Firefox disables add-ons for most users due to expired cert - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: 0culus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 02:57:53 am
content: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1548973Welp, this is pretty bad. I haven't been affected yet, but I also haven't restarted FF for a while.

author: MrMobodies
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 04:48:32 am
content: Many years ago after Firefox 22 I switched mainly to other browsers. I had some stability issues with the built in Flash player that came on all the time and caused problems and after that on some updates it refused to connect to webservers on certain routers and devices due to some change they did with SSL certificates, I could not even make an exception and that is when I switched.

author: Tomorokoshi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 04:57:37 am
content: FireFox is really starting to be an annoyance. Just got hit by this. Now without the blockers who knows how wide it's open. Also dealing with this "TLS Handshake" stuff and bogus certificate complaints when it's on the corporate network.

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 06:44:36 am
content: Yep seems NONE of the Add blocking addons work and also anything tied to Google TranslateI used to use Firefox and sort of migrated to Chrome as I was building some websites then recently came back to FF. Time to say goodbye again if this doesn't sort itself out fast.This reads like Mozilla has swallowed the Microsoft playbookhttps://www.windowslatest.com/2019/05/04/mozilla-is-aware-of-a-bug-that-disables-all-firefox-add-ons-extensions/

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 07:01:31 am
content: It's broken for me this morning.Geez, the internet has a lot of ads on it

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 07:09:58 am
content: Phew, not broken for me.It is absolutely impossible to browse the internet without adblock these days.FYI i also use firefox on my mobile. ublock origin is supported there, too. It's a blessing

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 07:15:29 am
content: Only extension still working normally for me is British English dictionary.On the add on screen you can click the gear and then on add-on debugging, then temporarily load the extension from C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<some random shit>.default\extensions (don't need to check turn on add-on debugging, can just do temporary loading). Will need to be done every time you restart firefox.This is taking a ridiculous amount of time to fix.

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 08:32:33 am
content: Wow, major fuck up! Support site also crashed "429 Too Many Requests".LOL at tag - " Bug 1548973 (armagadd-on-2.0)"

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 08:34:30 am
content: "They let their add-on signing certificate expire and it invalidated a shitload of add-ons."https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1548973solution:1. Open the browser console by hitting Ctrl-Shift-J2. Copy and paste the following code and hit enter to run it.Code:async function set_addons_as_signed() {Components.utils.import("resource://gre/modules/addons/XPIDatabase.jsm");Components.utils.import("resource://gre/modules/AddonManager.jsm");let addons = await XPIDatabase.getAddonList(a => true);for (let addon of addons) {// The add-on might have vanished, we'll catch that on the next startupif (!addon._sourceBundle.exists())continue;if( addon.signedState != AddonManager.SIGNEDSTATE_UNKNOWN )continue;addon.signedState = AddonManager.SIGNEDSTATE_NOT_REQUIRED;AddonManagerPrivate.callAddonListeners("onPropertyChanged",addon.wrapper,["signedState"]);await XPIDatabase.updateAddonDisabledState(addon);}XPIDatabase.saveChanges();}set_addons_as_signed();

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 09:50:29 am
content: The above code from Karel is confirmed as OK and this fix does work. Now back to advert free browsing

author: cs.dk
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 10:00:24 am
content: My extensions were also disabled this morning. Got mine working (Firefox Nightly)Go to about:config and set xpinstall.signatures.required to false

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 10:50:30 am
content: Posted 30m ago in bugzillaUpdate: We have rolled out a partial fix for this issue. We generated a new intermediate certificate with the same name/key but an updated validity window and pushed it out to users via Normandy (this should be most users). Users who have Normandy on should see their add-ons start working over the next few hours. We are continuing to work on packaging up the new certificate for users who have Normandy disabled.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 12:32:18 pm
content: Happened to me. Browser restart was not necessary, I was using it yesterday and had left it running. It did it on its own some time overnight.7:30 am here, still not fixed.

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 12:42:57 pm
content: Phew, everything back to normalI had uninstalled adblock, but I was able to undo that and preserve my settings.I guess this had the effect of prompting to review my plugins and update them, but I really wish software that is installed and working fine didn't suddenly stop "because certificate". It's not like my extensions suddenly turn into malware as soon as the certificate expired. Though perhaps it's impossible to tell the difference between an expired cert and an invalid one?

