

7. Obtain the .onion hostname.

   cat /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/hostname
   

8. Copy the .onion hostname add it to your web server in configuration the same way how you would add a regular hostname. Don't forget to restart your web server service (eg Apache2 or Nginx).

Generate vanity .onion hostname using mkp224o on Debian-based Linux

1. Install dependencies for mkp224o.

   apt install gcc libc6-dev libsodium-dev make autoconf -y
   

2. Clone the mkp224o repository, generate the required Autotools infrastructure, configure, and compile the tool.

   cd 
   git clone https://github.com/cathugger/mkp224o.git
   cd mkp224o
   ./autogen.sh
   ./configure
   make
   

3. Decide the filter that you want to use, i.e. the substring with which your vanity .onion hostname will start. Generate a key with a filter of your choice, for example, myname and keep the configuration files in /var/lib/tor.

   ./mkp224o myname -n 1 -d /var/lib/tor
   

   This may take a while depending on the length of the filter. A 5-character filter may take around 1 minute to generate, 6-character filter around 30 minutes, 7-character filter 1 day.
4. Once completed, you should be able to view the generated vanity .onion hostname.

   ls -l /var/lib/tor
   

   If you need to generate a different one, repeat step 3.
5. If you're fine with the generated vanity .onion hostname, adjust the ownership and permission of the files in that directory, for example, myname2yyefqg6lgqnz5s3osvscilqv5gz22iiulfv4utmuh6opqj7id.onion. should be owned by user debian-tor and group debian-tor.

   chown -R debian-tor:debian-tor /var/lib/tor/myname2yyefqg6lgqnz5s3osvscilqv5gz22iiulfv4utmuh6opqj7id.onion
   chmod -R u+rwX,og-rwx /var/lib/tor/myname2yyefqg6lgqnz5s3osvscilqv5gz22iiulfv4utmuh6opqj7id.onion
   

6. Open the torrc file in a text editor.

   vi /etc/tor/torrc
   

7. Replace hidden_service:

   HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
   

   With with the corresponding directory in step 5, for example myname2yyefqg6lgqnz5s3osvscilqv5gz22iiulfv4utmuh6opqj7id.onion:

   HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/myname2yyefqg6lgqnz5s3osvscilqv5gz22iiulfv4utmuh6opqj7id.onion/
   

8. Hit the Esc key when done and save the changes.

   :wq
   

9. Restar Tor.

   systemctl restart tor.service
   

10. Copy the vanity .onion hostname add it to your web server in configuration the same way how you would add a regular hostname. Don't forget to restart your web server service (eg Apache2 or Nginx)