🧅 Tor volunteers have started a new Mastodon account to support and help users in mainland China circumvent the GFW. Kindly follow and share: https://mastodon.social/@tor4zh

Defend Internet Freedom with Tor in 2024 elections season

As over 65 elections will happen across the world in 2024, this year stands as the biggest election cycle of this century so far. Internet censorship and surveillance are a threat to the integrity of free and fair elections.

Prepare Yourself Before an Election Cycle 🧅
During this megacycle of elections, it is possible to defend yourself against online censorship and surveillance. If the elections are coming up in your country, you can prepare yourself by downloading Tor-powered apps like Tor Browser, Onion Browser, Orbot, Tails, and OnionShare. It's important to download these apps before the elections, because the censors can block these websites just before the election day. If you can't connect to Tor and suspect that it's because censors are blocking the Tor network, please contact Tor user support.
Read more:
https://blog.torproject.org/2024-defend-internet-freedom-during-elections/

Hiding in plain sight: Introducing WebTunnel

The Tor Project's Anti-Censorship Team is excited to officially announce the release of WebTunnel, a new type of Tor bridge designed to assist users in heavily censored regions to connect to the Tor network. Available now in the stable version of Tor Browser, WebTunnel joined our collection of censorship circumvention tech developed and maintained by The Tor Project. 

https://blog.torproject.org/introducing-webtunnel-evading-censorship-by-hiding-in-plain-sight/

GitHub 上的 Tor 浏览器中文使用指南，汇总介绍 Tor 浏览器使用技巧。内容包括：

1. Tor 浏览器是什么？
2. 在中国怎样下载 Tor 浏览器？
3. 在中国怎样连接到 Tor 网络？
4. 怎样可以获得帮助支持？

详情请点击这个链接：https://github.com/torproject/tor4zh
（墙内可以直接访问）
无论在墙内还是墙外，欢迎大家广泛传播这个页面的信息！

Turkmen.news reports: "Since the first days of July, Turkmenistan has seen unprecedented easing of Internet blocking. Users from different regions of the country report that the providers Turkmentelecom and Ashgabat City Telephone Network have made all hosting, content delivery networks (CDNs), and subnets of IP addresses /8 available. This has returned access to 3 billion IP addresses. However, in the cellular operator Altyn Asyr blocking is still in effect. It is still unclear what exactly has caused this relaxation, but there are several theories."

Please note that although many resources have been unblocked, the censorship in Turkmenistan remains very severe.

Turkmenistan is one of the most censored countries in the world. Thanks to relay operators and volunteers, Tor remains accessible even during the strictest censorship periods.

https://telegra.ph/TurkmenistanInternet-amnesty-3-billion-IP-addresses-hosting-and-CDNs-unblocked-07-23

In early July, Apple removed 25 VPN apps from the Russian App Store following a request from Roskomnadzor, Russia's telecommunications
watchdog.

Tor-powered apps are still available on the App Store. For iOS, we recommend installing Onion Browser and Orbot, developed by the Guardian Project.

Users in Russia can still access banned apps by changing their iCloud account location.

Please note that we do not recommend installing other apps using non-official Tor branding on iOS. Any browser forcing you to pay and is claiming to be Tor Browser is fake. https://telegra.ph/Apple-complied-with-Roskomnadzors-request-to-remove-dozens-of-VPN-apps-from-the-App-Store-08-01

"Tor bridges," a way to keep using Tor in countries that block it

In highly-censored regimes, circumvention tools like Tor - a browsing system which provides anonymity and unrestricted internet access - are often targeted by censors.
In this article, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) introduces Tor bridges and explains how this technology can be used by journalists to access Tor.

https://telegra.ph/Tor-bridges-a-way-to-keep-using-Tor-in-countries-that-block-it-08-29

We want to remind everyone that the Tor Project has multiple official social media accounts across different platforms.

Please use this list to follow Tor updates and to verify that you don't fall prey to imposters!

Official social media

🦋 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/torproject.org (new!)
🐘 Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@torproject
🔵 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TorProject
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torproject/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tor-project/
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTorProject
💻 Matrix: https://matrix.to/#/#tor:matrix.org
📨 Newsletter: https://newsletter.torproject.org
Telegram (Tor News): http://t.me/TorProject
X: https://x.com/torproject

Official User Support channels

Need assistance with bypassing censorship or troubleshooting Tor? Our support team is here to help:

Tor Forum: https://forum.torproject.org
Telegram: https://news.1rj.ru/str/TorProjectSupportBot
Signal: +17787431312
WhatsApp: +447421000612
Email: frontdesk at torproject.org.

