The Tor Project Profile picture
Jun 2, 2020 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Time to update: Tor Browser 9.5 is out now.

This Tor Browser release is focused on helping you understand and use onion services.

blog.torproject.org/new-release-to… Image
Tor Browser 9.5 allows website publishers to advertise their onion service to Tor users by adding HTTP headers. When Onion Location is enabled, Tor users will be prompted to opt-in to upgrade to the onion service. Image
Now, onion service administrators who want to add an extra layer of security to their website can set a pair of keys for access and control. Image
When users try to visit onion sites and encounter an error, Tor Browser 9.5 now displays informational messages about the service-, client-, or network-side error. Previously, only standard Firefox error messages were displayed. Image
Onion service URLS are not easy for humans to remember, which makes it hard for users to discover or return to an onion site. In this release, we're bringing you a proof-of-concept for human-memorable names for @SecureDrop, developed with @FreedomofPress & @HTTPSEverywhere. Image
Tor Browser 9.5 also improves URL bar security indicators, making it easier for users to understand when they are visiting a non-secure website. Image
Onion services can be used for metadata-free chat and file sharing, safer interaction between journalists and their source, safer software updates, and more secure ways of accessing websites. We're proud to bring these onion service improvements to Tor Browser 9.5. 🧅✨

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with The Tor Project

The Tor Project Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @torproject

Mar 1, 2021
Starting this month, we're running a campaign to increase the number of Snowflake proxies run by volunteers. Snowflake is a new way to defeat internet censorship bundled in Tor Browser Alpha. You can help users in censored countries to connect to Tor by running a Snowflake proxy! Image
For Snowflake volunteers: If you use Firefox, Brave, or Chrome, our Snowflake extension turns your browser into a proxy that connects Tor users in censored regions to the Tor network.
Note: you should not run more than one snowflake in the same network.
support.torproject.org/censorship/how… Image
For Snowflake users: Tor users can try it in Tor Browser Alpha (Windows, macOS, Linux), or for iOS, Onion Browser. Learn more how to enable it in Tor Browser Alpha:
support.torproject.org/censorship/how…
Read 4 tweets
Sep 23, 2020
NEW: We've published a research report of OTF Fellow Babatunde Okunoye titled, "Censored continent: understanding the use of tools during Information controls in Africa: Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, and Zimbabwe as case studies."
The research was conducted between 2019-2020, and answers three questions:
1) What are the tools used during Internet censorship events in Africa?
2) How and why are they used?
3) What are the usability challenges encountered by users of these tools?
Among the 33 interviewees in Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, about half (17) had 2 or more circumvention tools on their devices. Those who had more than one tool installed on their devices switched from one tool to another depending on which particular tool worked best.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 9, 2020
Suffering from onion service DoS? Here is a thread on how we would like to fix the problem for good. 🧵 (1/8)
Over the past few years, Tor developers have read days of network logs trying to understand and fix the DoS threat. Because of our protocol's inherent asymmetric nature, there is no easy fix, and a more fundamental approach is needed to address it. (2/8)
The idea is that clients need to include more information in their connection requests, so the onion service can prioritize which requests it responds to. (3/8)
Read 8 tweets
Aug 14, 2020
In May and June 2020 we found and removed a group of Tor exit relays that were messing with exit traffic. They left almost all exit traffic alone, and we don't know whether any users were successfully attacked.
blog.torproject.org/bad-exit-relay… Image
The attacker intercepted HTTP connections to a small number of cryptocurrency exchange websites. This situation is a good reminder that HTTP requests are unencrypted and unauthenticated, and thus are still prone to attack.
There are two pieces to mitigating this particular attack. The first piece involves steps that users and websites can do to make themselves safer. The second piece is about identifying and protecting against relays that try to undermine the security of the Tor network.
Read 8 tweets
Jul 27, 2020
🔴We're live on the @rightscon digital stage for the panel 'The case for privacy by design: privacy law shortcomings and the role of privacy tools' with @FreedomofPress and @EFF.

rightscon.course.tc/2020/events/st…
"Privacy by design means that the choice is meaningful in the way that is presented for the user," - @htsuka
"I'm really happy that the narrative around privacy has changed. In 2013, people said, 'I don't need privacy, I have nothing to hide...' People are learning that privacy is what defines the human beings they are." - @Isa
Read 4 tweets
Jul 20, 2020
Many important global news organizations use onion services to offer .onion versions of their sites and give their users the privacy, security, and censorship circumvention benefits of Tor.
ProPublica (@propublica) launched their onion service in 2016. "Readers use our interactive databases to see data that reveals a lot about themselves... Our readers should never need to worry that somebody else is watching what they’re doing on our site."
propublica.org/nerds/a-more-s…
BBC (@BBC) added their onion site in 2019. Governments in China, Iran, and Vietnam have tried to block access to BBC's website, and their onion service makes it possible for users to more easily and safely circumvent these blocks. npr.org/2019/10/24/773…
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(