Mozilla has finally said enough is enough and has put together a plan to begin policing external add-on installs that attempt to modify your Firefox setup. Starting in Firefox 8, the add-on manager will display an in-browser alert whenever a program other than Firefox itself attempts to install an extension. It’s a change that Mozilla has been looking to implement for quite some time, and it’s quite surprising that a company with such a strong privacy and security record would just be getting around to fixing now.
So, why block these add-ons? There are two main reasons. First, it’s a privacy and control thing. Your Firefox install should look and function the way you want it to. Some software (hello, Skype!) likes to inject its own add-ons and toolbars into your browser without giving you the opportunity to opt out of their installation. That kind of crapware potentially puts Firefox users at risk, and Mozilla wants you to be as secure as possible.
Second, there’s Mozilla’s long-standing beef with folks like Microsoft — who have been singled-out on multiple occasions for sneaking add-ons into Firefox. Most recently it was the company’s .Net Framework Assistant, which was pushed to Windows computers via Windows Update. You might not have wanted the add-on installed — you might not even know what the Assistant is for — but you got it anyway.
Firefox 8 will finally give you full control over your add-on installs, and that’s a very good thing.
You’ve also got to love that Mozilla’s team took the time to take a parting shot at apps that sneak in add-ons. Listed as a non-goal is adding a feature to their browser that allows the removal of other applications on the system from within Firefox. Touché, Mr. Dotzler!
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