Hi, the following contains my status report for October '24.
This month was my first month working for Tor. During this time, I
primarily worked upon improving the test infrastructure for the
[onionmasq](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq) project.
In particular, I have done the following things:
* Implement support for coverage reports, allowing the inspection of the coverage for each line within the codebase. [!289](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/289)
* A live demo is [available](https://tpo.pages.torproject.net/-/core/onionmasq/-/jobs/742690/….
* General clean-ups in the CI YAML file. !289
* Bugfix for payload advancement in the `parser` for IPv6 extensions. [!291](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/291)
* >80% coverage for the `parser`, including test cases for UDP and TCP in both IPv4 and IPv6. [!292](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/292), [!307](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/307)
* 100% coverage for the `accounting` module. [!290](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/290)
* Bugfix in the README. [!298](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/298)
* Bugfix and test case for IPv4 address collision (previously, IP addresses were overwritten in the case of a collision). [!297](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/297)
* Bugfix for the listening on the IPv6 DNS resolver IP address. [!299](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/299)
* Chutney support for onionmasq (using a custom arti configuration). [!301](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/301)
* Integration test environment. [!302](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/302)
* Integration test for DNS look-ups to see if the mappings remain constant. [!302](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/302)
* Bugfix for dropping ICMP packets, instead of pretending to be every host on the planet. [!305](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/305)
* Bugfix for performing a UDP checksum validation. [!306](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/306)
* Bugfix of a file descriptor leak in the Android application. [!309](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/309)
* Several clippy improvements. [!308](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/merge_requests/308)
* Performed research in arti's behavior in case of a loss of connectivity.
Besides the aforementioned, I also had several internal tasks, primarily around general on-boarding as well as getting to know the team.
Thank You
Hello everyone,
This is a summary of the work I did in the month of October followed by
a more detailed report of the work done by our user support team.
With a number of Tor Browser releases including the last
major stable release of the year - Tor Browser 14 - much of my work
included alpha testing, updating the Tor Browser user manual[0] before
the release. And reviewing and updating the documentation[1] on Support
Portal and the various user support channels and keeping track of user
feedback after the release. I worked on a number of Tor Browser related
user support tickets - from general questions about installing, updating
and troubleshooting to bug reports. With the onset of the year-end
campaign[2], I also worked on related support tickets, answering
questions about Tor Browser. Topics include downloading, installing,
using the browser it's various privacy enhancing features and questions
about the Tor network in general.
Finally a huge part of my work was dedicated to help users in regions
where Tor is censored which includes but is not limited to helping users
with instructions to download Tor Browser binaries from GetTor and/or
official mirrors, verifying Tor Browser's GPG signature, help with using
censorship circumvention methods that works best for them and overall
troubleshooting.
Here's a more detailed breakdown of the tickets our user support team
worked on last month:
# Frontdesk (email user support channel)
* 668(↑) RT tickets created
* 683(↓) RT tickets resolved
Tickets by topics and numbers:
1. 267(↓) RT tickets: private bridge requests from Chinese speaking users.
2. 207(↑) RT tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries.
3. 12 RT tickets: help with Troubleshooting Tor Browser desktop on Windows, macOS
and Linux.
4. 6 RT tickets: help with updating Tor Browser and questions
about Tor Browser dropping support for legacy operating systems.[3]
5. 5 RT tickets: Tor Browser 14 crashing on macOS when visiting some
onionsites.[4]
6. 5 RT tickets: Questions about the various Security Levels[5] in Tor Browser
and issues with disabling JavaScript on higher security levels.
7. 5 RT tickets: configuring Orbot to use bridges.
8. 3(↑) RT tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi.
9. 3 RT tickets: Letterboxing is visible even if disabled when using Tor Browser
on Tiled window managers.[6]
10. 3 RT tickets: Instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for
legacy operating systems.[7]
11. 2 RT tickets: questions about how Tor works - is my IP visible when using
Tor? what application level protections I get when using Tor Browser? etc.
12. Help with verifying Tor Browser signature with GPG.
13. One report of Tor Browser 14 getting flagged by anti-virus software on
Windows.
