Re: [tor-talk] Inquiry about Vidalia/Tor bundle

[Roger Dingledine <arma@xxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 05:58:22PM -0500, Missouri Anglers wrote:
> I downloaded and installed "PirateBrowser" which is a Firefox browser
>configured to use vidalia/tor.

Not quite -- it is a bundle that includes a variety of software
including Firefox, Vidalia, and Tor, configured in the way they wanted
to configure it.

Specifically, don't be confused into thinking this is a Tor product,
or that it will keep you safe in some particular way.

In fact, they even have a disclaimer saying that it's not an anonymity
tool. And in this case that's not just a disclaimer, it's an accurate
statement.

> I assume this is simply just a browser set up to use an anonymous proxy?

From what I heard (it's Windows-only so I haven't tried running it or
decompiling it to find out what it is really), it includes Foxyproxy,
configured to only go through Tor for a select set of sites that are
commonly censored. The rest of the sites bypass Tor.

> I am not exactly a beginner when it comes to using anonymous proxies.
> I have been gathering proxy lists, scanning them with software to see if they are valid/anonymous and configuring my browser to use them for years. However I am no expert.
> 
> This Vidalia/Tor has me confused.

Again, please remember this is somebody else's program, called Pirate
Browser, and not anything made by Tor. Though it does include tools
written by Tor, but tools-written-by-Tor only perform the way Tor had
in mind if you configure them that way.

> The program loads, connects to the Tor network and everything looks and acts well.
> However when I check my stats at various websites that I use such as (http://www.lagado.com/proxy-test)
> my IP address is revealed along with my ISP amd other accurate information.
> 
> I also checked https://check.torproject.org/ and it says that it is not working.

That sounds compatible with my Foxyproxy theory above.

Hope that helps,
--Roger

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