Tor Browser 7.5 Update Released: What's New?

The Tor Browser Team just released a new update for the Tor Browser, which is known for being one of the safest browsers in the world. Update 7.5 brings in redesigned parts of the user interface and features important fixes and security updates.

Earlier this week, Tor Browser version 7.5 was released via the Tor Browser Project page and the developers’ distribution directory. The latest version of the free software not only comes with new features and changes, it also improves the Tor Launcher experience.

The first update that the Tor Browser Team highlighted in the release notes is the modified Welcome Screen. With update 7.5, the Welcome Screen has been simplified so users will right away know what they’re supposed to do when configuring the browser. Also part of this modification is the addition of the logo to the Tor Launcher.

The team also pointed out that the new version of Tor Browser has a modified censorship circumvention configuration. The UI text has now been altered, so it’s easy for users to understand what a bridge is for and how to use one when they are connecting to Tor while their network is censoring it. The drop-down menu on the Tor Network Settings now shows a tip on which bridge to use in a country that has sophisticated censorship methods.

The proxy settings at the Tor Launcher configuration wizard has been updated as well. “Since it is a very important feature for users, we decided to keep it in the main configuration screen and introduced a help prompt with an explanation of when someone would need such configuration,” the Team explained.

According to Tom’s Hardware, update 7.5 also makes the security slider more intuitive, and it now gives users three options to choose from: Standard, Safer and Safest. The Standard Mode enables all features of Tor Browser. The Safer Mode disables the most dangerous elements in web pages for non-HTTPS websites. Meanwhile, the Safest Mode disables almost everything that can be used as an attack vector. Unfortunately, this also causes even the simplest web pages to break.

On the security side of things, the Tor Browser Team enabled content sandboxing on Windows. They also addressed remaining issues that affected Linux and prevented users from printing to file. The compiler hardening on macOS has also been improved, while the holes in the W^X mitigation on Windows has been repaired.

Learn more about the latest version of Tor Browser by visiting the Tor Blog.