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 12:49:27 pm
content: Sorted now. I changed app.normandy.run_interval_seconds (in about:config) from 21600 to 60, waited a minute, then restarted Firefox.(Don't forget to change it back again afterwards!)

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 12:52:20 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on May 04, 2019, 07:01:31 amRouter level adblock stops most of them. Also works on mobile apps without hacking the device, but my experience is that apps with ads tend to be junk.

author: kerrsmith
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 01:35:11 pm
content: There is now a way to get the fix immediately for release, beta and nightly users on desktop Firefox if you want it straight away without waiting for it to install automatically:https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/certificate-issue-causing-add-ons-to-be-disabled-or-fail-to-install/39047/14The site above says to do the following:"In order to be able to provide this fix on short notice, we are using the Studies system. You can check if you have studies enabled by going to Firefox Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Allow Firefox to install and run studies.You can disable studies again after your add-ons have been re-enabled."I have just done this and about 20 to 30 seconds after restarting Firefox all my add-ons started working again.

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 02:20:39 pm
content: Remember Firefox 3 when NPAPI was still a thing and the whole browser still looked like Netscape?Yeah those days were nice.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 03:16:56 pm
content: If anybody wants to justify using an adblocker as a plugin I have an experiment for you. Disable your adblocker, disable noscript and similar tools then head over to:http://www.rtl.deWith an adblocker and noscript running this page took ten seconds to load on a fast PC running the latest version of Firefox.With the adblocker and noscript plugins disabled this page was still loading after three minutes, at which point I gave up.I don't want the sort of Internet that RTL want to give me.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 05:30:51 pm
content: Odd, I ran into this problem when I first fired up the PC for the day. They had some fix. Then it started working, now the plugins are dead again.I've not been real happy with Firefox after they started forcing updates. It reminds me of Windows 10 and Java..

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 07:09:54 pm
content: Quote from: rdl on May 04, 2019, 12:32:18 pmYes, the thing re-checks those signatures every damn 24h. Not sure what the logic is behind that, maybe they have some mechanism to revoke signatures when an addon is found to be compromised after it has been approved.Quote from: Ampera on May 04, 2019, 02:20:39 pm"Still looked like Netscape" would be version 1.5, indeed the last good one before never ending feature creep and redesigns.I remember 2.0 already being noticeably slower on weak hardware and using some silly "glossy" theme IIRC.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 09:16:22 pm
content: Mozilla have released a hotfix - it should happen in background but there are instructions to make it work quicker... Firefox Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Allow Firefox to install and run studies.https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/certificate-issue-causing-add-ons-to-be-disabled-or-fail-to-install/39047/13Worked for me after about 10 mins.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 10:34:11 pm
content: This happened to me this morning. Since I am running an ESR (extended support release) version of Firefox, I disabled the extension signing requirement.

author: MrMobodies
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2019, 10:51:17 pm
content: Nice to know now how to disable that signing requirement which I will use in the future when testing it for the things I want it for.Quote from: German_EE on May 04, 2019, 09:50:29 amIt is not adverts that I care about unless they go outside of their banner space or make noise and constantly flash.I'd just use my firewall if I wanted to to block advert hosts but it is more of navigation bars, suggest or anything that it set to routinely popup, get in the way and annoy.

author: StillTrying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 12:44:29 am
content: I've just had the disabling add-ons popup now.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 12:45:43 am
content: Quote from: Gyro on May 04, 2019, 09:16:22 pm"Studies" - is it a glorified equivalent of MS home-calling telemetry?

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:41:44 am
content: Quote from: Bud on May 05, 2019, 12:45:43 amIt's more like auto-update that can silently run whatever code Mozilla wants.

