21 ms·

Firefox 66.0.4 is out, fixes disabled add-ons

506 points by akyuu 7y ago

tinus_hn 7y ago
Yet the official download on download.mozilla.org is still the old, broken version.
- kbirkeland 7y ago
  AFAICT still no update out for the android version either
  - mintplant 7y ago
    Installing the hotfix package directly worked on Firefox for Android for me. https://storage.googleapis.com/moz-fx-normandy-prod-addons/extensions/hotfix-update-xpi-intermediate@mozilla.com-1.0.2-signed.xpi https://storage.googleapis.com/moz-fx-normandy-prod-addons/e...
    - vorticalbox 7y ago
      This is how I fixed it too
  - curiousgal 7y ago
    I just disbaled the checksignatute flag yesterday and that solved it. It's not like I install add-ons all the time.
- sciurus 7y ago
  The new version is there now.
enriquto 7y ago
A good outcome of this certificate fiasco is that many firefox users learned about the "studies" and "Normandy" brain-damage and promptly disabled them.
- andrewshadura 7y ago
  I am very glad I kept Studies running.
- AaronFriel 7y ago
  Having a capability for widespread A/B testing is brain-damage?
  - Nullabillity 7y ago
    Yes, running experiments on unknowning and unconsenting users is unethical, especially when the metrics being optimized for usually aren't in the users' best interests. The widespread acceptance for this behaviour could definitely be classified as brain damage.
    - staticassertion 7y ago
      So when deploying changes it should just go to every single user with no incremental rollout?
      - benatkin 7y ago
        Yes. The testing should be done on users that opt in (likely less than 0.1% but that should be OK if it's done properly) and it should be rolled out by releasing an update to everyone. These so-called "best practices" often aren't.
        Vinnl 7y ago
        By relying on opt-in you won't test whether a feature actually works for the average user, so if you don't test it, you might roll something useless/confusing/actively harmful out to all of them instead of just a few.
        zamalek 7y ago
        Exactly. The recent Windows 10 update fiascos demonstrate this perfectly: they are opt-in (Insider program) and there were too few users experiencing the bugs to overcome the noise of those who weren't. You need a truly random sample.
staticassertion 7y ago
Not seeing any updates in `apt`.
- ajross 7y ago
  This is the Mozilla release. It will take a bit for the Linux distros to get it packaged and into the repos. Even the Firefox install on my windows machine here doesn't see it as an automatic update yet.
theferalrobot 7y ago
I tried Firefox recently because I want to ditch my Chrome habit and I love Mozilla but it had serious performance issues on all of my macs (fans would spin at max after 5 min, a long standing and known issue I guess) along with some real oddities on my android. Between bad performance and these many recent missteps I ended up ditching it for just another chromium based browser out there. Though my experience is somewhat anecdotal I have to wonder how much longer Mozilla can keep it up before they end up as just another chromium flavor. Edit: Wow I woke a beast I guess. Not sure what the insta-downvotes right at the start there were about.
- snazz 7y ago
  If you’re on a Mac, you have Safari installed as well which is better than Chrome (or most Chromium flavors) on the privacy and security front, not to mention battery life and performance. However, I’m sure Mozilla would like a bug report, because I’ve never seen performance issues with Firefox on a Mac. Edit: I should note that the couple of MacBook Airs I had it installed on were pre-Retina so that might explain why I hadn’t seen this particular issue.
  - theferalrobot 7y ago
    It is a long standing issue with Firefox. I reported it and was pointed here to watch for updates: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    Safari occasionally crashes for me on OS X with a massive stacktrace. One time it was because it couldn't create a directory locally in my Preferences. Never had that trouble with Chrome. Flawless browser.
- tomc1985 7y ago
  Firefox on mac used to be like that, but recent versions (last year or two) haven't had that issue You're probably being downvoted for negging others' beloved browser
V-2 7y ago
I'm still on 66.0.3 and the issue resolved itself, I believe, yesterday...
- NullPrefix 7y ago
  Resolved as in you're opted in to studies?
  - V-2 7y ago
    I never did opt in. SO if it's not the default setting, it must have been off.
    - NullPrefix 7y ago
      They made it default. It's called Normandy.
      - JorgeGT 7y ago
        A place most people associate with the largest amphibious invasion in history seems a curious choice of codeword.
        Skunkleton 7y ago
        The name fits the feature imo.
        yellowapple 7y ago
        That'd mean all Firefox users are Nazis. Which may or may not be true.
        NullPrefix 7y ago
        They invaded nazis, so it's all good.
- INTPenis 7y ago
Aardwolf 7y ago
What about older versions? Does this mean that older versions of firefox can never be used with addons (even matching older versions) anymore?
- testplzignore 7y ago
  Good question. Looks like they do have a release for 60 (the current ESR): https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/ https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/
  - foofoo55 7y ago
    Just export the key from a current version and import it into the old version. Worked for me.
    - gruez 7y ago
      How do you do this?
      - adjagu 7y ago
        From an updated Firefox navigate to Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Security -> Certificates -> View Certificates Now find: Mozilla Corporation signingca1.addons.mozilla.org Select signingca1.addons.mozilla.org and then choose export. This is what you would import into the older version of Firefox.
        ComodoHacker 7y ago
        BTW that certificate list if fairly long, has no scrollbar and no search box. That's a bad UI. Is there a way to report this without spending hours to register at Bugzilla and file a proper bug report?
        adjagu 7y ago
ufo 7y ago
Link where the release notes will be posted: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/
- sciurus 7y ago
  They're published now.
  - yabatopia 7y ago
    Right now, the Firefox for Android version is still not available in the Google Play Store.
    - lucb1e 7y ago
      Surprising no one. The real question is whether the apk is available somewhere so people don't have to wait for our favorite walled garden to mercifully pass the update.
rhabarba 7y ago
I am not interested in finding out what they'll break next unless I want to participate in their Normandy botnet. Goodbye, Mozilla.
- ccrush 7y ago
  So... Hello, Google?
  - rhabarba 7y ago
    A large part of the problem is that too many people are happy with not having a choice anymore.
- oil25 7y ago
  That's a pretty uncharitable characterization of their experiments framework. Have you ever worked on large-scale software with tens of millions of users or end-points? Then no doubt you'll know the tremendous value incremental deployments and test/control groups have.
  - rhabarba 7y ago
    A botnet for a good cause is still a botnet.
- zaat 7y ago
  I was pretty pissed about the issue and the reasons that led to it, would you please introduce me to the trusted browser provider you are heading to? Because despite this and all the previous issues, I don't see any alternative that is half as good or cares about me as a user.
  - rhabarba 7y ago
    Currently, Vivaldi. Yes, I know about the privacy implications, but at least they're trying to get better, not worse. I wish Netsurf had more manpower.
