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, Server). If you want to configure it as a server (please do), read the Configuring a server guide.

Step One: Download and Install Tor

The latest stable release of Tor for MS Windows is 0.1.0.14. Download it by clicking the link. You may be able to find experimental versions here, if you're looking for new features and new bugs.

If you want to run Tor in the system tray and/or as a service have a look at this FAQ entry. If you dont mind running in a window (so you can see its logs and errors) our Tor installer should make everything pretty simple. Below is a screenshot of the setup page (your version will probably be newer than the version printed in this screenshot):

By default, Tor is not configured to run at startup. You can enable this by checking the "Run at startup" box as shown below. Be sure to leave the other boxes checked.

Once the installer is finished, it will run Tor in a window so you can see its logs and errors. (When you wish to browse anonymously, you may minimize this window, but do not close it.)

Tor comes configured as a client by default. It uses a built-in default configuration file, and most people won't need to change any of the settings. Tor is now installed.

Step Two: Install Privoxy for Web Browsing

After installing Tor, you need to configure your applications to use it.

The first step is to set up web browsing. Start by installing Privoxy (click on 'recent releases', then scroll down to the MS Windows installer packages). Privoxy is a filtering web proxy that integrates well with Tor. Once it's installed, it should appear in your system tray as a "P" in a circle, as pictured below:

You need to configure Privoxy to use Tor. Open Privoxy's main config file by selecting it from Start Menu|All Programs:

Add the line
forward-socks4a / localhost:9050 .
to Privoxy's config file. Don't forget to add the dot at the end. The easiest way is to select the above line and copy/paste it into the file. Be sure to save.

Privoxy keeps a log file of everything passed through it. In order to stop this you will need to comment out two lines by inserting a # before the line. The two lines are:
logfile privoxy.log
and the line
jarfile jar.log
Be sure to save.

You'll need to exit and restart Privoxy for the changes to take effect:

Right click on the Privoxy systray icon and choose "Exit Privoxy".
Left click on Start Menu then Programs then Privoxy. Select the green "P" Privoxy icon. Privoxy should appear in your system tray again.

Step Three: 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), check out our Tor SwitchProxy howto to set up a plugin that makes it easy to switch between using Tor and using a direct connection.

Otherwise, you need to manually configure your browser to HTTP proxy at localhost port 8118. (That's where Privoxy listens.) In Mozilla, this is in Edit|Preferences|Advanced|Proxies. In Opera 7.5x it's Tools|Preferences|Network|Proxy servers. In IE, it's Tools|Internet Options|Connections|LAN Settings|Advanced. You should click the "use the same proxy server for all protocols" button; but see this note about Tor and ftp proxies. In IE, this looks something like:

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 Four: Make sure it's working

ipid.shat.net and showmyip.com are sites that show what IP address and country you appear to be coming from.

If you don't know your current public IP address, this may not be a very useful test. To learn your IP address, go to the Start menu, click Run and enter "cmd". At the command prompt, enter "ipconfig /a". If you are behind a NAT or firewall, though, you won't be able to learn your public IP address. In this case, you should 1) configure your browser to connect directly (that is, stop using Privoxy), 2) check your IP address with one of the sites above, 3) point your browser back to Privoxy, and 4) see whether your IP address has changed.

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 Five: Configure it as a server

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

If you have suggestions for improving this document, please post them on our bugtracker in the website category. Thanks!