The group behind the Tor Browser, Tor Project, released Tor Browser 8.0 earlier this month.
The browser, just like its predecessors, allows its users to remain anonymous while accessing the internet.
It uses a system of decentralized relays that bounces users' data, making it hard for ISPs, governments or anyone else from tracking them across the web.
The latest version is the first stable version to be based on Firefox 60.2 Extended Support Release (ESR), unlike the previous version which was powered by Firefox 52 ESR.
The new version boasts some major upgrades and improvements for enhanced performance.
Some of the notable upgrades are a new onboarding experience designed to help new users, optimized bridge fetching technique and improved language support.
For it users, these new changes address long-time issues that had been raised since Tor Browser 7.5.6.
New Onboarding Experience with Improved Language Support
For instance, with the new onboarding experience, the browser displays the Tor connection dialog on start similarly as it did before, but is designed to help new users get acquainted with Tor Browser's unique aspects and how to use the browser.
But all this would be a challenge for it users, noting they would not able to use the browser since it's not in their native language.
To overcome this, Tor Browser 8.0 supports nine new interface languages: Catalan, Danish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Norwegian, Swedish and Traditional Chinese. Additionally, it also includes Libevent 2.1.8 and Tor 0.3.3.9 with OpenSSL 1.0.2p.
Optimized Bridging Configuration
For regions where the Tor Browser is censored, the process of requesting new bridges was a complicated procedure.
One had to send an email or visit a website in previous versions to get additional bridges.
The new process has been optimized, making it possible for users to request new bridges from within the browser just by solving a captcha in the Launcher.
Other notable changes include component and library upgrades, the Reader View mode being enabled, Telemetry being disabled and Firefox Sync now being hidden.
If you're wanting to download the updated Tor Browser, you will need one of the following operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista (32 bit & 64 bit), Windows 7 (32 bit & 64 bit), Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux or Mac OS X.
Unfortunately, there have been reports that Tor 8.0 crashed during start-up on older Mac OS systems, reason being that the stable version is missing a patch that will make it compatible with older Mac OS versions (10.9.x).
The affected users are advised to use the almost identical alpha release as they wait for the release of version 8.0.1, which is said to have resolved the issue.
Tor Browser for Android
At the same time, the group released their first official Tor Browser for mobile devices days after launching their new desktop version.
The alpha version is available for Android users and is free to download from the Google Play Store.
The Android version is also based on Firefox and comes with NoScript extensions pre-installed and HTTPS Everywhere.
But to use it, one would need to install Tor's Project's Orbot Proxy app.
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