TOR Project: Stop using Windows, disable JavaScript
The TOR Project is advising that people stop using Windows after the discovery of a startling vulnerability in Firefox that undermined the main advantages of the privacy-centered network.
The zero-day vulnerability allowed as-yet-unknown interlopers to use a malicious piece of JavaScript to collect crucial identifying information on computers visiting some websites using The Onion Router (TOR) network.
"Really, switching away from Windows is probably a good security move for many reasons," according to a security advisory posted Monday by The TOR Project. The TOR Project's reasoning comes from the characteristics of the malicious JavaScript that exploited the zero-day vulnerability. The script was written to target Windows computers running Firefox 17 ESR (Extended Support Release), a version of the browser customized to view websites using TOR.