[tor-talk] What is going on with /var/run/tor?

[Matthew R]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I am going to start from the beginning because
Vidalia is still weird but Tor seems OK now.

First, I removed everything: apt-get purge tor vidalia

Second, I installed as suggested here (option two) for Ubuntu lucid:
https://www.torproject.org/docs/debian.html.en

Third, debian-tor owns /var/run/tor:

/var/run/tor
drwxr-s--- 2 debian-tor debian-tor  100 2011-12-30 11:29 tor

When I run 'tor' from the command line it works:

Dec 30 11:30:45.236 [notice] Tor v0.2.2.35 (git-73ff13ab3cc9570d). This is
experimental software. Do not rely on it for strong anonymity. (Running on
Linux i686)
Dec 30 11:30:45.240 [notice] Initialized libevent version 1.4.13-stable
using method epoll. Good.
Dec 30 11:30:45.240 [notice] Opening Socks listener on 127.0.0.1:9050
Dec 30 11:30:45.503 [notice] Parsing GEOIP file /usr/share/tor/geoip.
Dec 30 11:30:46.425 [notice] OpenSSL OpenSSL 0.9.8k 25 Mar 2009 [9080bf]
looks like it's older than 0.9.8l, but some vendors have backported
0.9.8l's renegotiation code to earlier versions, and some have backported
the code from 0.9.8m or 0.9.8n.  I'll set both SSL3_FLAGS and SSL_OP just
to be safe.
Dec 30 11:30:49.144 [notice] We now have enough directory information to
build circuits.
Dec 30 11:30:49.144 [notice] Bootstrapped 80%: Connecting to the Tor
network.
Dec 30 11:30:50.216 [notice] Bootstrapped 85%: Finishing handshake with
first hop.
Dec 30 11:30:50.737 [notice] Bootstrapped 90%: Establishing a Tor circuit.
Dec 30 11:30:51.342 [notice] Tor has successfully opened a circuit. Looks
like client functionality is working.
Dec 30 11:30:51.342 [notice] Bootstrapped 100%: Done.

I assume that this is using the torrc file in /etc/tor/torrc.

However, I want to use my own torrc.  I try 'tor -f torrc'.  This shows:

Dec 30 11:49:04.516 [notice] Tor v0.2.2.35 (git-73ff13ab3cc9570d). This is
experimental software. Do not rely on it for strong anonymity. (Running on
Linux i686)
Dec 30 11:49:04.519 [warn] The configuration option 'StrictExitNodes' is
deprecated; use 'StrictNodes' instead.
Dec 30 11:49:04.520 [notice] Initialized libevent version 1.4.13-stable
using method epoll. Good.
Dec 30 11:49:04.521 [notice] Opening Socks listener on 127.0.0.1:9050

This appears to load my torrc rather than (I assume) /etc/tor/torrc.

I then want to use Vidalia.  I follow the instructions at
https://www.torproject.org/docs/debian-vidalia.html.en

The way I have managed to get Vidalia to work is as follows:

Vidalia loads Tor at /usr/sbin/tor (general tab).

I select my own "Tor configuration file" (advanced tab).

The "Data Directory" is ~/.tor (advanced tab).

What I do not understand is the "Tor Control" aspect of the "Advanced"
tab.  If I set the TCP connection (ControlPort) to 127.0.0.1: 9050 then
Vidalia works fine.

However, I am sure the default setting was "Use Unix domain socket
(ControlSocket)" with the path /var/run/tor/control (maybe I am wrong)?

Anyhow, in /var/run/tor is only one file (no control):

-rw-r----- 1 debian-tor debian-tor 32 2011-12-30 11:40 control.authcookie

My question is: should I be using the ControlPort or the ControlSocket?

Thanks!!!