Tor Browser

Chrome may be the most popular web browser in the world, but Tor is arguably the most secure. If you're worried about your activities being tracked, Tor could serve as a solid alternative to a more traditional virtual private network. Short for "The Onion Router", it's long been a popular choice of users looking to access the darknet, but it's also becoming a popular choice for businesses. You can count on it whether you need a way to make your personal browsing private or find a cost-effective solution to making your mid-sized office more secure.

In other words, if you're worried about the popular reputation Tor has for being a den of hackers and criminals, don't be alarmed. Plenty of people use Tor for everyday tasks at home or in the office, and it's also a great way to just explore the fringes of what the darkweb has to offer. Unlike more conventional security options that offer similar features - the ability to avoid detection by unknown entities. And in countries where repression is rampant, Tor has often become one of the most popular ways for dissidents to network and access information that might be restricted.

That said, Tor isn't perfect. In terms of the level of security it offers, it falls somewhere between a VPN and the incognito modes of more traditional web browsers. The fact that it masks your IP address means that the average government official or advertiser won't be able to target you very easily, but it doesn't encrypt your data in the same way a virtual private network would.

Tor manages to accomplish this because its construction and management is a primarily not-for-profit and volunteer project. While it was initially developed by military research groups like DARPA, it's now overseen by thousands of volunteers who serve as nodes in a network that stretches around the world. But the more complicated protections that Tor offers also means that it's more complicated to deal with. Fortunately, the install file comes with a launcher that bundles together all the support code you need and walks you through the process step by step. It may take a bit more time than installing Chrome, but it won't be particularly difficult for the average internet user. And once you get it up and running, Tor isn't that hard to navigate.

The design itself is based on Firefox, and you'll understand it intuitively if you've ever used Mozilla's browser before. It hasn't been very stripped down either. It mostly resembles the latest release of Firefox, but it does include some necessary add-on and extensions that understandably raise its power usage.

That said, most users aren't going to want to use Tor for all of their activities. Channeling your activity through multiple nodes takes time, and that means that Tor runs significantly slower than the average internet browser. But it's not as niche a browser as its reputation might suggest. A number of different sliders allow you to quickly shift the wealth of security features on and off. That's great for a few reasons. Some security measures can trigger extra certification demands on different websites, and the impact on your performance is significant the more you have running. The customization options here are some of the best around.

But the biggest advantage of Tor is the ability to find hidden Tor sites that you can't access with a conventional browser. These sites use a .onion name and have a resemblance to the old message board of the web in the 90s. And while many of these T or sites are sometimes used for illicit activity, many of them are legitimate communities. There's even an equivalent to Facebook for Tor users to communicate with one another.

Tor is a great way to explore the dark web, but that's not the only thing it's good for. If you want a security-focused browser for work or the home, Tor is one of the best options available to you. The interface is almost identical to Firefox, and the whole host of Tor sites you otherwise wouldn't have access to are well worth the free cost of admission.