tux1968 7y ago
Probably less important given the type (and number) of users who are on Firefox Nightly, but it's still at "68.0a1 (2019-05-03)" without an update available yet.
- sciurus 7y ago
  Nightly updates are currently frozen until we have a fix for https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/1549075 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/1549075 https://t.co/etOWyG4aqh https://t.co/etOWyG4aqh
est31 7y ago
No release for android yet, at least not on [1], where I am getting the apk files from. As of now, latest release uploaded there is 66.0.2 from March. [1]: https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/ https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/ EDIT it's up: https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/66.0.4/ https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/66.0.4/
- ccrush 7y ago
  Well, at least you didn't get hit with 66.0.3.
  - unicornporn 7y ago
    My addons were disabled on 66.0.2.
  - inferiorhuman 7y ago
    What did 66.0.3 break?
    - radley 7y ago
      66.0.3 didn't break anything, but it was the last version to ship with certs that expired on Friday.
- unicornporn 7y ago
  Have been polling https://download.mozilla.org/?product=fennec-latest&os=android&lang=multi https://download.mozilla.org/?product=fennec-latest&os=andro... Still getting 66.0.2... :-/ And yes, my addons were disabled on 66.0.2.
  - NullPrefix 7y ago
    Gives 66.0.4 now
- jackewiehose 7y ago
  xpinstall.signatures.required = false worked for me on android
bmay 7y ago
installing and running this version did not resolve the issue for me is there something else I need to do?
throwawaymanbot 7y ago
Wonder why? why wud they do this?
johnchristopher 7y ago
I don't understand why renewing the certificate wouldn't fix the issue ? How does the 66.0.4 fix the problem exactly ?
- kam 7y ago
  It's a signing certificate that is built into the browser to verify add-ons, not a normal TLS certificate that they can just update on a web server. The change basically just imports the new certificate into the database: https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-release/rev/848b15028562c6757748070f637e0e4f0bbb5f65 https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-release/rev/848b1502...
  - floatingatoll 7y ago
    That is not a complete statement of the changes shown. In addition to the unexpired certificate, it takes step to reenable any addons that were disabled by the expiration of the prior certificate.
  - johnchristopher 7y ago
    > It's a signing certificate that is built into the browser to verify add-ons, not a normal TLS certificate that they can just update on a web server. Ah, so that's why. Thanks. What was the signing certificate validity period ?
    - db48x 7y ago
      Two years, iirc.
    - acqq 7y ago
      Don't know about the old one, but the new one from the patch is: Not Before: Apr 4 00:00:00 2015 GMT Not After : Apr 4 00:00:00 2025 GMT
  - raverbashing 7y ago
    So are the extensions checked at startup time for disk integrity issues? My extensions on FF have not stopped working but I hadn't restarted the browser in that interim
fock 7y ago
I have to say I was very pleased that the Debian-ESR package a) disables telemetry in the build and b) ESR still allows you to override the extension signing for now...
whoopdedo 7y ago
What about ESR?
- LinuxBender 7y ago
  ESR has been updated to fix this [1] [1] https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/ https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/
tmaly 7y ago
Is there a little more background to what is happening here? The link is to an ftp, so I have no idea what is broken, fixed or why it matters.
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  If your addons are broken, it will fix them. If you don’t use addons or they’re working fine, you can let autoupdate pick it up. The release notes will be published at this URL: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/
- sciurus 7y ago
  See https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-add-ons-in-firefox/ https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-...
baalimago 7y ago
About time. Embarrassing bug. The only reason i didn't permanently swap browser is because of the lack of alternatives since none has the functionality I apply through the addons.
- rnd0 7y ago
  Personally, I've switched to waterfox -which is a fork of an older firefox branch, and it supports addons (at least the ones I use). I'm pretty happy with it, and I'm strongly considering staying with it even after firefox is fixed.
  - guessbest 7y ago
    I've been using Waterfox on Windows for awhile along with the new Firefox, but now I am going to replace the Firefox install with Brave. Best of both worlds.
  - zapzupnz 7y ago
    You'll be several revisions' worth of security patches behind. For an application that is usually one's main means of accessing the rest of the internet, that would be a deal-breaker for me.
    - DiseasedBadger 7y ago
      But even more security bugs behind.
      - zapzupnz 7y ago
        Possibly, but I'll take the actively-developed codebase with the eyes of security experts all over it over one with no manpower.
      - rpearl 7y ago
        [citation needed]
    - 7y ago
SamWhited 7y ago
I was already a bit mad at them for removing RSS support and claiming their proprietary service that's built in is an alternative, now their proprietary service keeps working (presumably, I didn't use it but it's not an addon so I doubt it's signed the same way) and I can't use the RSS addon. I know this was a mistake, but I can't help but be mad that their proprietary built in stuff effectively gets a free pass and special treatment and meanwhile I can't use RSS and all my containers were deleted (those didn't come back after the study was pushed either).
- luke-stanley 7y ago
  I use containers too. I didn't loose any data after I enabled dev mode and added the extension back. Perhaps you removed the existing extension first and lost data that way?
  - neogodless 7y ago
    It's odd - on my laptops, my multi-container settings were preserved, but I opened firefox on my desktop last night and they had vanished. I did not remove any add-ons myself.
    - nikbackm 7y ago
      Same here. Only difference is that I restarted the desktop Firefox and also enabled Shield studies to get the temporary fix. On the laptop I just upgraded to 66.0.4 and only then restarted it.
  - SamWhited 7y ago
    I did not disable or remove the extension, my containers were just all gone after the study was pushed and extensions came back.
  - neogodless 7y ago
    To the best of my understanding, here's what happens. * containers.json is reset to default * if you have any non-default containers, they are lost * the underlying data is still in IndexDB (??) but isn't connected to the custom containers that were wiped out * if you're clever and can read the IndexDB (or wherever the data is, it's moved a few times) then you could probably rebuild your containers.json file
wdr1 7y ago
This is pretty bad for Firefox. I wonder how much people straight up & left for Chrome as a result of it.
- user17843 7y ago
  It will be possible to roughly deduct this from the following statistics during the next days/weeks: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/statistics/?last=30 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/... https://data.firefox.com https://data.firefox.com
  - floatingatoll 7y ago
