Disable Thunderbird Updates

[Tim King]

We are running Thunderbird ESR in a multi user environment. The end users to not have the rights to update the application. I am looking for a method to disable all automatic updates. The application is being streamed via Citrix XenApp.

Is there a registry key that can be added in a group policy to disable all updates?

[Ariel Poliak]

Deploy MCD [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/MCD,_Mission_Control_Desktop_AKA_AutoConfig] files to the Thunderbird installation directory via a GPO.
Make sure the configuration file contains (amongst any other settings you wish to lock down):
###
lockPref('app.update.enabled',false);
###

Ariel Poliak
Active Directory Administrator
HostDime.com, Inc.

On 2013-12-16 13:32, Tim King wrote:

We are running Thunderbird ESR in a multi user environment. The end users to not have the rights to update the application. I am looking for a method to disable all automatic updates. The application is being streamed via Citrix XenApp.

Is there a registry key that can be added in a group policy to disable all updates?

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[Klaus Hartnegg]

You must create a plaintext autoconfig file in the program directory of
Thunderbird with these two lines:
// Disable updater
lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);

Then create another plaintext file in subdirectory defaults/pref with
these two lines:
pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg");

Both filenames are irrelevant, except that the second file must contain
the filename of the first (in the example above mozilla.cfg), and the
extension of the second file must be js. Also it's good when the name of
the second file starts with the letter a, because the files in that
directory are processed in reverse alphabetic order, thus settings from
files that start with z could be overridden by other files. I'm using
autoconfig.js.

hope this helps,
Klaus

[Tim King]

I have created the files stated in the directory where Thunderbid is shared. When  I launch Thunderbird in a RDP session I am still receiving the error "The update could not be installed. Please make sure there are no other copies of Thunderbird running on your computer, and then restart Thunderbird to try again." Do I need to somehow force these changes into the user Profiles as well?

[Timo Pietilä]

On 16.12.2013 21:59, Tim King wrote:
> I have created the files stated in the directory where Thunderbid is
> shared. When I launch Thunderbird in a RDP session I am still receiving
> the error "The update could not be installed. Please make sure there are
> no other copies of Thunderbird running on your computer, and then
> restart Thunderbird to try again." Do I need to somehow force these
> changes into the user Profiles as well?
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 2:35 PM, Klaus Hartnegg
> <hart...@uni-freiburg.de <mailto:hart...@uni-freiburg.de>> wrote:

> You must create a plaintext autoconfig file in the program directory
> of Thunderbird with these two lines:
> // Disable updater
> lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);

add

lockPref("app.update.auto", false);

to that. Note that these files are case sensitive. lockPref is written
just like that, no capital L in "lock" but capital P in "Pref".

Also, for some reason that file needs to start with comment. Do not omit
it even that it feels odd to have comment just for that.

> Then create another plaintext file in subdirectory defaults/pref

...

> Both filenames are irrelevant, except that the second file must

...

> be overridden by other files. I'm using autoconfig.js.

I think that file that goes into <TBinstalldir>\defaults\pref has to end
with ".js" (javascript file). Otherwise it wont be processed. I think.


Lockpref settings are forced to users, so no update will be tried.

My entire config-file for TB 17.0.11 esr is here:

-----
//

// HY basic locked prefs
lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);
lockPref("app.update.auto", false);

// disable migration assistant on first use
lockPref("mail.ui.show.migration.on.upgrade", false);

// This will disable offline downloads

// 200MB around 8000 messages causes index-file over 35MB, maybe more,
but in the test-machine quota filled at that point.

lockPref("mailnews.database.global.indexer.enabled", false);
lockPref("mail.server.default.offline_download", false);
lockPref("mail.server.default.autosync_offline_stores", false);
lockPref("mail.provider.enabled", false);
lockPref("mail.cloud_files.enabled", false);

//remove "know your rights" and other annoying stuff
defaultPref("mail.rights.version", 1);
defaultPref("toolkit.telemetry.prompted", true);
defaultPref("toolkit.telemetry.rejected", true);
-----

Note that some of these change between 17 and 24, (telemetry etc.) and
when pref changes from boolean to integer or vice versa and you have
wrong type in settings file it causes odd behavior in the client. Check
types of those settings in TB "tools/options/advanced/general-tab,
"config editor"" before changing versions.

Timo Pietilä

[Tim King]

Can you please clarify further.  We need one configuration file in <TBinstalldir> and one in <TBinstalldir>\defaults\pref ?

I have created autoconfig.js in c:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\ within that file I have these lines:

// Disable updater
lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);

lockPref("app.update.auto", false);

I also have created thunderbird.js in c:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\defaults\pref\ and within that file I have these lines"

//

// HY basic locked prefs
lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);
lockPref("app.update.auto", false);

// disable migration assistant on first use
lockPref("mail.ui.show.migration.on.upgrade", false);

//This was instructed in first email.

pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
pref("general.config.filename", "autoconfig.js");

// This will disable offline downloads

// 200MB around 8000 messages causes index-file over 35MB, maybe more, but in the test-machine quota filled at that point.

lockPref("mailnews.database.global.indexer.enabled", false);
lockPref("mail.server.default.offline_download", false);
lockPref("mail.server.default.autosync_offline_stores", false);
lockPref("mail.provider.enabled", false);
lockPref("mail.cloud_files.enabled", false);

//remove "know your rights" and other annoying stuff
defaultPref("mail.rights.version", 1);
defaultPref("toolkit.telemetry.prompted", true);
defaultPref("toolkit.telemetry.rejected", true);

[Timo Pietilä]

On 17.12.2013 16:05, Tim King wrote:
> Can you please clarify further. We need one configuration file in
> <TBinstalldir> and one in <TBinstalldir>\defaults\pref ?
>

> *I have created autoconfig.js in c:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla
> Thunderbird\ within that file I have these lines:*

> // Disable updater
> lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);
> lockPref("app.update.auto", false);
>

> *I also have created thunderbird.js in c:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla
> Thunderbird\defaults\pref\ and within that file I have these lines"*
> //

The one with .js should contain only these:

//This was instructed in first email.
pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
pref("general.config.filename", "autoconfig.js");

and be in \defaults\pref

The second is the actual configuration file and should contain all the
rest (and can have any filename as long it is referred in
"pref("general.config.filename", "autoconfig.js"); -line). That actual
configuration file resides in <TBinstalldir> (usually "c:\program files
(x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird")

Sequence is that TB checks \defaults\pref for .js -files and processes
them. Because one of them now contains that info about configuration
file it reads that file.

These are plaintext files. Notepad or something like notepad++ are good
for creating such files.

[Klaus Hartnegg]

On 16.12.2013 20:59, Tim King wrote:
> I have created the files stated in the directory where Thunderbid is
> shared. When I launch Thunderbird in a RDP session I am still receiving
> the error "The update could not be installed.

The setting only prevents it from downloading new updates.

If it had already downloaded an update, that it cannot apply, it will
keep trying.

Find the update file and remove it. It is probably in %appdata% or
%localappdata%

Just found the place in Windows XP to be
C:\Documents and Settings\klaus\Local Settings\Application
Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox\updates\0

In Windows 7 it's something like
c:\users\klaus\appdata\local\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozille Firefox\updates

hope this helps,
Klaus


P.S. resent ths email to the mailing list, because by mistake I first
sent it only directoy to Tim King.