Re: [tor-talk] TorBirdy 0.0.10 released - testing and feedback requested!

[Katya Titov <kattitov@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jake,

> > Understanding is the key to security, not convenience. That being
> > said, TorBirdy is both convenient and great. I'm not sure that's
> > it's ready for primetime yet, but I do try to test and feed back
> > (using another nym ...) and definitely see the value.
> > 
> 
> Happy to help. :)
> 
> Is there anything in specific that you feel that we should address?

It's a bit difficult to describe succinctly, but I'll try to relay my
thoughts ...

It's about the indications that you are actually using Tor.

I've been using Tor since before TBB, probably since before Vidalia,
and one of the great features of TBB is that on start-up it tells you
that you're successfully using Tor. And the occasional failure due to
not recognising the exit node you've come from is handy for making you
stop, think, check the IP address, and make sure you still have an
understanding of how Tor works.

And then there's the fact that pages load a little slower over Tor, not
intolerably slow but still noticeably slow.

So you know that you're using Tor.

TorBirdy doesn't give this indication ... it looks like regular
Thunderbird, and email loads in the background and is just there when
you need it. Sending is a little slower and so you could infer that Tor
is in use, but you really want to know that when you start up, and
before the automatic fetch begins.

I'm not sure how I would fix these issues. Trying to have TorBirdy do
something to test Tor is in use for IMAP/POP/SMTP connections would be
quite difficult, if possible at all. But if you could do it and notify
the user before the fetch began then that would simulate some of what
TBB does. Other indicators such as a change to the skin would be a
useful indicator that you're using the right software, but still doesn't
actually test the network.

So I can't solve the problems, just point out that, from my
perspective, it's those visual clues that give confidence that your
connections are protected that are missing from the current TorBirdy.

Alternatively, if there was a way to detect that Tor was not in use and
then stop and alert the user would also be suitable.

Otherwise, all the technical aspects appear to work exactly as
expected ... I'm very happy to use it.

Thanks for the good work!
-- 
kat
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