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 02:08:16 am
content: The Studies option worked seamlessly in about an hour for me. Still a ClusterF of Microsoft proportions to not test properly or understand fully what it would do before release

author: ChunkyPastaSauce
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 02:16:33 am
content: I used this:https://storage.googleapis.com/moz-fx-normandy-prod-addons/extensions/hotfix-update-xpi-intermediate%40mozilla.com-1.0.2-signed.xpirestored all of my extensions (on firefox 66.0.3)

author: ElectronicSupersonic
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 02:59:24 am
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on May 04, 2019, 12:49:27 pmConfirmed as a working solution. That's a major f..k up on Mozilla's part!!! That's what happens when you concentrate on releasing new version every week (figuratively speaking) instead of focusing on fixing existing bugs and making software more stable/efficient.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 03:59:10 am
content: I dumped Firefox and switched to Pale Moon a few years ago when they mucked up the UI, I got sick of losing features and flexibility as they made it more and more into a Chrome clone. I already have Chrome, the reason I used to use Firefox is that it was not like Chrome.

author: MrMobodies
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 04:31:25 am
content: Quote from: james_s on May 05, 2019, 03:59:10 amI remembered an article a long time ago about that Alex Limi wanting to spend his time removing trivial things from options on Firefox 23 such as Javascript and then I knew it was eventually going to go down hill for what I wanted it for. I got put off with the stability issues but they have possibly fixed that now. I still found it a bit bloated on one time I looked at some release that included tiles on the right.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 07:21:10 am
content: Quote from: ElectronicSupersonic on May 05, 2019, 02:59:24 amIt's not a software bug. An encryption certificate has expired. The software acted accordingly and correctly.The "bug" is in the way the Mozilla foundation is doing their administration i.e. not checking the expiration datesof their certificates.

author: sourcecharge
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 09:47:40 am
content: Quote from: ChunkyPastaSauce on May 05, 2019, 02:16:33 am

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 10:10:39 am
content: Type in the address bar 'about:config', agree with the bla-bla-warning if it's the first time going to 'about:config', then search for the word 'signature', and set 'xpinstall.signatures.required' to 'false'.All add-ons will now work again, without requiring digital signatures from mozilla.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 12:32:13 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on May 05, 2019, 10:10:39 amI'd be careful with using this setting. It may open the door for malware to install itself in your web browser. Nowadays webbrowsers are environments where you can run whatever software you want (hence the ability to create plugins for all kinds of extra functionality) but that also poses a big risk.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 12:34:02 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on May 05, 2019, 10:10:39 amThat only works on developer and ESR (extended service release) versions. The standard distribution does not obey that setting.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 12:43:48 pm
content: Quote from: David Hess on May 05, 2019, 12:34:02 pm+1 , who knows if this toggle at disabled state may create a gaping security hole in the future, if we forgot to toggle it back.Dumping FF , looking for alternative now.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 12:56:50 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on May 05, 2019, 12:43:48 pmA bit extreme - yesterday's hotfix fixes it.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:09:00 pm
content: Quote from: Karel on May 05, 2019, 07:21:10 amThis is called "certificate management". A certificate management system tracks certificates expiry and alerts the system admin well in advance that certificate expiry is approaching. Seems Mozilla does not have one in place and uses manual tracking which is a shame given their footprint.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:13:06 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on May 05, 2019, 01:41:44 amHmmm.. "Studies" would be an awkward name for such function. But a perfectly subtle name for telemetry function.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:29:51 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on May 05, 2019, 12:56:50 pmIf the problem still exists, then it has not been fixed. Breaking something else is not a fix.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:35:39 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on May 05, 2019, 01:13:06 pmThe instructions said you only needed to enable it long enough for your addons to came back, which is what I did. I never have any of that stuff enabled normally.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:42:14 pm
content: Quote from: David Hess on May 05, 2019, 01:29:51 pmDescription of the hotfix:QuoteThey updated with an intermediate certificate, they didn't 'break' anything else (eg, by disabling certificate checking). Doesn't look broken to me.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 01:50:59 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on May 05, 2019, 01:13:06 pmThe privacy laws for commercial data data collecting and storing are strange, and varies wildly from one country to another. For example, there are types of data that are forbidden to be collected or stored for commercial/business usage, yet the same data can be harvested for a couple of years for academical research purposes only. The name "Studies" makes me think it would be about the second type of data collecting, for academic research and not for something like better adds targeting.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 03:01:26 pm
content: I've been using Pale Moon since Firefox switched to the not-so-customizable "australis" interface. I do keep a copy of Firefox that gets used only when I need cookies enabled. It's slightly easier to open a Firefox private instance than it is to unlock cookies in Pale Moon.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 09:13:31 pm
content: Firefox version 66.0.4 has now been released which fixes the issue without having to mess with manual fixes or turning on Studies.Just installed it myself and all back to normal.You know, today I actually just completely avoided visiting a bunch of sites I regularly view, simply because of how obnoxious it is without an ad-blocker. Very relieved to get it back.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2019, 11:22:17 pm
content: I dumped Firefox because this pissed me off for the last time.It takes me about 1/2 an hour in about:config to disable Mozilla's garbage - geolocation, telemetry, preloading URLs, Google links, experiments, browser fingerprinting, auto play vids, disable microphone+cam access etc.The browser has a ton of privacy invading, data collection sneaks enabled by default, when you dig into it.The PDF viewer is slow and buggy, I've had various features corrupt themselves and stop working properly, so you have to reinstall and redo the config stuff.Bitching to Mozilla about the bugs encountered, they say "why do you go to those websites?"