14. One report of a fake app on iOS masquerading as official Tor Browser.
15. Question about using Tor bridges with Tails.
16. Instructions to use GetTor to fetch Tor Browser binaries.
17. One report of a website blocking Tor traffic.
18. Question about the various keys used by Tor[8].
19. Tor Browser fails to work on Linux is dbus-glib is not installed[9].
This issue should be fixed with Tor Browser 14.
# Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal Support channel
* 1023(↑) tickets resolved
Breakdown:
* 1003(↑) tickets on Telegram
* 20(↓) tickets on WhatsApp
* 0(-) ticket on Signal
Tickets by topics and numbers:
1. 667(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking
countries.
2. 32(↑) tickets: private bridge requests from Chinese
speaking users.
3. 24(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi.
4. 23 tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or
Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods.
5. 16 tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser Desktop
on Windows, macOS and Linux.
6. 8 tickets: help with installing Tor Browser on linux.
7. 8 tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser on Android.
8. 7 tickets: help with instructions to use bridges with Tails.
9. 7 tickets: questions about various features in Tor Browser
(Letterboxing, Security Levels, New Circuit, New Identity, etc.)
10. 6 tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor.
11. 5 tickets: Tor Browser 14 crashing on macOS when visiting some onionsites.[4]
12. 5 tickets: Users seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on
Tor Browser for Android using Samsung devices.[10]
13. 4 tickets: help with using bridges with Orbot.
14. 4 tickets: questions about accessing or setting up onion services.
15. 3 tickets: help with setting up Snowflake proxy.
16. 2 tickets: help with using bridges and snowflake with little-t-tor.
17. 1 ticket: Tor Browser 14 displaying a security notification on latest
versions of Ubuntu.[11]
18. 1 ticket: User seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on Tor Browser
for Android using a Xiaomi device.[12]
19. 1 ticket: Instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy
operating systems.
# Highlights from the Tor Forum
1. Configuring little-t-tor to use pluggable transports (obfs4,
WebTunnel, etc.). [13]
2. Security warning on Tor Browser 14+ on latest versions of Ubuntu.[14]
3. Running Tor Browser with Wayland windowing system on Linux.[15]
4. Download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 [7]
5. Unable to render images when uploading/downloading them via Tor Browser.[16]
6. Installing Tor Browser on (Kali) Linux - troubleshooting issue with permissions.[17]
Note: (↑), (↓) and (-) are indicating if the number of tickets we
received for these topics have been increasing, decreasing or have been
the same from the previous month respectively.
Thanks everyone!
e.
[0]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/manual/-/issues/174
[1]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/support/-/issues/40160
[2]: https://blog.torproject.org/2024-fundraiser-donations-matched/
[3]: https://support.torproject.org/tbb/tor-browser-and-legacy-os/
[4]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43245
[5]: https://tb-manual.torproject.org/security-settings/
[6]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42670
[7]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/download-tor-browser-13-5-legacy-on-windows-…
[8]: https://support.torproject.org/about/key-management/
[9]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/41914
[10]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42714
[11]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43101
[12]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/41289
[13]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/error-with-the-tor-cli-client/15502
[14]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/after-updating-to-tor-browser-14-0-tor-brows…
[15]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/linux-is-it-alright-to-run-the-tor-browser-o…
[16]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/problem-in-the-images-that-i-download-or-try…
[17]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/i-cant-open-tor-browser-on-kali-linux/15082
Hi all :)
This is my monthly status report for October 2024 with the main relevant
activities I have done, was involved or are related to my work during the
period.
# Onionprobe Ansible Role
A considerable time was spent finding ways to structure and test Ansible
roles, collections and playbooks through GitLab CI. Goal is to provide
easier-to use procedures to manage Onion Services infrastructure.
