Tor SOCKS Proxy Firefox ESR 'The proxy is refusing connections'

Pioneer Support
1

Connection type: Behind router
FreedomBox Version: Debian 11 Bullseye (FreedomBox Version 22.24)
Firefox Version: Firefox 91.12.0esr (64-bit)

I want to use the Tor SOCKS proxy. I installed Tor on the FreedomBox, and after I
entered the network IP address and the port 9050 proxy settings in Firefox ESR on my laptop, I received ‘the proxy server is refusing connections’
as an error.

I noticed the yellow header in FreedomBox which reads:

Tor Socks Proxy is available only on internal networks or when the client is
connected to FreedomBox through VPN. Currently the following network interfaces are
configured as internal: eth0

Does this mean that the laptop must be connected by Ethernet to the network? The FreedomBox
is already connected via Ethernet to the router. If this is the case, is it possible to
configure wlan0 or wlp2s0 to be internal? Otherwise, will I need to install WireGuard and
connect to the FreedomBox over WireGuard to use the SOCKS proxy? I was under the impression
VPN > Tor connections were less ideal.

Furthermore, must I also forward the port 9050 on the router?

I use Tor Browser for regular browsing over Tor, but would like to be able to use the proxy
for when it is necessary to use Firefox instead.

Thank you for your time,

red

2

I solved my issue. I forwarded the port 9050 as well as double checked that the Dynamic DNS section was working correctly. I hope this helps someone in the future.

3

No, it means that the laptop with which you are trying to connect to the proxy must be on the same home network with your server, wired or wireless.

Don’t open port 9050 to the internet, since this makes it possible for anybody over the internet to use your server as an open proxy.

You should get yourself a second network adapter which you configure to be in the external zone and then use OpenVPN to access internal resources. You can see internal/external zones in Freedombox > System > Networks