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 12:16:22 am
content: Firefox has been a pain ever since they forgot the meaning of proper major and minor version numbers and moved to that ridiculous rapid release cycle jumping through dozens of version numbers a year. The update frequency was obnoxious, broke my addons constantly and it seemed every new version brought a reduction in features. I'd spend more and more time finding addons to give me back features they removed for inexplicable reasons. Finally when Australis came along I'd had enough and said farewell. They have been bleeding users for years and seem to be clueless as to why. Then they seem hell bent on removing all the reasons for anyone to still use Firefox. Chrome gets popular so they try to make Firefox look and act like Chrome, at which point you might as well just use Chrome.

author: 0culus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 12:20:23 am
content: Quote from: floobydust on May 05, 2019, 11:22:17 pmI went and looked in my about:config, and couldn't find anything like this enabled by default. Can you provide some specifics?

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 01:19:43 am
content: Quote from: james_s on May 06, 2019, 12:16:22 amHear HearThe initial reason to change way back when was to get away from the horror of IE FF was lighter faster and more flexible. Then along came Google with Chrome wanting to integrate our lives for their benefitand for reasons unknown FF tried to follow themTime for FF to remember what it was that made it great way back when.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 01:40:25 am
content: I don't think it's that mysterious, Chrome started picking up quickly in popularity, costing Firefox users. Unfortunately they tried to copy Chrome in hopes of keeping users from leaving but that had the opposite effect and chased off users who stuck with Firefox precisely because it was NOT like Chrome. You can't be a better Chrome than Chrome is so don't try, instead better to focus on users who want something else even if it means not being #1. Browser evolution is an interesting topic, the biggest players fall sooner or later. It'll be interesting to see if that pattern continues now that the web is fairly mature.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 04:01:22 am
content: Quote from: 0culus on May 06, 2019, 12:20:23 amAlmost 500 settings in about:config to consider. It's takes a long time to look them up and is a fine line between having basic privacy, making it difficult to track you and your web behavior, and falling into conspiracy.about:config will search, so just type in "geo" or "telemetry" etc. to see what you have. It depends on the FF version, but here's some copy pasta to check:Code:geo.enabled = false;geo.provider.ms-windows-location = false;geo.wifi.uri = blank;browser.search.geoip.url = blank; Disables geolocation and firefox logging geolocation requests.permissions.default.camera = 2; * 0=Allowed, 1=Blocked 2=Prompt - removed in FF66permissions.default.microphone = 2privacy.resistFingerprinting = truebrowser.send_pings = false; prevent website tracking clicks.browser.send_pings.require_same_host = true; only send pings if send and receiving host match (same website).beacon.enabled = false; Sends data to servers when leaving pages.network.http.sendRefererHeader = 0; Tells website where you came from. Disabling may break some sites.browser.safebrowsing.enabled = falsebrowser.safebrowsing.phishing.enabled = falsebrowser.safebrowsing.malware.enabled = false; Will use a malware database to scan downloads.browser.safebrowsing.downloads.enabled = falsebrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.dataSharing.enabled = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.updateURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.reportURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.reportPhishMistakeURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.reportMalwareMistakeURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.lists = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.gethashURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.dataSharingURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.dataSharing.enabled = falsebrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.advisoryURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google4.advisoryName = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.updateURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.reportURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.reportPhishMistakeURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.reportMalwareMistakeURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.pver = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.lists = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.gethashURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.provider.google.advisoryURL = blankbrowser.safebrowsing.downloads.remote.url = blankDisable Google Safe Browsing and malware and phishing protection.Stop sending links and downloading lists from google.Security risk, but privacy improvement.Note: this list may be incomplete as firefox updates, be sure to search for browser.safebrowsing.provider.google*Also simply setting safebrowsing.*.enabled to false should make setting the URL's to blank redundant, but better to be safe.If you see anything pointing google, probably best to nuke it.toolkit.telemetry.enabled = falsetoolkit.telemetry.coverage.opt-out = truetoolkit.telemetry.cachedClientID = blank{just look at what you have for toolkit.telemetry}network.predictor.enabled = falsenetwork.dns.disablePrefetch = true; disable DNS prefetchingnetwork.prefetch-next = falsenetwork.http.speculative-parallel-limit = 0; disable link-mouseover opening connection to linked serverTRR = Trusted Recursive Resolver* .mode: 0=off, 1=race, 2=TRR first, 3=TRR only, 4=race for stats but always use native result*  DoH bypasses hosts and gives info to yet another party (e.g. Cloudflare)network.trr.mode = 0;network.trr.bootstrapAddress = blanknetwork.trr.uri = blankmedia.peerconnection.enabled = falsenetwork.websocket.enabled = falseWebSockets is a technology that makes it possible to open an interactive communicationsession between the user's browser and a server. (May leak IP when using proxy/VPN)extensions.pocket.enabled = false; Pocket is a third party (now owned by Mozilla) "save for later" cloud serviceextensions.pocket.site = blankextensions.pocket.oAuthConsumerKey = blankextensions.pocket.api = blankSorta from:https://gist.github.com/0XDE57/fbd302cef7693e62c769https://www.ghacks.net/overview-firefox-aboutconfig-security-privacy-preferences

