The TOR Project provides free, distributed worldwide proxies for anonymous browsing and private downloading. TOR comes with a built-in Firefox add-on, but Chrome users can get a handy on/off button for TOR with this setup, explained by commenter brssnkl.


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• Step 1: Install TOR (Note: The "Installation Bundle" packages for Windows and Mac are the preferred downloads).


• Step 2: Install Proxy Switchy! in your Chrome browser.

• Step 3: Change the profile name with "Tor" (or which name you want but remember it). Make the http proxy "127.0.0.1" and the port "8118". then check the box "Use the same proxy server for all protocols". Hit "Save" at the bottom. The full set-up is pictured here:

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• Step 4: Go to the "general" tab in the options of Proxy Switchy!. Check the box "Quick switch," then select "binary switch." Make Profile 1 "[direct connection]" and Profile 2" "Tor" (or which name you gave your profile before). Click Save.


• Step 5: Switch between normal connection and TOR connection with your button!

Ed. note: You'll need to make sure the TOR software is actively running when you hit your Proxy Switchy! button in Chrome. To check if Chrome is actively using TOR for its browsing, right-click the TOR button in your system tray (or, on a Mac, click the onion icon in your status bar) and open the bandwidth monitor tool. Browse to a site with some decently large images, and if TOR's bandwidth transfer moves up, you're browsing the web anonymously through TOR and Chrome.


Make your own TOR button for Google Chrome [#tips]