How to install Tor & Privoxy : (K)Ubuntu (6.06 / 6.10)

By | 2006/11/02
32 Comments

I have been using the Tor privacy network for quite some time now and I really appreciate the anonymity it allows me. It is very easy to setup on Ubuntu systems and basically offers you the freedom to surf and chat anonymously. No more tracking by marketers or wondering if someone can find you based on your IP. Of course always remember to use your powers of invisibility for good! Here you can find out more about the Tor Network.

  1. sudo aptitude install tor
  2. sudo vim /etc/tor/torrc
  3. sudo vim /etc/privoxy/config
  4. comment out: “logfile logfile” and “jarfile jarfile”
  5. find: listen-address 127.0.0.1:8118
  6. add (on next line): forward-socks4a / localhost:9050 . (including the period)
  7. sudo /etc/init.d/tor restart && sudo /etc/init.d/privoxy restart
  8. configure your network to now use Tor and Privoxy.

That is a pretty quick setup for getting the engine to work, now to actually use it. This can be used globally if set in your network proxy config (System > Preferences > Network Proxy) or individually by program that allows proxy configuration.

Firefox Setup / Global Network Proxy Settings:

  1. Edit > Preferences > Advanced > “Connection”
  2. HTTP and SSL Proxy: localhost: 8118
  3. SOCKS Host: localhost 9050

Or for an even simpler method simply download the Tor Plugin for Firefox. It allows you to turn on / off the Tor proxy with a click of a button.

For gaim:

  1. Edit any account (Jabber, MSN, etc)
  2. “Advanced” Tab or “Proxy Settings” (depending on your version of gaim)
  3. Proxy Type: SOCKS 5
  4. Host: 127.0.0.1
  5. Port: 9050
  6. Done

For IRC (freenode) over gaim:

  1. Edit your IRC account settings
  2. change “irc.freenode.net” to: mejokbp2brhw4omd.onion
  3. “Advanced” Tab or “Proxy Settings” (depending on your version of gaim)
  4. Proxy Type: SOCKS 5
  5. Host: 127.0.0.1
  6. Port: 9050

Enjoy using the Tor Privacy network. If you enjoy it, consider hosting another private node on the network to expand its reach and bandwidth. It is very easy to setup (outside of the scope of this tutorial) and you can limit the bandwidth available. Those instructions (hopefully) coming soon.

32 thoughts on “How to install Tor & Privoxy : (K)Ubuntu (6.06 / 6.10)”

  1. roni

    i followed ur tutorial but i still got a problem..when i run tail i get:

    Jan 18 11:36:46.995 [notice] Tor 0.1.0.16 opening new log file.
    Jan 18 11:36:46.996 [notice] Initialized libevent version 1.1a using method epoll
    Jan 18 11:36:46.997 [warn] connection_create_listener(): Could not bind to port 9050: Cannot assign requested address
    Jan 18 11:36:46.997 [err] options_act(): Failed to bind one of the listener ports.
    Jan 18 11:36:46.997 [err] init_from_config(): Acting on config options left us in a broken state. Dying.

  2. Ubuntu Tutorials

    roni – are you still having this issue? Let me know or email me (see contact page) for more help. I haven’t seen that error before but I’m sure we can get it resolved.

  3. itchyworm

    how does one test if it’s working? i used edgy, installed tor and privoxy, checked my netstat -a, but some sites are still blocked. unless tor doesn’t work with sites using ip addresses in their URLs?

  4. unknownkadath

    Thanks for the help. My Ubuntu 6.06 LTS is nicely torrified now. ^_^

  5. jimmy

    please help,
    when i open tor.exe to install it i got this message:

    Jun 16 15:19:01.828 [notice] Tor v0.1.1.23. This is experimental software. Do no
    t rely on it for strong anonymity.
    Jun 16 15:19:01.859 [notice] Configuration file “C:\Documents and Settings\Sumer
    ian Francis\Application Data\tor\torrc” not present, using reasonable defaults.
    Jun 16 15:19:01.859 [notice] Initialized libevent version 1.1a+imweasel using me
    thod win32. Good.
    Jun 16 15:19:01.859 [notice] connection_create_listener(): Opening Socks listene
    r on 127.0.0.1:9050
    Jun 16 15:19:02.515 [notice] I learned some more directory information, but not
    enough to build a circuit.

  6. liam

    That worked a treat, had it up and running in no time. Many thanks.

  7. Kenny Pipitone

    I put in the first command line and got this back:

    E: Type ‘“deb’ is not known on line 37 in source list /etc/apt/sources.list
    E: Type ‘“deb’ is not known on line 37 in source list /etc/apt/sources.list
    E: The list of sources could not be read.

  8. Alberto

    Hi!
    i’m so confused about using Privoxy

    I follow all the steps but every time i enable Tor i got this message

    ” This is Privoxy 3.0.3 on localhost (127.0.0.1), port 8118, enabled

    No such domain
    bla bla bla bla…”

    How can i get privoxy and tor working?

  14. Joe Steele

    I am stymied on the first step.
    Running “sudo aptitude install tor” returns —
    No candidate version found for tor
    No candidate version found for tor
    No packages will be installed, upgraded, or removed.
    0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

    I just created a fresh machine with Ubuntu 9.04 (jaunty).

  17. tool

    don’t u about command becoz ur vlc and grstreamer will be uninstalled\
    The who have posted this tutorial is madarchod and chutiya

  19. Dan

    Sudo get-apt install something something dollar sign.

  21. Bamebaba

    hi people,
    i have been working on Tor for sometime now and it suddenly went off. ever since then it has refused to connect saying control port setting is incorrect and stuffs like that. can anyone be of immerse help by getting me the latest setting for Tor, i use MTN and mozzilla firefox in Nigeria.

  25. Steven P

    Alberto :Hi! i’m so confused about using PrivoxyI follow all the steps but every time i enable Tor i got this message” This is Privoxy 3.0.3 on localhost (127.0.0.1), port 8118, enabledNo such domain bla bla bla bla…”How can i get privoxy and tor working?

    Absolutely. Every tutorial I’ve tried yields the same. Seems like everyone is reiterating the same tutorial…

  29. Grouper

    when im trying to surf the internet its very slow… i dont what cud be the reason….

  30. gaurav

    Hey Thanks a lot for the configuration steps. I followed the steps and now was able to run my programs which access sites that were not previously accessible. But after restarting my system i am not able to run the programs and i get a ‘connection timed out error’ as i used to get before. Are there any steps i need to take apart from starting tor and privoxy..?

  31. Kelly Francis

    The easy way to install Tor (works with ubuntu, mint, or any debian based distributions)

    For 32 bit systems:
    $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:upubuntu-com/tor
    $ sudo apt-get update
    $ sudo apt-get install tor-browser

    For 64 bit systems:
    $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:upubuntu-com/tor64
    $ sudo apt-get update
    $ sudo apt-get install tor-browser

    After the installation is finished, set the right ownership on the ~/.tor-browser:

    $ sudo chown -R $USER ~/.tor-browser

    http://namhuy.net/979/how-to-install-tor-browser-bundle-on-linux.html

Comments are closed.