The Tor overview says that all browsers being the same is a weakness unique to Tor (and probably Mullvad as well). But aren’t all up-to-date Brave browsers also the same?

Tor Browser is not the most secure browser Anonymity can often be at odds with security: Tor’s anonymity requires every user to be identical, which creates a monoculture (e.g., the same bugs are present across all Tor Browser users). As a cybersecurity rule of thumb, monocultures are generally rega…

It just means single bug in Tor or the base browser applies to all users using Tor browser. But it also means when there isn’t such bugs, there’s safety in numbers: you look like a whole lot of other Tor users. Chromium based browser with Tor might add protection in immediate case of Firefox havin…

[image] blibly: Anonymity can often be at odds with security: Tor’s anonymity requires every user to be identical, which creates a monoculture (e.g., the same bugs are present across all Tor Browser users). As a cybersecurity rule of thumb, monocultures are generally regarded as bad: Security th…

[image] maqp: It just means single bug in Tor or the base browser applies to all users using Tor browser. Shouldn’t that also go for every browser? Why is Tor specifically singled out?

Because Tor browser is the king of anonymous browsing. And because you were reading about that particular browser. Having everyone in a single bucket improves the anonymity but makes that bucket valuable to attackers, and successful attacks affect everyone in they bucket. It’s worth pointing out, ev…

It sounds to me like you’re saying that this isn’t actually a problem unique to Tor, or a bigger problem for Tor than other browsers, and the guide page is just highlighting it as an imperfection to counteract its reputation as the ultimate invincible browser. Do I understand correctly?

True security comes from knowing the good and the bad of any tool and using the best tool for the purpose. so yeah it’s doing that, warning against trusting it blindly.

[image] blibly: Anonymity can often be at odds with security: Tor’s anonymity requires every user to be identical, which creates a monoculture (e.g., the same bugs are present across all Tor Browser users). As My first interpretation of this quote would be that it’s the similarity between use…

The problem with monocultures is that it makes finding vulnerabilities more valuable

I have to agree. It seems like a bad example to illustrate a correct point: tor browser is not built for security above all else. The example is not wrong, strictly speaking, but other factors are likely to matter much more.

How is monoculture only a problem with Tor-like browsers?

Questions

any1 September 8, 2026, 10:53pm 13

Tor Browser is probably the worst of the “main stream browsers” you could be running for security. If it didn’t have its strong fingerprinting protections, it would not be worth using at all.

How secure is Tor in safest mode?

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How is monoculture only a problem with Tor-like browsers?

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