Tor: Linux/BSD/Unix Install Instructions

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Running the Tor client on Linux/BSD/Unix

Note that these are the installation instructions for running a
Tor client. If you want to relay traffic for others to help the
network grow (please do), read the Configuring a server
guide.
Step One: Download and Install Tor

The latest release of Tor can be found on the download page. We
have packages for Debian, Red Hat, Gentoo, *BSD, etc there too.
If you're building from source, first install libevent, and make sure
you have openssl and zlib (including the -devel packages if
applicable). Then run:
tar xzf tor-0.1.2.13.tar.gz; cd tor-0.1.2.13
./configure && make
Now you can run tor as src/or/tor, or you can run make
install (as root if necessary) to install it into /usr/local/, and then
you can start it just by running tor.
Tor comes configured as a client by default. It uses a built-in
default configuration file, and most people won't need to change
any of the settings. Tor is now installed.
Step Two: Install Privoxy for Web Browsing

After installing Tor, you need to configure your applications to use
it.
The first step is to set up web browsing. Start by installing Privoxy:
click on 'recent releases' and pick your favorite package or install
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Tor: Linux/BSD/Unix Install Instructions
from source. Privoxy is a filtering web proxy that integrates well
with Tor.
Once you've installed Privoxy (either from package or from
source), you will need to configure Privoxy to use Tor. Open
Privoxy's "config" file (look in /etc/privoxy/ or /usr/local/etc/) and
add the line
forward-socks4a / 127.0.0.1:9050 .
to the top of the config file. Don't forget to add the dot at the end.
Privoxy keeps a log file of everything passed through it. In order to
stop this you will need to comment out three lines by inserting a #
before the line. The three lines are:
logfile logfile
and the line
jarfile jarfile
and (on some systems) the line
debug 1 # show each GET/POST/CONNECT request
You'll need to restart Privoxy for the changes to take effect.
Step Three: Configure your applications to use Tor

After installing Tor and Privoxy, you need to configure your
applications to use them. The first step is to set up web browsing.
If you're using Firefox (we recommend it), simply install the
Torbutton plugin, restart your Firefox, and you're all set:

(Learn more about Torbutton here. If you plan to run Firefox on a
different computer than Tor, see the FAQ entry for running Tor on
a different computer. If you need to use a browser other than
Firefox, you'll have to configure its proxy settings yourself.)
Using privoxy is necessary because browsers leak your DNS
requests when they use a SOCKS proxy directly, which is bad for
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Tor: Linux/BSD/Unix Install Instructions
your anonymity. Privoxy also removes certain dangerous headers
from your web requests, and blocks obnoxious ad sites like
Doubleclick.
To Torify other applications that support HTTP proxies, just point
them at Privoxy (that is, localhost port 8118). To use SOCKS
directly (for instant messaging, Jabber, IRC, etc), you can point
your application directly at Tor (localhost port 9050), but see this
FAQ entry for why this may be dangerous. For applications that
support neither SOCKS nor HTTP, take a look at tsocks or socat.
For information on how to Torify other applications, check out the
Torify HOWTO.
Step Four: Make sure it's working

Next, you should try using your browser with Tor and make sure
that your IP address is being anonymized. Click on the Tor
detector and see whether it thinks you're using Tor or not. (If that
site is down, see this FAQ entry for more suggestions on how to
test your Tor.)
If you have a personal firewall that limits your computer's ability to
connect to itself (this includes something like SELinux on Fedora
Core 4), be sure to allow connections from your local applications
to Privoxy (local port 8118) and Tor (local port 9050). If your
firewall blocks outgoing connections, punch a hole so it can
connect to at least TCP ports 80 and 443, and then see this FAQ
entry. If your SELinux config is not allowing tor or privoxy to run
correctly, create a file named booleans.local in the directory /etc/
selinux/targeted. Edit this file in your favorite text editor and insert
"allow_ypbind=1". Restart your machine for this change to take
effect.
If it's still not working, look at this FAQ entry for hints.
Step Five: Configure it as a server

The Tor network relies on volunteers to donate bandwidth. The
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Tor: Linux/BSD/Unix Install Instructions
more people who run servers, the faster the Tor network will be. If
you have at least 20 kilobytes/s each way, please help out Tor by
configuring your Tor to be a server too. We have many features
that make Tor servers easy and convenient, including rate limiting
for bandwidth, exit policies so you can limit your exposure to
abuse complaints, and support for dynamic IP addresses.
Having servers in many different places on the Internet is what
makes Tor users secure. You may also get stronger anonymity
yourself, since remote sites can't know whether connections
originated at your computer or were relayed from others.
Read more at our Configuring a server guide.
If you have suggestions for improving this document, please send
them to us. Thanks!
Webmaster - Last modified: Sat Jan 13 21:29:20 2007 - Last compiled: Wed May 2 18:48:50 2007
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