Tox (protocol)

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μTox

ToxLogo.png
ΜTox 0.1.3 screenshot (cropped) .png
Screenshot of the Tox-Client μTox
Basic data

Current  version 0.17.2
(April 13, 2020)
operating system Windows , Linux , macOS , Android , iOS , FreeBSD , OpenIndiana
programming language C.
category Instant messaging , VoIP , video conferencing
License GNU GPLv3 and newer
github.com/uTox/uTox
qTox

ToxLogo.png
Basic data

Current  version 1.17.2
(April 28, 2020)
operating system Windows , Linux , macOS
programming language C ++
category Instant messaging , VoIP , video conferencing
License GNU GPLv3 and newer
qtox.github.io

Tox is a free peer-to-peer - instant messaging and video telephony - network protocol that enables encrypted data exchange. The aim of the project is to create a secure, yet easy-to-use communication platform.

history

Tox development began on June 22nd, 2013 on 4chan's technology subboard in a thread about the privacy of Skype users. The reason for the discussion was the start of the global surveillance and espionage affair a few weeks earlier. The name Tox was proposed and officially accepted. The first post on GitHub was submitted by a user named irungentoo . Executable files were first made available on February 3, 2014. Nightly builds are released with Jenkins at regular intervals .

As of January 2017, various security deficiencies are known. The current developers themselves speak of an untested, not well understood code base.

properties

The user is assigned a private and a public key with which he can connect to another user via peer-to-peer. The user is able to chat with friends, join chat rooms and send files. All data traffic is encrypted using the NaCl library. Work has been going on since February 2014 to implement audio and video telephony in the clients.

Functions:

Additional features can be implemented by any client provided they are supported by the core. Core-independent features are left to the clients.

Tox uses hole punching to establish a direct connection between participants who are behind a firewall . Port forwarding is therefore not necessary.

Tox uses the Opus (audio) and VP8 (video) codecs .

architecture

Core

The Tox project includes a core library that provides the protocol and the API. The front ends (or clients) are placed on top of the core. Anyone can build a client with the kernel in it.

Clients

toxic

A client is a program that uses the core library to communicate with other Tox users. Different clients are available for different operating systems.

The actively developed clients include:

Client name programming language interface operating system particularities
µTox C. GUI Windows, Mac OS X, Linux VoIP, video chat, screen sharing
qTox C ++ ( Qt ) GUI Windows, Mac OS X, Linux VoIP, video chat
Poison C, Objective-C GUI Mac OS X
Toxygen Python3 GUI Linux, Windows
Antidotes Objective-C GUI iOS
Antox Scala , Java GUI Android (available for download)
Toxic C ( ncurses ) CLI Unix-like VoIP
cyanide C ++ ( Qt ) GUI Sailfish OS
Ricin Vala GUI Linux

Projects that use the Tox protocol via a plugin are:

reception

Tox became known to the public during the early development phase after a number of web portals reported about it. On August 15, 2013, Tox was number 5 on GitHub's "Top Trending" list. Concerns about metadata leaks made the rounds, whereupon the developers integrated onion routing into the process of making friends. On February 24, 2014, Tox was accepted into the Google Summer of Code as a mentoring organization.

Related projects

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://github.com/uTox/uTox/releases
  2. ↑ https://github.com/qTox/qTox/releases
  3. ↑ Daily reminder that Skype reads the URLs you send, your browser profile, sends encrypted data to Microsoft data centers and gives your conversations to the NSA. . Rebecca Black Tech Archive. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ Daily reminder that Skype reads the URLs you send, your browser profile, sends encrypted data to Microsoft data centers and gives your conversations to the NSA. . Rebecca Black Tech Archive. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ Initial commit . GitHub. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ Tox Handshake Vulnerable to KCI Issue # 426 TokTok / c-toxcore. Retrieved March 19, 2017 (English).
  7. ↑ Tox Handshake Vulnerable to KCI Issue # 426 TokTok / c-toxcore. Retrieved March 19, 2017 (English).
  8. ^ Tox-Wiki: Clients
  9. ↑ µTox . GitHub. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  10. ↑ qTox . GitHub. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  11. ↑ Poison . GitHub. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  12. ↑ Toxygen . GitHub. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  13. ↑ Antidotes . GitHub. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ Antox . GitHub. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  15. ^ Toxic . GitHub. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ cyanide . GitHub. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  17. ↑ Ricin . GitHub. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  18. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / tox.dhs.org
  19. ^ Current state of Tox protocol in Miranda . Miranda NG. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  20. ^ Tox: A Replacement For Skype And Your Privacy? . Silicon Angle. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  21. ↑ Skype alternative Free and secure video chat with Tox . Golem.de. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  22. ↑ Проект Tox развивает свободную альтернативу Skype . opennet.ru. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  23. ^ Skype alternative Tox to try out . heise.de. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  24. ↑ GitHub's new 'Trending' Feature Lets You See The Future . ReadWrite.com. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  25. ↑ Prevent_Tracking.txt . GitHub. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  26. ^ Project Tox . GSoC. Retrieved March 2, 2014.