Tor Browser 4.0.4 Released

+Swati Khandelwal 

Tor — a privacy oriented encrypted anonymizing service, has announced the launch of its next version of Tor Browser Bundle, i.e. Tor version 4.0.4, mostly supposed to improve the built-in utilities, privacy and security of online users on the Internet.

Tor Browser helps users to browse the Internet in a complete anonymous way. The powerful Tor Browser Bundle, an anonymous web browser developed by the Tor Project, received some updates in its software.

Tor Browser Bundle is basically an Internet browser based on Mozilla Firefox configured to protect the users’ anonymity via Tor and Vidalia. The anonymity suite also includes 3 Firefox extensions: Torbutton, NoScript and HTTPS-Everywhere.

NEW FEATURES

The latest version, Tor Browser Bundle 4.0.4, has been recently released, with a few number of new features:

• Updated to Firefox to 31.5.0esr with important security updates.
• Update OpenSSL to 1.0.1l
• Update NoScript to 2.6.9.15
• Update HTTPS-Everywhere to 4.0.3

BUG FIXES

• Meanwhile, the new Tor version 4.0.4 also include some bugfixes:
• Bug 14203: Prevent meek from displaying an extra update notification
• Bug 14849: Remove new NoScript menu option to make permissions permanent
• Bug 14851: Set NoScript pref to disable permanent permissions

"A new release for the stable Tor Browser is available from the Tor Browser Project page and also from ourdistribution directory," states the Tor project team.

Tor is generally thought to be a place where users come online to hide their activities and remain anonymous. Tor is an encrypted anonymizing network considered to be one of the most privacy oriented service and is mostly used by activists, journalists to circumvent online censorship and surveillance efforts by various countries.

However, late last year we have seen large scale cyber attack on Tor network that quietly seized some of its network specialized servers called Directory Authorities (DA), the servers that help Tor clients to find Tor relays in the anonymous network service.

On the other end of the side, last month 12 high-capacity Tor Middle relays was launched by the Polaris — a new initiative by Mozilla, the Tor Project and the Center of Democracy and Technology — in order to help build more privacy controls into technology. The addition of high-capacity Tor middle relays to the Tor network helps reduce finite number of Tor connections occurring at the same time