When talk turns to privacy and online anonymity, it isn’t long before Tor enters the discussion. The Tor browser has become famous for its use of .onion domains, making it easier for people to browse the web without fear of being snooped upon.
Now there is a new tool for the security-minded to play with. Tor Messenger Beta is -- as you would expect -- a chat tool that routes traffic through Tor. One thing it has in its favor right from the start is that this is not a weird proprietory app -- it can be used in conjunction with existing networks such as Jabber (XMPP), IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Twitter, Yahoo, and more.
Available for OS X, Windows, and Linux, Tor Messenger Beta employs Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging to keep communication secure. It is based on Mozilla's Instantbird thanks in part to the fact that there are close links between Tor and Firefox; it just made sense in a lot of ways. There have already been three alpha versions release, but this is the first public beta that is available for testing
The team behind the chat client says:
Tor Messenger builds on the networks you are familiar with, so that you can continue communicating in a way your contacts are willing and able to do. This has traditionally been in a client-server model, meaning that your metadata (specifically the relationships between contacts) can be logged by the server. However, your route to the server will be hidden because you are communicating over Tor.
Future builds will see the introduction of extra features such as sandboxing, encrypted file transfers, and OTR over Twitter DMs. If you fancy trying it out, grab the Tor Messenger Beta and see what you think.
Photo credit: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock
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