Deactivation of add-ons
Klaus Kassner
risk without the option for the user to reactivate them at his/her own
risk. I feel patronized in a way that strongly reminds me of Microsoft
practice.
On one of my older computers I have chosen to stick to Windows SP1 -- I
never have major problems with viruses on this computer (I have a
firewall and an up-to-date antivirus program) and I do not want to go to
SP2 due to disk and memory limitations. But I did move to Firefox
3.5.4. It deactivated the QuickTime Plugin 7.1.3 due to alleged security
problems. Well, I decided to install the newest QuickTime version -- but
I can't without installing SP2, which I don't want to. I am really
tempted to go back to Firefox version 2, of which I still have the
installation program. (But I might also have to reinstall QuickTime
7.1.3 to get the plugin activated again -- stupid.)
The next thing that happened was that on my laptop, which is at SP2 and
which I keep updated, Firefox deactivated the Skype extension for
Firefox -- which cannot be updated apparently -- at least there seems to
be no new version. Again alleged security reasons -- in this case I
suspect that there is no real risk. The Skype extension is not even on
the blocklist and it does not play files. Again I would like to
override the program's decision which is too cautious, but I can't.
My wish -- allow the user to make his own decision. Display five
warnings before you do so, but don't let the program prevent him from
*choosing* to be unwise.
Is there an add-on allowing to unblock blocked add-ons? :-)
--
Klaus Kassner
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Jeff
> I find it annoying that Firefox deactivates add-ons that are a security
> risk
Interesting... I've never seen Firefox do that, only deactivate add-ons
that were not marked as being compatible with a new (updated) Firefox
version.
While you are waiting for a response, you might have a look at the
K-Lite Codec Pack at http://www.codecguide.com/ and try their Quicktime
Alternative as a workaround. I have no suggestions for Skype, though.
Sorry...
Jeff
Klaus Kassner
> Klaus Kassner wrote:
>> I find it annoying that Firefox deactivates add-ons that are a security
>> risk
>
> Interesting... I've never seen Firefox do that, only deactivate add-ons
> that were not marked as being compatible with a new (updated) Firefox
> version.
Yes, and apparently you can make Firefox not check compatibility and
sometimes the addons still work...
> While you are waiting for a response, you might have a look at the
> K-Lite Codec Pack at http://www.codecguide.com/ and try their Quicktime
> Alternative as a workaround. I have no suggestions for Skype, though.
Well, the Skype problem is solved. There was a new version of Skype and
after installing it, the plugin was automatically updated and Firefox
accepted the new version... :-)
I thought myself of Quicktime Alternative but have not yet tried out
whether it provides a plugin, too. Did not need to look at a .mov file
yet... Presumably, I can make Firefox download it instead of playing it
and then I could still use the regular Quicktime, because the program is
still there (and working, I hope). It is just the plugin that I cannot
use anymore. This should not be a big problem, as I rarely have to deal
with Quicktime movies.
--
Klaus Kassner
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff
> Yes, and apparently you can make Firefox not check compatibility and
> sometimes the addons still work...
It would be useful to know how to do that, very useful indeed.
> I thought myself of Quicktime Alternative but have not yet tried out
> whether it provides a plugin, too.
The Quicktime capability and codecs that are bundled with the K-Lite
Codec Packs do not include plugins, but the stand-alone Quicktime
Alternative provides plugins for the Mozilla family of browsers.
> Presumably, I can make Firefox download it instead of playing it
> and then I could still use the regular Quicktime, because the program is
> still there (and working, I hope).
No doubt you can if you have a link to a *.mov file. I download such
files (if there is no alternative format) because I usually want to save
them for later. Occasionally it is more convenient to click the link and
watch it in the browser.
If Quicktime is like many other video and audio formats, it will also
have a streaming mode that is designed to be difficult to capture. In
that case, the plugin may be required to view.
> It is just the plugin that I cannot
> use anymore. This should not be a big problem, as I rarely have to deal
> with Quicktime movies.
For a long time, I had no Quicktime player on my computer at all. Then I
found a video that I wanted to see, and the only format available was
*.mov... <shrug> (Of course, that was before I heard about freeware open
source players and codec bundles that handle nearly every format in
existence.)
Jeff