[tor-bugs] #10430 [Torbutton]: Torbrowser update check mishandles

Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki blackhole at torproject.org
Wed Dec 18 20:56:22 UTC 2013


#10430: Torbrowser update check mishandles
-------------------------+---------------------
 Reporter:  phip         |          Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |         Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |      Milestone:
Component:  Torbutton    |        Version:
 Keywords:               |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:               |         Points:
-------------------------+---------------------
 The version checking in the TBB 3.5 series is great! But it doesn't seem
 to handle versions newer than the current release (ie prerelease/RCs) very
 well.

 With [https://archive.torproject.org/tor-package-archive/torbrowser/3.5rc1
 /tor-browser-linux64-3.5-rc-1_en-US.tar.xz tor-browser-linux64-3.5-rc-
 1_en-US], the landing page says "This browser is out of date" and
 TorButton links to
 https://blog.torproject.org/category/tags/tbb-30?os=Linux&arch=x86_64-gcc3#linux,
 offering me the same version that I'm using.

 With [https://www.torproject.org/dist/torbrowser/3.5/tor-browser-linux64-3
 .5_en-US.tar.xz tor-browser-linux64-3.5_en-US], the landing page also says
 "This browser is out of date", and Torbutton links to
 https://www.torproject.org/download/download-
 easy.html?os=Linux&arch=x86_64-gcc3#linux, offering me to download a 2.3
 series TorBrowser.

 The first behavior makes sense in a way: it directs me to a tag on the
 blog that will have the most recent release or pre-release listed. But it
 fails as the version I was running was the latest on that list.

 The second's behavior makes sense in a way too: it directs me to the
 current official version. But it fails as it is NOT beneficial to tell a
 user to downgrade.

 In both cases, it seems unwise to cry wolf about the version being out of
 date. A user, even one savvy enough to use rc builds, might come to
 disregard the update warnings.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/10430>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
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