How to configure Tor as service on windows?
Sebastian Wright
I just want to have tor proxy server up and running all the time on my windows 10 PC. Tor browser doesn't fit my needs. So I'd like to be able to connect anything I want via socks5 proxy.
It was so easy to set it up on mac. But on windows -- I'm stuck. I tried to google, but could not find a clear, plain way.
1 Answer
To install Tor as a Windows service, assuming it's installed in folderC:\Tor, you need to first create its torrc configuration file,
for example:
echo( > C:\Tor\torrcTo test if the service with the settings file will start correctly:
C:\Tor\tor.exe -f "C:\Tor\torrc"Now to install the Tor service:
C:\Tor\tor.exe --service install -options -f "C:\Tor\torrc"To start and stop the service, use the following commands (or set it to automatically start in the Services applet):
C:\Tor\tor.exe --service start
C:\Tor\tor.exe --service stopTo remove the service:
C:\Tor\tor.exe --service stop
C:\Tor\tor.exe --service removeBy default, the Tor service listens on port 9050, which can be checked by the command:
netstat -aon | findstr ":9050"But it's up to you to set each internet browser or application to use the
Tor Socks5 proxy, found at localhost port 9050.
For more details, see the articleHow to install Tor and create Tor hidden service on Windows.
Here is a small test I did with the latest version. The folder layout of the Tor folder has changed, but the rest works the same:
3