APIs for Tor Mode and other Incognito-specific Extensions

[Mike Perry]

This is my second post recapping my meeting with Adam and Pam last
week. The first was more generally about using the Chrome APIs for
security enhancing extensions:
https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions/browse_thread/thread/f5a73572eb040bea

This post is more specifically about what APIs we still need to deploy
a Tor Mode for Incognito, and more generally, how an Incognito-only
extension might function.

In Tor's case, our model for Chrome is going to be that the user
installs Tor bundled with our Chrome extension. Once our addon is
installed, all Incognito windows will use Tor for all activity.

In my ideal world, you would be able to have both Tor and normal
Incognito windows open independently, but my brother tells me that the
single Incognito profile assumption is too deeply pervasive in the
internals of Chrome to allow for the creation of independent Incognito
profiles and windows, and so Tor must take control of all Incognito
windows.

We would like Tor Mode to function without requiring the user to
manually click the checkbox to enable our extension to operate in
Incognito mode. Otherwise, our users will be confused why their
extension doesn't function properly when first installed. Or worse,
they will likely assume the extension is working and that they are
using Tor when in fact they are not. There are some additional
subtleties with such a permission, too. I'll reply to this mail with a
ticket number for this.

Tor Mode will also need a way to set Incognito-specific proxy
settings, and have scriptable control over the DNS prefetch for the
Incognito windows to prevent said windows from leaking DNS queries to
the local resolver, outside of Tor. I'll reply to this mail with
ticket numbers for these two. Other Incognito-specific extensions may
also desire scriptable control over other Chrome settings, and have
them only apply to Incognito mode.

I think that pretty much covers it. Supporting Tor on Chrome certainly
seems a lot less far away than it used to!

[Mike Perry]

On Sep 10, 3:40 am, Mike Perry <mikeperry.unu...@gmail.com> wrote:

> We would like Tor Mode to function without requiring the user to
> manually click the checkbox to enable our extension to operate in
> Incognito mode. Otherwise, our users will be confused why their
> extension doesn't function properly when first installed. Or worse,
> they will likely assume the extension is working and that they are
> using Tor when in fact they are not. There are some additional
> subtleties with such a permission, too. I'll reply to this mail with a
> ticket number for this.

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=55058

> Tor Mode will also need a way to set Incognito-specific proxy
> settings, and have scriptable control over the DNS prefetch for the
> Incognito windows to prevent said windows from leaking DNS queries to
> the local resolver, outside of Tor. I'll reply to this mail with
> ticket numbers for these two. Other Incognito-specific extensions may
> also desire scriptable control over other Chrome settings, and have
> them only apply to Incognito mode.

There already was an Incognito proxy bug, so I just commented on it. I
did add a script control bug for DNS prefetch:

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=509
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=55059

[Arne Roomann-Kurrik]

Thanks for filing the issues - hopefully we'll see Tor on Chrome in the future!

~Arne

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