Does Tor work out of the box?

[BlueEa]

I Installed tor a while back and continue to use it and i like it a lot and it seems slower but i dont know why because theres less plugins and java script disabled etc anyway my question is if tor is annoym straight out of the box withoout editing any of the technical stuff behind the scenes?

[diegocosta]

you're lucky tor is working for you, its not working 4 me at all

[hilariousetc]

It's slow because it's bouncing the traffic around and that's how you remain anonymous using it. I suggest you read up on how to use it safely by googling for info or watching a YouTube video on it or something.

[Lorenzo]

I Installed tor a while back and continue to use it and i like it a lot and it seems slower but i dont know why because theres less plugins and java script disabled etc anyway my question is if tor is annoym straight out of the box withoout editing any of the technical stuff behind the scenes?

If you are using the browser bundle then, yes. However you will need to disable JavaScript (not sure if recent versions have it disabled by default but it definitely wasn't the case a few years ago) and change some of your browsing habits in order to stay anonymous. Here is a useful link that provides tips on how to stay anonymous using Tor.

As for why it's slow:

Why is Tor so slow?

There are many reasons why the Tor network is currently slow.

Before we answer, though, you should realize that Tor is never going to be blazing fast. Your traffic is bouncing through volunteers' computers in various parts of the world, and some bottlenecks and network latency will always be present. You shouldn't expect to see university-style bandwidth through Tor.

Link: http://www.torproject.org/docs/faq.html.en#WhySlow

Link to Roger's blog post (currently down): http://blog.torproject.org/blog/why-tor-is-slow

[erpbridge]

Are you talking about the bundle or the browser ?
I usually the Tor Browser and it works out of the box for me, with no settings need to be changed.

[Lorenzo]

Are you talking about the bundle or the browser ?
I usually the Tor Browser and it works out of the box for me, with no settings need to be changed.

I assumed he was talking about the browser bundle which is what most people use:



It is possible to install and configure Tor manually by downloading the "expert bundle" but it's not really recommended for beginners.