Install Tor Browser
One source, one verification step, three settings that matter.
Where to download
Only from torproject.org, or its onion at 2gzyxa5ihm7nsggfxnu52rck2vv4rvmdlkiu3zzui5du4xyclen53wid.onion. Any other download page is either a mirror you cannot verify or a fake with a modified browser inside.
Verify the bundle signature
First install, always verify. The Tor Project download page walks through the check on every operating system. Skipping this on the first install is the single easiest way to end up with a compromised browser.
Three settings that matter
Security slider to Safest. Open the shield icon next to the address bar. Set the level to Safest. This disables JavaScript on all sites. Anubis Market works fine on Safest because the login flow is HTML forms.
Never resize the window. Tor Browser opens at a fixed size on purpose. Resizing gives you a unique window size that fingerprints uniquely across sites. If you maximize by accident, close the window and open a fresh one.
Do not install any extension. Every extension changes the fingerprint. NoScript, uBlock, a dark theme, all of them make you look different from a stock install.
Do not do these things
- Do not log into clearnet accounts (Google, Facebook, your bank) in the same browser session.
- Do not stack a VPN underneath Tor.
- Do not open documents downloaded from Tor sites in a normal application.
Every extension you install changes your Tor Browser fingerprint. Even a dark-theme extension. Leave the browser exactly as it came out of the download.