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Running the Tor client on MS Windows

Note that these are the installation instructions for running a Tor
client on MS Windows (98, 98SE, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, Server).
If you want to relay traffic for others to help the network grow (please
do), read the Configuring a relay
guide.

Step One: Download and Install Tor

The install for MS Windows bundles Tor,
Vidalia (a GUI for Tor), and Privoxy (a filtering web proxy) into
one package, with the three applications pre-configured to work together.
Download either the stable or the experimental
version of the Windows bundle from the download page.

If the bundles don't work for you, you can download Tor by itself
from the download page,
and then install
and configure Privoxy on your own.

If you have previously installed Tor, Vidalia, or Privoxy
you can deselect whichever components you do not need to install
in the dialog shown below.

After you have completed the installer, the components
you selected will automatically be started for you.

Step Two: 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), the Vidalia bundle installs
the Torbutton
plugin for you. 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 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 SocksCap or
FreeCap.
(FreeCap is free software; SocksCap is proprietary.)

For information on how to Torify other applications, check out the
Torify
HOWTO.

Step Three: Make sure it's working

Check to see that Privoxy and Vidalia are running. Privoxy's icon is
a blue or green circle with a "P" in it, and Vidalia uses a small
green onion to indicate Tor is running or a dark onion with a red "X"
when Tor is not running. You can start or stop Tor by right-clicking
on Vidalia's icon in your system tray and selecting "Start" or "Stop"
from the menu as shown below:

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, be sure to allow connections from
your local applications to local port 8118 and 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 it's still not working, look at this
FAQ entry for hints.

Step Four: Configure it as a relay

The Tor network relies on volunteers to donate bandwidth. The more
people who run relays, 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 relay too. We have many features that make Tor relays 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 relays 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 relay
guide.

If you have suggestions for improving this document, please send them to us. Thanks!

Webmaster -
Last modified: Sat Jan 19 18:39:14 2008
-
Last compiled: Sat Jan 26 19:56:51 2008

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