Disable ability to run "firefox -profilemanager" or block about:profiles?

[TCW]

Hi,

Is there a known way to disable running the profile manager a la
firefox.exe -profilemanager? Same question but regarding about:profiles?
Can either be prevented from being access via an entry in userChrome.css
or userContent.css? Already did some Google searches and tried to see if
Element Inspector could help out but no dice.

Based on this 13 year old bug
(https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=214675), Profile Manager
UI is going to be removed. Someday. Apparently to be replaced by
about:profiles.

[TCW]

Seriously, no one?

[WaltS48]

As long as you have one profile there is no need to use -profilemanager.
Just starting Firefox uses the default profile.

If you disable the profile manager, I would think Firefox would not start.

--
Go Bucs and Pens!
Coexist <https://www.coexist.org/>
National Popular Vote <http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/>
Ubuntu 16.04LTS

[David E. Ross]

Maybe you can get an answer if you stated why you want this.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com>

Consider:
* Most state mandate that drivers have liability insurance.
* Employers are mandated to have worker's compensation insurance.
* If you live in a flood zone, flood insurance is mandatory.
* If your home has a mortgage, fire insurance is mandatory.

Why then is mandatory health insurance so bad??

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message
<mailman.1638.149213364...@lists.mozilla.org>,

WaltS48 <thali...@REMOVEaol.com> writes:
>On 4/13/17 5:03 PM, TCW wrote:
>> On 4/10/17 3:10 PM, TCW wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Is there a known way to disable running the profile manager a la
>>>firefox.exe -profilemanager? Same question but regarding
>>>about:profiles? Can either be prevented from being access via an
>>>entry in userChrome.css or userContent.css? Already did some Google
>>>searches and tried to see if Element Inspector could help out but no dice.
>>>
>>> Based on this 13 year old bug
>>>(https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=214675), Profile
>>>Manager UI is going to be removed. Someday. Apparently to be replaced
>>>by about:profiles.
>>
>> Seriously, no one?
>
>
>As long as you have one profile there is no need to use
>-profilemanager. Just starting Firefox uses the default profile.

You've misunderstood his question (I think): he _wants_ to stop the use
of the -profilemanager switch.

>
>If you disable the profile manager, I would think Firefox would not start.
>

As David E. Ross says, if you said _why_ you want to do this, we might
be able to help more. I'm guessing you're some sort of system admin.,
and you're finding that some of your users are getting round something
you've set up (maybe something as simple as a start/home page?), and
you'd rather they didn't?

If they have access to a command prompt at all, then (unless there _is_
a way of disabling it) I think you're out of luck; you could
rename/relocate firefox.exe, but given you'd have to give them a
shortcut to it or similar, I'd have said users savvy enough to use
-profilemanager would crack that pretty quickly. But tell us why, and
we'll do our best (-:!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

one can't go from `supposed crackpot ideas have been right before' to `we
should
take this latest crackpot idea onboard without making it fight for acceptance
like all the previous ones'. - Richard Caley, 2002 February 11 00:02:28

[WaltS48]

On 4/13/17 5:03 PM, TCW wrote:

Okay, so as was pointed out in the reply to my post, I will consider
that you are a system administrator running an ESR version of Firefox
and want to lock things down using a mozilla.cfg file.

These links may help.

<http://kb.mozillazine.org/Locking_preferences>

<https://mike.kaply.com/cck2/>

<https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Preferences/A_brief_guide_to_Mozilla_preferences>

I'll echo the tell us why request.

[TCW]

Exactly right. There's nothing I know of currently that stops a
knowledgeable power user from starting profile manager with the
-profilemanager switch, creating a new account and getting around
security I've set up.

> If they have access to a command prompt at all, then (unless there _is_
> a way of disabling it) I think you're out of luck; you could
> rename/relocate firefox.exe, but given you'd have to give them a
> shortcut to it or similar, I'd have said users savvy enough to use
> -profilemanager would crack that pretty quickly. But tell us why, and
> we'll do our best (-:!

See above. I have some ideas and one of them would involve a group
policy to block the combo of "firefox -profilemanager" or "firefox.exe
-profilemanager" but I am not optimistic as a PATH block involves a
specified file and not any command line switches. Still, if someone
knows about about:pofiles but not -profile manager, there ought to be a
way to block about:profiles from showing up.

[TCW]

On 4/13/17 10:56 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
> On 4/10/2017 1:10 PM, TCW wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Is there a known way to disable running the profile manager a la
>> firefox.exe -profilemanager? Same question but regarding about:profiles?
>> Can either be prevented from being access via an entry in userChrome.css
>> or userContent.css? Already did some Google searches and tried to see if
>> Element Inspector could help out but no dice.
>>
>> Based on this 13 year old bug
>> (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=214675), Profile Manager
>> UI is going to be removed. Someday. Apparently to be replaced by
>> about:profiles.
>>
>
> Maybe you can get an answer if you stated why you want this.
>

To keep naughty noodles from creating new profiles and subsequently
changing wallpapers or other things. I've gone years without someone
getting around the security I've set up but someone who knows about the
-profilemanager switch or, now, about:profiles can get around it.

[Millwood]

But how can you stop anyone from editing profile.ini?

[John McGaw]

No easy way that I can think of. You could just get the source code (still
available AFAIK) edit it to remove or add whatever you wish, and then
rebuild the whole thing. In ancient times it was often possible to take any
executable and, using a HEX editor, modify simple things like an embedded
text string but I don't think modern programs are amenable to this method.

[TCW]

By making it read only or explicitly denying write access.

[Dave Symes]

In article
<mailman.1716.149223353...@lists.mozilla.org>,

TCW <.@.> wrote:
> > But how can you stop anyone from editing profile.ini?

> By making it read only or explicitly denying write access.

Oh really! :-(

Dave

--

Dave Triffid

[TCW]

On 4/10/17 3:10 PM, TCW wrote:

So, simply adding #profiles, to userContent.css got rid of the info from
about:profiles so that's 1/2 the battle won. Further, adding #contents,
to the userContent.css file hides all the info on that page. Even better.