How to change default number of nodes in the TOR chain?

Question

Hello. By default TOR uses 3 nodes in a chain (approximately), but it works just painfully slow. I'd like to use one, so connecting to some server and that one is the exit node already.

I'm aware that it will compromise my anonymity, but I think I can live with it (especially if that will work faster).

I guess there is no such user setting so I'll probably have to change the source code a bit and build it myself (under Windows), but since I don't know C and the way things are to be compiled, I'll need some help. What would you suggest me to do? Maybe there is some kind of a newbie guide to how-to-change-and-build-stuff-without-knowing-language?

Answer 1

I'm sorry to dissappoint you, but there is no such thing, nor will there ever be for many reasons.

If you're comprimising your security for speed anyway, why continue to use TOR?

Secondly, if you don't know if this setting exists already, I would start by looking for that.

Thirdly, it may not be a client setting, it sounds like it would require co-operation from the TOR exit nodes.

Fourthly, if you can get this new setup running, you may find it no faster, since it may well be the first node that is slow anyway.

After all that, there is still no newbie guide to how-to-change-and-build-stuff-without-knowing-language.

If you are willing to learn the language and take the time to understand the code, you might want to start with some of the design documents such the main TOR protocol:

• https://git.torproject.org/checkout/tor/master/doc/spec/tor-spec.txt