MACTECHHEAD  Everything is always slow for n00bs.

Try reading the help section.

I get great speeds using the "View The Network" UI to cherry pick fast TOR servers.  
(Version 0.2.1.18)

DMU  Ah ha! Turns out Glimmer Blocker was conflicting. Once I removed that and created a new identity, bingo. Perhaps an intermediate user can user this :)  
(Version 0.2.0.32a)

HERVé 5  Privoxy doesn't dial home, what you detect is all the guys Privoxy allows out!

For instance, if you have a widget that'll "dial home" (or, more often, connect to a server, for instance meteo...) as all widgets are html based their requests will be channeled through Privoxy, and Snitch will tell you Privoxy tries to connect here and there.

Indeed Privoxy being a filter on outgoing requests, it is somehow a supreme unfairness to tell it "dials home"...  
(Version 0.1.2.13)

NEONBLUE2  Privoxy is not dialling home. Whenever an app tries to access the net it's hitting Privoxy and telling it where to go. Then when Privoxy tries to go somewhere it hits Little Snitch.

Whenever I turn Privoxy off I run into the problem that none of my browsers have been cleared to go through Little Snitch. It's because Privoxy deals with net traffic.

I'd thought you'd have realised the moment you denied and the net stopped working.  
(Version 0.1.2.19)

THREEDEE912  -_-

Because Privoxy and Tor are trying to anonymize your surfing, they obviously have to connect to the internet in order it to work! Any program you use gets routed through Privoxy/Tor, which then get routed through a bunch of different servers around the world to make it very difficult to determine for someone to determine where a connection came from. This is all the 'phoning home' you see (although it's not phoning home at all).  
(Version 0.2.0.31)

SMACTRON  How did you do this?  
(Version 0.1.1.26)

ROB  Yes. Just go back to System Pref--Network-- Choose your connectiion--uncheck your proxies boxes, Or pick firefox browser and do not configure to use proxy-- choose direct connection on connection settings. Yoou keep Tor and Privoxy for Safari and the rest. Enjoy!  
(Version 0.1.1.24)

DOC RENAUD  Thanks for the tip Rob.  
(Version 0.1.1.24)

UMAROMC  Launch the installed Vidalia GUI which should be in the /Applications folder... once launched you can right/control-click it's dock icon to activate/deactivate Tor on the fly... much easier than the afore-mentioned tip. ;)  
(Version 0.1.1.24)

DOC RENAUD  Even simplier :-)

Thanks to you too UmarOMC.  
(Version 0.1.1.24)

SOMEONE  Websites can still obtain an IP address, but it certainly won't be your IP address. It will be the IP of another onion router on the network.  
(Version 0.1.1.23)

DOM21  The way I understand it, the IP address captured by a website someone else visited may be YOURS if you connect to TOR. Let's face it, you don't know where someone else using TOR is going on the web or what data he's sending. His IP will be hidden but the exit TOR user's will not. The site he visited may be very objectionable to you if you knew. It's a crapshoot whose exit IP TOR will use in the connection. Maybe yours, maybe someone else's. Thus you could be the one logged as having visited an illegal site even though you didn't.

Correct me if I have this all wrong.  
(Version 0.1.1.24)

ANONYMOUS  Which Enterprise? The one with Kirk or the one with Picard?  
(Version 0.1.1.8a)

SIG  Yes, I have confirmed that 0.1.1.4a is much faster (having skipped 1.3a). Too bad I didn't download 1.3a earlier. Thanks for the advice. 1.2 is a dog and should be canned. :)  
(Version 0.1.1.4a)

ANONYMOUS  Never had much luck with netshade. I mean it seems to work, it does change the mac network settings every few seconds to a different proxy but whenever i go to somewhere like www.showmyip.com it still shows my real ip address. Am I missing something.  
(Version 0.1.1.1)

ANONYMOUS  Never had much luck with netshade. I mean it seems to work, it does change the mac network settings every few seconds to a different proxy but whenever i go to somewhere like www.showmyip.com it still shows my real ip address. Am I missing something.