author: 0culus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 07:48:31 pm
content: Thanks for the links. I'm going to look into it.

author: particleman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 07:52:44 pm
content: FF is attempting to only allow signed add-ons they are petrified of free speech. I switched to Vivaldi. FF and mozilla can get bent.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 08:24:00 pm
content: Quote from: particleman on May 06, 2019, 07:52:44 pmNo, they're trying to protect the ignorant and stupid from themselves.Vivaldi probably won't allow unsigned extensions, either.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 08:38:35 pm
content: I think that's not a bad idea for the default setting, but it should be relatively easy for users who wish to do so to disable that protection. Most of the users who benefit from that sort of protection will leave it alone.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 08:40:01 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on May 06, 2019, 08:38:35 pmMake it too easy to disable and they'll find a way to do it for you.It is easily done in nightly builds. If you need to disable signing, I'm sure you're able to use a nightly or a custom build of your own..

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 08:45:01 pm
content: A simple checkbox in the browser settings is both easy for a user to configure as they wish, and virtually impossible for some malicious add-on to modify for you.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 08:50:10 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on May 06, 2019, 08:45:01 pmMalicious add-on, sure, quiet piece of other malicious software or a malicious passer-by, on the other hand..Plus, simple boxes are too easily messed with by the simple-minded. It's easy enough for anyone who needs signing disabled to use an appropriate build and go into about:config.

author: hwj-d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 08:51:31 pm
content: There is a new FF Version66.0.4now, that doesn't have the problems anymore.

author: particleman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 10:09:48 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on May 06, 2019, 08:24:00 pmThen why did they send this notice to dissenter/gab?https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/04/dissenter-extension-removed-from-firefox-add-ons-gallery-for-abuse/81954/And yes Vivaldi allows you to install whatever you want.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 10:29:53 pm
content: Quote from: particleman on May 06, 2019, 10:09:48 pmWhat does that have to do with signing? The answer: Nothing. You can still get it. You can still install it. What the reasons are behind its removal I cannot say (and neither can you).QuoteSo does Firefox if you want it to.

