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Groups > alt.comp.software.firefox > #16972
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| From | Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> |
| Newsgroups | alt.comp.software.firefox |
| Subject | Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened |
| Date | Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:23:39 +0100 |
| Organization | Frantic |
| Message-ID | <82ecjwintw.fsf@example.com> (permalink) |
| References | <10sinht$tpvi$1@dont-email.me> <10sisme$vqg1$1@dont-email.me> <n54bahFsmdqU1@mid.individual.net> <e0upukpuk6cs9gv3upar9072uqvamrvula@4ax.com> <10sivi0$10uuo$1@dont-email.me> <10sptp2$311i3$1@dont-email.me> <10sr2ep$3c77i$1@dont-email.me> <10sr8ck$3f3pq$1@dont-email.me> <10srqs8$3jk6e$1@dont-email.me> <cke9cm-st8.ln1@spock.lan> <82jytp6a67.fsf@example.com> <a7n9cm-arov3.ln1@spock.lan> <10stlmh$51ep$1@dont-email.me> <10suick$c4n8$2@dont-email.me> <p10bcm-jq3.ln1@spock.lan> |
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dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> writes:
> On 30/04/2026 05:30, The Real Bev wrote:
>> On 4/29/26 12:20, Dave Royal wrote:
>>> dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> Wrote in message:
>>>
>>>> On 29/04/2026 17:47, Richmond wrote:
>>>>> dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> writes:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Op 29-04-2026 om 04:36 schreef The Real Bev:
>>>>>>> On 4/28/26 14:21, Dave Royal wrote:
>>>>>>>> The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> Wrote in message:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 4/28/26 02:14, Dave Royal wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> Wrote in message:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On 4/25/26 10:26, Nobody wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Sat, 25 Apr 2026 18:18:07 +0100, Andy Burns
>>>>>>>>>>>> <usenet@andyburns.uk>
>>>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Retirednoguilt wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I've never had FF update me autonomously.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> I have it set for "Check for updates but let you choose to
>>>>>>>>>>>>> install them"
>>>>>>>>>>>>> and as best as I can remember, its never disobeyed ...
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Should a user (for whatever reason) 'uninstall/re-install'
>>>>>>>>>>>> then that
>>>>>>>>>>>> radio button changes to 'automatically install/recommended'.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Semi-OT, Thunderbird conversely holds the 'check for updates but
>>>>>>>>>>>> lemme
>>>>>>>>>>>> do the work' setting.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> I have had that setting for decades -- and still do. Some years
>>>>>>>>>>> ago it stopped working and some kind person posted the
>>>>>>>>>>> policies.json fix -- which worked until today. Posted herewith:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Make a new firefox/distribution/ subdirectory which will contain
>>>>>>>>>>> the file policies.json which contains
>>>>>>>>>>> {
>>>>>>>>>>> "policies": {
>>>>>>>>>>> "DisableAppUpdate": true
>>>>>>>>>>> }
>>>>>>>>>>> }
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Did that 'kind person' provide a policies.json file for you to
>>>>>>>>>> download, or did you create one - on Linux?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Someone posted about that file long ago, and the one I created with
>>>>>>>>> pico worked for years.
>>>>>>>>>> Just wondering how these Windows line endings - if that was the
>>>>>>>>>> problem - got there.
>>>>>>>>> They appeared when Firefox chose to update itself against my
>>>>>>>>> express
>>>>>>>>> wishes. I suspect that Firefox did it of its own volition -- or
>>>>>>>>> simple clumsiness. Core dump complete.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> You /found/ them after the unwanted update. Were they responsible
>>>>>>>> for it? I doubt it: line endings - of either type - are ignored
>>>>>>>> in a json file.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The windows endings damaged the file such that it no longer
>>>>>>> served the
>>>>>>> purpose. Fixing it worked.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Firefox doesn't care about line endings.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Just for the sake of it I tested it for you, I created a policies.json
>>>>>> which blocks about:config and tested it with both CRLF (windows)
>>>>>> and LF
>>>>>> (unix) line endings.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The result are the same for both, it works:
>>>>>> Blocked Page, Firefox can’t connect to the server at about:config
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ^M is not a corruption, this is how cat -A shows CR, your AI needs an
>>>>>> update.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> CRLF (windows):
>>>>>> cat -A policies.json
>>>>>> {^M$
>>>>>> "policies": {^M$
>>>>>> "BlockAboutConfig": true^M$
>>>>>> }^M$
>>>>>> }^M$
>>>>>>
>>>>>> LF (unix):
>>>>>> cat -A policies.json
>>>>>> {$
>>>>>> "policies": {$
>>>>>> "BlockAboutConfig": true$
>>>>>> }$
>>>>>> }$
>>>>>
>>>>> You tested whether it blocked about:config, but you didn't test whether
>>>>> it blocked an update, or if the update altered the json file.
>>>>
>>>> I tested policies.json, which was reported corrupted, with both
>>>> CRLF and LF, any policy will do, we don't need to wait for the
>>>> next update.
>>>> Policies.json is not included by default, updates will either not
>>>> touch it at all or remove it completely, depending on how you
>>>> update.
>>>> Since we can't see the original file there is no way to tell how
>>>> it was changed.
>>>
>>> Why might an update remove policies.json? I assume that the
>>> firefox updater will read it if it's there but never write to it.
>>> The point of it is that it's user, or organisation,
>>> controlled.
>>>
>>> I did wonder if updates might /update/ policies.json, for changes
>>> in format say, in the way they update a profile. But I doubt
>>> it.
>>>
>>> On Debian I have tarballs of Fx nightly and TB beta, in addtion to
>>> packaged versions for regular use. They do not include a
>>> distribution/ directory or a template policies.json.
