News of a new browser offering a whole new twist on the Tor network might have surprised privacy nerds.
On April 3, one of the best VPN services, Mullvad, launched its new product developed in collaboration with the Tor project.
First released in 2008, the free and open source Tor Browser has become synonymous with online privacy because it hides user data by redirecting connections to at least three encrypted servers, all run by volunteers.
However, this level of security has some performance drawbacks. Furthermore, Tor is often associated with illegal activities on the dark web.
The Mullvad Browser is essentially Tor, but it's designed to be used with a trusted VPN instead of the Onion network, a way to bring more privacy to as many people as possible.
Mullvad VPN and the Tor Project today announce the launch of the Mullvad Browser. A privacy-focused web browser designed for use with a trusted VPN instead of the Tor network. Read the full story and download the browser here. https://t.co/PpO9v2bpACAApril 3, 2023
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Mullvad CEO Jan Jonsson told TechRadar that they chose the Tor project because they believe it is the best when it comes to privacy-focused browsers. “We have long been dedicated supporters of the Tor Project and share its values of respecting people's privacy and combating mass surveillance,” he said.
Privacy Focused Browser: Why Do You Need It?
You might be wondering why, if you're already using a secure VPN service, you also need a secure browser to ensure your privacy is protected.
Despite what some providers on the market might lead us to believe, a VPN is not enough to provide privacy these days.
“Today's mass surveillance is nonsense. Both from commercial players and from big tech companies and governments,” Jonsson said.
Short for Virtual Private Network, a VPN is security software that spoofs people's IP addresses while encrypting all data leaving a device. This is ideal for accessing geo-restricted online content and/or applications, while enjoying some degree of online anonymity.
However, surveillance today is more complex than that. Big data and technology brokers seek to collect as much data as possible to create an accurate profile of each user to better personalize their services and advertisements. Furthermore, authorities are known to spy on citizens for reasons of national security. And these are not limited to authoritarian countries: think of the Five Eyes Alliance as an example.
A web browser then becomes an important way for spies to collect your personal data and track your digital behavior. Some specific details collected are:
- Personal IP Address: Short for Internet Protocol, your IP address identifies your device so your ISP (Internet Service Provider) knows where to send Internet traffic. Think of it like your home address. Since your IP address is public, your ISP may share this information with authorities, advertisers or data brokers. Third party actors on the websites could also collect this information to find you. All this can be more or less invasive, depending on where you are.
- Browser fingerprinting: Also known as device fingerprinting, it refers to a series of tracking scripts that web pages use to determine many details about the device you're using. These include your operating system, the type of device you are browsing from, other installed software, language, time, font, screen resolution, etc. All of these indications create your unique fingerprint. And unlike cookies, websites can do this without asking for your permission.
- Third-party cookies: Cookies are a small piece of code that are stored in your browser each time you access a website. While some (first party cookies) are placed by the site owner for functionality, third party cookies are used by third parties to track your online activity on the Internet. These are used, for example, to personalize ads based on your searches. And, even though users can opt out of tracking under the GDPR, their journey is often designed so that people click “accept”.
- Third Party Web Scripts: Again, this type of web tracking is a small piece of JavaScript code that can help make web pages work or, if placed by third parties, track you. Web scripts can determine what video you watch, how long you view an image on the screen, whether you read the entire article, and more. The scripts also collect the details to create your browser's fingerprint. However, this behavioral data needs unique identifiers to link activities to a specific person.
Mullvad Browser: How do you protect your data?
The idea behind the Mullvad browser (opens in a new tab) is simple: an alternative web browser that offers the privacy and security of Tor, plus all the benefits of a standard VPN.
"We don't like the fact that the Internet has become an infrastructure where you can collect anything from anyone at any time," Jonsson said.
“From our perspective, there is a gap in the market for those who want to use a privacy-focused browser as good as Project Tor, but with a VPN instead of the Tor network.”
In a nutshell, Mullvad Browser seeks to make it more difficult for anyone to track you on the Internet. But how do you do this in practice?
We hope to inspire others to take a page out of our playbook and consider privacy as a "feature" that can enhance the user experience, not an afterthought.
Isabela Fernandes, the Tor ProjectBy default, private mode is enabled, which means that cookies are never saved between sessions. The same goes for pages visited, forms or search bar inputs, and cached web content. It also has Firefox's always-on "fingerprint resistance" system.
First Party Isolation (FPI) is also used to combat cookies during your session. The Mullvad browser, on the other hand, isolates them in separate cookie boxes so that trackers cannot connect with each other, unable to build your digital persona.
The Mullvad browser also never collects telemetry data (details to improve performance like crash and error reports), blocking web scripts via Mozilla's uBlock Origin extension (opens in a new tab). Unsurprisingly, DuckDuckGo, without tracking, is your default search engine.
All of these come standard. The developers suggest not to change the browser settings as it may inadvertently lower the overall security of the browser.
Although not a must, the provider also strongly recommends using the browser with a reliable VPN (Mullvad or others) for additional anonymity. A VPN is in fact the only way to hide your personal IP address.
The Mullvad browser isn't the only privacy-friendly browsing option: think Mozilla Firefox (on which the Tor and Mullvad browsers are based) or Brave, for example.
However, a similar level of privacy is usually achieved by installing many extensions that have the potential to make users even more visible in the cyber crowd.
Less knowledgeable users may also not customize the software settings for optimal security.
Here, there's no need to fiddle with settings or download countless privacy extensions. Mullvad Browser is the one that does this job for you.
According to Isabela Fernandes, executive director of the Tor Project, this shows "that free technology can be developed with privacy and mass appeal in mind."
Completely free and open source, it is available for download on Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Just go to https://mullvad.net/en/browser (opens in a new tab) and follow the instructions.
Mullvad vs Tor browser: which one to choose?
As you probably noticed, Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser are basically pretty close to each other. They are free and open source software, designed to minimize web tracking. The network they work in is what makes the difference here.
Tor Browser connects to the Internet through its volunteer-run decentralized Tor network. It encrypts web traffic in at least three layers of security, sending connections through three different repeaters around the world.
Rather, Mullvad Browser connects to the Internet through Mullvad VPN's encrypted VPN servers and tunnels or any other service, but only if you are connected to a VPN service. Otherwise, it will work as standard browsers do, although this is not recommended as your IP address will not be masked.
Tor is great if you're trying to hide from government surveillance, as authorities can use more sophisticated tracking tools than commercial snoopers. Tor might also be better at circumventing heavy online censorship, thanks to features like Snowflake, as state censors crack down increasingly hard on VPN use.
The downside is that Tor is not very user friendly and can slow down your online activities, especially when combined with a VPN app. The Mullvad browser, Fernandes explained, represents a more privacy-focused option for everyday browsing while challenging behavioral data mining.
“We hope to inspire others to take a page out of our playbook and view privacy as a 'feature' that can enhance the user experience, not an afterthought,” he added.
We are taking great strides to improve onion services and their protections against DoS attacks. Thanks again to @try_quiet, @Trezor, @fedibtc, @ocelothq, @opensats and @freedomofpress for making this possible! https://t.co/eoIhmsbLj831March 2023, XNUMX
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It should be noted that Tor has also been the subject of a wave of DDoS attacks lately. However, the developers said that this partnership was beneficial because it allowed them to fix some legacy issues and fix vulnerabilities.
An interesting point raised by The Verge around the effectiveness of the Mullvad browser is the fact that if there are few people using it, they could easily be fingerprinted just because they are the only ones not displaying those details.
In response to this, Jonnsson told TechRadar: "We hope that like...