

Open the configuration file torrc nano /etc/tor/torrc To expose this service, we install the Tor client. sudo -iĪfter the package has been installed, open a browser from another computer and check if you see the Nginx welcome page. Expose Webserverįor demonstration purposes, I use my Raspberry Pi and install a web server, Nginx, to show the process of setting things up with Tor. Be aware that connecting to these hidden services takes longer because of the additional servers. This way, they try to hide the location of the client and the location of the server. The traffic is usually routed over six servers when accessing a hidden service three servers from your browser to the rendezvous server and three servers to the target server from there. The client takes care of opening a permanent connection from the server to the Tor network and routes incoming traffic to the exposed services. Each server that wants to be part of the Tor network installs a Tor client to accomplish this. These services can even run on servers that are not accessible from the Internet and don't have a static IP address. These services utilize the usual TCP/IP infrastructure but are only accessible from inside the Tor network. You can also access a special kind of service: Hidden Services. This is one use case of the Tor browser, accessing websites on the surface web and hiding the IP address.

Be aware that while everything from the browser until the exit node is encrypted using HTTP over cleartext TCP, the last node can read everything you send.

These relays hide my IP because all the server sees is the IP of the last node in the circuit (exit node). You can inspect them by clicking on the onion icon. When you access a website on the surface Web, for example,, the connection will be routed via 3 Tor relays. The easiest way to start with Tor is by downloading the Tor Browser, a customized Firefox browser with an integrated Tor proxy and some pre-installed add-ons like NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere.

For accessing the Tor network, you need special software. Tor is a free software for enabling anonymous communication and consists of thousands of relays to hide a user's IP address. Compared to the previous VPN solution, this is very easy to set up, but accessing these services needs a bit of configuration and special software. In this tutorial, we utilize the Tor network and set up a hidden service to expose a service running on a computer that isn't accessible from the public Internet. Expose server behind NAT with Tor Home | Send Feedback Expose server behind NAT with TorĪfter I showed you how to expose a service behind a NAT or firewall with a VPN and a virtual private server in my previous blog post, we look at another way how you can achieve the same with different technology.