As a direct result of this research, it was possible to finally refactor and
release an Ansible role to manage Onionprobe, a monitoring tool for onionsites:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/ansible/onionprobe-role
It was interesting to research how to do basic Ansible tests using GitLab CI,
and a special thanks goes to TPA for providing the base Podman image which
allows running Podman in a GitLab CI job:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/base-images
# Onionprobe
Onionprobe itself got some improvements, including support for running the
standalone monitor node with Podman:
https://onionservices.torproject.org/apps/web/onionprobe/standalone/
# OnionSec
The OnionSec library and command line for testing onionsites got some
enhancements as well: https://github.com/TheEnbyperor/onion-sec/pull/1
# Libraries
The Onion Services Ecosystem got a Libraries page:
https://onionservices.torproject.org/dev/libraries/
It still needs some improvements, and also some input from the upstream
devs to check accuracy:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/ecosystem/-/issues/21
# Support
Finally, also did the usual and ongoing sponsored work with deployment,
maintenance and monitoring of Onion Services.
--
Silvio Rhatto
pronouns he/him
Hi! Below is my October’24 report!
In October, I resolved1104(↑110) tickets:
* On Telegram (@TorProjectSupportBot) - 855 (↑127);
* On RT (frontdesk@tpo) - 248 (↑59);
* On WhatsApp (+447421000612) - 1(↓26);
* and on Signal (+17787431312) - 0 (0).
My main focus - as usual - was to help Russian-speaking users bypass
censorship and connect to Tor, which often includes troubleshooting. I
also collected users’ feedback to monitor the censor's activity and to
help find working anti-censorship solutions.
Apart from user support I also took part in Tor Forum moderation, worked
with app store reviews, and joined the Tor relay operators meetup.
Most of the tickets were from users in Russia requesting bridges, as the
ones they received from rdsys distributors weren't working for them. I
also collected user feedback on other plugglable transports (WebTunnel,
obfs4, and Snowflake) and added it to the main ticket about censorship
in Russia[1].
*## New Tor Browser release*
Tor Browser 14 was released in October [2], with the LegacyOS
users-Windows 7-8 and macOS 10.12-10.14-staying with 13.5.9. So, I took
part in preparing the instructions for the Legacy OS users to help them
understand the transition period and make sure that censored users can
also get access to the Tor Browser version that would work for them [3].
In collaboration with @ebanam, I reported a bug affecting macOS users
who are trying to open certain .onion websites [4].
I continued taking part in the investigation of the Samsung "proxy
server refused connection" bug [5].
*## **Google Play Reviews for Tor Browser**(TBA)**and Tor Browser
Alpha**for Android*
Tor Browser App had a Google Play rating of 4.394-4.396 (↑) stars in
October 2024, which is higher than in September.
Tor Browser app(TBA)got 691 (↑23)reviews out of 58,498for the lifetime.
Most commonissuesonthe reviews:
* Samsung users point out the error "Proxy server refused
connection"on their devices; [4]
* Tor Browser doesn't work: mostly from Russian users, who are
struggling to find a non-blockedbridge;
* Tor speed is too slow.
Tor Browser Alpha (TBA) app had a rating of 4.254 (↓) which is lower
that in September.
In October, Tor Browserfor Android (TBA)Alpha got 40 (↑5)reviews out of
8359for the lifetime.
[1]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/censorship-analysis/-/iss…
[2] https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tor-browser-140/
[3] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/support/-/issues/40163
[4]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43245
[5]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42714
Hi everyone!
Here is my status report for October 2024.
Ten days ago, we finally released Tor Browser 14.0 after several months
of work on it 🎉 [0].
Therefore, in the first weeks of October, I mostly fixed minor
bugs/details and tried to help my colleagues resolve other problems for
the big release.
I also spent a considerable amount of time doing QA. While doing it, I
created new resources to make the QA process faster.
I added all of them to the tests for self-signed HTTPS Onion Sites I
created a while ago [1].
I also restarted my upstream effort. I think the upstreaming of Bug
1556002 [2] and Bug 1923264 [3] were the fastest I have ever had 😄.
I also tried to start a conversation about ignoring
`content-disposition: attachment` in some cases [4], but that will need
more work downstream first.
After the release, I returned to working on issues we didn't want to
rush for the stable, such as moving FontConfig's fonts.conf [5].
