Re: [Tails-testers] Tails Improvement

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Autor: intrigeri
Data:  
Para: zerox95, Tails list for early testers
Assunto: Re: [Tails-testers] Tails Improvement
Hi,

Thanks for your feedback. Some questions inline below:

zerox95 via Tails-testers:
> 1. upgrades do not survive reboot.


Could you please clarify what kind of upgrades you're talking about?

> 2. The additional software will ONLY install IF there is an internet
> connection.


We're aware of some corner cases in which Additional Software
cannot be installed offline. But in most cases, since Tails 3.9,
it should Just Work™. So, please report a bug with WhisperBack
in a session where that failed, asking our help desk to tell
me the ID of that bug report so I can look into it.

> In addition, a GUI button to retry the installation would be very
> nice. Let's not forget the main users of TAILS aren't computer
> savvy. They are reporters, and all the other careers and people you
> have listed.


For now, I'd like to focus on the root cause of the problem. And then,
if it turns out that we can't fix it, such a workaround may very well
make sense. Note, however, that even if Additional Software
installation fails due to the lack of an Internet connection, we retry
that installation later, once the computer gets online.

> 3. The Control Port is always open on every reboot.


I'm very curious: why is this a problem for you?

Note that most applications are either forbidden to connect to the
control port, or can only do so via a filtering proxy that only allows
the specific interaction they need. For details, see "3.6.1 The Tor®
software" in our design documentation:
https://tails.boum.org/contribute/design/

> 4. Sometimes tor stops with no way of knowing. Can we have the onion
> turn red when this happens? It is supposed to have an x on the
> onion, but sometimes tor is down and there is no indication until
> you try to open a new tab on the browser, or, if closed, initially
> open the browser. Messages say Proxy issue, with browser already
> open. And tor not ready, if you are initially, or subsequently
> reopening it.


This is interesting. I've never seen this happen myself. Please report
a bug with WhisperBack in a session where that failed, asking our help
desk to tell me the ID of that bug report so I can look into it.

In passing, it could be that some work¹ segfault did recently
(that's waiting for review at the moment) would fix that problem.

[1] https://redmine.tails.boum.org/code/issues/16664

Cheers,
--
intrigeri