The problem I have is that in my whonix workstation 17 template the kicksecure repo is reporting that the latest version of the tb-updater package is 3:39.4-1. I’m using the commands apt update; apt show tb-updater.
Meanwhile, Tags · Kicksecure/tb-updater · GitHub is showing the most recent version is actually 43.9-1 and that the 39.4-1 is 6 months old, with dozens of regular updates in between.
I’m not sure why on my system, it looks as if the kicksecure repo is so far behind? Patrick hasn’t explained whether this is intentional, so I can’t figure out if there’s something wrong with my system.
Additional technical context: new versions of the tb-updater packager trigger a reinstallation of the latest version of Tor browser. Although it’s possible to get the new version by manually running the update-torbrowser command, it’s intended that regular version bumps in the tb-updater package can also help to keep Tor browser up to date. See ArrayBolt3’s posts in Automatically update Tor Browser when updating Whonix Workstation template · Issue #9983 · QubesOS/qubes-issues · GitHub :
we do push out tb-updater updates to mark newer versions as explicitly trusted. We do so quite frequently.
I think that Whonix 17 support has “fallen between the chairs” because, as you wrote, it is EOL except for the Qubes part, and this part gets minimal (to “no”) support, apparently.
On the other hand, the Tor browser itself checks for updates on startup, so you get a clear indication that there exists an update. I then run manually “Tor Browser Downloader (AnonDist)” in the whonix-workstation-17 template to achive the same as the tb-updater script. This is happening a few days earlier than the tb-updater gets updated (usually).
Although deprecated it should still be supported on Qubes, but if
Patrick wont respond I would think they have silently dropped support.
That would be the reason why the packages in the repository have not
been updated.
Note that continued support was a “goal” not a commitment.
The absence of Whonix security updates (and an updated Tor Browser is
normally such) means that you should upgrade to 18.
I never presume to speak for the Qubes team.
When I comment in the Forum I speak for myself.
Thanks guys, but what motivated this post was that I find it bizzare how the Kicksecure repo didn’t get a version update singe August last year; this is actually long before version 17 reached EOL, which was only a couple of week ago.
A version bump in the repo is trivial to do and the fact that on github there have been actual code committs to the package makes it even less likely that Patrick wouldn’t push an update at all for half a year.
If someone else still has version 17 installed, it would be helpful if they could check what version they can currently download from the Kicksecure repo. That wouldn’t explain the situation, but at least it would confirm something isn’t wrong with my system.
Ah, thanks a lot! In that case, I think I will pester Patrick to clarify this in Using Tor Browser in Qubes-Whonix , where the instructions start with:
In Qubes-Whonix™, Tor Browser Downloader by Whonix (update-torbrowser) normally runs automatically when the Whonix-Workstation™ Template (whonix-workstation-18) package tb-updater is updated.
Even if a user doesn’t come across the post by ArrayBolt3 on Github, it still leaves enough room to assume it’s ok to rely on this mechanism. But with such long delays, it should be made clear that the primary mechanism is by running update-torbrowser manually on a regular basis.