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Groups > alt.comp.software.firefox > #16964
| From | Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> |
|---|---|
| Newsgroups | alt.comp.software.firefox |
| Subject | Re: Unwanted update to 150 just happened |
| Date | 2026-04-30 09:10 +0100 |
| Organization | Frantic |
| Message-ID | <82jyto27il.fsf@example.com> (permalink) |
| References | (9 earlier) <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> |
The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> writes:
> 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- }$ }$ $
The plot thickens. Here is what my favourite AI said:
"In your case, the indentation uses UTF-8 encoded non-breaking spaces
(or similar Unicode whitespace) instead of regular ASCII spaces
(0x20). For example, M- is likely a non-breaking space (U+00A0, encoded
as 0xC2 0xA0 in UTF-8).
Why this matters for a JSON file: Most JSON parsers only treat ASCII
whitespace (regular space, tab, newline) as insignificant
whitespace. Non-breaking spaces can cause parse errors depending on the
parser. "
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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