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   6   <title>Tor Hidden Service Configuration Instructions</title>
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  41
  42 <h1>Configuring Hidden Services for <a href="http://tor.eff.org/">Tor</a></h1>
  43 <hr />
  44
  45 <p>Tor allows clients and servers to offer hidden services. That is,
  46 you can offer a web server, SSH server, etc., without revealing your
  47 IP to its users. In fact, because you don't use any public address,
  48 you can run a hidden service from behind your firewall.
  49 </p>
  50
  51 <p>If you have Tor and Privoxy installed, you can see hidden services
  52 in action by visiting <a href="http://6sxoyfb3h2nvok2d.onion/">the
  53 hidden wiki</a>.
  54 </p>
  55
  56 <p>This howto describes the steps for setting up your own hidden service
  57 website.
  58 </p>
  59
  60 <hr />
  61 <a id="zero"></a>
  62 <h2><a class="anchor" href="#zero">Step Zero: Get Tor and Privoxy working</a></h2>
  63 <br />
  64
  65 <p>Before you start, you need to make sure 1) Tor is up and running,
  66 2) Privoxy is up and running, 3) Privoxy is configured to point
  67 to Tor, and 4) You actually set it up correctly.</p>
  68
  69 <p>Windows users should follow the <a
  70 href="http://tor.eff.org/doc/tor-doc-win32.html">Windows
  71 howto</a>, OS X users should follow the <a
  72 href="http://tor.eff.org/doc/tor-doc-osx.html">OS
  73 X howto</a>, and Linux/BSD/Unix users should follow the <a
  74 href="http://tor.eff.org/doc/tor-doc-unix.html">Unix howto</a>.
  75 </p>
  76
  77 <p>Once you've got Tor and Privoxy installed and configured,
  78 you can see hidden services in action by following this link to <a
  79 href="http://6sxoyfb3h2nvok2d.onion/">the hidden wiki</a>.
  80 It will typically take 10-60 seconds to load
  81 (or to decide that it is currently unreachable). If it fails
  82 immediately and your browser pops up an alert saying that
  83 "www.6sxoyfb3h2nvok2d.onion could not be found, please check the name and
  84 try again" then you haven't configured Tor and Privoxy correctly; see <a
  85 href="http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#ItDoesntWork">this
  86 FAQ entry</a> for some help.
  87 </p>
  88
  89 <hr />
  90 <a id="one"></a>
  91 <h2><a class="anchor" href="#one">Step One: Configure an example hidden service</a></h2>
  92 <br />
  93
  94 <p>In this step, you're going to configure a hidden service that points
  95 to www.google.com. This way we can make sure you have this step
  96 working before we start thinking about setting up a web server locally.
  97 </p>
  98
  99 <p>First, open your torrc file in your favorite text editor. (See <a
 100 href="http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#torrc">this
 101 FAQ entry</a> to learn what this means.) Go to the middle section and
 102 look for the line</p>
 103
 104 <pre>
 105 ############### This section is just for location-hidden services ###
 106 </pre>
 107
 108 <p>
 109 This section of the file consists of groups of lines, each representing
 110 one hidden service. Right now they are all commented out (the lines
 111 start with #), so hidden services are disabled. Each group of lines
 112 consists of one HiddenServiceDir line, and one or more HiddenServicePort
 113 lines:</p>
 114 <ul>
 115 <li><b>HiddenServiceDir</b> is a directory where Tor will store information
 116 about that hidden service.  In particular, Tor will create a file here named
 117 <i>hostname</i> which will tell you the onion URL.  You don't need to add any
 118 files to this directory.</li>
 119 <li><b>HiddenServicePort</b> lets you specify a virtual port (that is, what
 120 port people accessing the hidden service will think they're using) and an
 121 IP address and port for redirecting connections to this virtual port.</li>
 122 </ul>
 123
 124 <p>In this example, we're going to set up a hidden service that points to
 125 Google. So add the following lines to your torrc:
 126 </p>
 127
 128 <pre>
 129 HiddenServiceDir /Library/Tor/var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
 130 HiddenServicePort 80 www.google.com:80
 131 </pre>
 132
 133 <p>You're going to want to change the HiddenServiceDir line, so it points
 134 to an actual directory that is readable/writeable by the user that will
 135 be running Tor. The above line should work if you're using the OS X Tor
 136 package. On Unix, try "/home/username/hidserv/" and fill in your own
 137 username in place of "username". On Windows you might pick:</p>
 138 <pre>
 139 HiddenServiceDir C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\hidden_service\
 140 HiddenServicePort 80 www.google.com:80
 141 </pre>
 142
 143 <p>Now save the torrc, shut down
 144 your Tor, and then start it again.  (See <a
 145 href="http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#Restarting">this
 146 FAQ entry</a> for tips on restarting Tor.)
 147 </p>
 148
 149 <p>If Tor starts up again, great. Otherwise, something is wrong. Look
 150 at your torrc for obvious mistakes like typos. Then double-check
 151 that the directory you picked is writeable by you. If it's still
 152 not working, you should look at the Tor logs for hints. (See <a
 153 href="http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#Logs">this
 154 FAQ entry</a> if you don't know how to enable or find your log file.)
 155 </p>
 156
 157 <p>When Tor starts, it will automatically create the HiddenServiceDir
 158 that you specified (if necessary), and it will create two files there.
 159 First, it will generate a new
 160 public/private keypair for your hidden service, and write it into a
 161 file called "private_key". Don't share this key with others -- if you
 162 do they will be able to impersonate your hidden service.
