Security Question Regarding FlashGot 1.4.7

General discussion about the FlashGot extension for Firefox
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tscv11
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:07 am

Security Question Regarding FlashGot 1.4.7

Post by tscv11 »

Hello,

I've got a simple question. I use the TOR network with Firefox 14. On the TOR project website I came across some advice: to achieve true anonymity with TOR, it is best not to use plugins or extensions with Firefox since they can sometimes reveal your true IP address. So naturally my question is, what chance, if any, is there that this problem could occur when using FlashGot (especially with FlashGet, Gigaget, or Orbit download managers). It is most likely that I will be using FlashGet.

Thanks!
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therube
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Re: Security Question Regarding FlashGot 1.4.7

Post by therube »

Don't know the answer, but you've got to also consider in addition to what FlashGot may give away, what might Gigaget, or Orbit or ... download managers give away?

I would think the safest route would be to forgo FlashGot & only use the browser built-in downloader.

I've got a simple question.
When it comes to anonymity nothing is simple ;-).
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tscv11
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:07 am

Re: Security Question Regarding FlashGot 1.4.7

Post by tscv11 »

Thank-you for your reply,

That has been my thinking as well. And by the way, the answer to my question may not be simple, but the question is, which is how I phrased it in my post (a simple question). So there (lol). Anyway, I'd like to call out one more time for anyone that might have information regarding my original question about potential IP address leaks from FlashGot to remote IPs in communication with my computer. Does anyone know if this is or isn't a concern? I am aware than the download manager I use with FlashGot could leak the IP as well, but my question is about FlashGot. Thanks in advance for any answers!
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Giorgio Maone
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Re: Security Question Regarding FlashGot 1.4.7

Post by Giorgio Maone »

FlashGot per-se doesn't leak (it uses the same proxy settings as Firefox for its internal operations).
The external download managers you can use it with may leak, though, especially if they've got different proxy settings.
I'd suggest you to stick with an open source and not ad-supported one (like Free Download Manager) and configure it to share your global proxy settings.
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