author: xani
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 10:56:00 pm
content: On one side I desperately want competition so we won't have repeat of the '90 with pages working only on Google Chrome.On other Mozilla tries REALLY hard to discourage me from using firefoxLike, they build their marketing on whole freedom/open schtick while.. pushing unwanted addons (mr robot ads/pocker/whatever they come up with next) and advertise privacy while having privacy tracking on by default.The moment there will be decent (as in integrated well in main window) vertical tabbar for chrome (IIRC so far the plugin api didn't really allow that) I'm leaving that dumpster FFire

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 11:23:54 pm
content: I was not affected by this, but I absolutely hate the idea that some outside factor can even cause this to happen. Does this mean that Firefox "calls home" every now and then, and if things are not right (certificate in this case) it will start to disable stuff?That is one thing I always hated about certificate based stuff though is that by design it relies on a 3rd party. There has got to be a better way.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 11:24:03 pm
content: Companies in Silicon Valley offer free web services such as email, storage, apps, social media etc. for free... ?How do they pay the bills, the electricity, rent, wages, marketing etc.Google Alphabet has $827B market capPretty high don't you think, given their products are pretty much free.Honoring privacy, being open, being nicey nice - it doesn't make money. "Advertising revenue" otherwise known as data mining and user tracking is is the new gold.Mozilla started out with great ethics but that's clearly gone now.

author: particleman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 11:27:20 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on May 06, 2019, 10:29:53 pmI can read. It says they were removed due to "hate" Mozilla is just more SJW trash. Doing what SJW trash does. Banning shit for muh feelings.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 11:49:36 pm
content: Yeah it's crossed over into censorship.Like Reddit, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook etc. they all practice arbitrary censorship according to an unwritten standard or whim.Unless there's some pedo or heil Hitler browser add-on, maybe that's their concern. I just ad block.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2019, 11:56:42 pm
content: As expected, a (temporary) bug is reported with X, proceed to see the usual "X is garbage, I'm never using it again"Quote from: Red Squirrel on May 06, 2019, 11:23:54 pmCertificate expiration is not calling home, its checking the expiry date of the installed cert and reacting appropriately.If this were any software *other* than a web browser, then not being able to use the software would be a concern. But in this case, you need web access anyway, so relying on the software and certs being up to date is really a non-issue for the majority of people.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2019, 12:06:22 am
content: This is a bug? Mozilla doesn't test the basics before making a change late on a Friday? They aren't that dumb.A recent Mozilla experiment, "a message at the bottom “thanked” users for supporting Firefox and, in exchange, offered a $20 Amazon gift card if they booked their next hotel stay at Booking.com."They want advertising revenue.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2019, 12:33:28 am
content: Quote from: particleman on May 06, 2019, 11:27:20 pmAnd again I ask you what that has to do with signing.Please take your bullshit elsewhere.

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2019, 01:38:50 am
content: Glad I ran into this thread...Coincidentally, I just recovered my machine from image. After reinstalling FireFox, I found that my regular add-ons all failed. I have an "anti-spying" stop-list that I executes post image recovery to kill spying suspected system services. I was just about to check which one I stopped that might have disabled Firefox...Yeah, things are back to "normal" now, and I am back to wishing for a light-weight plain old browser that doesn't try to make coffee or send my info to yet another life-insurance agent..

author: particleman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2019, 01:58:47 am
content: Quote from: Monkeh on May 07, 2019, 12:33:28 amWho are you to tell me to go anywhere?Cry more

author: wilfred
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2019, 04:20:56 am
content: I just installed a FF update 66.0.5 on Linux Mint 18.2 and my Adblock and Privacy Badger addons are now working.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2019, 03:30:35 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on May 06, 2019, 01:40:25 amThe old extension model was an unfixable mess from a sandboxing point of view, security would have chased more and more normal users away ... as long as you're going to try to switch to another model, it might as well be the Chrome one. They still have far more flexibility than Chrome.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2019, 05:18:13 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on May 11, 2019, 03:30:35 pmI disagree, if I want a browser that is like chrome, I will just use chrome. It seems the market agrees with me as Firefox usage has continued to plummet and is currently below 10%. It is on the verge of being irrelevant.I'm happily using Pale Moon which is a continuation of what Firefox used to be.