Tor protects your online anonymity by using its proprietary onion routing, which routes your encrypted data through many intermediary nodes. Like an onion, each node is peeled back one at a time. None of them are aware of the origin or final destination of your data, thus protecting your privacy. However, there is a downside. Tor’s traffic is routed through several onion relays, which can dramatically slow down your browsing speed. ISPs can also limit or throttle Tor traffic without prior notice. According to Tor FAQs, their primary focus is security rather than pace. Having said that, the following tips will help you speed up Tor browser and speed up your browsing.
How To Create An Onion Website On Tor
1. Check the Tor Browser for the Most Recent Updates
According to previous experience, upgrading the Tor browser helps you to reach faster speeds. Navigate to the three-bar menu icon on the top right, then to the “Options” and “General” tabs. You can search for updates here. You can see slower speeds if there hasn’t been an update in a long time. As a result, it is preferable to keep up to date on a regular basis.
2. Speed Up Tor Browser By Making use of Bridge Relays
If you think your ISP is throttling your bandwidth when using Tor, you must use one of its features known as “bridge” relays. This makes it more difficult for someone watching your traffic to figure out that you’re using an anonymous browser. Tor cannot use a bridge if you have configured a proxy.
To begin, select “Tor Settings” from the Options menu through the three-bar icon on the top right. The Bridges section can be found here: if your Tor speeds are normal, avoid using the bridge relays. (It will still be slower than the speeds given by your standard ISP.)
You can use the available options such as “obfs4” and “meek-azure” while using a specific built-in bridge. They will mask the traffic between the client (you) and the first-hop so that the ISP does not recognise you as a Tor connection.
Torproject.com also allows you to request a new bridge. After you solve the captcha, you will be given a bridge link that looks like the picture below.
There are times when no new bridges are open. In that case, send an email to “bridges@torproject.org” from your Gmail, Yahoo, or RiseUp account.
Following a good bridge link, you will be able to enjoy normal or higher Tor speeds, regardless of your ISP’s restrictions.
3. Make use of a new Tor circuit for this site.
If your website isn’t loading quickly enough, it may be due to a variety of factors, including social networking buttons, analytical software, ads, and other factors. Tor has a new feature that enables the website or active window to be reloaded over a new Tor circuit to fix these issues. This menu item is accessible via the three-bar menu. When your web page refuses to load quickly, you can choose this option to create a new circuit. Of course, in order for this option to appear, your Tor browser must be updated.
4. Use Tor’s New Identity
When you’re stuck at slower speeds for no apparent reason, restarting the Tor browser will help you get back up to speed. You can also use the “New identity” function, which is accessible from the three-bar menu. This is also a useful security function because it prevents future browser behaviour from being linked to what you were doing previously.
5. Prepare Your Computer/Mac/Linux for Tor Activities
To keep speed problems to a minimum, make sure your machine clock and time zone are correctly configured. Tor suggests temporarily disabling the following programme because it has been known to interfere with browsing:
- Webroot SecureAnywhere
- Kaspersky Internet Security 2012
- Sophos Antivirus for Mac
- Microsoft Security Essentials
It is preferable to switch off any antivirus software that is impacting your device tray. Also, turn off your firewall and, if you’re using a new Tor browser, uninstall the old one. Do not overwrite the existing software. If another Tor is working, it can have a significant effect on your link speeds.
Tor should be set up to separate cookies and uninstall your browsing history at the end of each session. Go to “about:preferences#privacy” in Tor and make sure you enable these privacy preferences.