[tor-bugs] #15482 [Tor]: Don't surprise users with new circuits in the middle of browsing

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#15482: Don't surprise users with new circuits in the middle of browsing
-------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
     Reporter:           |      Owner:  mikeperry
  mikeperry              |     Status:  new
         Type:           |  Milestone:  Tor: 0.2.7.x-final
  enhancement            |    Version:
     Priority:  normal   |   Keywords:  tbb-usability, tbb-4.5-alpha,
    Component:  Tor      |  TorBrowserTeam201503, MikePerry201503 tbb-wants
   Resolution:           |  Parent ID:
Actual Points:           |
       Points:           |
-------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
Changes (by mikeperry):

 * cc: gk (added)


Comment:

 GeKo and I both agree that the SOCKS isolation check is important here.
 However, I felt that the randomness was definitely not the best plan in
 its current form, because sometimes circuits could still end up very short
 lived, still allowing TBB to surprise the user with a new circuit at
 random intervals.

 I also wasn't 100% clear on the reasoning for having a max at all, so I
 removed that too. I attached the version we're building 4.5a5 with here:
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/attachment/ticket/15482/bug15482.patch.

 We can revisit the idea of a max and/or randomization sometime between now
 and 4.5-stable (which should hopefully be in ~2-3 weeks).

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/15482#comment:3>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online