Installing SwitchProxy for Tor


SwitchProxy is a Firefox plugin that makes it easy for you to switch between using a proxy and connecting to websites directly.

In this howto, you'll set up SwitchProxy to let you change between using Tor and a direct connection. We assume you already have Firefox installed and working.

The screenshots here are oriented towards Windows users, but SwitchProxy works anywhere Firefox works. Hopefully everybody else can follow along just fine.


Step Zero: Download and Install Tor and Privoxy


Before you start, you need to make sure 1) Tor is up and running, 2) Privoxy is up and running, and 3) Privoxy is configured to point to Tor.

For Windows users, this means step one and step two of the Windows Tor installation howto. Mac OS X users just need to do step one of OS X Tor installation howto, since our OS X package includes Privoxy and configures it already.


Step One: Download and Install SwitchProxy


SwitchProxy is a Firefox plugin, so you need to go through the process of installing a new plugin. First, go to the SwitchProxy web page. Turn on JavaScript for now and click "Install Now":

switchproxy web page

It will pop up a window asking for permission to install the plugin. Click on the "Install Now" button:

firefox plugin warning

Once the installer is finished, you should close all of your Firefox windows and restart Firefox.

firefox plugin finished

Step Two: Configure SwitchProxy


When you restart Firefox, you'll notice there's a new toolbar that lets you control your proxies. Now we're going to set up a proxy configuration for Tor. Click on "Add" in the new Proxy toolbar:

new toolbar

It will ask you to select a proxy type. Choose "Standard." (There's also an "anonymous" proxy type that uses an ad hoc set of anonymous proxies out there. You don't want this, because those other "anonymous" proxies give you much weaker security than Tor.)

standard proxy

Now it will show you the standard proxy config window for Firefox. Give this configuration a proxy label of "tor". Then fill in "localhost" and "8118" for all four entries, as shown here. (Even though Privoxy doesn't support FTP and Gopher, you should set them up anyway.) Then click "OK":

proxy config

Now you've created the "tor" proxy label, but you're not using it yet. Click on the pull-down list and select tor, as shown here:

switch to tor

Almost done. Click "Apply" to make your change take effect:

apply

Done! Firefox will reload your current page. In this example screenshot, it reloaded the page and happened to get a German exit node:

german google

Step Step Three: Check if it works


Now Firefox is using Privoxy as an HTTP proxy, Privoxy is using Tor as a socks4a proxy, and Tor is making your connections to the Internet.

In the above example, it was clear that it worked because the web page showed up in a different language. In other cases, though, you'll want to verify that your setup is working. Do step four of the Windows Tor installation howto, or step three of the OS X Tor installation howto.

You should be aware of one anonymity gotcha: when you switch from using Tor to a direct connection (or vice versa), by default the page that's currently active will be reloaded through the new proxy setting. So make sure you're on a page that isn't sensitive, before switching. (You can also change this behavior in SwitchProxy's "Options | Preferences" menu.)


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