Tor is a network of relays accessible through the Tor browser and designed to anonymize users’ online activities to a specific and high-level point. A Tor relay is similar to a proxy server, but it also encrypts traffic, resembling a VPN. However, that’s where similarities end because Tor uses unique multi-layered encryption , nearly 8,000 volunteers run its relays, it is open-source software, and it hosts servers only available through Tor browser, called onion services.
Why Use Proxies With Tor?
A proxy server enhances Tor in a few meaningful ways. Firstly, authoritarian countries like China, Russia, and Iran restrict access to Tor download sites. In this case, a user can connect to a proxy server in a country without such restrictions. We recommend residential proxies to bypass geographical blocks because they are the best at mimicking a genuine user from a different location.
A proxy server also solves the entry node’s potential vulnerability. Because the user connects to a proxy first, which takes over online communication and assigns a new IP address, the entry relay sees only the proxy IP without obtaining the original one. It protects against numerous IP-based cyberattacks, like DDoS, and surveillance via IP tracking simultaneously.
In some cases, a proxy server placed closer to a target destination server can increase the connection speed. Although rarely, you can experiment with this method if you encounter significant lag and know the target server’s geographical location. This time, you can try datacenter proxies first, as they generally offer the best uptime and connection speed.
How to Set Up a Proxy in the Tor Browser?
While the structure of the Tor network sounds complex, it’s because it is. Tor is a highly sophisticated online privacy protection tool. However, using it is particularly easy, and the same applies to Tor proxies.
1. Go to the official Tor website and download it .
2. After installing it, launch the browser, and on the opened window, choose the Configure Connection option.
3. Then, scroll down through the numerous customization options to the very bottom. You will see the Advanced section , where you have to click on the Settings button.
4. As you can see, these proxy settings are reserved solely for the initial proxy connection so that you can set up a proxy directly in the Tor network settings . As an example, I will use IPRoyal’s HTTPS residential proxy servers. Configure your proxies in the IPRoyal dashboard.
5. Get your proxy details (hostname, port, username, and password) and add them to Tor. Click OK when done.
6. Close the Settings tab and go back to the main window. This time, click the Connect option.
7. It will take up to a minute to connect to Tor.
8. Now, you can browse online with highly strengthened privacy protection, suitable for political activists, journalists, and victims of violence seeking anonymous assistance online.
9. To verify that it works, I have checked my IP address details on ipleak.net. Here are the results.
None of the IP addresses are ours, so the proxy and Tor combination successfully obfuscated my information. There are no DNS leaks, so the browser is using proxy DNS instead, and the geolocation tracking is disabled, which is expected from robust privacy protection tools such as Tor.