    Note that these statistics would, presumably, exclude all users who disable telemetry in Firefox. Since many of those outraged at the interruption to addons seem to overlap frequently with those who object to and disable telemetry and studies on principle, their departure over this incident could well have no impact whatsoever on the metrics you linked above. It must be a nightmare for the Firefox team to have a minority group of quick-to-anger users that refuse to allow themselves to be taken into account by usage metrics, refuse to allow their browser to participate in studies, and then object loudly when decisions are made that discount them.
    - user17843 7y ago
      I doubt this. There are extension update pings, and my guess is that the number of users is deducted from the update pings, but I could be wrong.
      - floatingatoll 7y ago
        “How dare Firefox check for updates from a remote server” is a real thing that’s been said in support of many “privacy” guides that disable all Firefox and addons autoupdates, so I wouldn’t bet the farm either way.
durpleDrank 7y ago
>open ff >lastpass gone >google error messages >please update ff >update >browser works I'm sorry to break it to you Chrome fanboys but it'll take a lot more than a minor extensions goof up (that was fixed in a day) for me to switch my browser.
- drngdds 7y ago
  >using meme arrows on HN
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- louiz 7y ago
  For you, sure. For all the people that had their browser completely broken for the whole day, without any reason, however… And your one-day fix, how much time do you think it will take to be deployed on people’s linux system? Probably a few days or more. Probably enough for them to realize that they can just switch to Chrome to have a working browser.
  - bwat49 7y ago
    my linux system already had the studies hotfix 24 hours ago
ChrisSD 7y ago
Is the TOR browser update out soon?
jags-v 7y ago
Mine says : Firefox Developer Edition 67.0b16 (64-bit). No fix yet there...
karavelov 7y ago
What about updating also the beta channel, I am using 67.0b16 and I still think I am affected because, not updates since and all the addons are shown as "ALLOWED IN PRIVATE WINDOWS"
whatamidoingyo 7y ago
I've been waiting to see this. Just updated from 65.0 to 66.0.3. My addons are still disabled. Tried to install ublock origin, and it's not letting me. I'm getting a "Download failed. Please check your connection." This is crazy, and I'm really disappointed with Mozilla. I'd leave firefox right now, but I don't want to contribute to the destruction of one of the last good pieces of software not owned by Google.
- gorhill 7y ago
  > Just updated from 65.0 to 66.0.3 The fix is in 66.0.4.
  - whatamidoingyo 7y ago
    I noticed that after posting. :o EDIT: "gorhill"... I was seriously just on your GitHub account, like 15 minutes ago. I knew I've seen that username before. Thanks for making uBlock Origin!
- bo1024 7y ago
  I installed Opera yesterday. So far so good. Hope others will chime in with more alternatives
  - chii 7y ago
    opera is now just the chrome engine. I don't think there's any alternative to chrome but firefox now-a-days, as even microsoft gave in and started using chrome's blink engine.
    - aerique 7y ago
      Safari or any Webkit browser maybe? I don't know how far Blink has diverged from Webkit.
  - codedokode 7y ago
    Opera is proprietary and it is unclear what kind of telemetry it has.
fourier_mode 7y ago
New version doesn't show up while following the instructions on: <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-release?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=update-firefox-latest-version> https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-r...
metaprotocol 7y ago
Switched to Chrome and Brave.
- OrgNet 7y ago
  I wish I could switch to something else, but I still trust Mozilla the most.
Perceptes 7y ago
Did this issue cause all add-on data to be wiped? After updating to 66.0.4, all of the containers I'd created with the multi-account containers add-on were gone and replaced with what appeared to be a default set of containers. I spent a lot of time setting that up—is there no way to get it all back if I don't have some sort of manual backup? And if not, what files do I need to manually back up to make sure I don't lose my data next time? Edit: To be clear, at no point did I delete the add-ons I had installed.
- detaro 7y ago
  My Add-ons kept their settings as far as I can tell, but maybe there's something special about the container logic...
- noyeusuyye 7y ago
  If you edit your post within 2 minutes from posting it, there's no reason declaring a Edit cos nobody would have had time to read your post even if you was famous
- rullgrus 7y ago
  Yes, the "Firefox Multi-Account Containers" was unfortunately reset for me too.
  - TheCraiggers 7y ago
    Mine seems fine. My currently open tabs are still in their containers, and when I open a new tab, my list of choices is still intact.
- lugg 7y ago
  Containers are notoriously finicky datawise. I generally keep good backups of the non standard ~/.mozilla folder to compensate. I think it was issue 339 on GitHub. They basically explain they won't add it to sync data because there is no containers on mobile. https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/339 https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/3...
mrmondo 7y ago
The fix doesn't seem to work if you've been using Firefox Beta (67.0b16), or if you then install Stable (66.0.4) and sign in to sync - all addons are still marked as "legacy" and not enabled. However, if you find each one in the store and (re-)install them - they work again and their data is back intact as expected.
- jaipilot747 7y ago
  Just in case someone misread this like I did, you need to reinstall each add-on. Not FF Beta itself.
  - mrmondo 7y ago
    Indeed, I meant re-install the addons.
beezle 7y ago
So nothing for those of us still running 56 beause Quantum trashed our extensions (and there are still not equivalent availale)?
- svnpenn 7y ago
  https://reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/bkspmk/addons_fix_for_5602_older https://reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/bkspmk/addons_fix_for_...
  - a_imho 7y ago
    Why is it so hard for moz://a to provide something similar as an official workaround? Here is the cert, import it and you are good to go. Instead we have the opt-in to studies and update your browser nonsense and no fix for days.
- roblabla 7y ago
  Why on earth are you running such a massively outdated browser? You should at least switch to pale moon, basilisk, or another maintained browser. God knows how many vulnerabilities in the wild there are in 56.
  - beezle 7y ago
    I don't think I or anyone else need to justify why they still use the 56 ESR instead of pale moon nor does that have anything to do with the question of whether there will be a fix for this version from Mozilla. Clearly a few feathers have been ruffled by even broaching the fact that many people still use the 56 version because crtical extensions still have no equivalent under quantum. Snark is not allowed even when asking a relevant question of whether there will be an update. Sad.
    - icebraining 7y ago
      There is no 56 ESR; it jumped from 52 to 60.
  - 7y ago
cryptokernel 7y ago
Just leaving this here: Do tasks, Get paid. https://coincircle.com/l/50VVxbObg3 https://coincircle.com/l/50VVxbObg3
alskdj21 7y ago
I'm really worried about the average users not knowing what happened here. At least an email should be sent informing about the issue. But I guess many of those average users don't have a single extension installed, no problems for them.
- baroffoos 7y ago
  The average user doesn't really need to know. The problem was fixed, there is no action on their part needed and there is no future risk like a data leak.
