- Tor Browser does not install itself in the classic sense of applications. - You just simply delete the folder or directory named "Tor Browser" and it - is removed from your system. + For Tor Browser please have a look at + the uninstall section of our + Tor + Browser User Manual. + +
+ How to uninstall Tor depends on how it was installed and which operating + system you have. In any case also make sure to remove the Tor's + data directory if you want to wipe all traces.
- If this is not related to Tor Browser, uninstallation depends entirely on
- how you installed it and which operating system you have. If you installed
- a package, then hopefully your package has a way to uninstall itself.
- The Windows packages include uninstallers.
+ If you installed Tor with a
+ package manage (the recommended way), then it should provide an easy
+ way to remove as well (check the manpage if you are unfamiliar with it).
+ If you also want to remove traces of Tor, follow the link above to find
+ Tor's data directory and check that the package manager does not accumulate
+ logs (usually they do) exposing the former existence of Tor on this system
+ (for example in /var/log/dpkg.log on Debian based systems).
+ Tor itself does not create logs by default.
- For Mac OS X, follow the
- uninstall directions.
+ If you installed it from source, there is no easy uninstall method, but you
+ are on the bright side: By default it only creates files in
+ /usr/local/ and it should be pretty easy to notice things
+ there.
- If you installed by source, I'm afraid there is no easy uninstall method. - But on the bright side, by default it only installs into /usr/local/ and it - should be pretty easy to notice things there. + The Windows packages include uninstallers. See below if you installed Tor + as a system service for example on Windows NT. +
+ ++ To remove Tor from Mac OS X, follow these + uninstall directions.
Change your application proxy settings back to their original - values. If you just want to stop using Tor, you can end at this + values. If you just want to stop using Tor, you can end at this point.
If you want to completely remove Tor, type into a Terminal window:
sudo port uninstall tor+
Also see + How to uninstall Tor? +
+You need to change some of your habits, as some things won't work exactly as +you are used to.
+ ++ +Tor does not protect all of your computer's Internet traffic when you +run it. Tor only protects your applications that are properly configured to +send their Internet traffic through Tor. To avoid problems with Tor +configuration, we strongly recommend you use the +Tor Browser. It is pre-configured to protect +your privacy and anonymity on the web as long as you're browsing with Tor +Browser itself. Almost any other web browser configuration is likely to be +unsafe to use with Tor. + +
+ ++Torrent file-sharing applications have been observed to ignore proxy +settings and make direct connections even when they are told to use Tor. +Even if your torrent application connects only through Tor, you will +often send out your real IP address in the tracker GET request, +because that's how torrents work. Not only do you +deanonymize your torrent traffic and your other simultaneous Tor web +traffic this way, you also slow down the entire Tor network for everyone else. +
++ +Tor Browser will block browser plugins such as Flash, RealPlayer, +Quicktime, and others: they can be manipulated into revealing your IP address. +Similarly, we do not recommend installing additional addons or plugins into +Tor Browser, as these may bypass Tor or otherwise harm your anonymity and +privacy. + +
+ ++ +Tor will encrypt your traffic +to and +within the Tor network, but the encryption of your traffic to the final +destination website depends upon on that website. To help ensure private +encryption to websites, Tor Browser includes HTTPS Everywhere to force the +use of HTTPS encryption with major websites that support it. However, you +should still watch the browser URL bar to ensure that websites you provide +sensitive information to display a +blue or +green URL bar button, include https:// in the URL, and display the +proper expected name for the website. Also see EFF's interactive page +explaining how Tor +and HTTPS relate. + +
+ ++ +Tor Browser will warn you before automatically opening documents that are +handled by external applications. DO NOT IGNORE THIS WARNING. You +should be very careful when downloading documents via Tor (especially DOC and +PDF files, unless you use the PDF viewer that's built into Tor Browser) as +these documents can contain Internet resources that will be downloaded outside +of Tor by the application that opens them. This will reveal your non-Tor IP +address. If you must work with DOC and/or PDF files, we strongly recommend +either using a disconnected computer, +downloading the free VirtualBox and +using it with a virtual machine image +with networking disabled, or using Tails. +Under no circumstances is it safe to use +BitTorrent +and Tor together, however. + +
+ ++ +Tor tries to prevent attackers from learning what destination websites you +connect to. However, by default, it does not prevent somebody watching your Internet +traffic from learning that you're using Tor. If this matters to you, you can +reduce this risk by configuring Tor to use a +Pluggable Transport rather than connecting directly to the public Tor network. +Ultimately the best protection is a social approach: the more Tor +users there are near you and the more +diverse their interests, the less +dangerous it will be that you are one of them. Convince other people to use +Tor, too! + +
+ ++Be smart and learn more. Understand what Tor does and does not offer. +This list of pitfalls isn't complete, and we need your +help identifying and documenting +all the issues. +
+