Tor Installation

Some of the desktop applications I offer require an anonymous proxy to be used. The most reliable one I've found is Tor, which is free to download, easy to set up, and generally the best known of such proxies.

However, in order to work with my applications, there is one change to make to Tor's configuration.

So, here are the steps:

  1. Download Tor from here. Pick the stable Windows version.
  2. Run the installer - this will set up three applications: Tor (the proxy network manager), Privoxy (the proxy itself), and Vidalia (a user-interface for Tor). You need all three.
  3. Do not install other options (eg, the Firefox plugin, if you're asked), unless you know for certain that you want them. My apps do not require anything else unless otherwise stated.
  4. When the apps are running, right-click the Vidalia icon in your Windows icon collection in the bottom-right (normally) of your screen. It's the one that look like an apple or pear or something.
  5. Pick "Settings".
  6. Go to the Advanced section.
  7. Change the authentication mode to "Cookie".
  8. Make a note of the "Data Directory" on that same page. You'll need that for my apps, so that they can interface with Tor directly.