- bald42 7y ago
  Why would Mozilla have my/average users email-address?
  - genghizkhan 7y ago
    Firefox Sync?
omeid2 7y ago
Lost my containers yet again, I am now on the last straws with Firefox, this whole Normandy thing is not helping the case. Firefox never asked me to opt in!
terrycody 7y ago
thanks for the heads up, now alive!
joe44 7y ago
sorry how i fix windows XP? thank you so much
- joe44 7y ago
  how about windows xp
joe44 7y ago
how about windows xp. still don't work. you going fix it for us please?
- Twirrim 7y ago
  XP doesn't have any official support from Microsoft, and you'll find most vendors are reaching as stage of deprecating XP support. The OS itself is 5 years out of extended support from Microsoft, and it makes up barely 1% of the market place. You'll be hard pressed to get anyone to care if they've broken their software on it.
- joe44 7y ago
  windows xp won't let me add new add on to.
- slig 7y ago
  I'm very curious - why are you still on XP?
  - joe44 7y ago
    because it easy to use.
    - slig 7y ago
      It certainly is, but you should consider upgrading to something else. Sooner or later modern browsers won't work on it, and certainly you'll have to upgrade your hardware and newer hardware won't run XP anyway.
  - codedokode 7y ago
    Why would anyone want to upgrade from XP? New versions of Windows have no improvements (the only improvement is search in Start Menu), but they cost money, they work slower and require new expensive hardware. They have spyware and updates that cannot be disabled. You pay for the product and then you are used as a free tester of new versions of Windows. Microsoft wants everyone to upgrade to earn more money and to upsell to users new "cloud" features they don't really need. But for me it would be better if MS would drop newer Windows versions and returned to improving XP without increasing resources comsumption, without HTML apps, telemetry and "cloud" features. This is an example when the interests of users and the manufacturer are opposite. If the user uses an OS for many years and everything works, why upgrade? Looks like a waste of time and money. Imagine if you bought a car and several years later you are told that you need to upgrade it, because, you know, car factory workers need higher salaries and if you don't buy the new one, then there is no way to pay them. This explains why MS and independent developers (that drop XP support to help MS) forces users to upgrade. Because it is MS who wants an upgrade, not the user.
Elect2 7y ago
Why I still can not install addons after upgrading? On the addon page it shows "only with firefox - get firefox now".
f4stjack 7y ago
Good move, congrats on surviving the second armag-add-on finally BUT I won't be moving from chromium until Firefox (or Mozilla) explains: - why am I opted-in to a Studies program in Firefox's default state? (With no explicit information about what it is) - what does app.normandy.enabled switch do and why is its default value is True and doesn't change to false when I explicitly state I don't want to be in the Studies program? - why can't we see any xpi's installed by studies program unless we explicitly go to about:studies? I don't say chromium is better, but I think we deserve an explanation regarding these points.
- brendyn 7y ago
  Consider running Icecat. It's most convenient to use it by installing a fully libre distribution such as Parabola or Guix System. Distributions which respect the FSDG don't just exclude proprietary software, but actually take software like Firefox which is 99% libre, and chucks out the last 1% of junk, improving many defaults. You're unlikely to have ethical qualms with such an Icecat. https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ You can see how it's made here: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnuzilla.git/tree/makeicecat https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnuzilla.git/tree/makeicec... Note that it looks like it disables sync, but that should still work, and you can add whatever addons you like.
- ntp85 7y ago
  This might be a stupid question, but have you asked them through their support or social media channels yet?
  - f4stjack 7y ago
    I did from twitter, no answer yet. And I think this is an answer owed to all of the users - not just me.
    - ntp85 7y ago
      Absolutely, I didn't necessarily want to disagree with you and was just asking.
GordonS 7y ago
Is a more robust way around this to use a trusted timestamping service? This is the way code-signing on Windows works, and allows you to prove that code was signed by a valid certificate while it was in its validity date - so even once the certificate expires, the code will still run as long as the cryptographic timestamping signature is valid.
BuckRogers 7y ago
I've always been a fan of native browsers, and have been using Chromium-based Edge[0] as my daily driver at work. While I wasn't one who was impacted by the extensions change, The removal of Live Bookmarks really stung for me, as I've used that feature since 2002. Container support (with Containerise), a dedicated search bar to use with DDG bangs, and easy 'send tab to device' is what has me holding on today. But I have to admit that Microsoft's eventual offering is pretty appealing, a Chromium-based browser with the advantages of Chrome's compatibility and Edge's conservative battery sipping. I'm one who has always liked and even preferred Microsoft's products and their integration on as objective of a basis as a human can muster. Even if it's in different aspects, I think they're going to probably have Edge become a package equally appealing to the things I love about Firefox. Edge/Safari are definitely where I'll go if Firefox really starts circling the drain, but having been on FF since it was Phoenix, it'll take more than this debacle. [0]https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/en-us/download/ https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/en-us/download/
rasmussondk 7y ago
Our extension sets https://www.givero.com https://www.givero.com as the default search engine. After the extension got disabled and re-enabled, searches now default to Google. So this fix is not complete. Our efforts in getting Firefox users to install our extension has been in vain. "Luckily" we didn't have many users yet but imagine the amount of money this will cost bigger search engines like DDG, Qwant, etc.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  > but imagine the amount of money this will cost bigger search engines like DDG, Qwant, etc. People use extensions to change the default search engine in their browsers? I honestly thought only malware does that; regular people use the Settings menu.
- hvis 7y ago
  Can't you do the switch on the next extension update, for instance?
raxxorrax 7y ago
studies, normandy, looking glass, forced signing of addons... Mozilla is giving away a lot of good-will lately. Still my favorite browser, but I don't like the general direction. Privacy should always default to true. I hope for Mozilla to find a source of income that isn't Google, because they did a lot for the web. Let us just hope they don't need to make too many compromises.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
pbhjpbhj 7y ago
We need a new Phoenix, I feel. From Wikipedia: >They [the original Phoenix devs] believed the commercial requirements of Netscape's sponsorship and developer-driven feature creep compromised the utility of the Mozilla browser.
silversconfused 7y ago
GNU icecat is a very nicely modified firefox that respects the users. I highly suggest giving it a try if firefox has been bothering you lately.

