TOR Operations & Security

Tor Operations & Security

This page collects operational best practices: logging, updates, backups, legal and incident handling, and monitoring.

Patching and updates

• Run Tor from the official packages provided by the Tor Project where possible; subscribe to security announcements and apply updates quickly.
• For containerized deployments, rebuild and redeploy images with updated base images and Tor package versions.

Logging and privacy

• Keep Tor logs minimal (notice level) to avoid storing excessive client-identifying information.
• For relays, log only what you need for debugging; avoid prolonged retention of connection-level logs.

Backups

• Back up torrc and any web application content or nginx configs used behind onion services.
• Back up the HiddenServiceDir only if you plan to keep the same onion address; storing private keys means you must protect the backup securely.

Monitoring

• Monitor CPU, memory, disk and network; set alerts for high load or disk saturation.
• Use Prometheus exporters or custom scripts to collect metrics; Tor has control port APIs for stats and management.

Incident response & abuse handling

• Have a contact and process for abuse requests; non-exit operators can usually point complainants to the Tor Project.
• For exits, prepare a standard response and legal contact and consult local counsel before taking actions.

Research & ethics

• If performing active measurements or research on Tor, follow Tor Research Guidelines (contact the Tor Research Safety Board) and obtain appropriate approvals.