TorBox v.0.2.5 released, featuring Bridge Relay support!

Almost a month ago, the Tor Project called for support:

We currently have approximately 1,000 bridges, 600 of which support the obfs4 obfuscation protocol. Unfortunately, these numbers have been stagnant for a while. It’s not enough to have many bridges: eventually, all of them could find themselves in block lists. We therefore need a constant trickle of new bridges that aren’t blocked anywhere yet. This is where we need your help. By setting up an obfs4 bridge, you can help censored users connect to the open internet through Tor.

Based on this call we put a bridge relay into the net a week ago, and – if everything works out – we will add a second one. However, that was not enough for us. Mostly during the last few weekends, we’ve implemented a TorBox feature that allows anyone with a public IP address, 24/7 internet connectivity over a long time, and a bandwidth of at least 1 Mbps to configure their bridge relay at the touch of a button and put it on the net. Besides, we have added and improved some other details, so that we can now release the resulting image as TorBox v.0.2.5. Below are the corresponding links (typically, you need only the image file):

Main Menu TorBox v.0.2.5
Main Menu TorBox v.0.2.5

Changelog v.0.2.4-rpi4 (08.08.2019) —> v.0.2.5 (24.09.2019)
New: This version introduces the support for setting up a bridge relay.
Updated : The system is based on Raspbian “Buster” lite with Linux Kernel 4.19.66 and Tor version 0.4.1.5.
New: A little message (“TOR is working“) in the right corner of the main menu shows you immediately if you are connected with the Tor network (meaning https://check.torproject.org returns a positive result). Since a missing response does not automatically mean that there is no connection to the Tor network, no error message is displayed. In other words, if this message is missing, there may or may not be a connection problem.
New: We use the same method as mentioned above for the final message box after selecting (or changing) a connection (main menu entry 6-11). In case of success, the message starts with “CONGRATULATION !!” otherwise with “HMMM… THAT DOESN’T LOOK GOOD…“. In contrast to the positive message, negative feedback does not necessarily mean that an error has occurred. Since the check does not last more than 5 seconds, Tor may not have been ready yet; the check site may have been down, etc.
New: Support for Adafruit’s PiTFT displays (PiTFT 3.5″ resistive touch 320×480, PiTFT 2.8“ capacitive touch 240×320, PiTFT 2.4″, 2.8″ or 3.2″ resistive 240×320, PiTFT 2.2″ no touch 240×320, Braincraft 1.54″ display 240×240). Note: TorBox’s menus and dialog boxes have only been adapted for the PiTFT 3.5 (320×480) or any other display, which displays in textual mode at least 25×80 characters.
Improved: Menus and dialog boxes should now work more smoothly on 25×80 textual screens as well as on smartphone and tablet clients. For that reason, we added for some message boxes scroll texts, which are visible with the “scroll down” remark in the title of the message box.
Improved: Revised version of the Tor reset functionality in the „Countermeasure & Troubleshooting“ menu.
Improved: Cleaning up in the shell scripts (used more variables, combine certain parts into functions, etc.).
Updated: Pre-configured Bridges (we also added our bridge relay)
Fixed: While adding bridges, TorBox activates/deactivates the new bridges depending on the current bridge modus.
Fixed: Some more non-critical bugs and typos in the text files.

The pre-v.0.2.6 release is expected at the end of the year.

The functionality of Tor easily explained

If you look at the various forums about Tor, there is a lot of skepticism, misunderstandings, and questions, especially among newcomers, about how Tor works and the possibilities (or limitations) it offers. This is due in particular to the fact that many people are unfamiliar with how Tor works, and feel that it is far too complicated to understand. With an excellent video of Computerphile, Dr. Mike Pound shows that it doesn’t have to be complicated. Very simple and easy for beginners to understand, he shows how Tor works and mentions its limitations.

Sneak Peek on TorBox 0.2.5

My first Tor Bridge Relay is properly working – see here.

With TorBox v.0.2.5 (coming soon) everyone with direct internet connection will be able to set up a Tor Bridge Relay — only with a view „clicks“.

Bridges are essential for people in authoritarian countries to reach the open internet. TorBox v.0.2.4 offers such client functionality already, but soon, users with a direct internet connection can help others by setting up their relay.

More information
Run Tor Bridges to Defend the Open Internet

TorBox To Go 2.0

Due to the size of the Raspberry Pi and the necessary accessories, TorBox is very easy to use on the road. Below, we show you the recommended minimal accessories for portable use. Nevertheless, all the stuff still fits into a waterproof, compact plastic container. Below the images, you find further information about the items used with the corresponding links.

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Although the Raspberry Pi takes up little space, the problem lies in the fact that the official power adapters to the Raspberry Pi are not very compact and therefore waste valuable space. There are smaller power adapters, such as the 12W USB Power Adapter by Apple shown in our example, but when directly connected to the Raspberry Pi, they can cause power problems. This also applies to power banks: the power supply is usually not sufficient for a long stable operation of the Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B was still satisfied with 12W, but Model B+ and the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B require at least 15W (see here: Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Review and Performance Comparison and this Power Consumption Benchmarks). There is also another problem with the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B: because of a flaw in how the USB-C power input is behaving, currently, the Raspberry Pi 4 B does not work with most third-party power adapter and power banks. By contrast, the PiJuice HAT works reliably with almost all Raspberry Pi versions and models, and virtually any power adapter or power bank can be connected to it, so the somewhat weak standard battery doesn’t run out too quickly. With the PiJuice alone, TorBox can be operated for an estimated 1-2 hours, depending on the load.

Used Items