While investigating, I noticed that in the Whonix Workstation 17 Template the tb-updater package version is 3:39.4-1. apt update; apt show tb-updater reports the same version available from the kicksecure repo.
So I’m not sure why on my system, it looks as if the kicksecure repo is so far behind. Is it the case that the kicksecure repo hasn’t received any new package uploads in the past 6 months? Or maybe there is something wrong with my local system?
(Additional technical context: whenever tb-updater package is upgraded, it also triggers the installation of a new Tor Browser version; this hasn’t happened on my system, because the tb-updater package hasn’t been upgraded past version 39.4-1).
Thanks, Patrick. Unfortunately, I’ve not upgraded to QubesOS R4.3 yet. As on my system the package version in the Kicksecure repo reported by apt show tb-updater appears to be 6 months old, it does point to a problem that is older than the February 6th deprecation deadline.
It was confirmed on another system that the tb-updater package in the Kicksecure repo is indeed 39.4. In light of that, I’d like to suggest that the instructions at Using Tor Browser in Qubes-Whonix are reworded, to emphasise that the primary mechanism to update Tor Browser in a template should be by running update-torbrowser manually on a regular basis. At the moment, it’s my opinion that the instructions leave enough room to assume it’s ok to rely on version bumps in the repo package:
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.
Running Tor Browser Downloader by Whonix inside the Template (whonix-workstation-18) ensures that new App Qubes and Disposables are created with a copy of the latest Tor Browser version.
If you want the newest Tor Browser sooner, you can manually run it in the Whonix-Workstation Template (whonix-workstation-18). For instructions, see Tor Browser Downloader by Whonix.
I’ve edited the wiki to rephrase it, but it seems like the change I’ve made has been reverted. In my opinion the current phrasing and moving some of the information into the other column is even more confusing than it was before.
Okay, I have critically analyzed the Qubes Tor Browser Update MediaWiki Template, and it appears your commit has been accepted with a few modifications to simplify the text further, so I submitted a commit after it to change the second table column name to Additional Information so that all of the non-terminology text below it are now adaquately addressed. Furthermore, I also relocated all of the non-instructions from the New App Qubes and Disposables row to its respective Additional Information column so that the actual instructions are straightforward and uncluttered. After my commit has been accepted with or without changes, review it and let us know if your issue has been resolved or not.
The commit has been accepted without modifications, so I will update the parallel Qubes OS Forum topic with this information. In my opinion, both topics are now resolved because there is only one set of instructions to follow in the New App Qubes and Disposables row, but feel free to dispute my perspective and I will endeavour to resolve any remaining issues.