[tbb-bugs] #13072 [Tor Browser]: Reproducable bug: Tor Browser v3.6.5 gets into a non-responsive state on startup, which can be fixed by killing "firefox.exe".

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#13072: Reproducable bug: Tor Browser v3.6.5 gets into a non-responsive state on
startup, which can be fixed by killing "firefox.exe".
-----------------------------+-------------------------
     Reporter:  Gravitas     |      Owner:  tbb-team
         Type:  defect       |     Status:  new
     Priority:  normal       |  Milestone:
    Component:  Tor Browser  |    Version:
   Resolution:               |   Keywords:  Tor Browser
Actual Points:               |  Parent ID:
       Points:               |
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Comment (by Gravitas):

 After much more research, I think I might have narrowed down the cause of
 this error. Its related to the "HTTPS-Anywhere" plugins not starting up
 properly, leaving "firefox.exe" as a zombie process on startup.

 - If I disable all plugins, then I cannot reproduce the zombie process
 error.
 - If I disable the "Torbutton 1.6.12.1" plugin, then I can still reproduce
 the zombie process error after 6 restarts.
 - If I disable just the "NoScript 2.6.8.40" plugin, then I can reproduce
 the zombie process error after 4 restarts.
 - If I disable just the "TorLauncher 0.2.5.6" plugin, then I can reproduce
 the zombie process error after 5 restarts.
 - If I then enable the "HTTPS-Everywhere 4.0.0" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 7 restarts.
 - If I then upgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 4.0.16" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 2 restarts.
 - If I then upgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 4.0.17" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 6 restarts.
 - If I then upgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 5" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 3 restarts.
 - If I then downgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 3.5.3" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 5 restarts.
 - If I then disable the "HTTPS-Everywhere 5" plugin, then I *cannot*
 reproduce the zombie process error (despite restarting the browser 25
 times)
 - If I then enable the "HTTPS-Everywhere 3.5.3" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 2 restarts.
 - If I then downgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 3.4.5" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 2 restarts.
 - If I then downgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 3.4.5" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 1 restarts.
 - If I then downgrade to the "HTTPS-Everywhere 3.5.1" plugin, then I can
 reproduce the zombie process error after 1 restarts.
 - If I then disable the "HTTPS-Everywhere" plugin, then I *cannot*
 reproduce the zombie process error (despite restarting the browser 25
 times)

 I then switched to normal Firefox v31.0

 - If I then run the "HTTPS-Everywhere" plugin, then I *cannot* reproduce
 the zombie process error (despite restarting the browser 25 times)

 Thus, I conclude that there is some issue with HTTPS-Anywhere that is
 preventing Tor Browser from starting up, about 15% of the time on my
 machine.

 I am not recommending moving away from using a plugin that enforces SSL,
 but I am recommending either fixing the startup issue with HTTPS-
 Everywhere, or switching to another plugin that performs the same job.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/13072#comment:3>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
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