Tor is the backbone of any user who wants a dash of privacy when browsing the web. The project for anonymous internet use is now expanding, with the Tor network now branching out into instant messaging.

Message Anonymously

Tor Messenger is a cross-platform chat programme that allows you to message contacts over the web, safe in the knowledge it?s free from prying eyes. The chat client takes a number of popular services, such as Jabber, IRC, Twitter, Facebook Chat, Yahoo and Google Talk, and presents them in a handy all-in-one app that sits on your Mac, Linux or Windows computer. To keep your messages private, the service uses Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR), which encrypts all your various messages and passes them through the spaghetti junction that comprises of 6,000 relays in around 89 countries.



The chat client will import all your contacts from the services you use, so there is no need to spend hours building up your friends list. But do bear in mind that in order to use the service, each participant will also have to be using an OTR-enabled service. You can choose to switch the feature off, but that would rather miss the point of messaging anonymously over the web.

The Tor Messenger is built on top of existing chat client Instantbird. Developed by the Mozilla community best known for the Firefox web browser, Tor explained their reasoning for choosing Instantbird in their blog. Other similar IM programmes have been in existence for a while, Pidgin being one of the most popular examples. They have long had the option to switch on OTR, and even use the Tor network for anonymity when using IM services. With Tor Messenger however, these features will be on as a matter of default, and it?s likely to be the best way to communicate with friends online whilst staying completely anonymous.

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What is Tor?

For those who are unaware of what the Tor network is, it?s essentially a worldwide network of volunteer-operated servers that users can access to browse the web anonymously. Initially developed with the US Navy, Tor (which stands for The Onion Router), is now a non-profit organisation striving for better privacy online.

Tor

The Tor network works by taking your traffic as you move around the web, and bouncing it around different Tor servers located across the globe, encrypting that traffic as it does so. As traffic is distributed around to so many different places, it can?t be traced back to your computer.

For journalists who want to contact whistle blowers or those who want to access a censored website in a dictator-led state, the Tor network allows them to bypass any restrictions and remain anonymous. It?s also got a purpose for general users, as it keeps advertisers from building tailored ads on you and can just generally protect your privacy.

Obviously, Tor do not collect any information on their users and there is no registration, so question marks are often raised over the dark side of Tor, as its often used to uphold unsavoury operations such as the drug trade. Still, Tor is mainly funded through US government operations, and claims to have around 2.5 million daily users.