Tor Browser 10.5 is here... and it kills off support for older Onion services

Web users' interest in privacy and security has gradually increased over the years, and demand for secure, anonymity-offering browsers like Tor is also on the up. Now a new version of Tor Browser is upon us, introducing various protection methods.

Perhaps most apparent in Tor Browser 10.5 is the improved experience of connecting to Tor. While the Tor Network has undeniably rocketed in popularity, there are still plenty of people who like the idea of the security and privacy it offers, but feel uncomfortable with getting started. In particular, this latest version of the browser makes life easier for people forced to use censored connections.

Whether because of the country they live in, or because they have been targeted for some reason, people who connect to the internet through censored connection are unable to access many things other web users take for granted.

With the UX and the Anti-Censorship teams having worked together, Tor Browser 10.5 makes life easier by detecting censorship, providing bridges and simplifying the whole connection process.

Also related to helping people using censored internet connections, Tor Browser 10.5 sees the arrival of support for Snowflake as a bridge. This means that censored users can rely on proxies run by volunteers to connect to the internet.

This month also sees the deprecation of version 2 Onion sites, and Tor Browser 10.5 now includes a warning when visiting such sites. Soon it will not be possible to visit sites unless they have been upgraded to version 3.

Although the warning itself is not something that users can do anything about, it may prompt reminders from site visitors to administrators, hence avoiding sites going offline.