Tor (The Onion Router)
Tor is a free and open-source software for anonymous communication and directs users Internet traffic through a free, worldwide overlay network consisting of more than 7000 servers and 800 bridges to hide a user’s location and Internet usage from anyone conducting traffic analysis.
It makes it more difficult to trace Internet activities of users like web surfing and other communication over the Internet. The main use of the tor is to protect the personal privacy information (IP Address, location, etc) of its users and the ability to conduct confidential communication by keeping their Internet activities unmonitored.
Tor is used by security professionals to conduct full-fledged black-box penetration testing to deal with such things as firewalls and other mechanisms of restriction on the customer’s side. Tor networks can be used to constantly change IP and DNS addresses and therefore successfully overcome any restrictions.
How to install Tor in Linux
Open a terminal window
Run apt-get install tor to update or install tor (For Kali Linux only)
For other Linux OS follow these steps:
Step 1:
Open the terminal
Step 2:
Run nano /etc/apt/sources.list to add the distribution in the list by opening the sources.list file
Step 3:
Now add the deb http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org wheezy main line at the bottom of the sources.list file
Step 4:
Run gpg –keyserver keys.gnupg.net –recv 886DDD89 ; gpg –export A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89 | apt-key add – to to add the gpg key used to sign the packages
Step 5:
Run apt-get update to Update package lists
Step 6:
Run apt-get install deb.torproject.org-keyring to Install singing keys
Step 7:
Run apt-get install tor to Install Tor from Debian repository
Basic commands for Tor
Run service tor start to start the Tor service.
Run service tor status to check Tor service status.
Lastly, Run service tor stop to stop Tor service.
Proxychains
proxychains is a tool that forces any TCP connection made by any given application to follow through proxy like TOR or any other SOCKS4, SOCKS5, or HTTP(S) proxy.
thus, they are widely used by pentester during the reconnaissance stage (For example with Nmap).
How to install Proxychains in Linux and its configuration?
To update and install Proxychains use apt-get install proxychains.
Now we have to edit the proxychains.conf file that is stored in /etc directory by using command.
nano /etc/proxychains.conf
In the proxychains.conf file We can see, that most of the methods are under the comment mark. We can read their description and decide which method we have to use.
Now let’s uncomment the dynamic_chain method and comment on other methods (simply put ‘#’ to the left). Additionally, it is useful to uncomment the proxy_dns method to prevent DNS leak. Scroll through the document and see whenever you want to add some additional proxies at the bottom of the page.
Now save the proxychains.conf file
Start the TOR service and run proxychains firefox.
Usually, you are required to put the ‘proxychains’ command before anything to force it to transfer data through Tor.
proxychains toolname –arguments
After the firefox has loaded, then check if your IP address has changed with any website that provides such information. Also, try running a test on dnsleaktest.com and see if your DNS address changed too
Tor Browser
Tor browser is a browser that thus transfers all its traffic through TOR and using firefox headers makes all Tor users look the same.
On a daily basis, the Tor browser is also useful for anyone who wants to keep their internet activities out of the hands of advertisers, ISPs, and web sites. so, That includes people getting around censorship restrictions in their country, police officers looking to hide their IP address, or anyone else who doesn’t want their browsing habits linked to them.
How to install Tor Browser
Option 1:
Step-1: Run sudo add-apt-repository universe && sudo apt update
Step-2: Run sudo apt install torbrowser-launcher command on the terminal.
Option 2:
Step-1: Download the Tor Browser launcher from the Tor project page Browse to the Tor project download page and click on the penguin.
Step-2: Run tar -xvJf tor-browser-linux64-8.5.1_en-US.tar.xz to extract the Tor Browser files.
Step-3: Open the extracted Tor Browser directory and Run ./tor-browser_en-US/Browser/start-tor-browser & to open the Tor Browser.
written by: Sahil Gupta
Reviewed By: Sayan Chatterjee
If you are Interested In Machine Learning You Can Check Machine Learning Internship Program
Also Check Other Technical And Non Technical Internship Programs