 163 </p>
 164
 165 <p>The other file it will create is called "hostname". This contains
 166 a short summary of your public key -- it will look something like
 167 <tt>6sxoyfb3h2nvok2d.onion</tt>. This is the public name for your service,
 168 and you can tell it to people, publish it on websites, put it on business
 169 cards, etc. (If Tor runs as a different user than you, for example on
 170 OS X, Debian, or Red Hat, then you may need to become root to be able
 171 to view these files.)
 172 </p>
 173
 174 <p>Now that you've restarted Tor, it is busy picking introduction points
 175 in the Tor network, and generating what's called a "hidden service
 176 descriptor", which is a signed list of introduction points along with
 177 the service's full public key. It anonymously publishes this descriptor
 178 to the directory servers, and other people anonymously fetch it from the
 179 directory servers when they're trying to access your service.
 180 </p>
 181
 182 <p>Try it now: paste the contents of the hostname file into your web
 183 browser. If it works, you'll get the google frontpage, but the URL in your
 184 browser's window will be your hidden service hostname. If it doesn't work,
 185 look in your logs for some hints, and keep playing with it until it works.
 186 </p>
 187
 188 <hr />
 189 <a id="two"></a>
 190 <h2><a class="anchor" href="#two">Step Two: Now install a web server locally</a></h2>
 191 <br />
 192
 193 <p>Now that you have hidden services working on Tor, you need to
 194 set up your web server locally. Setting up a web server is tricky,
 195 so we're just going to go over a few basics here. If you get stuck
 196 or want to do more, find a friend who can help you. We recommend you
 197 install a new separate web server for your hidden service, since even
 198 if you already have one installed, you may be using it (or want to use
 199 it later) for an actual website.
 200 </p>
 201
 202 <p>If you're on Unix or OS X and you're comfortable with
 203 the command-line, by far the best way to go is to install <a
 204 href="http://www.acme.com/software/thttpd/">thttpd</a>. Just grab the
 205 latest tarball, untar it (it will create its own directory), and run
 206 ./configure &amp;&amp; make. Then mkdir hidserv, cd hidserv, and run
 207 "../thttpd -p 5222 -h localhost". It will give you back your prompt,
 208 and now you're running a webserver on port 5222. You can put files to
 209 serve in the hidserv directory.
 210 </p>
 211
 212 <p>If you're on Windows, ...what should we suggest here? Is there
 213 a good simple free software web server for Windows? Please
 214 let me know what we should say here. In the meantime,
 215 check out <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">apache</a>,
 216 and be sure to
 217 configure it to bind only to localhost. You should also figure out
 218 what port you're listening on, because you'll use it below.
 219 </p>
 220
 221 <p>(The reason we bind the web server only to localhost is to make
 222 sure it isn't publically accessible. If people could get to it directly,
 223 they could confirm that your computer is the one offering the hidden
 224 service.)
 225 </p>
 226
 227 <p>Once you've got your web server set up, make sure it works: open your
 228 browser and go to <a
 229 href="http://localhost:5222/">http://localhost:5222/</a>. Then
 230 try putting a file
 231 in the main html directory, and make sure it shows up when you access
 232 the site.
 233 </p>
 234
 235 <hr />
 236 <a id="three"></a>
 237 <h2><a class="anchor" href="#three">Step Three: Connect your web server to your hidden service</a></h2>
 238 <br />
 239
 240 <p>This part is very simple. Open up your torrc again, and change the
 241 HiddenServicePort line from "www.google.com:80" to "localhost:5222".
 242 Then <a
 243 href="http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#Restarting">restart
 244 Tor</a>. Make sure that it's working by reloading your hidden
 245 service hostname in your browser.
 246 </p>
 247
 248 <hr />
 249 <a id="four"></a>
 250 <h2><a class="anchor" href="#four">Step Four: More advanced tips</a></h2>
 251 <br />
 252
 253 <p>If you plan to keep your service available for a long time, you might
 254 want to make a backup copy of the private_key file somewhere.
 255 </p>
 256
 257 <p>We avoided recommending Apache above, a) because many people might
 258 already be running it for a public web server on their computer, and b)
 259 because it's big
 260 and has lots of places where it might reveal your IP address or other
 261 identifying information, for example in 404 pages. For people who need
 262 more functionality, though, Apache may be the right answer. Can
 263 somebody make us a checklist of ways to lock down your Apache when you're
 264 using it as a hidden service?
 265 </p>
 266
 267 <p>If you want to forward multiple virtual ports for a single hidden
 268 service, just add more HiddenServicePort lines.
 269 If you want to run multiple hidden services from the same Tor
 270 client, just add another HiddenServiceDir line. All the following
 271 HiddenServicePort lines refer to this HiddenServiceDir line, until
 272 you add another HiddenServiceDir line:
 273 </p>
 274
 275 <pre>
 276 HiddenServiceDir /usr/local/etc/tor/hidden_service/
 277 HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:8080
 278
 279 HiddenServiceDir /usr/local/etc/tor/other_hidden_service/
 280 HiddenServicePort 6667 127.0.0.1:6667
 281 HiddenServicePort 22 127.0.0.1:22
 282 </pre>
 283
 284 <p>There are some anonymity issues you should keep in mind too:
 285 </p>
 286 <ul>
 287 <li>As mentioned above, be careful of letting your web server reveal
 288 identifying information about you, your computer, or your location.
 289 For example, readers can probably determine whether it's thttpd or
 290 Apache, and learn something about your operating system.</li>
 291 <li>If your computer isn't online all the time, your hidden service
 292 won't be either. This leaks information to an observant adversary.</li>
 293 <!-- increased risks over time -->
 294 </ul>
 295
 296
 297
 298 <hr />
 299
 300 <p>If you have suggestions for improving this document, please <a
 301 href="mailto:tor-bugs@freehaven.net">send them to us</a>. Thanks!</p>
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