[Tails-dev] Tails: TBB

Hi,

(Please Cc: any subsequent reply to the public tails-dev@??? ML.)

> It might make sense to ensure that the browser fully matches the tor
> browser, rather than trying to reinvent it.

We see interest in shipping the TBB in Tails:
- bigger anonymity set;
- shared maintenance work once the integration work is done.

However, it would not be easy at all: the TBB is explicitly designed
to be as autonomous as possible, and to avoid taking into account the
system around it the slightest bit; this makes it hard, generally, to
integrate it into a wider system. E.g.: it runs its own Vidalia and
its own Tor; its Tor is configured differently than Tails context
requires; Torbrowser warns about launching external applications; etc.
Tor is getting more and more integrated into the Tails system as
a whole: e.g. time setting integration; bridge mode will soon be
toggleable at tails-greeter time; this kind of things make it even
harder to think how the TBB could fit into the big picture.

As a consequence, the work needed to get TBB fit for the job would be
quite big, and it would probably contain a bunch of "if $TAILS_MODE
... else" in the end, which partly defeats the initial purpose.

We have higher priority tasks in our roadmap, so it won't
happen any time soon unless we get serious amounts of help.


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