Software Alternatives & Startups

Tor Messenger VS ShellNewHandler

Compare Tor Messenger VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

Tor Messenger

The easiest app yet for anonymous, encrypted IM

Rating
0 reviews
ShellNewHandler

SourceForge.net: ShellNewHandler details page

Rating
0 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, ShellNewHandler should be more popular than Tor Messenger. It has been mentioned 2 times since March 2021.

social mentions
1 vs 2
Messaging popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Tor Messenger
ShellNewHandler
Website blog.torproject.org sourceforge.net
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Tor Messenger 5 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Anonymity
    Tor Messenger routes communications over the Tor network, which helps maintain user anonymity by masking IP addresses and location information.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    The application is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a broad audience.
  • Secure Conversations
    By enabling Off-the-Record (OTR) messaging by default, Tor Messenger provides end-to-end encryption for secure conversations.
  • Multiple Protocol Support
    Tor Messenger supports various chat protocols, such as Jabber (XMPP), IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Twitter, and Yahoo, allowing users to connect with various services.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, Tor Messenger allows users to inspect, modify, and improve the software’s code, ensuring transparency and adaptability.

Possible disadvantages

  • Potential Lag in Communication
    Routing messages through the Tor network can introduce latency, potentially causing delays in message delivery compared to traditional messaging apps.
  • Limited Community and Support
    As an experimental tool, Tor Messenger does not have a large user base or dedicated support team, which can make troubleshooting issues challenging.
  • Beta Status
    Being in the beta stage means the software may have unresolved bugs and stability issues, which can affect the reliability of the application.
  • Not Mobile-Friendly
    At the time of writing, Tor Messenger is not available on mobile platforms, limiting its use to desktop and laptop environments only.
  • Shut Down
    The Tor Project discontinued Tor Messenger in 2018, which means the software is no longer maintained or updated, posing potential security risks.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Tor Messenger
ShellNewHandler

No analysis of Tor Messenger yet.

Overall verdict

  • ShellNewHandler is a niche, lightweight utility hosted on SourceForge designed to give users more control over the Windows 'New' context menu (the ShellNew menu). It can be considered good for its specific narrow use case, but it is an older, minimally maintained tool that may not suit all users, especially those on modern Windows versions.

Why this product is good

  • Provides direct control over customizing the Windows right-click 'New' menu, allowing users to add or remove file type entries
  • Lightweight and free, without bundled bloatware typical of some other free utilities
  • Simple and focused in scope, making it easy to understand for its specific purpose
  • Open distribution via SourceForge allows transparency and no-cost access

Recommended for

  • Power users who want to declutter or customize the Windows New context menu
  • IT administrators managing standardized desktop environments across multiple machines
  • Users comfortable with older utility-style tools and Windows registry-related tweaks
  • Not recommended for casual users seeking modern, actively supported software with regular updates

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Tor Messenger 1 video + Add
ShellNewHandler 0 videos + Add

Tor Messenger, the latest anonymous chat app for Windows, Mac and Linux

No ShellNewHandler videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Tor Messenger
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Tor Messenger and ShellNewHandler. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Tor Messenger 1 mention
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions
  • I recently got libreoffice, but now the new option in right click looks like a mess. Can someone help me get rid of them please?
    Use Shell New Handler. Run the portable app and simply untick the items you don't want to appear in your new context menu. Source: about 4 years ago
  • This menu should be easy to add/remove programs to... Who is really creating Access Databases from this menu often enough to keep it here? (Not me!) Is there an easy way to edit this?
    I've always used ShellNewHandler for this. It's a really simple portable utility that allows you to remove most of the items from that menu. Tested it out on Windows 11 and it's still compatible. Source: over 5 years ago

Alternatives to Tor Messenger and ShellNewHandler

When comparing Tor Messenger and ShellNewHandler, you can also consider the following products.