Tor can be very useful when it comes to access country-restricted websites. I am going to show how to configure Tor to mask your point of origin as though it is coming from a Tor specific country.

How does Tor work?

Tor uses a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world and picks a random path between you and the destination server/site. The good news is that the exit node (the one that is visible by the destination server) can be specified. Such that you can specify a certain location for your visible IP address.

How to use Vidalia

For this, you can use Vidalia’s configuration. Here is how to do it.

Step 1. Install Vidalia bundle, if you don’t have it yet.
Step 2. Go to this page for a complete list of all available nodes. When selecting your node to take a look at country, speed and node type. You should choose only high-speed exit nodes.

Step 3. Once you’ve found an exit node from the right country, click on it to go to the node’s details page.

Step 4. Copy the fingerprint, eliminate all spaces and add a $ mark in front. For the above fingerprint we have “$9D4D995AA745A3CAA6276AFAD505D3E4097AA075”.

Step 5. Go to Vidalia Control Panel (double-click on Tor icon in the icon tray)

Step 6. Go Vidalia’s Advanced settings tab and see the path to your Tor Configuration File. This is where we’re going to specify our exit nodes.

Step 7. Open the configuration file in Notepad and at the top of this file, paste the following two lines, with fingerprint1, fingerprint2, and fingerprint3 substituted by the fingerprint code(s) from Step 4.

ExitNodes fingerprint1, fingerprint2, fingerprint3
StrictExitNodes 1

Step 8. After the restart, Tor will try to access one of those servers as an exit node.

You have successfully set up Tor specific country and you can now access Hulu from Europe, BBC iPlayer from the outside UK, or play games that weren’t available in your region.

P.S. If TOR does not work for you, then check a VPN service like HideMyAss, HideIpVPN or ibVPN.

How Tor Works

A user of the Tor network runs a proxy server on his computer. Internet-facing software can then access Tor through a SOCKS interface. Once inside a Tor network, the traffic is sent from router to router, the Tor software periodically negotiating a virtual circuit through the Tor network, ultimately reaching an exit node at which point the cleartext packet is forwarded on to its original destination.

Viewed from the destination, the traffic appears to originate at the Tor exit node The Onion Router (Tor) is a free software implementation of second-generation onion routing – a system which claims to enable its users to communicate anonymously on the Internet. [Via Wikipedia]

The best Tor-Based Tools

To connect to Tor network easily you need to use an application that performs most of the configuration steps. Here are the best tools that use Tor network to hide your IP address and achieve online anonymity:

1. Vidalia Tor Bundle

Vidalia is a cross-platform controller GUI for the Tor software. Vidalia runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux or other Unix variants using the X11 window system.

>> Vidalia Tor Download

2. OperaTor – Opera + Tor

OperaTor is a portable software bundle which allows you to browse the web anonymously. It combines the power of the Opera Browser, Tor, and Polipo. With OperaTor no data will be stored at the computer you plugged your portable memory into.

>> OperaTor Download

3. TorFox – The Anonymous Browser

Torfox is a simple secure portable open-source browser based on The Tor Project and Mozilla Foundation technologies: an anonymous browser which allows users to browse web pages hiding their IP address and other parameters which may be used to identify user data.

>> TorFox Download

4. Xero Bank Browser

xB Browser is a free and open-source anonymous web browser that can be used to securely and anonymously surf the internet, and bypass firewalls and website censorship.

The main advantage compared to other anonymous web browsers is that the xB Browser requires no configuration or technical knowledge in order to achieve anonymity. xB Browser is open-source so you can feel safe knowing what goes into our code. Additionally, it is even portable on a USB stick so you can take it to work, school, or on vacation.

>> xB Browser Download

5. Portable Tor

PortableTor allows you to connect to the Tor anonymous internet system from any computer with your flash or thumb drive. This allows you to browse the internet anonymously from public locations, such as internet hotspots, library, or school computers, and public terminals.

PortableTor has all of the features as the regular Tor, except without actually installing the application.

>> Portable Tor Download

6. Incognito

Incognito is an open source LiveDistro based on Gentoo Linux assisting you to securely and anonymously use the Internet almost anywhere you go, e.g. your home, work, university, favorite Internet café or local library.

Incognito can be used from either a CD or a USB drive and has several Internet applications (Web browser, IRC client, Mail client, Instant messenger, etc.) pre-configured with security in mind, and all Internet traffic will be anonymized.

>> Incognito Download

7. Tor Browser Bundle

The Tor Browser Bundle lets you use Tor on Windows without needing to install any software. It can run off a USB flash drive, comes with a pre-configured web browser and is self-contained. The Tor IM Browser Bundle additionally allows instant messaging and chat over Tor. If you would prefer to use your existing web browser, install Tor permanently.

>> Tor Browser Bundle Download

8. TorButton

Torbutton is a Firefox add-on that provides a button to securely and easily enable or disable the browser’s use of Tor. It is currently the only addon that will safely manage your Tor browsing to prevent IP address leakage, cookie leakage, and general privacy attacks.

>> TorButton Download

9. FoxTor

FoxTor is a Firefox add-on that provides an easy and convenient way to browse the web using the anonymous and encrypted TOR network. This offers greater privacy compared to regular proxy services or extensions.

>> FoxTor Download

10. TorChat

TorChat is a peer to peer instant messenger with a completely decentralized design, built on top of Tor’s location hidden services, giving you extremely strong anonymity while being very easy to use without the need to install or configure anything.

>> TorChat Download

11. Torcap

Torcap is a tool that allows any network application to connect through Tor, even if the overlying application doesn’t support SOCKS. Torcap works by injecting a DLL into every process running under the current user. This DLL then hooks Winsock API to intercept DNS lookups and TCP/IP connections.

>> Torcap Download

What do you think of our list of the best Tor-based tools? Do you know other good Tor tools?

Share them with us!

Make sure you also read: Pros and Cons of Using Tor.