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Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

wiki.mozilla.org

111–120 of 315 posts

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#111
post #102

I like the fact that a security issue is being tackled. What I absolutely hate is the fact that there are no ways to turn this option off. Just like HSTS I can't turn this off and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Were originally I considered firebox to be a browser for power users, now I'm not too sure any more.

I'm mixed on the general issue – an option to turn it off is an option which is certain to be used to social engineer millions of people – but this is somewhat different from HSTS:

HSTS allows a site owner to set a security policy for access their own servers. There's no downside to using it, it doesn't affect anyone else, and in any case if you choose to use a service you're subject to their security policies. The fundamental choice is unaffected: use their service or go somewhere else.

In contrast, this is more controversial because it involves telling the user that they cannot do something they want to do. I think there's a strong argument that this is a pragmatic choice in the current security environment but it really does undercut user choice unless you reach the point of saying that the users who want to do this should know how to compile Mozilla.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#112

Ad-blockers have finally reached a point that the financiers of the major browsers are setting the groundwork for tightening the screws on them. Not right now, but in a couple years when earnings start trending down. Google and Yahoo -- driven by ads -- fund Chrome and Firefox, over half the browser market. Nobody innately wants to be evil; these are still * mostly * engineer driven companies. But when it comes to an…

I don't see what would prevent folks from switching to a fork if that happened.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use many extensions but I'm finding I have to use more as Mozilla remove features from Firefox. For example you can no longer set the User Agent string on a per site basis natively in Firefox preferences [0]. This would be very handy to force HTML5 video on BBC News when you don't want to install flash [1]. I only discovered this setting was deprecated by finding that bug report whilst researching the blog po…

> I don't use many extensions but I'm finding I have to use more as Mozilla remove features from Firefox. To me, that's the way Firefox should work: a fast, lightweight browser, with a powerful extension system. I get disappointed when Mozilla add "features" to Firefox, like PDF viewers, Pocket, etc.

The PDF viewer is rather important if only for security.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#114

Isnt chrome already like this? I spent 45 minutes trying to find a way to install a non extension store extension this weekend and gave up after being blocked repeatedly.

I don't think what chrome does is relevant in this discussion at least not in the context of defining what is the the correct way for mozilla to go forward.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#115
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Is this a way for Mozilla to censor add-ons they don't like, enforce copyright, government demands, etc.? >No, the purpose of this is to protect users from malicious add-ons. We have clear guidelines[1] for when it is appropriate to blocklist an add-on and have refused multiple times to block for other reasons. [1] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/Add-on_guideline... Copyright, DMCA, and legal concerns a…

Today, Mozilla doesn't get demands to take down extensions because sending demands would be pointless. If EvilCorp tried to force Mozilla to take down uBlock and friends from addons.mozilla.org they would just get hosted elsewhere and EvilCorp would look like assholes. It's all downside, no upside, so EvilCorp don't even bother to ask. If tomorrow Mozilla can shut down any extension, the calculus changes. Forcing Moz…

I do wonder if some lawyer will argue that a take down notice for an extension should include revocation of its signing?

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#117
post #112

Ad-blockers have finally reached a point that the financiers of the major browsers are setting the groundwork for tightening the screws on them. Not right now, but in a couple years when earnings start trending down. Google and Yahoo -- driven by ads -- fund Chrome and Firefox, over half the browser market. Nobody innately wants to be evil; these are still * mostly * engineer driven companies. But when it comes to an…

I don't see what would prevent folks from switching to a fork if that happened.

Sure. It will be a fork that falls behind master without funding or support. Get enough momentum and push it far enough and Chromium and Firefox will stop being OSS altogether.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#118

Ad-blockers have finally reached a point that the financiers of the major browsers are setting the groundwork for tightening the screws on them. Not right now, but in a couple years when earnings start trending down. Google and Yahoo -- driven by ads -- fund Chrome and Firefox, over half the browser market. Nobody innately wants to be evil; these are still * mostly * engineer driven companies. But when it comes to an…

> Ad-blockers have finally reached a point that the financiers of the major browsers are setting the groundwork for tightening the screws on them.

You speak with such confidence about things you obviously have no idea about. This change is driven by the massive amount of malware that threatens users of all browser with a sufficiently strong add-on API.

Can you please point me to any evidence that would suggest that this change was made even just in parts at the request of Yahoo?

Also, Firefox is free software, the only thing that belongs to Mozilla is the name. If it ever became difficult to block ads with Firefox, that brand would lose its value pretty quickly and somebody else would offer Firefox+adblocking under a different name.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#119

Mozilla's hypocrisy is astounding: https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2013/01/29/putting-users-i... "Users should have the choice of what software and plugins run on their machine." https://blog.mozilla.org/theden/2014/12/15/introducing-a-sma... "Firefox is dedicated to putting users in control of their online experience" More recently: https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2015/06/02/firefox-puts-you-in... "Firefox Puts You…

Users still have control. You can remove plugins you don't like, and if you really want to, use a version of a plugin which allows unsigned extensions.

Arguably this change might give users more control: Trojan horses can no longer secretly side load malware.

Re: Firefox 42 will not allow unsigned extensions

#120

Mozilla's hypocrisy is astounding: https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2013/01/29/putting-users-i... "Users should have the choice of what software and plugins run on their machine." https://blog.mozilla.org/theden/2014/12/15/introducing-a-sma... "Firefox is dedicated to putting users in control of their online experience" More recently: https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2015/06/02/firefox-puts-you-in... "Firefox Puts You…

Firefox users see through this feel-good marketing nonsense from Mozilla.

They've seen Firefox's UI change for the worse in so many ways, even in the face of wide opposition.

They've seen unwanted bloat, like Hello and Pocket, forced upon them, again in the face of wide opposition.

They've seen their requests for bug fixes and performance improvements go unheeded, sometimes for years.

The easy use of extensions has been the only thing keeping many of these people using Firefox. They've been using many extensions to undo, as much as is possible, the unwanted changes that Mozilla has made.

I use Firefox Nightly, and was recently surprised when, after an update, some custom extensions I had written myself were not loading, and could not be easily enabled. When I found out it was due to this, and I had to start adjusting about:config settings, it was nearly the last straw for me.

I don't want to use another browser, but it's like Mozilla is doing everything in its power to make using Firefox a bad experience for me. I know I'm not alone. We've already seen Firefox' share of the browser market drop from well over 30% to a level of around 10% today, if it isn't actually lower than that.

It's truly sad to see what's happening to what was once such a great browser.

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