While doing so, I also found a compatibility problem between the modern
Python version we self-compile to be able to build Firefox and the
legacy OpenSSL version we still have in our old build environment [6].
I fixed it by downgrading Python to 3.9.20, which is still officially
supported by the PSF and the various build systems we use. That was the
less-impacting solution, but not the only possible one. Also, we really
needed to fix it quickly, as it would have prevented us from building
14.0.1.
Currently, I am working on fixing the "Proxy server refuses connection"
problem that some Android devices (mostly Samsung phones) show [7].
I think a workaround would be to return to TCP sockets for the SOCKS
connections. I prefer Unix domain sockets, as they can be used only by
the browser with our configuration, whereas TCP sockets will be
available to other apps as well, which is a linkability concern.
If you have an Android device with this behavior and think you can help
debug it, please consider commenting on that GitLab issue [7].
With this effort, we will also get closer to solving an 11-year-old
issue, a new record for me 😄 [8].
Finally, I did the usual maintenance work. I rebased our browsers (the
128-based stable and the 115-based legacy channel) and started the new
branches for the 14.5 series.
I also prepared the 14.0.1 Tor Browser stable release and built it.
Best,
Pier
[0] https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tor-browser-140/
[1] https://onion-tests.pierov.org/
[2] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1556002
[3] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1923264
[4] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1923368
[5]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43140
[6]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-build/-/issues/4…
[7]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42714
[8]
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-launcher/-/issues/10439
Hey everyone!
Here are our meeting logs:
http://meetbot.debian.net/tor-meeting/2024/tor-meeting.2024-10-31-16.00.html
And our meeting pad:
Anti-censorship work meeting pad
--------------------------------
Anti-censorship
--------------------------------
Next meeting: Thursday, October 07 16:00 UTC
Facilitator: onyinyang
^^^(See Facilitator Queue at tail)
Weekly meetings, every Thursday at 16:00 UTC, in #tor-meeting at OFTC
(channel is logged while meetings are in progress)
This week's Facilitator: shelikhoo
== Goal of this meeting ==
Weekly check-in about the status of anti-censorship work at Tor.
Coordinate collaboration between people/teams on anti-censorship at the
Tor Project and Tor community.
== Links to Useful documents ==
* Our anti-censorship roadmap:
*
Roadmap:https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/boards
* The anti-censorship team's wiki page:
*
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/team/-/wikis/home
* Past meeting notes can be found at:
* https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-project/
* Tickets that need reviews: from projects, we are working on:
* All needs review tickets:
*
https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/merge_requests?s…
* Project 158 <-- meskio working on it
*
https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/issues/?label_na…
== Announcements ==
* eclips.is (Snowflake broker hosting) is switching to a partially
paid model (it has heretofore been free for users)
*
https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/anti-censorship-team/2024-October/00…
== Discussion ==
* Snowflake broker transition still pending.
* Adding a snowflake transport to lyrebird
*
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/lyre…
* Squash PTs into Lyrebird:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/lyre…
* TODOs: add proxy support and event logging
* We decide is a good idea to integrate the snowflake client
into lyrebird
* we are not removing the snowflake client from the snowflake
proyect for now, we'll keep both until it becomes a burden.
* only the snowflake client will be integrated in lyrebird, not
the server
* pion/webrtc v4 release is out
* it has support to integrate with covert-dtls
* on the beta testing there were some issues, we'll need to
check if it works with the release or it needs work
* split broker into components
* there is an old MR with a WIP version of this change
* we are still interested on it
* cohosh will check with arlo if he can continue that work or
we'll close it for now
(Oct 31 New:)
== Actions ==
== Interesting links ==
*
== Reading group ==
* We will discuss "" on
*
* Questions to ask and goals to have:
* What aspects of the paper are questionable?
* Are there immediate actions we can take based on this work?
* Are there long-term actions we can take based on this work?
* Is there future work that we want to call out in hopes
that others will pick it up?
== Updates ==
Name:
This week:
- What you worked on this week.
Next week:
- What you are planning to work on next week.
