[tbb-bugs] #17997 [Tor Browser]: ExitNodes and/or StrictNodes not working in 5.0.6

Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki blackhole at torproject.org
Mon Jan 4 17:39:33 UTC 2016


#17997: ExitNodes and/or StrictNodes not working in 5.0.6
-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------
     Reporter:  thmprtor     |      Owner:  tbb-team
         Type:  defect       |     Status:  new
     Priority:  Very High    |  Milestone:
    Component:  Tor Browser  |    Version:  Tor: unspecified
     Severity:  Critical     |   Keywords:  exitnodes torrc strictnodes
Actual Points:               |  Parent ID:
       Points:               |    Sponsor:
-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------
 I used to use an old version of TorBrowser where I could customize my exit
 nodes. I would have two separate TorBrowser folders with two separate
 standalone installations of TorBrowser, which of course had two separate
 torrc files that I could customize so as one would only use (for example)
 Finnish exit nodes and the other would use Canadian exit nodes. This
 worked very well.

 I recently installed the latest version of Tor Browser for Windows (5.0.6)
 and replaced the blank torrc file with my previous customized torrc file.
 The torrc file specified Strict Nodes to be used and only to use Canadian
 exit nodes, but after trying more than a dozen times, it would always
 connect to non-Canadian exit nodes.

 I then replaced the contents of the torrc-defaults file with the content
 of my old torrc file and tried again. TorBrowser then proceeded to
 successfully use ONLY Canadian exit nodes.

 I then proceeded create another separate additional Tor Browser setup in a
 completely different folder but instead setup for only Finnish exit nodes.
 Again I customized torrc-defaults in the "Finnish Tor Browser" folder and
 it worked.

 HOWEVER, when I closed the "Finnish Tor Browser" instance and went to run
 my "Canadian Tor Browser", I encountered a problem. The "Canadian Tor
 Browser" was now using random exit nodes again! I closed it down and tried
 again. The second time, my "Canadian Tor Browser" was now using Finnish
 exit nodes!

 I thought this was bizarre because it does not happen with the older
 version I was using. I also noticed that a bookmark that I had put in the
 "Finnish Tor Browser" standalone folder was now present when I loaded up
 the "Canadian Tor Browser" - this means that my two apparently separate
 installations of Tor Browser are sharing some common files. I do not
 understand how this is possible seeing as my previous standalone
 installations of the previous version of Tor Browser, as far as I could
 tell, were independent of each other.

 I would like to point out that, in case in makes a difference, I was NOT
 attempting to run the two Tor Browsers at the same time. I ran one, quit
 it, then ran the other.

 If this is somehow intentional then please tell me how I can have separate
 installations of Tor Browser on the same machine but utilizing different
 customized torrc or torrc-default files.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/17997>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online


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