Portable Firefox + Tor = Torpark

Do you currently use Portable Firefox? Or, do you want to be able to take a secure, anonymous browser with you wherever you go? If so, you might want to check out Torpark. It combines Portable Firefox with a connection to the Tor network.

Tor is a huge network of proxy servers and the development is supported by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). What is the point of Tor?

Tor aims to defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal anonymity and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security. Communications are bounced around a distributed network of servers called onion routers, protecting you from websites that build profiles of your interests, local eavesdroppers that read your data or learn what sites you visit, and even the onion routers themselves.

A more in depth overview of Tor can be found on this page.

Torpark comes with the following extensions:

Adblock – Content filter for images, banners and other ads.
Live IP Address – Shows you the IP address of the proxy server to which you are connected.
Firesomething – Rebrands the browser to show Torpark v1.5 in the titlebar instead of Mozilla Firefox. Customize to your own needs if you want.
NoScript – Allows JavaScript, Java and other plugins only for trusted domains of your choice.

The Tor network is much faster now than it used to be but you may experience slow browsing when using Tor. The proxy server may be handling multiple connections or it may be down all together. The more you browse a site the faster the browsing will become for that site. Also, as more servers get added, the browsing speed will increase.

Your children need your presence more than your presents. – Jesse Jackson

30.Apr.06 Internet, Security