Update your TorBox

Since October 2023, Raspberry Pi OS has been based on Debian 12 “Bookworm”. The only negative impact for TorBox was located in the installation script. The management of Python modules with pip3 was blocked. We fixed that issue and updated the TorBox image with the new Raspberry Pi OS. The new image works with Linux Kernel 6.1.21 and Tor version 0.4.8.10 with obfs4proxy version 0.0.14 and Snowflake 2.8.0.

Here are the links to the new updated TorBox v.0.5.3 (17.12.2023):
TorBox Image (about 1.25 GB): v.0.5.3 (17.12.2023) – SHA-256 values
TorBox Menu only: v.0.5.3 (17.12.2023) – SHA-256 values

Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to test the image with the new Raspberry Pi 5, yet.

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Known problems and bugs

BUG: TFS and TCS on Onion Services doesn’t show any images and don’t work correctly due to wrong permissions. You can fix the bug with the following commands:
sudo sed -i "s/^user .*/user torbox/" /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
sudo systemctl restart nginx

The image file is not fixed yet — PENDING! ⏳

BUG: If you see a y by pressing the z key and vice versa, then there is a wrong keyboard layout in the TorBox image. You can fix the bug with the following commands:

sudo sed -i 's/XKBLAYOUT="ch"/XKBLAYOUT="gb"/g' /etc/default/keyboard

Instead of gb, you can also use your preffered two-letter country code. The image file is not fixed yet — PENDING! ⏳

16 thoughts on “Update your TorBox”

    1. I tested it only on a Raspberry Pi 4. Technically, there shouldn’t be an issue with the Raspberry Pi 3B. I suggest you open an issue about the Raspberry Pi 3B booting problem on TorBox’s GitHub Page. Nevertheless, I can probably only help you if you provide details about the error (where the boot is stuck, whether there are any error messages, etc.).

      Reply

  3. Torbox 053 works well on my Raspberry Pi 3B+ (2017), but not on my several Raspberry Pi 3B V1.2 (2015). On Pi 3B V1.2 (2015) it raises the client WiFi but without any response to my ssh [email protected].1 connection request.

    Reply

    1. I installed the Torbox 053 image several times from scratch and run it on one of my Raspberry Pi 3B V1.2 (2015). At arbitrary points in time the Pi 3B lost client connection via wlan0, both on ssh and (if ever I came so far at all) during normal operation. Sometimes the response times were suspiciously long, e.g. between “Login as:” and “Password:”. Most times I could not even complete the configuration process (which I kept to default values). On the other hand the very same Torbox 053 image instance on the storage card having failed on the Pi 3B worked flawlessly when inserted into the Pi 3B+ (2017).

      Reply

      1. I installed Torbox 042 on my Raspberry Pi 3B V1.2 (2015). After some bumps during config it runs now flawlessly on my Pi 3B. This may not surprise everybody but I just had to try.

        Reply

  4. @Adrian
    Thank you very much for the detailed feedback. After reading your comments and looking at the differences between the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, I may have to throw the former from the list of supported devices. The most significant change from TorBox 0.4.x to 0.5.x is that as a base for the TorBox image, the 64-bit instead of the 32-bit version of the Raspberry Pi OS “Bullseye” lite was used. It may be that this is too much for the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. Sometimes, other strange behaviors were seen on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, even on the 32-bit OS. For example, sometimes, the internal chip shows up as wlan1 instead of wlan0 in combination with an external wifi USB.

    Reply

    1. Ok, this clarifies the situation: 042 aka 32 bit for the Pi 3B and 053 aka 64 bit for the Pi 3B+ and above. Meanwhile, I successfuly installed and operate 042 on a Pi Zero 2W (haven’t tried Pi Zero W yet) in combination with a RTL8192 USB dongle for wlan1 (whose driver seems to be part of 042 and is run automatically) and powered by a tiny 1000 mAh Waveshare UPS HAT (C). I am currently designing a 3D printed enclosure for this super-portable miniature combo. After all, 042 is still a very useful release.

      Reply

    2. I would like to connect the client via USB and the Internet via wlan0. This would make it possible to use e.g. a Pi Zero W/2W as a TorBox 0.4.2 USB dongle powered by the client and connecting to e.g. a public WiFi without disclosing the (then redundant) TorBox access point. According to http://www.torbox.ch/?page_id=775 “For menu entries 6 and 7, an additional USB-WiFi adapter is required in most cases.” this does not seem to be possible. When configuring option 7 via wlan0 SSH-login on a Pi alo cabled to the client via USB, I immediately lose the SSH connection without opportunity to specify to which access point wlan0 shall connect. Further, TorBox would then have to assume automatically that client connection shall be via USB (Ethernet being another candate), and I would lose any SSH connection until next boot (through lack of an available SSH-capable link, but ok). Is there a way to make it possible?

      Reply

      1. That’s a very interesting project. I hope you will succeed with it and share it for the benefit of others (for example, with a contribution to our “for Advanced” section).
        Regarding your troubles with the interface. I guess by plugging Pi Zero W/2W into your client device, you will get an interface named (usb0, usb1, etc.) or there alike. It means that TorBox has to configure itself, for example, with an Internet source wlan0 and client interface ubs0. It is not supported yet, but if you give me the interface names, I can probably add support for that. The most important changes are in the menu script to set the right parameters for torrc and iptables. If you want more collaboration and support with your project, then I propose that you open an issue or a topic in the discussion section on TorBox’s GitHub page.

        Reply

  5. Woudl be great to Allow Tor downloading from torbox.ch 😉

    Connecting to http://www.torbox.ch (www.torbox.ch)|104.21.26.57|:443… connected.
    HTTP request sent, awaiting response… 403 Forbidden
    2024-01-18 22:43:15 ERROR 403: Forbidden.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your feedback. It is most likely because the website is behind Cloudflare. But please tell me what you want to download with which program … maybe it is possible to avoid such errors in the future.

      Also, we would like to have a Mirror of the website on an .onion address. With our project “Torbox on a cloud“, we are a big step forward toward that goal. The only problem is our limited time resources.

      Reply

        1. Yes, unfortunately, Cloudflare blocks wget coming from the tor network.

          Alternatively, you can grab the package from our TorBox on a Cloud installation: http://x63xkeiw3cgczc6lcwf62aoe35rp6hfcz3mympmuha7xhj63qdf3ngid.onion/download/2/

          Unfortunately, I don’t know how to download a file using wget on a client device behind TorBox. However, you can use curl:
          curl --socks5-hostname "192.168.42.1:9050" -O "http://x63xkeiw3cgczc6lcwf62aoe35rp6hfcz3mympmuha7xhj63qdf3ngid.onion/files/torbox-20231217-v053.gz"

          Please adjust the IP address depending on your connection type to the TorBox:
          – via WiFi: 192.168.42.1
          – via ethernet cable: 192.168.43.1
          – via OpenVPN tunnel: 192.168.44.1

          Reply

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