506 points by akyuu 7y ago

tinus_hn 7y ago

Yet the official download on download.mozilla.org is still the old, broken version.

kbirkeland 7y ago
AFAICT still no update out for the android version either
- mintplant 7y ago
  Installing the hotfix package directly worked on Firefox for Android for me. https://storage.googleapis.com/moz-fx-normandy-prod-addons/extensions/hotfix-update-xpi-intermediate@mozilla.com-1.0.2-signed.xpi https://storage.googleapis.com/moz-fx-normandy-prod-addons/e...
  - vorticalbox 7y ago
    This is how I fixed it too
- curiousgal 7y ago
  I just disbaled the checksignatute flag yesterday and that solved it. It's not like I install add-ons all the time.
sciurus 7y ago
The new version is there now.

enriquto 7y ago

A good outcome of this certificate fiasco is that many firefox users learned about the "studies" and "Normandy" brain-damage and promptly disabled them.

andrewshadura 7y ago
I am very glad I kept Studies running.
AaronFriel 7y ago
Having a capability for widespread A/B testing is brain-damage?
- Nullabillity 7y ago
  Yes, running experiments on unknowning and unconsenting users is unethical, especially when the metrics being optimized for usually aren't in the users' best interests. The widespread acceptance for this behaviour could definitely be classified as brain damage.
  - staticassertion 7y ago
    So when deploying changes it should just go to every single user with no incremental rollout?
    - benatkin 7y ago
      Yes. The testing should be done on users that opt in (likely less than 0.1% but that should be OK if it's done properly) and it should be rolled out by releasing an update to everyone. These so-called "best practices" often aren't.
      - Vinnl 7y ago
        By relying on opt-in you won't test whether a feature actually works for the average user, so if you don't test it, you might roll something useless/confusing/actively harmful out to all of them instead of just a few.
        zamalek 7y ago
        Exactly. The recent Windows 10 update fiascos demonstrate this perfectly: they are opt-in (Insider program) and there were too few users experiencing the bugs to overcome the noise of those who weren't. You need a truly random sample.

staticassertion 7y ago

Not seeing any updates in `apt`.

ajross 7y ago
This is the Mozilla release. It will take a bit for the Linux distros to get it packaged and into the repos. Even the Firefox install on my windows machine here doesn't see it as an automatic update yet.

theferalrobot 7y ago

I tried Firefox recently because I want to ditch my Chrome habit and I love Mozilla but it had serious performance issues on all of my macs (fans would spin at max after 5 min, a long standing and known issue I guess) along with some real oddities on my android. Between bad performance and these many recent missteps I ended up ditching it for just another chromium based browser out there. Though my experience is somewhat anecdotal I have to wonder how much longer Mozilla can keep it up before they end up as just another chromium flavor. Edit: Wow I woke a beast I guess. Not sure what the insta-downvotes right at the start there were about.

snazz 7y ago
If you’re on a Mac, you have Safari installed as well which is better than Chrome (or most Chromium flavors) on the privacy and security front, not to mention battery life and performance. However, I’m sure Mozilla would like a bug report, because I’ve never seen performance issues with Firefox on a Mac. Edit: I should note that the couple of MacBook Airs I had it installed on were pre-Retina so that might explain why I hadn’t seen this particular issue.
- theferalrobot 7y ago
  It is a long standing issue with Firefox. I reported it and was pointed here to watch for updates: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042
- scarejunba 7y ago
  Safari occasionally crashes for me on OS X with a massive stacktrace. One time it was because it couldn't create a directory locally in my Preferences. Never had that trouble with Chrome. Flawless browser.
tomc1985 7y ago
Firefox on mac used to be like that, but recent versions (last year or two) haven't had that issue You're probably being downvoted for negging others' beloved browser

V-2 7y ago

I'm still on 66.0.3 and the issue resolved itself, I believe, yesterday...

NullPrefix 7y ago
Resolved as in you're opted in to studies?
- V-2 7y ago
  I never did opt in. SO if it's not the default setting, it must have been off.
  - NullPrefix 7y ago
    They made it default. It's called Normandy.
    - JorgeGT 7y ago
      A place most people associate with the largest amphibious invasion in history seems a curious choice of codeword.
      - Skunkleton 7y ago
        The name fits the feature imo.
        yellowapple 7y ago
        That'd mean all Firefox users are Nazis. Which may or may not be true.
      - NullPrefix 7y ago
        They invaded nazis, so it's all good.
INTPenis 7y ago

Aardwolf 7y ago

What about older versions? Does this mean that older versions of firefox can never be used with addons (even matching older versions) anymore?

testplzignore 7y ago
Good question. Looks like they do have a release for 60 (the current ESR): https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/ https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/
- foofoo55 7y ago
  Just export the key from a current version and import it into the old version. Worked for me.
  - gruez 7y ago
    How do you do this?
    - adjagu 7y ago
      From an updated Firefox navigate to Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Security -> Certificates -> View Certificates Now find: Mozilla Corporation signingca1.addons.mozilla.org Select signingca1.addons.mozilla.org and then choose export. This is what you would import into the older version of Firefox.
      - ComodoHacker 7y ago
        BTW that certificate list if fairly long, has no scrollbar and no search box. That's a bad UI. Is there a way to report this without spending hours to register at Bugzilla and file a proper bug report?
        adjagu 7y ago

ufo 7y ago

Link where the release notes will be posted: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/

sciurus 7y ago
They're published now.
- yabatopia 7y ago
  Right now, the Firefox for Android version is still not available in the Google Play Store.
  - lucb1e 7y ago
    Surprising no one. The real question is whether the apk is available somewhere so people don't have to wait for our favorite walled garden to mercifully pass the update.

rhabarba 7y ago

I am not interested in finding out what they'll break next unless I want to participate in their Normandy botnet. Goodbye, Mozilla.

ccrush 7y ago
So... Hello, Google?
- rhabarba 7y ago
  A large part of the problem is that too many people are happy with not having a choice anymore.
oil25 7y ago
That's a pretty uncharitable characterization of their experiments framework. Have you ever worked on large-scale software with tens of millions of users or end-points? Then no doubt you'll know the tremendous value incremental deployments and test/control groups have.
- rhabarba 7y ago
  A botnet for a good cause is still a botnet.
zaat 7y ago
I was pretty pissed about the issue and the reasons that led to it, would you please introduce me to the trusted browser provider you are heading to? Because despite this and all the previous issues, I don't see any alternative that is half as good or cares about me as a user.
- rhabarba 7y ago
  Currently, Vivaldi. Yes, I know about the privacy implications, but at least they're trying to get better, not worse. I wish Netsurf had more manpower.

