Torpark anonymous surfing
p2pnet.net News:- Torpark, a for-free, highly modified variant of Portable Firefox that uses the TOR (The Onion Router) network to anonymize the connection between the user and the website, has been released by an international group of computer security experts and human rights workers.
Torpark comes pre-configured, requires no installation, can run off a USB memory stick, and leaves no tracks behind in the browser or computer, promises Hacktivismo, operating under the aegis of Cult of the Dead Cow.
“We live in a time where acquisition technologies are cherry picking and collating every aspect of our online lives,” said Hacktivismo founder Oxblood Ruffin. “No one should have to pay for basic human rights, especially the right of privacy.”
Torpark is being released under the GNU General Public License and is dedicated to the Panchen Lama, often referred to as the world’s youngest political prisoner, says Hacktivismo.
Torpark works by causing the IP address to change every few minutes to frustrate eavesdropping and mask the requesting source, says the group, going on:
Data passing from users’ computers into the TOR network are encrypted so the ISP can’t see the information that’s passing through the Torpark browser, such as the sites visited, or posts the user might have made to a forum, says Hacktivismo: “The ISP can only see an encrypted connection to the TOR network.”
But, it warns, “users must understand that there are limitations to the anonymity. Torpark anonymizes the user’s connection but not the data. Data traveling between the client and the TOR network is encrypted, but the data between the TOR network and websites is unencrypted.
“Therefore, the user should not use his/her username or password on websites that do not offer a secure login and session (noted by a golden padlock at the bottom of the Torpark browser screen).”
Torpark is in English by default, but includes language packs for Arabic, German, French, and Simplified Chinese.
“There are about 35 unique language packs available for Torpark, and a bookmark is included in Torpark to quickly allow you to add any of these languages,” says the download site.We have a copy of Torpark.exe Download Torpark herehere.
Drawbacks?
You can’t use the regular Firefox and Torpark at the same time and, “using Tor tends to slow down web browsing, often to ridiculous levels, and many web sites will break when browsed through the Tor network, including sites that use session trackers and anti-spam registration pages,” says Ars Technica.
Also See:
Hacktivismo – Hacktivismo Releases Torpark, September 20, 2006
Ars Technica – Torpark web browser aims to keep surfing private, September 20, 2006
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September 21st, 2006 at 4:25 pm
After I unpacked Torpark yesterday, F-Prot Antivirus detected some *Zlob* virus/trojan. I really hope that was a false positive. Meanwhile it’s out of my system.