TorGUI - Main Idea

1. constantly let's the user know, how anonymous he/she is,
2. is easy to use and
3. gives the user maximum control.

	Tor is not running.		Tor is running, but something's really not working.
	Tor is running, but it could be better, e.g. more servers.		Tor is running. Could be better, but okay, if you don't need really strong anonymity.
	Tor is running and everything's working fine!		Click here to download the icons as .eps-Files

• If the user already has some constantly visible area (Windows Taskbar, gkrellm, you name it), employ it for the tor-feedback too.
• If not, make a little icon (32 x 32px) which stays visible all the time. The user can choose a corner to show it. I suggest the bottom left one, which rarely holds important information. (I love to be the designer, not the implementor ;)))
• If one only needs tor for a certain application, it could be integrated in it directly. Imagine Firefox with a tor-status-icon next to the "Home"-button :)

The icon has two modes:

• Default: The icon always shows the tor-status of the browser.
• Advanced: The icon always shows the tor-status of the currently focused application.
  

Error-Handling:

If an error occurs, the least notification is the red-status-icon. Depending on the frequency of errors or the need for dependability of tor working correctly the user can enable more eye-catching mechanisms:

• Few errors: A message pops up and/or a sound.
• Medium errors: The red icon blinks frenetically.
  

So, this should do the trick for 1). Let's move on to 2) and 3).