Daniel - May 18, 2021
If you’re wondering whether you need to use proxies with The Onion Router (Tor) or not, then this post is for you. You will learn about the advantages of using proxies with Tor and the best Tor proxies to use.
The best Tor Browser proxies are the Datacenter proxies and the Residential proxies. Datacenter proxies speed up your browsing speed while on the Tor network. Data traffic is bounced from node to node on the Tor network, hence, the slow loading speed.
Using Datacenter proxies can improve your loading speed because data center proxies are very fast proxies that speed up browsing. At the same time, proxy servers can retrieve websites from their cache without establishing a connection to the host server, thus speeding up browsing.
Residential proxies are ideal for connecting to the Tor network because they improve your stealth since they are unidentifiable from the IP address of regular internet-enabled devices and are traceable to a geographical location.
Hence, the best proxy for Tor Browser will depend on the purpose of use.
Ideally, the best source of Tor proxies is ProxyRack because they have a large pool of premium rotating proxy IP addresses to maintain your anonymity while you’re on the Tor network.
Below are ProxyRack price plans for Datacenter, and Residential proxies
Residential proxies
Unmetered Residential Proxies: Starting from $80
Premium GEO Residential Proxies: Starting from $14.95
Private Residential Proxies: Starting from $99.95
Datacenter Proxies
USA Rotating Datacenter Proxies: Starting at $120
Mixed Rotating Datacenter Proxies: Starting at $120
Shared Datacenter Proxies: Starting at $49
Tor is a free and open-source network designed to make you completely anonymous while online. ‘Tor’ stands for ‘The Onion router.’ Tor is a network consisting of layers of over 7000 nodes (servers).
Data traffic entering the Tor network is bounced off from one node or relay to the other to conceal your location and IP address and make you invisible on the internet.
Hence, Tor hides your activities online, including the websites you visit, messages you sent, posts and forums you appear on, etc. It is a project intended to protect users from online monitoring while also enjoying online freedom.
The following are reasons you should use proxies for the Tor network:
Enjoy true anonymity on the Tor network
Arrests made by the FBI in relation to silk road 1 and 2.0 resulted from monitoring the Tor network on which the anonymous Silkroad marketplace operated as Tor hidden service. Proofs beyond doubt that the Tor network does not protect your data but routes your data through network layers to make it untraceable; hence, you’re completely anonymous on the Tor network. Using Proxies gives you an added layer of protection over the Tor network by protecting your data at Tor’s point of entry and exit.
Protect your data at Tor’s entry node
Tor is designed to keep you anonymous online; however, it is not a fool-proof network. Your identifying info at the point of entry into the Tor network is vulnerable; anybody monitoring the network can access your IP address and location. However, setting up your browser with a proxy connection can protect your identifying information at Tor’s entry node because your data traffic is channeled to the proxy server, which redirects your data traffic to the Tor network using its IP address and location. Hence you’re entering the Tor network as an anonymous user.
Protect your data traffic at Tor’s exit node
Although it is challenging to determine Tor’s exit node, however, at the exit node, your encrypted data becomes decrypted before getting to its final destination web server. Using proxies also protects your data at the exit node, thus maintaining your online anonymity.
Prevent your ISP from knowing you’re going on Tor network
When you connect to the Tor network without a proxy server, your ISP knows you’ve entered the Tor network even though your activities on the Tor network remain concealed. Using proxies to access the Tor network hides your online activities from your ISP, hence no way for your ISP to know whether you’re going on Tor or not.
The Tor network, contrary to beliefs, does not make you completely anonymous since it is vulnerable at the entry and exit nodes. However, using proxies protects you from Tor’s vulnerability at its entry and exit nodes and protects you from malicious websites on the Tor network.
If you want the best proxies for Tor Browser, you should consider getting them from ProxyRack.