>> No, they're not included with the tarball. "Some kind person"
>> posted the fix at some point in the past (earliest I have is Firefox
>> 72, July 7,2020) posted how to do it. If I want to use a newer
>> version I don't update. I download the tarball, untar it into its
>> own subdirectory and run it from within that subdirectory
>> (/blabla/firefox/firefox -P &). After running it once I exit and
>> copy over (cp -rf *) my previous profile into the newly created
>> profile. Accordingly, I have at least a dozen fully functional
>> firefoxes. TMI, but there it is.
>> Worked fine until somebody said that FF148 had some sort of security
>> problem, at which point I did an update to 149 rather than building
>> a whole new installation. I think I renamed the policies.json file,
>> which would have been the simplest thing. Sorry I can't be more
>> certain. Then I would have renamed it back. And then I got the
>> unwanted surprise of the 150 update. I turned the problem over to
>> Perplexity, which provided the solution. If anyone is interested I
>> can have Perplexity generate a nice pdf file of the entire
>> interchange.
>> I assume that firefox does some variant of cp -rf * when it updates
>> and then does some profile-creation stuff and god knows what else.
>> It must also use some touch-like command, becuase the date of the
>> policies.json file was the same as the date on all the other FF 150
>> subdirectories and files. I don't remember looking at the
>> FF149/firefox files because I would have had no reason to. And that
>> must be when the mischief occurred.
>> AH-HAH! At some point when I first heard about the policies.json
>> thing I was unsure about where to put it, so I put one in the
>> /firefox subdirectory. It's still there, and contains the ^M
>> characters. They seem to be M- instead of ^M, for what it's
>> worth. Its date is the same as all the others -- April 24 19:37.
>> cat -A policies.json
>> {$
>> M- "policies": {$
>> M- M- "DisableAppUpdate": true$
>> M- }$
>> }$
>> $
>>
>
> Why cat -A? Check man cat.
> In the output of cat -A "M-" is a tab, "^M" is a CR and "$" is a LF
> If you copy those literally into a script it will very likely produce
> an error.
My manual didn't say that. I tested:
hexdump -C tab.txt
00000000 09 0a |..|
00000002
cat -A tab.txt
^I$
So, tab is ^I, as you would expect if carriage return is ^M
I am starting to suspect that all this is a wild goose chase.
Back to alt.comp.software.firefox | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar
Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 08:45 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.invalid> - 2026-04-25 13:12 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-04-25 18:18 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Nobody <jock@soccer.com> - 2026-04-25 10:26 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 11:01 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-04-28 10:14 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-28 12:40 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-04-28 22:21 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-28 19:36 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> - 2026-04-29 15:45 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-04-29 15:04 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-04-29 15:10 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-04-29 15:21 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> - 2026-04-29 17:26 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-29 19:41 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-04-29 16:47 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-04-29 16:52 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-04-29 16:54 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-04-29 17:00 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-02 05:41 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> - 2026-04-29 18:11 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-04-29 20:20 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-29 20:30 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-04-30 09:10 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-04-30 10:03 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened dillinger <dillinger@invalid.not> - 2026-04-30 05:48 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-04-30 14:23 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-30 20:16 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-03 21:47 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-03 19:33 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-05-01 07:04 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-01 09:33 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-05-01 18:00 +0100
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-03 21:51 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-05-03 11:52 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-01 08:09 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-01 09:17 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-01 19:10 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened R Daneel Olivaw <Danni@hyperspace.vogon.gov.invalid> - 2026-05-01 20:16 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Nobody <jock@soccer.com> - 2026-05-01 12:57 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-02 11:58 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-02 21:15 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-02 12:53 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-02 22:25 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-02 22:10 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Nobody <jock@soccer.com> - 2026-05-02 16:40 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-05-02 22:01 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Nobody <jock@soccer.com> - 2026-05-03 18:49 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-01 22:09 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-02 12:08 +1200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-02 00:11 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened R Daneel Olivaw <Danni@hyperspace.vogon.gov.invalid> - 2026-04-25 20:13 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 11:25 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 11:35 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened "Alan K." <alan@invalid.com> - 2026-04-25 14:56 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 12:41 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! "Alan K." <alan@invalid.com> - 2026-04-25 15:56 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-04-25 23:03 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 14:51 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! "Alan K." <alan@invalid.com> - 2026-04-25 18:12 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 22:13 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened R Daneel Olivaw <Danni@hyperspace.vogon.gov.invalid> - 2026-04-26 10:12 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-04-25 21:40 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2026-04-25 14:21 -0500
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 12:45 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened -- SOLVED! The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-25 13:01 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2026-04-25 19:58 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.invalid> - 2026-04-26 07:42 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened R Daneel Olivaw <Danni@hyperspace.vogon.gov.invalid> - 2026-04-26 18:46 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-26 12:11 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Nobody <jock@soccer.com> - 2026-04-26 15:47 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-26 17:05 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Nobody <jock@soccer.com> - 2026-04-26 18:49 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-26 21:48 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.invalid> - 2026-04-27 13:42 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-27 11:28 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.invalid> - 2026-04-27 16:01 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-28 12:45 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-04-28 00:23 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-04-28 08:36 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-04-28 12:35 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.invalid> - 2026-04-28 15:42 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-04-28 01:14 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-04-28 02:51 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> - 2026-04-28 12:51 -0700
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Char Jackson <none@none.invalid> - 2026-05-08 15:06 -0500
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2026-04-26 22:27 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-04-28 01:12 +0000
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.invalid> - 2026-04-27 13:24 -0400
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened R Daneel Olivaw <Danni@hyperspace.vogon.gov.invalid> - 2026-04-28 09:15 +0200
Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-04-27 04:07 +0000
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