------------------------

switch off javascript  
(Version 0.1.1.1)

ANONYMOUS  Your problem is that you still have JavaScript enabled. Some sites will use that to get your IP. Disable JavaScript in Safari and you'll be fine.  
(Version 0.1.1.1)

ANONYMOUS  With NS, I also just limit my proxies to ones that ping under 3 secs. and have at least better security and stick with those.  
(Version 0.1.1.2a)

ANONYMOUS  Tor seems to work all the time in Safari and iCab with the Networking prefs set for it, Firefox apparently requires its own prefs set to use it. So you could use Firefox for normal connections, and the other browsers the rest of the time. Simple expect for problems accessing book marks. Oh well.  
(Version 0.1.0.10)

ANONYMOUS  Yes. There is a section in the network system preference that says "Bypass proxy settings for these hosts & Domains" Simply add the websites that you dont want to use it for there. And if you dont set up usenet to use a proxy, Tor won't be activated for usenet anyway.  
(Version 0.1.1.1)

ANONYMOUS  Click the more info link undernearth the download link. It tells you not only how to set it up, but how to uninstall it too!  
(Version 0.1.0.10)

ANONYMOUS  I am XXXXXX from the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.

We now have your IP address. Soon we will have you, too. Do you like firecrackers? Soon you will be making them 20 hours a day. Every day. For the rest of your life.  
(Version 0.1.0.9rc)

GAOSHAN  *sigh* You, like most foreigners, obviously don't know much about how things actually work over here.

Nobody is going to be arrested for gaining proxy access to the internet. I know you were just jokiing but China isn't the "evil empire" so many of you erroneously think it is.  
(Version 0.1.0.9rc)

ANONYMOUS  More seriously, it does trouble me that a lot of the software the Chines government uses to restrict its citizens' Web access is made in the United States by companies. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of anti-pornography filters can easily be transformed to other purposes.

May I suggest that for your e-mail you might try using the Apple Mail Web page? (Go http://www.mac.com>, click the .Mac tab, find the mail link - you can bookmark it for future used, probably Keychain will even store your password)  
(Version 0.1.0.10)

ANONYMOUS  Thanks for the tip. I'd like to be able to use mail.app from my computer, without going through a web interface. I'll keep poking away at it.

I agree with you about U.S. companies working with the gov here to block things. They are all afraid of ruining their position for the future over here so they are willing to do things that are not acceptable by U.S. standards. The whole national firewall is stupid anyway as anyone with any computer sense at all learns how to use proxy servers. Journalists here sometimes run articles telling people how to get around the firewall as well...*sigh*   
(Version 0.1.0.10)

ANONYMOUS  Hey Gaoshan,

Looks like you've discovered the great American tendency to act like we've got everything figured out. Sorry for the ignorant reply you received but I'm glad you had a sense of humor and a broader worldview than the commenter appears to have.  
(Version 0.1.1.1)

ANONYMOUS  http://tor.eff.org/cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc-osx.html  
(Version 1.0.3rc)

NIGHTHAWK54  I appreciate your replying, but I can’t see the answer to my question in the text at that link (below):

Can you point out the part that I’m not seeing the answer to my question please?

Thanks in advance ;-)

Nighthawk54

______________________________

Running the Tor client on Mac OS X

Step One: Download and Install Tor

Note that this is the installation instructions for running a client on Mac OS X. If you want to run a server (please do), read the "Configuring a server" section at tor-doc.html.

This document was updated April 24 2005.

The latest beta release of Tor for Macintosh OS X is 0.1.0.4-rc. Download it by clicking the link. You may be able to find experimental versions here, if you're looking for new features and new bugs.

Our Tor installer should make everything pretty simple. Below is a screenshot of the setup page (your version will probably be newer than the version printed in this screenshot):

By default, Tor is configured to run at startup. If you do not want Tor to run on startup, you can disable this by selecting "Customize" in the Installer, and then un-checking the "Tor Startup Script" box. Be sure to leave the other boxes checked.

Once the installer is finished and your computer restarts, Tor will start automatically. Tor comes configured as a client by default. It uses a built-in default configuration file in /Library/Tor/torrc, but most people won't need to change any of the settings. Tor is now installed.

