[tor-project] May 2018 report for the Tor Browser team

[Georg Koppen]

Hi!

We had two Tor Browser releases this month, Tor Browser 7.5.4[1] and
8.0a7[2] picking up Firefox 52.8.0esr which contained a couple of
security bug fixes. Apart from that we were able to fully concentrate on
the Tor Browser transition to Firefox 60 ESR and on our Tor Browser for
Android work.

Since May 30 we have Linux nightly builds available which are based on
Firefox 60 ESR[3] and we meanwhile finished the transition for macOS as
well[4]. That does not only include updating the toolchains to new
Firefox requirements but getting our own extensions, Torbutton[5] and
Tor Launcher[6], to work the new browser version, too.

We worked as well on the network code and new feature audit to make sure
we don't miss criticial changes for Tor Browser and patch them if necessary.

On the mobile side we were fighting with an unexpected crash bug due to
a Firefox patch closing a serious vulnerability.[7] We hope to have this
problem resolved soon. Moreover, we made progress on having a first
branch based on Firefox 61 ready[8], which will be the base for our
first Tor Browser for Android alpha release.

The full list of tickets closed by the Tor Browser team in May is
accessible using the `TorBrowserTeam201805` keyword in our bug tracker.[9]

For June we need to get outstanding build issues for the new Tor Browser
for Windows resolved.[10] In parallel work to stabilize the code to be
ready for the first alpha based on Firefox 60 ESR is under way, adapted
to the new Firefox Photon user interface. If we get all the remaining
pieces done in time the first ESR 60-based alpha will be out at the end
of this month.

For mobile we should have first test builds ready this months and close
remaining proxy bypass bugs, if there are any. Additionally, we are
working together with the UX team to get the UI adapted to match what
we'll ship for desktop.

All tickets on our radar for this month can be seen with the
`TorBrowserTeam201806` keyword in our bug tracker.[11]

Georg

[1] https://blog.torproject.org/tor-browser-754-released
[2] https://blog.torproject.org/tor-browser-80a7-released
[3] https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tbb-dev/2018-May/000849.html
[4] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/24632
[5] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/26100
[6] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/25750
[7] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/26320
[8] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/26233
[9]
https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/query?status=closed&keywords=~TorBrowserTeam201805
[10] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/26203
[11]
https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/query?status=accepted&status=assigned&status=merge_ready&status=needs_information&status=needs_review&status=needs_revision&status=new&status=reopened&keywords=~TorBrowserTeam201806&order=priority

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