Was casually reading through Firefox release notes for version 115, and in “Changes” section there is an introduction of a new back-end feature that restricts extensions behavior

We have introduced a new back-end feature to only allow some extensions monitored by Mozilla to run on specific websites for various reasons, including security concerns.

This feature is obviously still under development, but it already forced people to look for fixes. This suggests the user-unfriendliness of this feature, which may be related to the goals that the infamous Web Integrity API is seeking: partly, controlling and limiting extensions, which are there for the community(!)

I, of course, understand that this update dates back to 4th of July 2023 - some time before this DRM-the-web thing exploded, but still it contradicts things that Mozilla stated in opposition of Google’s plan to hijack [even more] the internet.

How long before the YouTube page will be too private, sensitive and important to allow uBlock Origin from running on it? Will Mozilla decide that youtube.com is “quarantined domain” or will it accept suggestions from its monopoly colleagues?

This feature bug can be fixed by going to about:config and setting “extensions.quarantinedDomains.enabled” to “False”. For now.

Not trying to make a fuss and/or cause a hysteria, just pointing out that such a thing was introduced and slipped under the radar (haven’t seen a discussion about this on the internet). Mozilla may have other intentions for it, but it doesn’t look like something made truly “for the people, not for profit” as some of Mozilla’s slogans state.

Will be happy to discuss.

EDIT: “uBlock” > “uBlock Origin”

  • Schwim Dandy@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is a pretty good hyperbolic rant. Nothing positive, all negative and an unsubstantiated “I can’t prove it but I think they’re doing this because…” which always gets the blood pumping and fingers flying. I give you an 8 out of 10. I could have given you a solid 10 on this effort if you had blamed the libs or a cabal for the nefarious deeds occurring in your about:config.

    They didn’t hide the release of the bug feature, they posted it on the Moz website for future patch notes.

    The “for now” about the config setting actually made me chuckle. It’s an option that you can optionally choose to disable. They’re not testing their evil deeds on you by letting you turn it off.

    Google is making their move because of their ad dollars at stake, Firefox will only benefit in terms of market share when that happens because they’ll have another bump in user count in the form of a mini-exodus from Chrome, just like they did when Chrome announced stopping ad blockers from running in their browser. Almost all income from Moz comes from partnerships with the search providers listed in the browser search options. 0 dollars comes from advertising, so there is absolutely no reason for them to keep you from blocking advertisements on pages that only helps their competitor.

    It’s very clear to anyone that’s paid attention that Moz is trying to protect a user that’s downloaded a malicious addon(or one that’s been hijacked) from siphoning data like login/pass on your banking site when, for example, the addon is supposed to only change the youtube site from displaying shorts in your feed. Prior to this bug feature, an addon that could see all data on a webpage could see all data on any webpage, whether it needed it on that page or not which is comically bad practice. They’ve finally implemented a method of restricting addons that don’t need to see your most sensitive browsing from doing something nefarious like selling that data, using it against you or robbing you blind with it.

    Here’s the best part of it all though. Simply use a forked version of the browser if you feel you’re using one now that an evil entity is trying to enslave you with by forcing you to see their competitor’s advertisements(logic!). There’s many “hardened” versions of Firefox, like librewolf, which strips Mozilla phone-home stuff like telemetry, sync, etc., The code is open source meaning you can build your own from the sourcecode, which will allow you to pore over every line, looking for hidden treasures that are trying to ruin your browsing experience. Or at least make an uninformed guess that is what it’s doing.

    • GrievingWidow420@feddit.itOP
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      1 year ago

      Been writing these from Librewolf all along. I am in no way against progress. Instead, I am simply taking it like handles of a pot on a stove - not sure if it’s red hot or pleasantly warm. I am indescribably glad that extensions will no longer, knowingly or unknowingly, watch porn with me, but you can’t ignore the fact that, sometimes, things introduced, as awesome as they may seem, may not be used how God intended them. I’m sure Mozilla have all the best intentions regarding this, but, as I wouldn’t trust a stranger with a pocket knife (a tool that can be used as a weapon), I won’t trust Mozilla not to abuse this feature. I apologize once again for being hyperbolic and theatrical in my original post - that’s just how I write. I’ve been using Firefox, including forks, since forever and won’t abandon them just for a suspicion. As I said, I will be watching this thing grow hoping that this suspicion of mine will remain just that.

      • Schwim Dandy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’m not asking this facetiously but truly curious; Have you ever witnessed a single Firefox feature designed to harm your web experience? I don’t mean telemetry, etc but blocking ad blockers, forcing you to view ads, etc. I’ve been using Firefox for over 20 years, since it was named Phoenix and can’t think of a single example similar to the vein of your OP.

        • GrievingWidow420@feddit.itOP
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          1 year ago

          No. I have never witnessed Mozilla being evil. But there is first time for everything, right? They must be, maybe not entirely good - no such thing - but less evil than many other entities out there. Just trying to be cautious.