[tbb-bugs] #19014 [Applications/Tor Browser]: torbrowser 5.5.4 updates itself without permission

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#19014: torbrowser 5.5.4 updates itself without permission
--------------------------------------+--------------------------
 Reporter:  Ilya_SpongeBob            |          Owner:  tbb-team
     Type:  defect                    |         Status:  new
 Priority:  Medium                    |      Milestone:
Component:  Applications/Tor Browser  |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal                    |     Resolution:
 Keywords:  ui?                       |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:                            |         Points:
 Reviewer:                            |        Sponsor:
--------------------------------------+--------------------------

Comment (by mcs):

 Setting app.update.enabled = false will disable update checks and prevent
 future downloads (and choosing the "Never Check for Updates" radio button
 will also set that pref to false). But, unfortunately, if Tor Browser has
 already started to download an update when you switch that pref to false,
 the download will not be stopped.

 As far as I know, Firefox (and therefore Tor Browser) does not provide a
 way to stop an update that has already started. A workaround would be to
 exit the browser, find the UpdatesInfo directory, and remove the active-
 update.xml file as well as the updates directory.

 The best way to avoid this situation is to install the current stable
 version of Tor Browser (which will not need to update itself) and then set
 app.update.enabled = false. Note that generally it is not safe to use an
 old version of Tor Browser since nearly all of our releases include
 important security fixes.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/19014#comment:5>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online