tux1968 7y ago

Probably less important given the type (and number) of users who are on Firefox Nightly, but it's still at "68.0a1 (2019-05-03)" without an update available yet.

sciurus 7y ago
Nightly updates are currently frozen until we have a fix for https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/1549075 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/1549075 https://t.co/etOWyG4aqh https://t.co/etOWyG4aqh

est31 7y ago

No release for android yet, at least not on [1], where I am getting the apk files from. As of now, latest release uploaded there is 66.0.2 from March. [1]: https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/ https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/ EDIT it's up: https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/66.0.4/ https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/66.0.4/

ccrush 7y ago
Well, at least you didn't get hit with 66.0.3.
- unicornporn 7y ago
  My addons were disabled on 66.0.2.
- inferiorhuman 7y ago
  What did 66.0.3 break?
  - radley 7y ago
    66.0.3 didn't break anything, but it was the last version to ship with certs that expired on Friday.
unicornporn 7y ago
Have been polling https://download.mozilla.org/?product=fennec-latest&os=android&lang=multi https://download.mozilla.org/?product=fennec-latest&os=andro... Still getting 66.0.2... :-/ And yes, my addons were disabled on 66.0.2.
- NullPrefix 7y ago
  Gives 66.0.4 now
jackewiehose 7y ago
xpinstall.signatures.required = false worked for me on android

bmay 7y ago

installing and running this version did not resolve the issue for me is there something else I need to do?

throwawaymanbot 7y ago

Wonder why? why wud they do this?

johnchristopher 7y ago

I don't understand why renewing the certificate wouldn't fix the issue ? How does the 66.0.4 fix the problem exactly ?

kam 7y ago
It's a signing certificate that is built into the browser to verify add-ons, not a normal TLS certificate that they can just update on a web server. The change basically just imports the new certificate into the database: https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-release/rev/848b15028562c6757748070f637e0e4f0bbb5f65 https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-release/rev/848b1502...
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  That is not a complete statement of the changes shown. In addition to the unexpired certificate, it takes step to reenable any addons that were disabled by the expiration of the prior certificate.
- johnchristopher 7y ago
  > It's a signing certificate that is built into the browser to verify add-ons, not a normal TLS certificate that they can just update on a web server. Ah, so that's why. Thanks. What was the signing certificate validity period ?
  - db48x 7y ago
    Two years, iirc.
  - acqq 7y ago
    Don't know about the old one, but the new one from the patch is: Not Before: Apr 4 00:00:00 2015 GMT Not After : Apr 4 00:00:00 2025 GMT
- raverbashing 7y ago
  So are the extensions checked at startup time for disk integrity issues? My extensions on FF have not stopped working but I hadn't restarted the browser in that interim

fock 7y ago

I have to say I was very pleased that the Debian-ESR package a) disables telemetry in the build and b) ESR still allows you to override the extension signing for now...

whoopdedo 7y ago

What about ESR?

LinuxBender 7y ago
ESR has been updated to fix this [1] [1] https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/ https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/60.6.2esr/

tmaly 7y ago

Is there a little more background to what is happening here? The link is to an ftp, so I have no idea what is broken, fixed or why it matters.

floatingatoll 7y ago
If your addons are broken, it will fix them. If you don’t use addons or they’re working fine, you can let autoupdate pick it up. The release notes will be published at this URL: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/66.0.4/releasenotes/
sciurus 7y ago
See https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-add-ons-in-firefox/ https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-...

baalimago 7y ago

About time. Embarrassing bug. The only reason i didn't permanently swap browser is because of the lack of alternatives since none has the functionality I apply through the addons.

rnd0 7y ago
Personally, I've switched to waterfox -which is a fork of an older firefox branch, and it supports addons (at least the ones I use). I'm pretty happy with it, and I'm strongly considering staying with it even after firefox is fixed.
- guessbest 7y ago
  I've been using Waterfox on Windows for awhile along with the new Firefox, but now I am going to replace the Firefox install with Brave. Best of both worlds.
- zapzupnz 7y ago
  You'll be several revisions' worth of security patches behind. For an application that is usually one's main means of accessing the rest of the internet, that would be a deal-breaker for me.
  - DiseasedBadger 7y ago
    But even more security bugs behind.
    - zapzupnz 7y ago
      Possibly, but I'll take the actively-developed codebase with the eyes of security experts all over it over one with no manpower.
    - rpearl 7y ago
      [citation needed]
  - 7y ago

SamWhited 7y ago

I was already a bit mad at them for removing RSS support and claiming their proprietary service that's built in is an alternative, now their proprietary service keeps working (presumably, I didn't use it but it's not an addon so I doubt it's signed the same way) and I can't use the RSS addon. I know this was a mistake, but I can't help but be mad that their proprietary built in stuff effectively gets a free pass and special treatment and meanwhile I can't use RSS and all my containers were deleted (those didn't come back after the study was pushed either).

luke-stanley 7y ago
I use containers too. I didn't loose any data after I enabled dev mode and added the extension back. Perhaps you removed the existing extension first and lost data that way?
- neogodless 7y ago
  It's odd - on my laptops, my multi-container settings were preserved, but I opened firefox on my desktop last night and they had vanished. I did not remove any add-ons myself.
  - nikbackm 7y ago
    Same here. Only difference is that I restarted the desktop Firefox and also enabled Shield studies to get the temporary fix. On the laptop I just upgraded to 66.0.4 and only then restarted it.
- SamWhited 7y ago
  I did not disable or remove the extension, my containers were just all gone after the study was pushed and extensions came back.
- neogodless 7y ago
  To the best of my understanding, here's what happens. * containers.json is reset to default * if you have any non-default containers, they are lost * the underlying data is still in IndexDB (??) but isn't connected to the custom containers that were wiped out * if you're clever and can read the IndexDB (or wherever the data is, it's moved a few times) then you could probably rebuild your containers.json file

wdr1 7y ago

This is pretty bad for Firefox. I wonder how much people straight up & left for Chrome as a result of it.

