Should You Use a VPN With Tor for Maximum Online Privacy?

What is Tor?

Tor, also known as The Onion Router, is an open-source software that enables anonymous communication online. It works by directing internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer overlay network consisting of thousands of relays to conceal a user’s location and usage from anyone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis.

Some key aspects of Tor:

• It provides anonymity by hiding a user’s IP address and encrypting their traffic.

• The traffic is bounced through a series of relay nodes run by volunteers all around the world, making it extremely difficult to track.

• It routes traffic through multiple layers of encryption, like the layers of an onion, giving it the nickname “The Onion Router“.

• It was originally developed by the U.S. Navy but is now run by the non-profit Tor Project.

• It is used by journalists, activists, whistleblowers and everyday internet users who want to protect their privacy online.

Overall, Tor provides a high level of anonymity by hiding your digital footprint, which makes surveillance, tracking and censorship very difficult.

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service that creates an encrypted connection over the internet between your device and a VPN server located elsewhere. It has some key features:

• It masks your IP address so your online actions are virtually untraceable.

• It encrypts your internet traffic to protect your data and activity from being tracked or intercepted.

• It allows you to bypass geoblocks and censorship to access restricted content and websites.

• It secures your connection on public Wi-Fi and keeps hackers out.

Essentially, a VPN acts like an invisibility cloak and secures your online presence, preventing your ISP, government or malicious actors from spying on what you do online. It provides anonymity, security and peace of mind when browsing the internet.

Should You Use a VPN With Tor?

Using a VPN with Tor has both advantages and disadvantages:

Potential Advantages

• Adds an extra layer of encryption and security beyond Tor.

• Prevents your ISP from detecting that you’re using Tor.

• Hides your Tor usage from surveillance at the entry node.

• Allows access to Tor if it’s blocked in your country.

• Provides anonymity if Tor usage is banned or flagged as suspicious by your ISP.

• Obfuscates traffic so it’s not obvious you’re using Tor.

• Forces traffic entering Tor to exit through the VPN server location.

Potential Disadvantages

• Adds more complexity which could lead to misconfiguration or errors.

• Additional costs for a paid VPN service on top of Tor.

• VPN company could potentially log your activity and link it back to you.

• If the VPN drops, it exposes your IP address and Tor usage.

• Adds more latency and reduces Tor network speed.

• VPN exit node is now the single point of failure instead of Tor.

• Removes Tor’s built-in protections against malware and tracking.

Expert Opinions on Using a VPN With Tor

Cybersecurity experts have differing views on whether using a VPN with Tor is beneficial or not:

• The Tor Project itself recommends against using a VPN with Tor in most cases since it provides little added benefit and more points of failure.

• Some experts argue VPNs damage Tor’s security model and open you up to more risks. Using Tor alone is safest.

• Other experts say a VPN can be useful for adding an extra layer of encryption but should complement rather than replace Tor.

• A small minority believe connecting to Tor through a trusted VPN adds a significant layer of privacy in some threat scenarios.

• Most agree that if you do use a VPN with Tor, bind it only to the Tor process rather than the whole system.

• Tails OS routes all traffic through Tor and adding a VPN only causes problems, so it’s best not to use them together.

Best Practices for Using VPNs With Tor

If you decide to use a VPN with Tor after weighing the pros and cons, follow these best practices:

• Don’t use free VPNs as they are more likely to log and sell your data. Choose a paid, no logs VPN you can trust.

• Make sure to bind or route the VPN connection only to the Tor browser, not your whole system.

• Set up the VPN and Tor browser properly to avoid IP and DNS leaks which can compromise anonymity.

• Use a bridgerelay to hide your Tor usage from your ISP if connecting to Tor directly is blocked or dangerous.

• Use a VPN with port forwarding capabilities and bind it only to Tor for an extra layer of traffic obfuscation.

• For high threat models, use a cascading VPN setup with multiple VPN servers chained together.

• Don’t enable VPNs meant for P2P filesharing as they leak more information. Use one focused on privacy.

• If the VPN drops out, Tor should disconnect immediately to avoid IP leaks. Always have a kill switch enabled.

Conclusion

While using a VPN with Tor can provide some additional privacy benefits, it also comes with risks of misconfiguration, vulnerabilities and reducing anonymity. Most experts recommend using Tor alone whenever possible for maximum online privacy. However, an optimally configured VPN can complement Tor in high-risk scenarios by hiding Tor usage and adding an extra encryption layer. But proceed with caution as VPNs can give false confidence and must be set up properly to avoid critical data leaks through DNS, IP, WebRTC and other avenues.