How to Easily Install Tor Browser in Ubuntu and Other Linux

This tutorial shows you how to install Tor browser in Ubuntu Linux. You’ll also learn a few tips around effectively using the Tor Browser.

Privacy is one of the most discussed topic these days. From the NSA spying on citizens and governments alike to the Facebook data scandals. Privacy-concerned people are trying to find ways to protect their privacy.

For those concerned about agencies spying on their network, the Tor Project provides some of the best solutions to protect their privacy. The Tor Protocol is one of the most popular tools created by the Tor Project.

Tor Project has its own Tor browser which is based on Firefox and configured to protect users’ privacy and anonymity by using Tor and Vidalia tools that come bundled with it.

Let’s see how can you install and use Tor browser.

Installing Tor browser in Ubuntu and other Debian based distributions

The Tor browser launcher has been included in the Universe repository of Ubuntu so you can easily use the apt command to install it. The package’s original maintainer is Debian so I can assume that you can use it in Debian as well.

If you are using Ubuntu, make sure that you have the Universe repository enabled.

sudo add-apt-repository universe && sudo apt update

Once you have that, you can install the Tor browser launcher:

sudo apt install torbrowser-launcher

Note that this is not the browser itself. It’s just the installer.

When the launcher installation is done, you should have the following two entries in your application menu – Tor Browser and Tor Browser Launcher Settings. Click the Tor Browser Icon.

On the first run, it will download the browser and install it.

Troubleshoot: It’s possible that you’ll see a “SIGNATURE VERIFICATION FAILED” error. Click on the next section to expand the fix for this problem.

Fixing SIGNATURE VERIFICATION FAILED error (Click to expand)

When the download finally finishes, you may see this “SIGNATURE VERIFICATION FAILED”. The error code is GENERIC_VERIFY_FAIL.

To fix this, you need to refresh the outdated GPG key bundled in the Tor launcher with a new one from Ubuntu’s keyserver. You can use the command below to do that.

gpg --homedir "$HOME/.local/share/torbrowser/gnupg_homedir" --refresh-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com

Normally, it should show that the key has been refreshed:

gpg --homedir "$HOME/.local/share/torbrowser/gnupg_homedir" --refresh-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com

gpg: refreshing 1 key from hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com

gpg: key 4E2C6E8793298290: 70 duplicate signatures removed

gpg: key 4E2C6E8793298290: 216 signatures not checked due to missing keys

gpg: key 4E2C6E8793298290: 2 signatures reordered

gpg: key 4E2C6E8793298290: "Tor Browser Developers (signing key) [email protected]" 283 new signatures

gpg: key 4E2C6E8793298290: "Tor Browser Developers (signing key) [email protected]" 1 new subkey

gpg: Total number processed: 1

gpg:            new subkeys: 1

gpg:         new signatures: 283

gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found

Now you need to click on Tor browser again to restart the download and installation. It should be quicker than before.

After the download is done, the window will show up. And show a connection screen. Click on connect to to start the browser and connect to the network.

Once it is up and running, you’ll be greeted with the homescreen of the browser.

Tor browser is now successfully installed and you can browse the internet anonymously and privately now.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/tor-browser
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tor-browser

sudo apt remove tor-browser 
rm -r ~/.tor-browser-en

Removing Tor browser

If you are not happy with the Tor browser, you can remove it using the command below:

sudo apt purge torbrowser-launcher

A few tips for using the Tor Browser

Now that you have installed the Tor browser, let me tell you a few tips about using it. It’s up to you if you want to use some or all of these tips.

1. Check if you are properly connected to the Tor Network

Go to the the Tor network check page to see if your browser if properly connected to the network.

2. Avoid using the browser maximized

Maximizing the browser allows websites to access device info such as screen size and resolution. If you’re concerned about this, do not maximize the browser. Tor browser even shows you a warning if you do it.

3. Choose your security level

By default, Tor Browser chooses the standard security level. However, you can select ‘Safer’ and ‘Safest’ levels. You can learn more about the levels here. To access this menu, click the onion below the tabs and select Security Settings.

4. Change a few browsing habits

Try to use search engines that do not track you. A few examples are DuckDuckGo or Disconnect.me. Tor even sets DuckDuckGo as the default search engine. Also avoid installing browser extensions as they may track you.

5. Stay away from illegal sites

As Tor is a hidden network so you may come across a few sites that are illegal or promote shady/illegal activities. Try to stay away from these kind of websites.

6. Understand Tor Circuits

Unlike a traditional VPN, Tor doesn’t just relay your connection through a single location. Instead, your data is relayed and transferred through a number of locations. This is called a Tor Circuit. You can view your current circuit by pressing the lock icon on the left of your address bar.

7. Use Onion services

Instead of using normal websites, you can use Onion services which are part of the Tor network. Some websites are available in this form. They use a .onion address. A few of them are

• The New York Times (https://www.nytimes3xbfgragh.onion)
• DuckDuckGo (3g2upl4pq6kufc4m.onion)
• ProtonMail (https://protonirockerxow.onion)

Beware of the shady and illegal ones, most of them are available only as a .onion service.

You can read more Tor browsing tips in details here.

Do you like using Tor?

I hope this article helped you in installing Tor browser on Ubuntu and other Linux distributions and thus enabling you to protect your privacy.

Speaking of privacy, VPNs are another popular tool for protecting privacy. Switzerland-based privacy company ProtonMail provides an excellent secure and private VPN service, ProtonVPN (affiliate link). You can get their service as well, if you are interested.

What other privacy-related tools do you use?

Abhishek Prakash

Original Author

Atharva Lele

Contributing Author