[Mac] Tor Browser Can't be Reopened if Sharing
Summary If installed on a Mac the Mac browser bundle is not able to re-open TorBrowser if Vidalia remains open, which occurs if participating as a relay for the Tor network.
Steps to Setup
- Install TorBrowser bundle for Mac (fresh)
- Open TorBrowser-en-US
- Once Vidalia has opened:
- Open Settings -> Sharing and choose one of the two relay options, setup as desired.
- Close TorBrowser
- Close Vidalia
Steps to Reproduce
- Open TorBrowser-en-US
- Once TorBrowser has opened, bring it to focus and quit.
- Attempt to open TorBrowser-en-US
Expected Results TorBrowser should reopen, using the already running Vidalia/Tor.
Actual Results Vidalia remains open while TorBrowser does nothing.
Notes I'm not sure what the best fix would be be; part of the problem is that the basic Tor setup isn't very Mac-like, and to OS X the TorBrowser-en-US bundle is still running so long as Vidalia remains open.
It might make sense if the bundle were made into an installer; while this is a little more complex for users to pick up and use, it means that Vidalia/Tor and the actual browser can be installed as separate applications. It also means that it may be easier to setup Vidalia to run on system startup so that it's always available (and thus always sharing, if so configured) so that the browser can simply open right away.
This might require some changes to Vidalia, such as an option for on-demand connections if used in client mode (so that it isn't holding a connection open that may not be used at all).
Trac:
Username: Haravikk