Filed under: Freeware, Internet Tools, Open Source
Vidalia is a cross-platform GUI for the Tor network, which makes it very simple to anonymize your Mac’s TCP activity. The Tor project (which we posted about a long time ago) is a volunteer network designed to foil traffic analysis and thus grant you to cover your tracks on the internet. Basically it bounces your network requests across a number of Tor computers (and back again) so that nobody is able to figure out your actual destination.
This is obviously useful for keeping your identity secret, but it may also allow you to access IP addresses and services that your local network administrator blocks. Now you should think carefully about trying to circumvent such restrictions, as bad things may happen to you if it’s discovered. The other large downside is speed. Needless to state if you’re bouncing around personal all over the globe before you get to your destination there’s going to be some lag. Nonetheless, if you need the anonymity (or if the people you’re communicating with need it — think journalists or whistleblowers) it might be worth it. You may also like to contribute your own personal as a node to help out the network.
Vidalia is open source and a free download. The latest package is marked for Tiger, but it seems to work on Leopard as well. If you’re having trouble getting it from the Vidalia project page you can also download it from the Tor project download page. Once you download it, be sure to carefully follow the instructions in the Installation Guide for OS X.
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