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How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

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Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#11
post #10

How is this exploit not possible by just telling someone to paste javascript:alert(document.cookie) etc into their address bar?

That is the original exploit mentioned in the accepted answer; however, Firefox and IE have disabled execution of javascript from the address bar, and I assume that Chrome is also moving to do the same thing.

And after that Hackers will start telling people do open their Concole in Developer Tools and paste the code there. I believe many people will do.

Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#12
post #8

How is this exploit not possible by just telling someone to paste javascript:alert(document.cookie) etc into their address bar?

Because pasting doesn't work. Most browsers (like Chrome, IE) just remove the javascript: prefix from your pasted text, and some browsers (like Firefox) don't allow you to execute standard javascript from the address bar.

I agree. Chrome doesn't allow you do paste it, you have to type it. I believe they disable it soon too.

Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#15
post #5
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not a separate package altogether? That way the Chrome team can focus on Chrome, and the Developer Tools team can focus on producing a high-quality website debugger.

Because the "hackability" of the web is important. The ability to view source, play in the console, modify the dom, etc is amazing. Locking it down or providing a larger barrier to entry (eg, download this extra thing) provides dubious benefit and hides what makes the web great. I speak from someone who teaches ruby and javascript. Javascript is in every browser and the console is a wonderful place to start. When I t…

So downloading a 100KB extension for a browser which you use for downloading stuff all the time is a "huge barrier"? Wow, talk about a 1st world problem.

And "when I teach ruby", "well ok, now download xcode"... ok, Xcode is a 2.5GB download, but it is a one click download and install via App Store. And really? Xcode for Ruby? Are you really doing that?

Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#16
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is the original exploit mentioned in the accepted answer; however, Firefox and IE have disabled execution of javascript from the address bar, and I assume that Chrome is also moving to do the same thing.

And after that Hackers will start telling people do open their Concole in Developer Tools and paste the code there. I believe many people will do.

But you rapidly reach a point beyond which most users can get to. Three steps: (1) open console, (2) copy, (3) paste is about the limit on what an average computer user can do these days.

Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#18
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the "hackability" of the web is important. The ability to view source, play in the console, modify the dom, etc is amazing. Locking it down or providing a larger barrier to entry (eg, download this extra thing) provides dubious benefit and hides what makes the web great. I speak from someone who teaches ruby and javascript. Javascript is in every browser and the console is a wonderful place to start. When I t…

So downloading a 100KB extension for a browser which you use for downloading stuff all the time is a "huge barrier"? Wow, talk about a 1st world problem. And "when I teach ruby", "well ok, now download xcode"... ok, Xcode is a 2.5GB download, but it is a one click download and install via App Store. And really? Xcode for Ruby? Are you really doing that?

I write JavaScript all day and the first step is to download XCode. I don't know if this is his reason, but installing XCode is the best way to get all the developer tools installed (clang, for example).

Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#19
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is the original exploit mentioned in the accepted answer; however, Firefox and IE have disabled execution of javascript from the address bar, and I assume that Chrome is also moving to do the same thing.

And after that Hackers will start telling people do open their Concole in Developer Tools and paste the code there. I believe many people will do.

...which is exactly what this post is about..? That's the reason Facebook disables the DevTools console apparently.

Re: How does Facebook disable Developer Tools?

#20
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the "hackability" of the web is important. The ability to view source, play in the console, modify the dom, etc is amazing. Locking it down or providing a larger barrier to entry (eg, download this extra thing) provides dubious benefit and hides what makes the web great. I speak from someone who teaches ruby and javascript. Javascript is in every browser and the console is a wonderful place to start. When I t…

So downloading a 100KB extension for a browser which you use for downloading stuff all the time is a "huge barrier"? Wow, talk about a 1st world problem. And "when I teach ruby", "well ok, now download xcode"... ok, Xcode is a 2.5GB download, but it is a one click download and install via App Store. And really? Xcode for Ruby? Are you really doing that?

Xcode is necessary because Apple distributes an operating system without a C compiler, and standard Ruby development requires a C compiler. Why Apple distributes an incomplete operating system by default, and why they distribute their development environment as one monolithic chunk as opposed to a set of packages, is anyone's guess.
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