TOR Project Releases Latest Version of its Eponymous Browser
upstart writes:
If you are concerned about browsing discreetly, this makes it easier:
The latest Tor Browser is a specially packaged version of Firefox 102 ESR which does all the hard work of setting up a TOR connection.
Version 12 of the Tor Browser is a specially packaged version of Firefox 102, the current Extended Support Release (ESR) and already one of the more secure browser choices. Available for Windows, Linux, and macOS (as a special fat binary that runs natively on both x86-64 and Arm Macs), the Tor Browser bundles together the web browser and a client for The Onion Router, or TOR for short.
Tor 12.0, say the project's leaders, is the first stable release of the browser that supports the Albanian and Ukrainian languages, and thanked "all the volunteers who worked hard to translate Tor Browser into each language."
The Reg has covered TOR a few times over the years, and we don't want to repeat ourselves too much. There are two purposes for accessing the internet over TOR. One is for accessing the normal internet: using TOR hides where you're coming from, so you can't be tracked by your IP address, or even the general geographic region you're in. This makes it much disliked by repressive national governments, which is a good thing in general, really.
The other is for accessing websites that are only visible on the TOR network. These usually have a string of hexadecimal in (or for) their name, but they all end in .onion, which is a special protected name, not used on the normal internet. This doesn't only mean internet drug bazaars such as the Silk Road, although that's probably the most famous example. There are legal uses too. For instance, even the BBC approves of it and hosts a version of its own site on it.
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