Published on: 2014-07-07T06:54:23+00:00
In a discussion about SOCKS4 and SOCKS4a, Odinn Cyberguerrilla questioned whether SOCKS4 was designed to prevent information leaks. Wladimir clarified that while SOCKS4a supports DNS lookups on the server, it is not supported by bitcoin core. On the other hand, SOCKS5 can perform all the functions of both SOCKS4 and SOCKS4a. Wladimir encouraged contributions to SOCKS4a support if anyone is interested.The Tor project warns about SOCKS and DNS information leaks, suggesting that using SOCKS4A may be a better alternative. This warning is based on the fact that applications using SOCKS5 only provide Tor with an IP address, while applications that do DNS resolves themselves may leak information. In response to this, someone questioned the necessity of SOCKS4 and SOCKS4A. They also asked if there would be any issues with having a setting for SOCKS4A in a setup that includes Tor, Privoxy, I2P, and FoxyProxy together while running Bitcoin Core. Wladimir responded by stating that they plan on removing support for SOCKS4 in the next major release for two reasons: it would eliminate unused code paths and improve privacy as SOCKS5 allows DNS redirection. Additionally, SOCKS5 supports IPv6.In a discussion on the Bitcoin-development mailing list, Wladimir proposed removing support for SOCKS4 in the next major release. The reasons given were to remove unused code and enhance privacy by allowing DNS redirection. Another reason was that SOCKS5 supports IPv6. With no objections raised, the removal of SOCKS4 was set to proceed. The email also included a message promoting Bonita BPM Community Edition, an open source business process management suite built on Java and Eclipse.In an email dated June 11, 2014, Wladimir suggested removing support for SOCKS4 from the next major release. The reasons provided were to eliminate untested code paths and improve privacy with the use of SOCKS5, which offers DNS redirection. Additionally, SOCKS5 supports IPv6.In a recent message to the Bitcoin Core mailing list, Wladimir announced plans to remove support for SOCKS4-only proxy in the next major release. This decision was made due to the introduction of SOCKS5 in 1996 and the lack of excuses not to support it. The removal of support for SOCKS4-only proxy will eliminate outdated code paths and enhance privacy as SOCKS5 allows DNS redirection. Wladimir also inquired if anyone is currently using a SOCKS4-only proxy with Bitcoin Core. If no concerns or objections are raised, the removal of support for SOCKS4-only proxy will proceed as planned. It's important to note that this change will only impact users still utilizing SOCKS4-only proxy, while those already using SOCKS5 will not be affected.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T09:30:05.654801+00:00