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If's there's one thing we hate, it's Brussels sprouts. If there's two things we hate, it's Brussels sprouts and sneaky programs that automatically install add-ons into our Internet browsers. Turns out we're not the only ones. Those pesky unapproved add-ons have been a thorn in the side of Mozilla, who shoulders the blame when the invaders cause crashes and browser lagging. When Firefox 8 rolls around, unauthorized add-ons will be a thing of the past: the browser won't allow installations without the express permission of users.
"If Firefox starts and finds that another program has installed an add-on, Firefox will disable the add-on until the user has explicitly opted in to the addition," Mozilla add-on manager Justin Scott wrote on the organization's Add-ons blog. "Users that want the functionality provided by a third-party-installed add-on can easily allow the installation, while users who don’t can cancel or ignore the prompt."
Spiffy, huh? The usefulness doesn't stop there: the first time you boot up Firefox 8, the browser will prompt you with a list of all of your add-ons, and helpfully inform you which of them were installed without your permission. The ones you've installed in-browser will be enabled automatically, while the rogue add-ons will be disabled unless you specifically tell Firefox to enable them.
Expect Firefox 8 to hit the webs on November 8, keeping in line with Mozilla's new rapid-release schedule for the browser.
Comments are closed on this article
stevinp
August 16, 2011 at 12:34am
I'm always amazed at the FF sucks and locks up and crashes etc. etc. posts. I have been using FF since its introduction and currently using FF 5. I have a home built computer, has FF, Opera, Chrome, and IE9 installed, FF is still the one I use. I have tried all the others. FF does not crash on my machine. I also have a Toshiba laptop with Win 7 64 bit. FF loads very slow on that machine. Before I installed IE9 on it, FF loaded fine, don't know if it was IE9 or some other Windows update, but ever since IE9 was installed FF loads terribly slow on the the 64 bit windows installation. IE9 doesn't load much faster either. And honestly after using them all, I really don't see any appreciable difference in load times.
jbwhite99
August 15, 2011 at 7:46pm
And it seems to have fixed a lot of the memory leak. Biggest problem is that half of my addons don't work. Version 6 is the latest production version - came out in the last couple of days.
cownaetion
August 13, 2011 at 3:13pm
When they first announced this was their plan, a new release every couple months, it was obvious the browser was going to be crap from then-on. It's a version war with Chrome and IE. When it finally catches up and passes by a few versions, they are going to cut it back, guaranteed. I'm staying with 3.6, as it doesn't have the damn f-ups the newer versions have (compatibility problems galore), and all my extensions don't have to be updated every other day. If Chrome didn't restrict the user installation directory and install a few other in-the-background services, I wouldn't mind making the switch. May have to try Opera or even, IE9 for that matter. The new FF is dead to me, and I've been with the browser since Netscape 3. Mozilla is definitely managed by an idiot.
aarcane
August 13, 2011 at 9:04am
So by time version 9 rolls around, there'll be a nice library to spoof user approval by updating the firefox config files using the same method that firefox does.. That'll be nice to have all my unwanted addons back.
Zoandar
August 13, 2011 at 8:05am
Glad to see others feel the same way. Sorry Mozilla. Your 'crown' as king of the browsers has just passed to Opera in 'my kingdom', since Chrome doesn't have a Master Password (how stupid is that?). I doubt I'll even try FF8 when it releases. They stopped taking the time to debug when version 4 released.
Neel Chauhan
August 13, 2011 at 7:03am
Plans for FF8 already? Every month they make a new version, and im still on FF3.6
Tarkooka
August 13, 2011 at 6:12am
firefox used to be my main browser but for the past 7 months chrome has become my main an FF my back up
now ff is unstable slow and crashtastic IE 9 is going to take its place as my back up
bpstone
August 12, 2011 at 2:39pm
FireFox is officially trash to me. I've used it on more than five computers and it always freezes (without extensions or add-ons). It always launches like a snail. The same results occur regardless of how monstrous hardware is. It is a pain in a butt and quite frankly I gave it enough chances.
igoka
August 12, 2011 at 11:33am
Lol !!!!! Best joke of the week. So basiclaly don't bother with version 6, 7 anyway , version 8 will be out on november.
Shalbatana
August 12, 2011 at 10:57am
If this will stop Yahoo and ask from installing a toolbar and changing my default home page/search every time I forget to uncheck a box
I'M ALL FOR IT!!!
BAMT
August 12, 2011 at 10:48am
Hold on a second... isn't the current stable only version 5? And my OpenSuSE computer still has 4.0 beta 12 or something like that. (It's the latest in the official repos.)
HiGHRoLLeR038
August 12, 2011 at 10:39am
version 8? wtf i thought they released v4 like 6 months ago? this is foolish....
roninnder
August 13, 2011 at 8:33am
Chrome is already on version 12 or 13 and it's been around for significantly less time. What's your point?
