TorChat - anonymous chat [discontinued]

[garbanzo]

Anonymous, encrypted instant messaging using the Tor network. Stealth, cross-platform, GNU GPL.

Cool!

http://code.google.com/p/torchat/

[Ameri-CAIN]

This is a really sweet idea! I had problems using it at work though for some reason. I will test it tonight at home to make sure it is a problem with my work environment. If it works at home, I have a feeling my issue has to do with network port configuration, which from what I understand is currently hard coded into the app.

I have been encrypting all my IM chats at work or on the road by running an SSH server at my house, and using Kitty, to instantiate a forwarding connection through the local 127.0.0.1 port 8080 to my house. I then Set PidginPortable to use a Socks proxy on IP Address 127.0.0.1 Port 8080, and Kitty forwards the request to my computer at home. I found the full instructions to set it up at the following link...

http://www.buzzsurf.com/surfatwork/

You need to setup an SSH server at home, but everything you take on the road is portable. Oh by the way, this works for Web Browsers as well.

--UPDATE--
As expected TorChat works fine on my home computer which leads me to believe that something about the way it communicates via the network at work is the issue. I will try and find out for sure what the issue is.

[guinness]

New version is available, I found out about this application on Ghacks.
Tested: Portable

[rokth]

Link

Category: Internet - Instant Messengers , Security - Privacy Tools
Synopsis: Torchat is a p2pIM client using tor and tor's hidden services feature to send messages between peers and authentication based on private key authentication.
Messages are sent encrypted and can only be decrypted by the intended peer.

Writes settings to: Application folder
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch APPNAME.EXE.
Stealth [?]: Yes
Path portability: Automatic relative path (eg. ..\..\personal\work.doc)
License: GNU GPL v3
System Requirements: Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7

Submission is here

[guinness]

Tested: Portable

I also edited the entry with the correct submission name (http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/ ... 795#p13795) and included an icon. Thanks for adding.

[rokth]

Thanks for the update, but...where did my entry go? I'm normally not a credit whore but it'd be nice to know.

[freakazoid]

garbanzo originally suggested the app back in 2008:
http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/ ... hp?p=13795

[guinness]

Thanks for the update, but...where did my entry go? I'm normally not a credit whore but it'd be nice to know.

Sorry about that, but I did mention in my post about the application being suggested before.

[webfork]

garbanzo originally suggested the app back in 2008:
http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/ ... hp?p=13795

This is a little overdue, but I have merged the topics.

[webfork]

This program no longer appears to connect to Tor. There's some discussion on the Github site on this topic and a few workarounds: https://github.com/prof7bit/TorChat/issues/62 ... As much of the point of this program was simple anonymity, I'm tempted to suggest we take the entry offline. Any suggestions?

[smaragdus]

@webfork

The procedure you quoted above seems to be working. For me TorChat is more advanced than Ricochet- it has more features (logging, file transfer, tray, statuses, etc) and since the workaround to connect to Tor is rather simple I think that it is better to keep the database entry visible. One is certain- the developer (Bernd Kreuss) has no interest in maintaining TorChat and there is no one to take on the project, this is a common problem with abandoned open source software. I found an interview with TorChat developer:

Interview with Bernd Kreuss of TorChat

Several TorChat links:

TorChat at Softpedia - http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/C ... Chat.shtml
TorChat at Freeware Files - http://www.freewarefiles.com/TorChat_program_63771.html
TorChat at AlternativeTo - https://alternativeto.net/software/torchat/
TorChat at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TorChat

[webfork]

A related app is available as an alternative to TorChat is available: Speek

They are aiming at an easy, cross-platform privacy+security option, which is nice for those who want a secure chat service but don't want to share an email or phone number to connect. It also doesn't require connecting to a specific server.

Unlike some other tools in this space over time, it does accept file transfer so you don't have to do some binary-to-text conversion step to send someone a file.

The program claims that it's serverless but it does need access to Tor servers, which can be blocked. It's more accurate to say that it doesn't require a *specific* server.

Definitely if you're in a situation where you need serious security, use more than one layer e.g. run inside a sandbox, use a VPN, send messages using encryption like GPG. Honestly, this isn't a forum for political refugees or journalism in a repressive regime so ... your mileage may vary.

Homepage: https://github.com/Speek-App/Speek
More from ItsFoss: https://itsfoss.com/speek/