Regular readers of TuxDiary might remember Panopticlick, an EFF effort to identify a browser uniquely using fingerprints. as we discussed earlier, Tor takes privacy to a higher level and makes it more difficult to track a browser. The good news is, Mozilla is working actively to bring Tor privacy settings to regular Firefox, sans additional plugins. Continue reading Tor privacy settings adoption on Firefox
Tag: tor
ProxyChains: per-app proxy
Update: tsocks seems to be a better alternative when multiple applications are involved, i.e., one invokes another.
While there is a Tor-specific utility torify to route per-application traffic anonymously, the utility doesn’t provide any option to use custom proxies. ProxyChains fills in the gap by providing a similar but more flexible utility. It supports tor too. ProxyChains is extrremely useful when a program doesn’t handle proxies by itself. ProxyChains adds the functionality by intercepting the TCP calls. Continue reading ProxyChains: per-app proxy
Resolve DNS through Tor
In our earlier article on running Tor + Privoxy on Ubuntu we explored ways to enable Tor to route all browser requests through it. In case you are not routing all your network traffic through Tor, you can still use Tor DNS to resolve your IP address look-ups. Continue reading Resolve DNS through Tor
Tor Messenger: secure chat with existing IM buddies
Tor Messenger is an effort similar to Tor Browser Bundle, it uses the existing Instantbird messaging solution from Mozilla and routes the data through the Tor network. However, unlike the existing solutions like ricochet, which targets anonymity, Tor Messenger works with services you already use like Jabber (XMPP), IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Twitter, Yahoo, and others. It also enables Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging automatically. As you are chatting with your existing contacts, you are not anonymous. However, the communication is encrypted and much more difficult to trace by a man in the middle. Continue reading Tor Messenger: secure chat with existing IM buddies
ricochet: P2P Tor based messaging
ricochet is a third-party peer to peer instant messaging client taking advantage of Tor hidden services. It doesn’t reveal your identity, contact-list or communication. The login ID is your hidden service address and contacts connect to you directly (hence P2P) through Tor. Continue reading ricochet: P2P Tor based messaging
tor + privoxy: anonymous browsing on Ubuntu
While the tor-browser (a firefox mod) uses the Tor network for anonymity by default, you can also configure your favourite browser or stock Firefox to use the Tor network. The tor network is a bandwidth sharing network with advanced algorithms to route your data anonymously. Continue reading tor + privoxy: anonymous browsing on Ubuntu
freenote: video chat over Tor network
Jacob Applebaum is a well-known name among internet privacy advocates. It’s no surprise to see a Tor network based audio/video streaming application from him. The tool, named freenote, uses gstreamer as the multimedia framework. It respects your privacy, security, anonymity and liberty. Continue reading freenote: video chat over Tor network
Bitmessage & DarkLogs: your anonymous blog
If you want to have an anonymous and secure blog of your own try the Bitmessage and DarkLogs combination. For an additional layer of security using the Tor network is advised. Bitmessage is available on Linux, Windows and Mac. Bitmessage can send messages to DarkLogs which become blog entries. The main purpose of using DarkLogs is to have an anonymous blog of your own. Helpful links to learn how to use these two powerful tools:
Webpage: Bitmessage (DarkLogs is down)
Tor Browser Bundle: online anonymity
To ensure an enhanced degree of online anonymity, try the Tor Browser Bundle which uses the Tor network. You do not need to install anything separately as the bundle will take care of that. Using the Tor network may slow down your network speed a little. It is available for the major desktop operating systems. Tor is not completely invincible but it provides high anonymity. Check this cool video on how to find and use Tor bridges and unpublished relays. These are for those situations where your ISP blocks the well-known Tor network IPs. Tor Browser Bundle uses Firefox along with a few security related extensions as the browser. Continue reading Tor Browser Bundle: online anonymity