Tor, privoxy & proxyFirewall

anyBody · Mar 31, 2013

Hi guys,

I've been using Tor for a while now.
When I read the Tor documentation it says that using plugins isn't safe.

I found some sites where it is said a possible solution is to install privoxy and proxyFirewall. And instead of using Tor browser, to open a Sock4 Proxy Server 127.0.0.1:9050 and redirect fireFox through. It seems to work, when using Flash applications my real IP doesn't show.

I also get this warning I don't understand from Tor after setting it up like this

Tor said:

mrt 30 21:59:17.375 [Warning] Your application (using socks4 to port 80) is giving Tor only an IP address. Applications that do DNS resolves themselves may leak information. Consider using Socks4A (e.g. via privoxy or socat) instead. For more information, please see https://wiki.torproject.org/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#SOCKSAndDNS. [1 similar message(s) suppressed in last 5 seconds]
Click to expand...

But it seems like privoxy now is doing nothing at all ( screen remains blank ) ? When I read the privoxy documentation there it says that it listens to 127.0.0.1:8118. So it isn't filtering anything.
http://www.privoxy.org/config/

Privoxy said:

Privoxy is not being used

The fact that you are reading this page shows that Privoxy was not used in the process of accessing it. Had the request been made through Privoxy, it would have been intercepted and you would be looking at Privoxy's web-based user interface now.

So what went wrong? Chances are (in this order) that:

this page is in your browser's cache. You've once been here before starting to use Privoxy, and now your browser thinks that it already knows the content of this page. Hence it doesn't request a fresh copy.

Force your browser to do that. With most browsers, clicking "reload" while holding down the shift key (shift-reloading) should suffice, but you might need to manually clear the browser's cache (both memory and disk cache).

your browser is not set up to use Privoxy.

Check your browser's proxy settings and make sure that it uses 127.0.0.1, port 8118 (or, if you did a custom configuration, whatever different values you used).

when using multiple proxies in a chain, that either the chain is broken at some point before Privoxy, or that an earlier proxy serves this page from its cache.

Shift-reload, clear all caches, and if the problem still persists, trace the proxy chain starting with your browser's settings. Please refer to the forwarding chapter of the user manual for details.
Click to expand...

But if I set up my browser to use 127.0.0.1:8118 privoxy will be used but now Tor won't be used and my real IP pops up again.

Can anyone shed some light upon me ? I would like to use Flash and Java without risking revealing my IP. But at the same time I would like privoxy filter communications if possible.

Thanks

anyBody · Apr 1, 2013

I was thinking about installing Tor as a fireFox plugin, and maybe then routing firefox through 127.0.0.1:8118 using proxyFirewall, maybe privoxy will work then. I'm not an expert.

So really noOne who can help me ?

anyBody · Apr 1, 2013

Normally I'm too lazy to post once I get things working but I thought, what the hell

The problem I experienced with proxyFirewall and privoxy was also mentioned here.

I did not found a way to make a rule inside proxyFirewall that would allow me to not have to configure fireFox proxy settings tab. So here is what I did;

http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/proxy_setup.jpg
http://www.privoxy.org/faq/misc.html#TOR

How do I use Privoxy together with Tor said:

Before you configure Privoxy to use Tor, please follow the User Manual chapters 2. Installation and 5. Startup to make sure Privoxy itself is setup correctly.

If it is, refer to Tor's extensive documentation to learn how to install Tor, and make sure Tor's logfile says that "Tor has successfully opened a circuit" and it "looks like client functionality is working".

If either Tor or Privoxy isn't working, their combination most likely will neither. Testing them on their own will also help you to direct problem reports to the right audience. If Privoxy isn't working, don't bother the Tor developers. If Tor isn't working, don't send bug reports to the Privoxy Team.

If you verified that Privoxy and Tor are working, it is time to connect them. As far as Privoxy is concerned, Tor is just another proxy that can be reached by socks4, socks4a and socks5. Most likely you are interested in Tor to increase your anonymity level, therefore you should use socks5, to make sure DNS requests are done through Tor and thus invisible to your local network. Using socks4a would work too, but with socks5 you get more precise error messages.

Since Privoxy 3.0.5, its main configuration file is already prepared for Tor, if you are using a default Tor configuration and run it on the same system as Privoxy, you just have to edit the forwarding section and uncomment the line:

# forward-socks5 / 127.0.0.1:9050 .

This is enough to reach the Internet, but additionally you might want to uncomment the following forward rules, to make sure your local network is still reachable through Privoxy:

# forward 192.168.*.*/ .
# forward 10.*.*.*/ .
# forward 127.*.*.*/ .

Unencrypted connections to systems in these address ranges will be as (un)secure as the local network is, but the alternative is that your browser can't reach the network at all. Then again, that may actually be desired and if you don't know for sure that your browser has to be able to reach the local network, there's no reason to allow it.

If you want your browser to be able to reach servers in your local network by using their names, you will need additional exceptions that look like this:

# forward localhost/ .

Save the modified configuration file and open http://config.privoxy.org/show-status in your browser, confirm that Privoxy has reloaded its configuration and that there are no other forward lines, unless you know that you need them. If everything looks good, refer to Tor Faq 4.2 to learn how to verify that you are really using Tor.

Afterward, please take the time to at least skim through the rest of Tor's documentation. Make sure you understand what Tor does, why it is no replacement for application level security, and why you probably don't want to use it for unencrypted logins.
Click to expand...

Lastly I created an open Proxy in ProxyFirewall 127.0.0.1:9050 SOCK5 and added fireFox.

The warnings from Tor which I never understood also dissapeared

Tor said:

Your relay is now online and available for Tor clients to use. You should see an increase in network traffic shown by the Bandwidth Graph within a few hours as more clients learn about your relay. Thank you for contributing to the Tor network!
Click to expand...

Still this poses a problem. How would I be able to use a real proxy and privoxy together ?
Maybe one day I'll figure that out, or maybe you can help ?

Thanks

hogndog · Apr 2, 2013

Hi anyBody and welcome to Wilders, might just as well throw this into the mix..

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tor-flashproxy-badge/?src=cb-dl-created

Thanks..
Hogndog

anyBody · Apr 2, 2013

Yes thanks for the welcome hogndog

I'm looking for one more program or method that would allow me to chain privoxy to a real proxy server.

The current problem is that on the firefox tab I selected privoxy as proxy server. 127.0.0.1:8118 http/s.
So when I select an external proxy server privoxy no longer will be used.

I also set a rule in proxyFirewall to route all fireFox traffic through Tor 127.0.0.1:9050 SOCK5.

Am I doing something wrong

noone_particular · Apr 3, 2013

These threads are older but have a lot of good info in them.
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=168868
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=55748

Log in or Sign up

Tor, privoxy & proxyFirewall

anyBody Registered Member

anyBody Registered Member

anyBody Registered Member

hogndog Registered Member

anyBody Registered Member

noone_particular Registered Member

Log in or Sign up

Tor, privoxy & proxyFirewall

anyBody Registered Member

anyBody Registered Member

anyBody Registered Member

hogndog Registered Member

anyBody Registered Member

noone_particular Registered Member

Useful Searches