Tor Browser 3.6-beta-1 is released

by mikeperry | March 18, 2014

The Tor Browser team is proud to release the first beta in the 3.6 series. Packages are available from the Tor Browser Project page and also from our distribution directory.

This beta features fully integrated Pluggable Transport support, including an improved Tor Launcher UI for configuring Pluggable Transport bridges. The Pluggable Transport code is also fully disabled for users who do not configure them.

We believe that this approach will allow us to quickly turn 3.6 into a stable release, perhaps as soon as the next point release of TBB.

This release also changes the MacOS archive format from zip to DMG, which should improve installation usability for Mac users.

This release also includes important security updates to Firefox.

Please see the TBB FAQ listing for any issues you may have before contacting support or filing tickets. In particular, the TBB 3.x section lists common issues specific to the Tor Browser 3.x series.

Here is the complete changelog:

  • All Platforms
    • Update Firefox to 24.4.0esr
    • Include Pluggable Transports by default:
    • Obfsproxy3 0.2.4, Flashproxy 1.6, and FTE 0.2.6 are now included
    • Update Tor Launcher to 0.2.5.1
      • Bug 10418: Provide UI configuration for Pluggable Transports
      • Bug 10604: Allow Tor status & error messages to be translated
      • Bug 10894: Make bridge UI clear that helpdesk is a last resort for bridges
      • Bug 10610: Clarify wizard UI text describing obstacles/blocking
      • Bug 11074: Support Tails use case (XULRunner and optional customizations)
    • Update Torbutton to 1.6.7.0:
      • Bug 9901: Fix browser freeze due to content type sniffing
      • Bug 10611: Add Swedish (sv) to extra locales to update
    • Update NoScript to 2.6.8.17
    • Update Tor to 0.2.4.21
    • Backport Pending Tor Patches:
      • Bug 5018: Don't launch Pluggable Transport helpers if not in use
      • Bug 9229: Eliminate 60 second stall during bootstrap with some PTs
      • Bug 11069: Detect and report Pluggable Transport bootstrap failures
      • Bug 11156: Prevent spurious warning about missing pluggable transports
    • Bug 10237: Disable the media cache to prevent disk leaks for videos
    • Bug 10703: Force the default charset to avoid locale fingerprinting
    • Bug 10104: Update gitian to fix LXC build issues (for non-KVM/VT builders)
  • Mac:
    • Bug 4261: Use DMG instead of ZIP for Mac packages
  • Linux:
    • Bug 9353: Fix keyboard input on Ubuntu 13.10
    • Bug 9896: Provide debug symbols for Tor Browser binary
    • Bug 10472: Pass arguments to the browser from Linux startup script

A list of frequently encountered known issues with the Tor Browser can be found on our bugtracker. Please check that list and help us diagnose and arrive at solutions for those issues before contacting support.

Comments

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Anonymous (not verified) said:

March 18, 2014

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So 3.6 stable will be released next month with the next release of Firefox Esr?

Anonymous (not verified) said:

March 18, 2014

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A "How to" on using pluggable transports is unavailable on Tor's website.

If it is available, more Tor users will be able to make use of the said feature and this will lead to more widespread adoption.

Anonymous (not verified) said:

March 20, 2014

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If I use an assortment of custom bridges (standard, obfs2, obfs3, flashproxy, FTE), will TBB automatically recognize & use them all?

I don't see any client transport plugin lines in torrc; I have to manually add them from torrc default. Is this normal?

It will automatically recognize and use them all, yes.

As for the default file, that file is actually used by Tor too. You shouldn't need to edit things.