Help with:
- Something you need help with.
cecylia (cohosh): 2024-10-31
Last week:
- finished adding snowflake transport to lyrebird (lyrebird!63)
- updating Ask Tor domain front for Orbot
- added a follow up for snowflake proxy support in lyrebird
(lyrebird!64)
- discussed Lox integration with Tor Browser, and removing wasm
dependency
This week:
- finish snowflake dependency upgrades that were causing problems
- take a look at snowflake web and webext translations and best
practices
- make changes to Lox encrypted bridge table
-
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/lox/-/merge_requests/147
Needs help with:
dcf: 2024-10-31
Last week:
- made more comments on snowflake webextension Manifest V3
run-when-closed
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
- commented on patch for multiple SnowflakeConn.Close
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
Next week:
- comment on updates to unreliable snowflake transport
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
- open issue to have snowflake-client log whenever KCPInErrors
is nonzero
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
- parent:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
- open issue to disable /debug endpoint on snowflake broker
Help with:
- tell me when to restart the brokers for
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
meskio: 2024-10-24
Last week:
- bring back QR coes for email bridges (rdsys#244)
- add QR codes to Telegram distributor (rdsys#243)
- debug gettor telegram issues (onionsproutsbot#63)
Next week:
- update snowflake proxy debian package
Shelikhoo: 2024-10-31
Last Week:
- [Next Action Pending] snowflake broker update/reinstall(cont.):
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
- [Awaiting Review] Unreliable+unordered WebRTC data channel
transport for Snowflake rev2 (cont.)(
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
) improvements
- [Awaiting Input] Review CI: fix `latest` container image
tag.
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…
- Prepare State of the Onion script/slide
- Merge request reviews
Next Week/TODO:
- Merge request reviews
- Prepare State of the Onion script/slide
- Work on finishing snowflake container release(and fix the
comments)
- Work on Parpare DeploymentTool for Publishing
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/connectivity-measurement/…
onyinyang: 2024-10-31
Last week(s):
- MR for troll-patrol integration for Lox bridge blockage detection
-
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/lox/-/merge_requests/263
- improved on the graceful exit and blockage detection
elements from last week
- work is ongoing from vecna so will update this further
when that's in a more complete state
- discussed plans for dropping lox-wasm with browser team
- test distributor implementation
Next week:
- Finish up test distributor implementation and deploy test
distributor
- update lox protocols to return duplicate responses for an
already seen request
- add issuer improvements to lox protocols
- Work on outstanding milestone issues:
in particular:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/lox/-/issues/69
- key rotation automation
Later:
pending decision on abandoning lox wasm in favour of some kind
of FFI?
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43096):
- add pref to handle timing for pubkey checks in Tor browser
- add trusted invitation logic to tor browser integration:
https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42974
- improve metrics collection/think about how to show Lox is
working/valuable
- sketch out Lox blog post/usage notes for forum
(long term things were discussed at the meeting!):
- brainstorming grouping strategies for Lox buckets (of
bridges) and gathering context on how types of bridges are
distributed/use in practice
Question: What makes a bridge usable for a given user, and
how can we encode that to best ensure we're getting the most appropriate
resources to people?
1. Are there some obvious grouping strategies that we
can already consider?
e.g., by PT, by bandwidth (lower bandwidth bridges
sacrificed to open-invitation buckets?), by locale (to be matched with a
requesting user's geoip or something?)
2. Does it make sense to group 3 bridges/bucket, so
trusted users have access to 3 bridges (and untrusted users have access
to 1)? More? Less?
theodorsm: 2024-10-24
Last weeks:
- Adjusting to post-student life
- Testing out beta releases of pion dtls and webrtc
Next weeks:
- Update Snowflake to use latest pion upstream releases
- Test Snowflake fork with covert-dtls
- Condensing thesis into paper
Help with:
- Feedback on thesis
Facilitator Queue:
onyinyang meskio shelikhoo
1. First available staff in the Facilitator Queue will be the
facilitator for the meeting
2. After facilitating the meeting, the facilitator will be moved to the
tail of the queue