user17843 7y ago
It will be possible to roughly deduct this from the following statistics during the next days/weeks: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/statistics/?last=30 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/... https://data.firefox.com https://data.firefox.com
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  Note that these statistics would, presumably, exclude all users who disable telemetry in Firefox. Since many of those outraged at the interruption to addons seem to overlap frequently with those who object to and disable telemetry and studies on principle, their departure over this incident could well have no impact whatsoever on the metrics you linked above. It must be a nightmare for the Firefox team to have a minority group of quick-to-anger users that refuse to allow themselves to be taken into account by usage metrics, refuse to allow their browser to participate in studies, and then object loudly when decisions are made that discount them.
  - user17843 7y ago
    I doubt this. There are extension update pings, and my guess is that the number of users is deducted from the update pings, but I could be wrong.
    - floatingatoll 7y ago
      “How dare Firefox check for updates from a remote server” is a real thing that’s been said in support of many “privacy” guides that disable all Firefox and addons autoupdates, so I wouldn’t bet the farm either way.

durpleDrank 7y ago

>open ff >lastpass gone >google error messages >please update ff >update >browser works I'm sorry to break it to you Chrome fanboys but it'll take a lot more than a minor extensions goof up (that was fixed in a day) for me to switch my browser.

drngdds 7y ago
>using meme arrows on HN
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
louiz 7y ago
For you, sure. For all the people that had their browser completely broken for the whole day, without any reason, however… And your one-day fix, how much time do you think it will take to be deployed on people’s linux system? Probably a few days or more. Probably enough for them to realize that they can just switch to Chrome to have a working browser.
- bwat49 7y ago
  my linux system already had the studies hotfix 24 hours ago

ChrisSD 7y ago

Is the TOR browser update out soon?

jags-v 7y ago

Mine says : Firefox Developer Edition 67.0b16 (64-bit). No fix yet there...

karavelov 7y ago

What about updating also the beta channel, I am using 67.0b16 and I still think I am affected because, not updates since and all the addons are shown as "ALLOWED IN PRIVATE WINDOWS"

whatamidoingyo 7y ago

I've been waiting to see this. Just updated from 65.0 to 66.0.3. My addons are still disabled. Tried to install ublock origin, and it's not letting me. I'm getting a "Download failed. Please check your connection." This is crazy, and I'm really disappointed with Mozilla. I'd leave firefox right now, but I don't want to contribute to the destruction of one of the last good pieces of software not owned by Google.

gorhill 7y ago
> Just updated from 65.0 to 66.0.3 The fix is in 66.0.4.
- whatamidoingyo 7y ago
  I noticed that after posting. :o EDIT: "gorhill"... I was seriously just on your GitHub account, like 15 minutes ago. I knew I've seen that username before. Thanks for making uBlock Origin!
bo1024 7y ago
I installed Opera yesterday. So far so good. Hope others will chime in with more alternatives
- chii 7y ago
  opera is now just the chrome engine. I don't think there's any alternative to chrome but firefox now-a-days, as even microsoft gave in and started using chrome's blink engine.
  - aerique 7y ago
    Safari or any Webkit browser maybe? I don't know how far Blink has diverged from Webkit.
- codedokode 7y ago
  Opera is proprietary and it is unclear what kind of telemetry it has.

fourier_mode 7y ago

New version doesn't show up while following the instructions on: <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-release?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=update-firefox-latest-version> https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-r...

metaprotocol 7y ago

Switched to Chrome and Brave.

OrgNet 7y ago
I wish I could switch to something else, but I still trust Mozilla the most.

Perceptes 7y ago

Did this issue cause all add-on data to be wiped? After updating to 66.0.4, all of the containers I'd created with the multi-account containers add-on were gone and replaced with what appeared to be a default set of containers. I spent a lot of time setting that up—is there no way to get it all back if I don't have some sort of manual backup? And if not, what files do I need to manually back up to make sure I don't lose my data next time? Edit: To be clear, at no point did I delete the add-ons I had installed.

detaro 7y ago
My Add-ons kept their settings as far as I can tell, but maybe there's something special about the container logic...
noyeusuyye 7y ago
If you edit your post within 2 minutes from posting it, there's no reason declaring a Edit cos nobody would have had time to read your post even if you was famous
rullgrus 7y ago
Yes, the "Firefox Multi-Account Containers" was unfortunately reset for me too.
- TheCraiggers 7y ago
  Mine seems fine. My currently open tabs are still in their containers, and when I open a new tab, my list of choices is still intact.
lugg 7y ago
Containers are notoriously finicky datawise. I generally keep good backups of the non standard ~/.mozilla folder to compensate. I think it was issue 339 on GitHub. They basically explain they won't add it to sync data because there is no containers on mobile. https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/339 https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/3...

mrmondo 7y ago

The fix doesn't seem to work if you've been using Firefox Beta (67.0b16), or if you then install Stable (66.0.4) and sign in to sync - all addons are still marked as "legacy" and not enabled. However, if you find each one in the store and (re-)install them - they work again and their data is back intact as expected.

jaipilot747 7y ago
Just in case someone misread this like I did, you need to reinstall each add-on. Not FF Beta itself.
- mrmondo 7y ago
  Indeed, I meant re-install the addons.

beezle 7y ago

So nothing for those of us still running 56 beause Quantum trashed our extensions (and there are still not equivalent availale)?

svnpenn 7y ago
https://reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/bkspmk/addons_fix_for_5602_older https://reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/bkspmk/addons_fix_for_...
- a_imho 7y ago
  Why is it so hard for moz://a to provide something similar as an official workaround? Here is the cert, import it and you are good to go. Instead we have the opt-in to studies and update your browser nonsense and no fix for days.
roblabla 7y ago
Why on earth are you running such a massively outdated browser? You should at least switch to pale moon, basilisk, or another maintained browser. God knows how many vulnerabilities in the wild there are in 56.
- beezle 7y ago
  I don't think I or anyone else need to justify why they still use the 56 ESR instead of pale moon nor does that have anything to do with the question of whether there will be a fix for this version from Mozilla. Clearly a few feathers have been ruffled by even broaching the fact that many people still use the 56 version because crtical extensions still have no equivalent under quantum. Snark is not allowed even when asking a relevant question of whether there will be an update. Sad.
  - icebraining 7y ago
    There is no 56 ESR; it jumped from 52 to 60.
- 7y ago

cryptokernel 7y ago

Just leaving this here: Do tasks, Get paid. https://coincircle.com/l/50VVxbObg3 https://coincircle.com/l/50VVxbObg3

alskdj21 7y ago

I'm really worried about the average users not knowing what happened here. At least an email should be sent informing about the issue. But I guess many of those average users don't have a single extension installed, no problems for them.

baroffoos 7y ago
The average user doesn't really need to know. The problem was fixed, there is no action on their part needed and there is no future risk like a data leak.
bald42 7y ago
Why would Mozilla have my/average users email-address?
- genghizkhan 7y ago
  Firefox Sync?

omeid2 7y ago

Lost my containers yet again, I am now on the last straws with Firefox, this whole Normandy thing is not helping the case. Firefox never asked me to opt in!

terrycody 7y ago

thanks for the heads up, now alive!

joe44 7y ago

sorry how i fix windows XP? thank you so much

joe44 7y ago
how about windows xp

joe44 7y ago

how about windows xp. still don't work. you going fix it for us please?

