[2024-feb-29] Sad news: Eric Layton aka Nocturnal Slacker aka vtel57 passed away on Feb 26th, shortly after hospitalization. He was one of our Wiki's most prominent admins. He will be missed.

Welcome to the Slackware Documentation Project

Installing Tor Using a SlackBuild Script

Overview

From torproject.org:

Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features. Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy.


Installing Tor

  • Download the libevent SlackBuild and source from SlackBuilds.org.
  • Build and install libevent from the SlackBuild script.
  • Download the Tor SlackBuild and source from SlackBuilds.org.
  • Build and install the Tor package using the SlackBuild script as you did with libevent above.
  • Start Tor at startx using Xfce’s Session Manager GUI front end. (or start Tor as a service in Slack – /etc/rc.d)
  • Download and install the Foxy Proxy Basic addon for FF and Seamonkey.
  • Add new proxy in Foxy Proxy – Socks v5, 127.0.0.1, port 9050.

That’s it. You can start the Tor service by typing “tor” in Run Program (Xfce) or at the command line in terminal. Once it’s running, you can use the Foxy Proxy button to turn on the Tor proxy. Once you’ve done that, you can test by using THIS site.

This howto has been modified to reflect the fact that SlackBuilds.org now has a Tor SlackBuild in its repositories. When this was first written, a Tor pre-made package was used. See original source below for previous method.

UPDATED METHOD FOLLOWS (Amended 050220 - V. T. Eric Layton)

Nowadays, there's a much easier way to get Tor up and running on your Slackware system. All you have to do is visit the TOR site and download the Linux binary package. Unpack and install it either in /opt or in your /home directory. Create a launcher on your panel for the executable and you're all set.

The TOR binary is a self-contained package; everything the browser needs to run is included. Any mods or preferences you set in your new TOR browser will be saved in its own default profile document. It will NOT affect your regular Firefox ESR settings in any way.

I advise you to read the TOR User Manual in order to gain an understanding of how it works and in what ways it protects your privacy.

Sources

This how-to is an edited version of THIS original source. Copyrights may apply to the original. Author grants permission for use on this site in this modified form.

 howtos:security:installing_tor_using_a_slackbuild_script ()