# Has anybody successfully ran Tor Browser using the Linux compatibility layer?



## bilegeek (Aug 14, 2020)

The closest I have found is this[1] thread, in which someone queries about Tor Browser, and is told to install the compatibility layer. However, after the second post, it turns into OP rolling their own with the Tor daemon and Firefox. I have not found any other thread about actually running the all-in-one Tor Browser Bundle on FreeBSD.

To enumerate a few things:

I have attempted this myself, but only halfheartedly due to issues. I have limited hardware and am currently unwilling to switch over for the reasons listed below, so I tried 12.1-RELEASE virtual machines. Networking didn't work in VirtualBox, the mouse didn't work in QEMU, and nothing happened when I tried launching it via X11 forwarding in QEMU, so after getting nowhere for awhile, I lost interest and moved on to something else. (EDIT: I should clarify that X11 forwarding worked for other native apps, and that I followed the manual on setting up the translation layer.)

Why not install FreeBSD on actual hardware, and then test it? I'm unwilling to give up easy Steam support on my desktop, and my laptop (a T495 non-s) doesn't have proper driver support in Release yet (had to install Testing for Debian to work). I don't want to run Current or Stable on said laptop, partially because of instability, partially because of this[2] warning, and partially because it can wait until 13.0-RELEASE.

Why not set up Firefox and the Tor daemon? The default Firefox profile leaks too much data to blend in properly, and I don't know how well the Tor Browser profile would work when manually installed, or the proper steps I would need to take to find the code for the profile and get it installed. Tor Browser is already configured with all of this in place, and is maintained specifically as Tor Browser, so I have one less thing to worry about.

Why not set up a Linux VM in FreeBSD specifically for Tor Browser? I could, but given how FreeBSD has the compatibility layer and it seems to work well, I want to know beforehand if it works or not before I resort to a VM.

Why not use the Windows version and WINE? Exploits.

What about The Tor BSD Diversity Project[3]? They have currently only produced a Tor Browser Bundle for OpenBSD.



Sources:

[1] https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/tor-browser-bundle.40005/
[2] https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/topics-about-unsupported-freebsd-versions.40469/
[3] https://torbsd.org/


----------



## shkhln (Aug 14, 2020)

> Has anybody successfully ran Tor Browser using the Linux compatibility layer?



Nope.


----------



## a6h (Aug 14, 2020)

bilegeek said:


> What about The Tor BSD Diversity Project


Sounds like lottery to me. They should shut it down.
Hint: do not use/participate in any Tor-related project which is NOT explicitly subsidiary or part of official Tor Project.


----------



## shkhln (Aug 14, 2020)

vigole said:


> They should shut it down.



It looks thoroughly dead, actually.


----------



## bilegeek (Aug 15, 2020)

shkhln said:


> Nope.



Well that's unfortunate. Thank you for the direct answer. I wonder why, though; perhaps Tor Browser requires newer libraries and kernel API than the CentOS 7 versions that linux-c7 offers. I cannot confirm or deny this however, as I cannot find the minimum kernel and library versions that Tor Browser requires.

At least there's always the option of a Tiny Core or Tails VM.



shkhln said:


> It looks thoroughly dead, actually.



Indeed. In fact, more than I thought; I mistakenly attributed the current OpenBSD Tor Browser port to TorBSD, when they last they had to do with the port (or anything, for that matter) was 2018. The current OpenBSD port is maintained by one Caspar Schutijser, who doesn't appear to be officially affiliated with Tor Project proper. At least he seems to be on the up and up; he's consistently maintained that port at the latest version since this February.


----------



## shkhln (Aug 15, 2020)

bilegeek said:


> Well that's unfortunate. Thank you for the direct answer. I wonder why, though



Tails in a VM is way easier as far as I'm concerned.



bilegeek said:


> perhaps Tor Browser requires newer libraries and kernel API than the CentOS 7 versions that linux-c7 offers.



Both of these things: https://twitter.com/etnapierala/status/1281301829113053185. I'll note here that Linuxulator doesn't support all the APIs necessary for proper browser sandboxing to work.  (Although sandboxing is a problem with native FreeBSD browsers as well.)


----------