Twirrim 7y ago
XP doesn't have any official support from Microsoft, and you'll find most vendors are reaching as stage of deprecating XP support. The OS itself is 5 years out of extended support from Microsoft, and it makes up barely 1% of the market place. You'll be hard pressed to get anyone to care if they've broken their software on it.
joe44 7y ago
windows xp won't let me add new add on to.
slig 7y ago
I'm very curious - why are you still on XP?
- joe44 7y ago
  because it easy to use.
  - slig 7y ago
    It certainly is, but you should consider upgrading to something else. Sooner or later modern browsers won't work on it, and certainly you'll have to upgrade your hardware and newer hardware won't run XP anyway.
- codedokode 7y ago
  Why would anyone want to upgrade from XP? New versions of Windows have no improvements (the only improvement is search in Start Menu), but they cost money, they work slower and require new expensive hardware. They have spyware and updates that cannot be disabled. You pay for the product and then you are used as a free tester of new versions of Windows. Microsoft wants everyone to upgrade to earn more money and to upsell to users new "cloud" features they don't really need. But for me it would be better if MS would drop newer Windows versions and returned to improving XP without increasing resources comsumption, without HTML apps, telemetry and "cloud" features. This is an example when the interests of users and the manufacturer are opposite. If the user uses an OS for many years and everything works, why upgrade? Looks like a waste of time and money. Imagine if you bought a car and several years later you are told that you need to upgrade it, because, you know, car factory workers need higher salaries and if you don't buy the new one, then there is no way to pay them. This explains why MS and independent developers (that drop XP support to help MS) forces users to upgrade. Because it is MS who wants an upgrade, not the user.

Elect2 7y ago

Why I still can not install addons after upgrading? On the addon page it shows "only with firefox - get firefox now".

f4stjack 7y ago

Good move, congrats on surviving the second armag-add-on finally BUT I won't be moving from chromium until Firefox (or Mozilla) explains: - why am I opted-in to a Studies program in Firefox's default state? (With no explicit information about what it is) - what does app.normandy.enabled switch do and why is its default value is True and doesn't change to false when I explicitly state I don't want to be in the Studies program? - why can't we see any xpi's installed by studies program unless we explicitly go to about:studies? I don't say chromium is better, but I think we deserve an explanation regarding these points.

brendyn 7y ago
Consider running Icecat. It's most convenient to use it by installing a fully libre distribution such as Parabola or Guix System. Distributions which respect the FSDG don't just exclude proprietary software, but actually take software like Firefox which is 99% libre, and chucks out the last 1% of junk, improving many defaults. You're unlikely to have ethical qualms with such an Icecat. https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ You can see how it's made here: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnuzilla.git/tree/makeicecat https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnuzilla.git/tree/makeicec... Note that it looks like it disables sync, but that should still work, and you can add whatever addons you like.
ntp85 7y ago
This might be a stupid question, but have you asked them through their support or social media channels yet?
- f4stjack 7y ago
  I did from twitter, no answer yet. And I think this is an answer owed to all of the users - not just me.
  - ntp85 7y ago
    Absolutely, I didn't necessarily want to disagree with you and was just asking.

GordonS 7y ago

Is a more robust way around this to use a trusted timestamping service? This is the way code-signing on Windows works, and allows you to prove that code was signed by a valid certificate while it was in its validity date - so even once the certificate expires, the code will still run as long as the cryptographic timestamping signature is valid.

BuckRogers 7y ago

I've always been a fan of native browsers, and have been using Chromium-based Edge[0] as my daily driver at work. While I wasn't one who was impacted by the extensions change, The removal of Live Bookmarks really stung for me, as I've used that feature since 2002. Container support (with Containerise), a dedicated search bar to use with DDG bangs, and easy 'send tab to device' is what has me holding on today. But I have to admit that Microsoft's eventual offering is pretty appealing, a Chromium-based browser with the advantages of Chrome's compatibility and Edge's conservative battery sipping. I'm one who has always liked and even preferred Microsoft's products and their integration on as objective of a basis as a human can muster. Even if it's in different aspects, I think they're going to probably have Edge become a package equally appealing to the things I love about Firefox. Edge/Safari are definitely where I'll go if Firefox really starts circling the drain, but having been on FF since it was Phoenix, it'll take more than this debacle. [0]https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/en-us/download/ https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/en-us/download/

rasmussondk 7y ago

Our extension sets https://www.givero.com https://www.givero.com as the default search engine. After the extension got disabled and re-enabled, searches now default to Google. So this fix is not complete. Our efforts in getting Firefox users to install our extension has been in vain. "Luckily" we didn't have many users yet but imagine the amount of money this will cost bigger search engines like DDG, Qwant, etc.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
> but imagine the amount of money this will cost bigger search engines like DDG, Qwant, etc. People use extensions to change the default search engine in their browsers? I honestly thought only malware does that; regular people use the Settings menu.
hvis 7y ago
Can't you do the switch on the next extension update, for instance?

raxxorrax 7y ago

studies, normandy, looking glass, forced signing of addons... Mozilla is giving away a lot of good-will lately. Still my favorite browser, but I don't like the general direction. Privacy should always default to true. I hope for Mozilla to find a source of income that isn't Google, because they did a lot for the web. Let us just hope they don't need to make too many compromises.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

pbhjpbhj 7y ago

We need a new Phoenix, I feel. From Wikipedia: >They [the original Phoenix devs] believed the commercial requirements of Netscape's sponsorship and developer-driven feature creep compromised the utility of the Mozilla browser.

silversconfused 7y ago

GNU icecat is a very nicely modified firefox that respects the users. I highly suggest giving it a try if firefox has been bothering you lately.