[tor-bugs] #20111 [Applications/Tor Browser]: use Unix domain sockets for SOCKS port by default

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#20111: use Unix domain sockets for SOCKS port by default
--------------------------------------+-----------------------------------
 Reporter:  mcs                       |          Owner:  tbb-team
     Type:  defect                    |         Status:  needs_information
 Priority:  Medium                    |      Milestone:
Component:  Applications/Tor Browser  |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal                    |     Resolution:
 Keywords:                            |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:  #14270                    |         Points:
 Reviewer:                            |        Sponsor:
--------------------------------------+-----------------------------------
Changes (by mcs):

 * status:  new => needs_information
 * cc: arthuredelstein (added)


Comment:

 Kathy and I looked at this and soon realized that we cannot simply modify
 torrc-defaults (SocksPort) and the browser default preferences
 (network.proxy.socks) to use a socket path. This approach will not work
 because we need to insert a full path, and we do not know what the path is
 until the browser is starting up (it won't work to use a relative path, at
 least not on OSX where the TorBrowser-Data directory may be located in one
 of two different locations). Possibly solutions:
 * Modify Tor Launcher to Do The Right Thing and configure tor and the
 browser correctly. This is how we handled the ControlPort.
 * Modify the browser and tor (possibly with help from Tor Launcher) so we
 can use a placeholder within network.proxy.socks and SocksPort, e.g.,
   network.proxy.socks="file:///--PROFILEDIR--/../../Tor/socks.socket"

 Comments? Do you have a better idea? Kathy and I favor the first approach.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/20111#comment:1>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online