[tor-bugs] #31867 [Webpages/Website]: User agent string in tor-ify docs (general.useragent.override)

Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki blackhole at torproject.org
Thu Sep 26 17:49:12 UTC 2019


#31867: User agent string in tor-ify docs (general.useragent.override)
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 Reporter:  cypherpunks  |          Owner:  hiro
     Type:  defect       |         Status:  new
 Priority:  Medium       |      Component:  Webpages/Website
  Version:               |       Severity:  Normal
 Keywords:               |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:               |         Points:
 Reviewer:               |        Sponsor:
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 Was looking at tor-ify docs and the variable `general.useragent.override`
 no longer exists in `about:config`

 (https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/TorifyHOWTO/Misc)

 This reveals multiple problems:

  1. Those need to be fixed to provide people with correct/current values.
  1. But hard coding them means that the value of becomes stale.
  1. Hardcoding means they will require constant maintenance.
  1. A user (like me) won't know the correct value for that variable.

 Are users expected to cut-n-paste multiple variables out of `about:config`
 to construct the correct user-agent string? Or is there something else
 they should do?
 Can Tor create a new variable that can be seen in `about:config`? Maybe
 call it `user-agent-torify`.

 But really I think what's needed is a plugin that will generate the user-
 agent string. The plugin would fetch the most common string of the day.
 That string would be hosted at `torproject.org`. Looking at amiunique.org
 shows me that I am not unique enough and way too uncommon using the latest
 Torbrowser.
 I propose to call the plugin Agent Common.

 Am I the first to propose this? What downside would there be?

 Sincerely, FreD FlinstonE

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/31867>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
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