• Last modified: 6 August 2013 17:18:21

Installation & configuration

Standard installation of the Vidalia bundle, including the Torbutton add-on in Firefox. Reboot computers. Launch Tor and make ask participants to not touch anything on the Vidalia control panel whilst ot loads (otherwise it has a tendency to crash at this moment). View the Vidalia Settings window and describe the connections options in 'Network'. View and briefly describe the message log.

Trainer's notes: Always test Tor in advance on training premises. The initial connection will require a download from the Tor network of around 1MB per computer. Take this time into consideration. Alternatively, you may only showcase the portable version of Tor - created by you with the recent Tor connection file downloads already present.

Connecting to the Tor network

Once connected, open the Firefox browser and describe the Torbutton and its features. Show how to switch between using Tor and standard connection. Visit IP or geo-location identifying websites (e.g. http://hostip.info). Attempt to access restricted websites (if any).

Demonstrate the two connection options if behind a firewall or proxy server. Direct Tor traffic over the standard http/s ports.

Trainer's notes: Stress that Tor may be slower than normal Internet connections due to the number of proxies and encryption used to make a website visit. It should be usable on any stable and 'higher than dialup' Internet connection.

Google's geo-IP identifier presents the country relevant search page.

Its important to remind users to test the location of their exit node, just in case it proves to be on a country that restricts free access to the Internet (e.g. China). Always stress that Tor is used for anonymity and not privacy. It does not make your webmail more secure and if you are using non https accounts, the Tor exit node will know your login name and password.

Advanced Tor connections

A short discussion to the possibilities of blocking Tor leads to a demonstration of the Tor bridges system. Describe its purpose (for helping those in countries where Tor is blocked) and try to find bridged connections to Tor.

Trainer's notes: If you need to explain how to create a bridge, talk about opening ports on the firewall and port forwarding if need be. Try to demonstrate the feature on a local router.