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Tor takes a fresh swipe at censorship with a new anonymity tool.
The Tor Project has introduced a new tool called WebTunnel, designed to combat censorship and blocking of the Tor network by disguising traffic as regular HTTPS connections. The feature is particularly relevant for users from countries with a restrictive Internet regime, where governments have learned to detect and block connections via traditional Tor bridges.
Tor bridges are relays that are not included in the Tor public directory and hide the fact that users are using the network from surveillance. To enhance privacy, obfsproxy bridges were previously used, adding an additional layer of masking. Unlike obfsproxy, WebTunnel uses a technology that forces traffic to merge with regular HTTPS traffic, making it virtually impossible to block Tor connections without simultaneously blocking most other connections to web servers.
WebTunnel turns the connection into a WebSocket-like HTTPS connection, which looks like a normal HTTPS connection to network observers, the Tor Project explains.
To use WebTunnel, users will need to manually add the received bridge addresses to the Tor browser on computers and mobile devices, following the instructions on the official website of the project.
WebTunnel was first introduced in December 2022 as a test integration and is already available to bridge operators from June 2023 as part of a pilot launch. Since October, the project has been calling for testing more users, especially in regions with limited access to the Tor network. Currently, there are 60 WebTunnel bridges operating in the world, which are used by more than 700 active users daily.
The Tor Project has introduced a new tool called WebTunnel, designed to combat censorship and blocking of the Tor network by disguising traffic as regular HTTPS connections. The feature is particularly relevant for users from countries with a restrictive Internet regime, where governments have learned to detect and block connections via traditional Tor bridges.
Tor bridges are relays that are not included in the Tor public directory and hide the fact that users are using the network from surveillance. To enhance privacy, obfsproxy bridges were previously used, adding an additional layer of masking. Unlike obfsproxy, WebTunnel uses a technology that forces traffic to merge with regular HTTPS traffic, making it virtually impossible to block Tor connections without simultaneously blocking most other connections to web servers.
WebTunnel turns the connection into a WebSocket-like HTTPS connection, which looks like a normal HTTPS connection to network observers, the Tor Project explains.
To use WebTunnel, users will need to manually add the received bridge addresses to the Tor browser on computers and mobile devices, following the instructions on the official website of the project.
WebTunnel was first introduced in December 2022 as a test integration and is already available to bridge operators from June 2023 as part of a pilot launch. Since October, the project has been calling for testing more users, especially in regions with limited access to the Tor network. Currently, there are 60 WebTunnel bridges operating in the world, which are used by more than 700 active users daily.
