Tor Browser 8.0 powered by Firefox 60 ESR released

The Tor Project team has released Tor Browser 8.0 today. The update comes with an upgraded language page, new onboarding experience for new users, additional language support and optimized bridge fetching technique.

The Tor Browser, based on Mozilla's Extended Support Release version of the Firefox web browser, helps users anonymize their Internet connection. The browser is famous for bundling data into encrypted packets before passing them through the network, thus keeping user’s identity at bay. This new version powered by Firefox 60 ESR (Extended Support Release) is a level up from the previous Firefox 52 ESR.

3 major upgrades in Tor Browser 8.0

#1 A New Onboarding Experience

It is now really easy for new users to understand what the Tor browser is and how to use it. The welcome tour provides users with all the information needed to get started with the Tor browser. The ‘About’ section of the browser takes viewers through aspects that make Tor different than other commonly available browsers. Users are also taken through privacy and security settings to ensure that they have a smooth experience using the browser.

tor-browser-8-0-powered-by-firefox-60-esr-released-img-0 Source: ghacks.net

#2 Optimized Bridge Configuration Flow

Bridge Fetching, has been optimized in the new version. In the previous versions, users had to send an email or visit a website to request new bridges for locations where Tor browser is blocked because of censorship related issues. With the Tor 8.0, users have to only solve a captcha in Tor launcher toto request new bridges from within the browser directly.

All that has to be done is-

Activate the Tor button in the browser interface and select Tor Network Settings.

Enable the "Tor is censored in my country" checkbox on the page that opens.

Select "Request a bridge from torproject.org".

Solve the captcha displayed.

tor-browser-8-0-powered-by-firefox-60-esr-released-img-1 Source:ghacks.net

#3 Improved Language Support

Previous versions of Tor supported fewer languages, which meant that users were unable to use the browser in their native language. The Tor Browser 8.0 has introduced the support for nine languages - Catalan, Irish, Indonesian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, Hebrew, Swedish, and Traditional Chinese. The browser has added Component and library upgrades to new versions while Blocking navigator.mozAddonManager so that websites can't see it.

You can read the full release announcement for more information on the upgrades introduced in Tor 8.0.

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