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Running a local helper to take control from the browser is absolutely a bad architectural choice. The browser doesn't allow websites to open local programs with
by azernik 7y ago
Running a local helper to take control from the browser is absolutely a bad architectural choice. The browser doesn't allow websites to open local programs without going through a user confirmation process for damned good reasons, and Zoom decided to put a lot of effort into circumventing that security measure to save users a click and so boost their conversion rates by a few percentage points.
- dannyw 7y agoIt really sounds like what we need is: “Always allow zoom.us to open ‘Zoom’” within browsers. Even Spotify runs a local web server for this.
- azernik 7y agoThis is inherently a security problem because web sites can open URLs without user awareness or deceive users about the content of said URLs. On Ubuntu, xdg-open phrases the checkbox as something like "always allow X program to handle foo:// URLs?", which is probably not comprehensible to the average user; more accurate phrasing would be "always allow websites to open X program?" Which I think indicates why I'm so skeptical that this is a good option to give to users.
- vinay_ys 7y agoYep, those definitely are the dark patterns.