Privoxy is installed as part of the Tor bundle package installer. Privoxy is a filtering web proxy that integrates well with Tor. Once it's installed, it will start automatically when your computer is restarted.

You do not need to configure Privoxy to use Tor. A custom Privoxy configuration for Tor has been installed as part of the installer package.

Step Two: Configure your applications to use Tor

After installing Tor, you need to configure your applications to use it. The first step is to set up web browsing. Change your browser to HTTP proxy at localhost port 8118. (That's where Privoxy listens.) In Mozilla, this is in Mozilla|Preferences|Advanced|Proxies. In Firefox it's Firefox|Preferences|General|ConnectionSettings. You should set both your Web Proxy (HTTP) and your Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS or SSL) to localhost port 8118, to hide your SSL traffic too.

If you want to use Tor with Safari, you need to change your Network Settings. The process looks something like:

Select your Network Preferences from the Apple | Location menu.

Select the Network Interface you want to enable Tor on. If you use more than one Interface you must change the proxy settings for each individually.

Select and enter localhost and port 8118 for both Web Proxy (HTTP) and your Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS)

Using privoxy is necessary because browsers leak your DNS requests when they use a SOCKS proxy directly, which is bad for your anonymity. Privoxy also removes certain dangerous headers from your web requests, and blocks obnoxious ad sites like Doubleclick.

To test if it's working, go to junkbusters, network-tools or ipid and see what IP it says you're coming from.

If you have a personal firewall that limits your computer's ability to connect to itself, be sure to allow connections from your local applications to local port 8118 and port 9050. If your firewall blocks outgoing connections, punch a hole so it can connect to at least TCP ports 80, 443, and 9001-9033. For more troubleshooting suggestions, see the FAQ.

To Torify another application that supports HTTP, just point it at Privoxy (that is, localhost port 8118). To use SOCKS directly (for example, for instant messaging, Jabber, IRC, etc), point your application directly at Tor (localhost port 9050). For applications that support neither SOCKS nor HTTP, take a look at connect or socat.

For more information how to Torify other applications in detail visit the Torify HOWTO.

If you have suggestions for improving this document, please post them on our bugtracker in the website category. Thanks!  
(Version 1.0.4rc)

ANONYMOUS  You probably installed the software but you don't route your http-connections over the local proxy that is installed with the server.  
(Version 1.0.4rc)

ANONYMOUS  From the stayinvisible website:

"Due to a security flaw in Java, the applet can access the web server directly, ignoring proxy settings in your browser. That direct access reveals your real IP."

For more privacy, either disable Java in your browser, or use a firewall and local proxy.  
(Version 1.0.6rc)

NIGHTHAWK54  Thanks to Anonymous for the help!! Much apppreciated !  
(Version 0.1.0.8rc)

THE CORRECT ANSWER  Just because you do things that you are embarrassed of, does not mean there is any merit in software that helps you deny responsibility for your actions.

In any case, if you want to be anonymous to a web server, use a web proxy. If you think the government can't trace everything you do on the internet then you are in denial.

The only way to be truly anonymous on the internet is to not use it at all.  
(Version 1.0.5rc)

MU ADMIN  Tor was posted to MacUpdate yesterday, just a few minutes after you called attention to it in the reviews of NetShade.

Thanks for the tip...  
(Version 1.0.3rc)

DAVIS1  Another lamebrain who moralizes without knowing any facts.

Here - get yourself up to speed on the importance of net privacy: http://www.goland.org/Tech/torprivoxyosx.htm

And the word you're looking for is seems, not 'seams.'  
(Version 1.0.3rc)

ANONYMOUS  There's some truth in that, but also people may just want some privacy. There is no privacy built into the internet or networking by default, and it's a shame more people don't take their privacy online more seriously.  
(Version 1.0.3rc)

ANONYMOUS  Interestting you say this. well what if I am in a location which doesn't allow me to see a website, like skype.com, aol.com or any variation thereof. A place as free as Dubai for example. Do not judge people for their needs. You have no clue as to the amount of blocking that goes on outside of your little world.  
(Version 0.1.1.8a)