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<p>Tor Messenger is a cross-platform chat program that aims to be secure by default and sends all of its traffic over Tor. It supports a wide variety of transport networks, including XMPP, IRC, Twitter, and others; enables Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging automatically; has an easy-to-use graphical user interface; and a secure automatic updater.</p>
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<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="https://www.gadgetgyani.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/tor-messenger_0.png" alt="" class="wp-image-15053"/></figure></div>
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<p>We are pleased to announce another public beta release of Tor Messenger that&nbsp;features important improvements to its&nbsp;stability and security. All users are encouraged to upgrade.</p>
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<h3>Mozilla ESR52</h3>
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<p>This release of Tor Messenger is based on Firefox ESR52, specifically and<span class="geshifilter"><code class="php geshifilter-php">tor-browser-52.3.0esr-7.0-1-build1</code></span> <span class="geshifilter"><code class="php geshifilter-php">THUNDERBIRD_52_3_0_RELEASE</code></span> on.<span class="geshifilter"><code class="php geshifilter-php">comm-central</code></span></p>
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<h3>Deterministic Builds</h3>
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<p>Tor Messenger builds are now reproducible for Windows and macOS as well; earlier, only Linux builds were reproducible (<a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/10942">#10942</a>). This means that anyone building Tor Messenger from source should end up with identical byte-for-byte binaries to the ones we release. To get started with building Tor Messenger (something we encourage!), please refer to the instructions in the <a href="https://gitweb.torproject.org/tor-messenger-build.git/tree/README.md">README.MD</a>&nbsp;file. Since this is a fairly involved process, talk to us on IRC or the comments section below if you need help.</p>
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<h3>XMPP Improvements</h3>
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<p>This version of Tor Messenger introduces temporary XMPP accounts (a feature inspired by <a href="https://chatsecure.org/">ChatSecure</a>) that creates an XMPP account automatically with a random username and password (<a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/16606">#16606</a>). This helps you to quickly set up an account and get a conversation started without requiring you to bother with the registration or account details. These accounts don't expire automatically but the intent is that you can use them as throwaway accounts and quickly create new ones when required. (Note: Currently, some data remains after deleting an account.&nbsp;See <a href="https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/23675">#23675</a>)</p>
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<p>Starting with this release, Tor Messenger will attempt to automatically use the onion service for known XMPP servers which helps improve the security of your connection (<a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/13855">#13855</a>). The <a href="https://gitweb.torproject.org/tor-messenger-build.git/tree/projects/instantbird/0021-Bug-13855-Use-known-onions-for-XMPP-servers.patch">current list</a> includes onion addresses for <em>riseup.net</em>, <em>jabber.ccc.de</em>, <em>jabber.otr.im</em>, and <em>jabber.calyxinstitute.org</em>. We plan to add more servers in the subsequent releases. (Note: Existing accounts remain unchanged. This setting is only applied during new account setup.)</p>
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<h3>Other Notable Changes</h3>
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<p>Tor Messenger for Linux is now built with Selfrando for hardened builds (<a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/22229">#22229</a>). For more information on Selfrando, please refer to the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.torproject.org/selfrando-q-and-georg-koppen">Q and A with Georg</a>.</p>
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<p>This release also fixes the Tor Messenger crash on Windows XP that prevented it from starting (<a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/17469">#17469</a>).</p>
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<h3>Downloads</h3>
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<p>Please note that Tor Messenger is <b>still in beta</b>. The purpose of this release is to help test the application and provide feedback. <b><i>At-risk users should not depend on it for their privacy and safety</i></b>.</p>
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<p><a href="https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.5.0b1/tor-messenger-linux32-0.5.0b1_en-US.tar.xz">Linux (32-bit)</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.5.0b1/tor-messenger-linux64-0.5.0b1_en-US.tar.xz">Linux (64-bit)</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.5.0b1/tormessenger-install-0.5.0b1_en-US.exe">Windows</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.5.0b1/TorMessenger-0.5.0b1-osx64_en-US.dmg">macOS</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.5.0b1/sha256sums-signed-build.txt">sha256sums-signed-build.txt</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://dist.torproject.org/tormessenger/0.5.0b1/sha256sums-signed-build.txt.asc">sha256sums-signed-build.txt.asc</a></p>
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<p>The file<span class="geshifilter"><code class="php geshifilter-php">sha256sums-signed-build.txt</code></span> containing hashes of the bundles is signed with the key <span class="geshifilter"><code class="php geshifilter-php">0xB01C8B006DA77FAA</code></span> (fingerprint: <span class="geshifilter"><code class="php geshifilter-php">E4AC D397 5427 A5BA 8450 A1BE B01C 8B00 6DA7 7FAA</code></span>). Please verify the fingerprint from the <a href="https://www.torproject.org/docs/signing-keys.html.en">signing keys</a> page on Tor Project's website.</p>
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<h3>Changelog</h3>
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<p>Tor Messenger 0.5.0b1 -- September 28, 2017</p>
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<ul><li>All Platforms
<ul>
<li>Use the tor-browser-52.3.0esr-7.0-1-build1 tag on tor-browser</li>
<li>Use the THUNDERBIRD_52_3_0_RELEASE tag on comm-esr52</li>
<li>Update tor-browser to 7.0.5</li>
<li>Update tor-launcher to 0.2.12.3</li>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/22005">Trac 22005</a>: Move to ESR 52</li>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/16606">Trac 16606</a>: Temporary XMPP accounts</li>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/13855">Trac 13855</a>: Use known onions for XMPP servers</li>
</ul>
</li><li>Linux
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/22229">Trac 22229</a>: Compile Linux builds with Selfrando</li>
</ul>
</li><li>Mac
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/20316">Trac 20316</a>: Update OS X toolchain</li>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/10942">Trac 10942</a>: Deterministic builds for Instantbird</li>
</ul>
</li><li>Windows
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/17469">Trac 17469</a>: Tor Messenger is not working on Windows XP</li>
<li><a href="https://bugs.torproject.org/10942">Trac 10942</a>: Deterministic builds for Instantbird</li>
</ul>
</li></ul>
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