TorPlus

Several times times while surfing the net, I have found my IP / IP range blocked. During such times, I used to visit those page using a proxy. I had also written a blog post a few weeks back on Protecting your privacy and Hiding your identity online while suring the internet. In the post I had mentioned about OperaTor, a software bundle that contains the Opera (Browser), Tor (The Onion Router) and Privoxy (Web Proxy) softwares. OperaTor had a few configurable options, which could be changed by editing the operator.ini file directly. Initially I thought of creating a GUI for configuring OperaTor. But afterwards, I thought of adding some more additional features into it. Also, OperaTor was not working with the latest version of Tor due to some reason. Hence I created my own version of the program name TorOpera+. I also plan to create a similar bundle for Firefox too. Hence I am naming the project TorPlus.

TorOpera+ 

TorOpera+ is a software bundle that contains the Opera, Tor and Privoxy which allows you to browse the internet anonymously without compromising on privacy. On executing the TorOpera+, the program starts Tor, Privoxy and Opera. While browsing, you can switch between Normal and Proxy mode by using the button provided on the status bar. TorOpera+ is portable and you can use it directly from your pen drive. The best part of TorOpera+ is that, when TorOpera+ is started, the program copies Opera to your Hard Disk from your pendrive and thus speeds up Opera. This option is also configurable in the preference window.

TorKestrel+ 

Ray and Felix asked me to include Kestrel support for TorPlus. For those who are unaware of Kestrel, it is the official alpha release of the upcoming Opera v9.5. Hence I am providing TorKestrel+, excluding Tor and Privoxy, as a separate download. If you wish to try TorKesrel+, download and extract the contents of the zip file to the directory where TorPlus is installed. TorKestrel+ and TorOpera+ can use the same general settings from the settings.ini file. I haven’t checked both the programs simultaneously. Most probably they should work fine except for an error message from Privoxy.

The program can automatically clear Browser and Tor cache on program exit, which will be really useful if you use Opera from your pen drive. Also I have included a few additional features into the Opera status bar like an Ad Blocker, Flash Blocker, Image Blocker, Script Blocker, Plugin blocker etc. The Opera program is also configured for faster performance by removing name completion etc.

The best thing about the program(not the bundle) is that it is Open Source. The source for the laucher program is released under GNU GPL. The program was written in AutoIt, a really simple Windows automation language.

Downloads

Thanks a lot for deciding to try out the program. The following files are available for download.
TorOpera+ v1.03
TorKestrel+ v1.03(Extract into the directory where TorOpera+ is installed)
TorOpera+ v1.0.2 Source

Older releases
TorOpera+ v1.0.2
TorKestrel+ v1.0.2(Extract into the directory where TorOpera+ is installed)
TorOpera+ v1.0.1
TorKestrel+(Extract into the directory where TorOpera+ is installed)
TorOpera+ v1.0.1 Source
TorOpera+ v1.0.0
TorOpera+ v1.0.0 Source

Please let me know your valuable comments and suggestions by using the contact form.

ChangeLog

v1.03

  • Updated Opera to latest version (v 9.24)
  • Updated Kestrel to beta version
  • Updated Tor to latest version (v 0.1.2.18)

v1.0.2

  • Fixed Flash Blocker and Ad Blocker
  • Fixed problem with spell checker in Kestrel
  • Added menu items to allow starting/stopping of Tor and Privoxy directly from the system tray.

v1.0.1

  • Added support for Kestrel (Opera v9.5 alpha)
  • This release changed the way in which file names are referenced within the Opera settings files. Previous release used relative paths which created problems with user stylesheets. Now full path is used and the path is updated everytime TorPlus is run, to provide portability.

32 comments

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  4. Hi.
    Tried your Tor Opera and it seems to run well. Sorry I am not very IT-educated so I cannot on most aspects but am able to see some that I had to use anonymizer add-on for firefox.

    Can I use this with Kestrel (Opera 9.5 alpha)? If so is it enough to merely replace the Opera folder in TorOpera with the Kestrel Opera?

    Thanks

  5. Simple replacing of the current version with Kestrel will not work completely. It will launch all the three programs (Opera, Tor and Privoxy), but you will loose all the customizations I have done within Opera. This includes the Proxy Server, Cookie, Flash, Adblocker and similar buttons on the status bar.

