[tor-bugs] #13766 [Tor Browser]: Raise MaxCircuitDirtiness for Tor Browser (to Infinite)?

Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki blackhole at torproject.org
Sat Nov 15 00:41:14 UTC 2014


#13766: Raise MaxCircuitDirtiness for Tor Browser (to Infinite)?
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 Reporter:  mikeperry                            |          Owner:  tbb-
     Type:  defect                               |  team
 Priority:  normal                               |         Status:  new
Component:  Tor Browser                          |      Milestone:
 Keywords:  tbb-usability, TorBrowserTeam201411  |        Version:
Parent ID:                                       |  Actual Points:
                                                 |         Points:
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 I just realized that we forgot the second part of #5752 for 4.5-alpha-1,
 which was to remove the 10 minute circuit lifetime expiry. There are
 several reasons why we want to do this:
 1. Websites often break when Tor suddenly changes IP address on them.
 Sometimes, they log you out. Sometimes, they will suddenly change their
 language. Sites that use captchas will make you solve a new one at this
 point as well, or your new exit IP will simply suddenly be banned.
 2. Due to tracking cookies, there is much less of a privacy reason to
 rotate exit IP addresses every 10 minutes. In fact, doing so just exposes
 you to more of the network, increasing the chance of that session getting
 exposed to a malicious/compromised/surveilled exit.
 3. Users who want new circuits for their websites should use "New
 Identity", which gives them this, and also prevents tracking.
 4. It will cause Tor Browser to use less circuits (which was a major
 concern back before ntor when #5752 was first proposed).

 Since this might be a controversial change, I suppose it is best we didn't
 just roll it out. Does anyone have any serious reasons why we shouldn't do
 this?

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/13766>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
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