You will need to check with your VPN provider to see if this setup is possible and if so, exactly how to set it up. While VPN over Tor sounds simple enough, it’s actually far from straightforward.

VPN over Tor: Open Tor and then connect to the VPN.

Tor over VPN: Connect to the VPN and then open Tor.

When setting up a VPN with Tor, there are two possible configurations: The VPN also adds an extra layer of encryption, further securing your traffic. A VPN routes your traffic through a secondary server in a location of your choice and your real IP address is replaced with one from that server. This means that only your VPN provider will be able to see you’re using Tor. This is where a VPN comes in handy as it will mask your internet traffic, hiding the fact it’s going through the Tor network. Governments in some countries go as far as to have ISPs block Tor traffic entirely. So much so that just connecting to the Tor network may raise a flag with law enforcement or government agencies. That said, there are many illegitimate uses for Tor and the network has a bad reputation.

Utilizing Tor itself isn’t illegal and the network has many legitimate uses, such as providing an anonymous forum for journalists, whistleblowers, law enforcement and military agencies, victims of crime, and anyone else who can benefit from a high level of privacy.

When you use Tor alone, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and any snoopers such as government agencies can detect that you’re using Tor. Tor traffic travels through at least three random nodes (which are actually volunteer computers and may also be called relays) before reaching the destination website. Often called “Tor” for short, the Tor network encrypts your internet traffic, which means that if anyone intercepts it, they won’t be able to decipher its contents.

When you connect to the internet via the Tor network, you can browse anonymously and gain access to sites that are not available via the clear web. TIP: I’ve found NordVPN to be the best option for Tor. In this post, I discuss the benefits of using a VPN and Tor together and reveal the different ways you can set them up. This gives you double encryption and solves some of the privacy issues inherent in the standalone tools. Both encrypt your internet traffic, but due to the way they work, they each fall short of providing complete privacy.Ī solution is to combine forces and use a VPN alongside Tor.

Using either the Tor network or a Virtual Private Network (VPN) as a standalone service will have its benefits and drawbacks.

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