The web browser that built its reputation on its ability to anonymize your browsing now knows how to automatically bypass online censorship.
Tor Browser has just upgraded to version 11.5, an important update for the browser since it greatly simplifies the process of connecting to the decentralized Tor network. As a reminder, Tor Browser is a web browser specially developed to access the Internet via the Tor network (The Onion Router) supposed to offer users online anonymity. To achieve this, the traffic, which is fully encrypted, passes through various network connection nodes, thus making it possible to cover the tracks and ignore the censorships in place in the various countries of the globe.
Automatic censorship bypass
Until now, to circumvent censorship, the user had to manually configure the various connection bridges in the browser settings. With the 11.5 update, the Tor Browser development team completes work initiated last year with version 10.5 since the connection process is automated. The browser embeds a new Connection Assist feature, which automatically applies the bridge configuration considered to be the most optimal depending on the user’s location.
To work, Connection Assist downloads an up-to-date list of country-specific connection options when launching Tor Browser. The developers are however seeking to perfect their tool which, although in version 1.0 stable, can still be improved. The Tor Browser development team invites users located in a country where the Tor network can be blocked (Belarusian, Russia, China or Turkmenistan), to test version 11.5 in order to share their feedback .
Simplified settings and HTTPS by default
If Connect Assist is supposed to simplify connection to the Tor network, the developers have not forgotten users in countries where censorship is pushed to the extreme. The team has therefore redesigned and reorganized the manual connection settings interface to simplify it and improve its readability, in particular by integrating a new bridge map.
Download Tor Browser for Windows (Free)
Download Tor Browser for macOS (Free)
Download Tor Browser for Linux (Free)
Finally, Tor Browser 11.5 abandons the HTTPS Everywhere extension which allowed to automatically connect to websites in HTTPS. The browser now knows how to do this natively, thanks to the integration of Firefox’s HTTPS-only mode on which Tor Browser relies.
Source :
Tor Project