Official website: https://torproject.org.

'A newspaper without borders': Mediapart now available as .onion

We are excited to officially welcome Mediapart.fr, an independent French investigative online newspaper, to the growing list of news outlets that have adopted a .onion site on the Tor network. By leveraging Tor technology, Mediapart ensures that its reporting can reach everyone, everywhere, regardless of the political climate.

Protecting readers, defending independent journalism

Freedom of expression, access to information, and freedom of the press are fundamental rights that Mediapart has upheld since its creation in 2008 through its extensive investigative reporting. In some countries however, authorities restrict access to the free press, as seen recently with the blocking of European media outlets in Russia. This ultimately prompted the launch of Mediapart's onion: to counter such censorship and stand up to those "that hate checks and balances," says Carine Fouteau, the publication's president and publishing editor.

https://telegra.ph/A-newspaper-without-borders-Mediapart-now-available-as-onion-09-10

Uniting for Internet Freedom: Tor Project & Tails Join Forces

Today the Tor Project, a global non-profit developing tools for online privacy and anonymity, and Tails, a portable operating system that uses Tor to protect users from digital surveillance, have joined forces and merged operations. Incorporating Tails into the Tor Project's structure allows for easier collaboration, better sustainability, reduced overhead, and expanded training and outreach programs to counter a larger number of digital threats. In short, coming together will strengthen both organizations' ability to protect people worldwide from surveillance and censorship.

https://blog.torproject.org/tor-tails-join-forces/

All donations to the Tor Project matched 1:1, now through Dec 31

Each year during this season, the Tor Project holds a fundraiser during which we ask for your support. We do this because the Tor Project is a nonprofit organization, powered by donations from our community.

Donations make it possible for the Tor Project to build tools powered by people-not profit.
Over the next few months, well be sharing stories from some of the millions of people you’re helping when you support Tor, details about what’s coming next to our suite of privacy and censorship circumvention tools, and ways you can help make privacy online easy and accessible.

Now is a great time to give and spread the word about the Tor Project because through the end of the year, all donations will be matched. That means when you donate $25, you’re making a $50 impact. Plus, we’ve introduced a brand-new item to our list of gifts you can receive in return for making a donation.
https://torproject.org/donate/donate-tel-yec2024

New Release: Tor Browser 14.0

Tor Browser 14.0 is now available from the Tor Browser download page and our distribution directory. This is our first stable release based on Firefox ESR 128, incorporating a year's worth of changes shipped upstream in Firefox. As part of this process we've also completed our annual ESR transition audit, where we reviewed and addressed over 200 Bugzilla issues for changes in Firefox that may negatively affect the privacy and security of Tor Browser users. Our final reports from this audit are now available in the tor-browser-spec repository on our Gitlab instance.

Extended support for legacy platforms

With the release of Tor Browser 13.5, we began warning users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 that this would be the last major release to support their platforms. In short, that situation has now changed, and users of these legacy platforms will continue to receive critical security updates updates on a temporary basis until at least March 2025.

Microsoft ended support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 in January of 2023, and Apple typically provides support for the previous three versions of macOS. In turn, Mozilla moved support for these versions to the Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox last year, and ESR 115 will be the final version of Firefox to support these platforms. However, Mozilla have since announced that ESR 115 will continue to receive critical security updates until at least March 2025, with the intention to re-evaluate the situation at the beginning of the year.

So how does this affect Tor Browser users? That's where it gets a little complicated: Tor Browser 13 is currently based on Firefox ESR 115, whereas Tor Browser 14 is based on ESR 128 – which doesn't support these legacy platforms. This means that the Tor Browser user base will be split across two update paths:

- Users of Windows 10 or later and macOS 10.15 or later will be updated to Tor Browser 14.0.
- User of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 will remain on Tor Browser 13.5.

In turn, the Tor Project will continue to release new versions of Tor Browser 13.5 whenever critical security updates are made available for Firefox ESR 115. Ultimately, this support is only temporary, and is dependent on Mozilla's timetable. Therefore we strongly recommend users of legacy Windows and macOS platforms upgrade their operating systems in order to update to Tor Browser 14.0 before the extended support window ends. Keeping Tor Browser up to date is critical to protect your privacy, security and anonymity online.
Read more:
https://telegra.ph/New-Release-Tor-Browser-140-10-23

Get the latest from Tor, join us for State of the Onion 2024

Get ready for the 2024 recap of all things Tor: Our annual State of the Onion is less than a week away. It's our virtual two-day event where we share updates from our teams and the Tor community. As in previous years, we are organizing two streams one week apart. So please make sure to save the date for both days!
Save the Dates