    Since you have mentioned it, I will create a version for Kestral at the earliest.

    BTW, thanks a lot for your feedback.

  6. Well, I tred my way and though kestrel ran well, your optiimisations were missing, as you mentioned. Awaiting your Torkestrel !!

    BTW, how come my flag shows germany when i most certainly am in India?

    1. @Felix and Ray
      I will try to release it within 2 or 3 days. I found two minor problems due to which the built in chat and feeds page were not using the stylesheet. I want to fix that too with the next release.

      @Felix
      I am not sure why the displayed flag is wrong. I am using the wordpress plugin for the FireStats program. The program uses your ip address to determine your location. The most probable reason is that you are using a proxy to access this page/site.

  8. Hi Joyce,

    That sounds great!
    I think that you should have two different builds – one for Opera 9.23 and one for Opera 9.5 alpha… that way you will please everyone! 🙂

    Can’t wait for the new build.

    -ray

  9. Wonderful work! One minor pest though: whenever I exit the TorOpera, I get an error message. “XSkin Error: The $Skin_Folder was not found. OK”

    1. It was a minor problem with the Skin folder for the settings and about windows. It should be fixed in v1.0.1. Please let me know if the problem persists.

    1. I am sorry, I didn’t check that part after the last editing. I traced out the reason for the problem. Toggling of Flash and hiding of Ads works by using user stylesheets. Here it is selecting the wrong stylesheet. Unfortunately, I have exams upto Thursday. I will fix the problem on Thursday and replace the current Kestrel version with the post alpha version.

      Thanks for pointing it out.

  11. Thanks. “XSkin error…” is gone now. There is another thing I noticed. When exiting TorOpera+, tor.exe processs does not end as it should.

  12. That is great. I am using the Tor Kestrel and all seems to be working fine. The skin error is also been taken care of.

  13. Thanks guys. Now all the errors have been fixed. I have also added menu items to allow starting/stopping of Tor and Privoxy directly from the system tray.

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  15. Hi.
    Can you try what happens when you put a search item in the Tor-Kestrels search bar {I use Google} and the resulting page comes out a little different in that the search field comes across the Google logo. Sorry if I am not clear but maybe I am using wrong terms ??
    Is that a bug??
    Thanks

    1. Did you check it in any other browser? Also, if possible, can you plz give me a screenshot of the problem?

      The Search Result Page is working fine for me. I couldn’t find any difference between the IE, Firefox and Kestrel google result pages.

  16. Could you suggest any freeware and simple screenshot software ? Perhaps it is a bug of Kestrel rather than one of your Tor-Kestrel?

    1. Capture-A-ScreenShot is a free screen shot utitlity (I haven’t tried it).

      But, why do you need a software for this? Just press the Print Screen (Prt Scr) button on your keyboard and paste the clipboard content to any image editing software(MS Paint, Photoshop) and save it.

  17. Hey Joyce,

    Thanks for the new Kestrel build.

    A couple of things:

    -not sure if this is just the Opera alpha, but when I try to customize my toolbars (under “Appearance -> Buttons”), I can’t seem to see any of the buttons to choose from.

    -is it possible to remove the Opera icon from the System Tray?

    Thanks!

    1. Yes, I too had seen them. It is some problem with Kestrel.

      On using the customize button, only the default icons are being shown. But there is a work around. select the option “Show hidden toolbars when customizing“. Then click on the toolbar which contains the button you want to use. In Buttons > Category select Defaults. Drag the button to any toolbar.

      In previous versions of Opera, the tray icon was shown only when you use the chat, mail or the feed reader. But in Kestrel it appears even with a clean install. You can use the TaskBar properties to hide the tray icon. But AFAIK, you can’t remove the tray icon.

  20. Hey,
    great work you did here! any chance that you update to opera 9.24? or can I download the new version and install it over the old one and all settings will be kept?
    thanks max

  22. Hi!
    I’m using Opera 9.23 build 8080
    and TOR 0.12.18 with Vidalia 0.0.14 and QT 4.2.3

    Are there somple proxy settings to enable opera and TOR?

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