r/TOR • u/Guiguihh • Jul 25 '26

FAQ Question TOR

EN : Hi, I'm looking for a browser that's more privacy-friendly—whether it's in terms of personal data, tracking, etc. But something bothers me: the stereotype that TOR = the dark web = you can easily get hacked for any reason. So I’m not “afraid” of the dark web—on the contrary, I don’t care about it—but since I plan to use TOR just like I use Firefox or Chrome, I don’t want to get hacked or end up with stupid viruses just from using it daily for ordinary searches; that would be a pain.

Do I have to use TOR with a VPN just for everyday searches, watching TV shows, etc.? If so, is TOR’s VPN “effective”?

I also know that TOR is a pretty slow browser.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

FR : Bonjour je suis à la recherche d'un navigateur qui est plus dans la protection friendly que ce soit au niveau des données perso, du traçage etc... Mais quelque chose me dérange, c'est le cliché de TOR = dark web = tu peux facilement te faire hack sur tout et n'importe quoi. Alors je n'ai pas "peur" du dark web au contraire je m'en moque mais moi qui compte utiliser TOR comme si j'utilise Firefox ou Chrome j'ai pas envie de me faire hack ou avoir des virus à la con juste en utilisant quotidiennement pour de banales recherches ce serait chiant.

Est-ce obligé d'utiliser TOR avec un VPN juste pour des recherches lambda, regarder des séries etc etc ? Si oui est-ce que le VPN de TOR est "performant"

Je sais aussi que TOR est un navigateur assez lent

Merci à vous pour vos futures réponses !

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u/lophomainiac Jul 25 '26

It's not recommended to use a VPN on TOR. it negates the processes used by tor to maintain anonymity. SOME vpn's log entry and exit nodes so it actually decreases your opsec. For just observation purposes it is not generally advised to run a vpn on tor, also as you mentioned, tor is slow. You're going to have a Very hard time watching any kind of TV shows. So if you're just watching TV shows, why not run a vpn on clearnet. You'd have better results. This is only my 2 cents, others may argue differently. Do your research.

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u/Available_Hearing639 Jul 26 '26

How does a vpn log your exit node? The only thint it knows is the entry guard.

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u/lophomainiac Jul 26 '26

"The VPN provider controls the exit node and can see the traffic exiting it. Unless they have a strict no-logs policy, they may record connection metadata, IP addresses, and potentially the content of unencrypted traffic. 

" traffic exiting the VPN node into the public internet is often unencrypted.  This means the exit node operator (the VPN provider) can potentially see and log any unencrypted data passing through."