- Wednesday, November 13, 17:00 - 18:00 UTC – Updates from the Tor Project
- Wednesday, November 20, 17:00 - 18:00 UTC – Updates from the Tor Community

https://telegra.ph/Get-the-latest-from-Tor-join-us-for-State-of-the-Onion-2024-11-08

Tor in Russia: A call for more WebTunnel bridges

We are calling on the Tor community and the Internet freedom community to help us scale up WebTunnel bridges. If you've ever thought about running a Tor bridge, now is the time. Our goal is to deploy 200 new WebTunnel bridges by the end of this December (2024) to open secure access for users in Russia.

The campaign starts today, November 28, 2024, and will run until March 10, 2025. As a token of our appreciation for your volunteer work, we're offering a Tor t-shirt to operators who run 5 or more WebTunnel bridges during this period. Please note: Only one t-shirt will be awarded per operator. See the technical requirements below to participate in the campaign.

Recent reports from Tor users in Russia indicate an escalation in online censorship with the goal of blocking access to Tor and other circumvention tools. This new wave includes attempts to block Tor bridges and pluggable transports developed by the Tor Project, removal of circumvention apps from stores, and targeting popular hosting providers, shrinking the space for bypassing censorship. Despite these ongoing actions, Tor remains effective.

One alarming trend is the targeted blocking of popular hosting providers by Roscomnadzor. As many circumvention tools are using them, this action made some Tor bridges inaccessible to many users in Russia.
As Roscomnadzor and internet service providers in Russia are increasing their blocking efforts, the need for more WebTunnel bridges has become urgent.

https://blog.torproject.org/call-for-webtunnel-bridges/

PSA: Older Tor Browsers (13.5.11) Breaking, Update Now!

The expiration, happening on March 14 2025, of a root certificate used by Mozilla for add-ons verification on Firefox 115.12 and below, can suddenly disable extensions, including the built-in NoScript, and cause functionality such as the Security Slider to break on Tor Browser versions older than 13.5.11 legacy.

We hope the vast majority of Tor Browser users are already up-to-date with the latest available version for their OS, currently 14.0.7 stable or 13.5.13 legacy, which also provide the newest security fixes.

The few who are not yet, should update immediately from the Tor Browser download page in order to prevent the aforementioned functionality breakage and other security risks.

https://telegra.ph/Older-Tor-Browsers-Breaking-Update-Now-03-13

We have received reports that social media and instant messaging apps are blocked in Türkiye today.

To our Turkish friends: Tor-powered tools like Tor Browser and Orbot remain operational, allowing you to access the blocked online services.

If you need assistance with Tor Browser, please contact our support team:

📧 Email: frontdesk@torproject.org
💬 Telegram: @TorProjectSupportBot

Tor user support now available in Farsi!

Providing user support to people in regions where Tor access is restricted is a priority for the Tor Project. As part of this commitment, we're expanding the languages in which users can receive help - and today, we're announcing the addition of Farsi user support.

Farsi-speaking users can now contact us directly for help with accessing the Tor network. Whether you're trying to download Tor Browser, bypass online censorship, or need assistance navigating Tor connectivity issues, our support team is available to help.

Tor user support is available via Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, and email, from Monday through Thursday, from 19:30 - 01:30 Iran time (same day to next day). Support is provided via text only; voice and video are not supported.

https://telegra.ph/Tor-user-support-now-available-in-Farsi-04-24

愿意铭记的你终将得以选择见证历史。/
You, the person willing to remember, will eventually have the choice to witness history.

Help Iranians stay connected!

The internet access has been heavily disrupted across the country.

Please consider running a Tor Snowflake proxy - it's a quick and meaningful way to help Iranians stay online.

Please note that the snowflake browser addon seems more efficient in Iran. https://snowflake.torproject.org/

🚨 We're still in need of more #snowflake extensions to help keep Iranians connected during this critical time.

If you're able, please consider running a Tor Snowflake proxy. This simple and safe action can make a significant difference in ensuring Iranians stay online. #KeepItOn

To get started, visit: https://snowflake.torproject.org

We’ve added support for WebTunnel bridges to our Telegram bot @GetBridgesBot!

- To get obfs4 bridges, send the command: /obfs4
- To get WebTunnel bridges, send: /webtunnel

Or just tap/click on the corresponding command in the the menu!

If you don’t see any new commands, clear the bot’s history. https://forum.torproject.org/t/the-telegram-bot-getbridgesbot-now-supports-webtunnel-bridges/20127