Firefox 57 is due today - it will probably disable a lot of add-ons/extensions

[otherego]

Much as per title, really. More information here:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/10/open_source_insider_firefox_57/

It's due to be introduced (or "rolled out" bleurgghhh *gag*) today.

While it's undoubtedly full of technical improvements, many popular add-ons will stop working.

People might like to disable auto-update (if it's not already too late) until it becomes clear just what is going to be lost forever, and we've had a chance to consider likely alternatives.

Personally, I like Firefox mostly because of the add-ons - were it not for that, I'd be very tempted by something like Opera (not Chrome though!).

AFAIK, Waterfox, Pale Moon and other Firefox relatives should keep working "normally" with current add-ons, as should the current long term support version of Firefox - at least, for a few months where the latter is concerned.

[aernethril]

Thank you for all your help with this, OE.

Mine doesn't auto update so I'm hoping it will stay ok for a while until the new version has been tried and tested and I can see how much it's going to impact before having to take a decision on what to do next.

[otherego]

The trouble is that security risks will increase as our present versions become increasingly obsolete. Offhand, I can think of three likely alternatives:

The long term support version (which I think will continue to receive updates until well into 2018), which would allow current add-ons to keep working while we look for alternatives;

Pale Moon if you like Firefox as it was before the rounded tabs and things were foisted upon us;

WaterFox if you're after a later fork.

There are lots of Mozilla variations in addition to those, of course.

As a privacy nut, I intend to continue avoiding Chrome if humanly possible...

[otherego]

Here's the link for the Extended Support Release (ESR):

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/

They really try to talk you out of it, saying that it's intended for large organisations and desperately linking to the "normal" Firefox downloads. Tough - at least the link to download ESR is there:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/

Just don't be intimidated by:

Not from an organization?

If you’re looking for Firefox for personal use, please visit our Firefox page.

I can understand that they might think that we average users are safer with the latest and greatest, but it does seem a little arrogant to assume that we should go along with versions they think we should use.

That said and done - the ESR might buy a few months while the compromised add-ons are made compatible with the recent "normal" version of Firefox, or acceptable substitutes appear.

[otherego]

The "old" Firefox continues to work, but I'm becoming a little uneasy about the security implications of running something which is no longer supported.

Trouble is, I suspect that the "old" Firefox with such things as NoScript is more secure than the new Firefox without. It looks as if NoScript is now available for the latest Firefox, albeit in a much altered form. (If I ever get a job again, the developer of NoScript is definitely someone I intend sending quite a few quid... one of the heros of the internet.) Dedoimedo has tutorial, which makes the new version look more complicated and, so far, less capable. I suspect that its capabilities will improve rapidly, though.

Time to take the plunge, I suppose.

I may be some time...

[otherego]

Firefox 57 looked OK, until I tried NoScript.

I consider NoScript essential to my internet activity.

It's still a work in progress, and I do hope it becomes useable by ordinary mortals. In the meantime, I honestly can't figure out how to work it, or even when it is or isn't blocking stuff.

Why on earth do clever developers change perfectly useable user interfaces???

For the time being, it's "old" Firefox for me on my working machines. I suppose I'll have to battle with the intricacies of installing the Extended Support version (one area in which Windows is probably simpler than Linux - nowhere near enough to tempt me to change back, so far!)

[aernethril]

StartPage website has this alert:

Important Warning

"Firefox's latest update (57.0.1) aggressively tries to reset your default search engine to Google!  To make StartPage your default search engine again after the update, please follow the instructions in this support article. You may want to bookmark this artcile now."

It looks like quite a convoluted process too.

@otheregodoes FF change the design of the page at all - eg the tabs and layout?

I did have an interesting experience first thing today when FF would not connect to the internet with some kind of "no longer find your files" or something like that.

Shut the browser down and tried again and it loaded.  But they are getting very 'insistent' that their new version must be uploaded.

[otherego]

I actually like the look of it - back to square tabs and what I would think is expected behaviour.

If you use NoScript, then it might be worth going for the ESR version instead - until the new version of NoScript has become comprehensible to ordinary people.

If you don't use NoScript, it's probably a good move. Before updating, though, check you add-ons to see whether they are compatible or not (the incompatible ones will be labelled "Legacy" - I seem to remember they do offer assistance in seeking alternatives, but I doubt whether these will be as mature as the tried and tested ones.

[*scyllabub*]

Why isn't anyone who doesn't want 57 using Waterfox?*  I can't tell the difference between that and the 'old' Firefox, and nearly all my add-ons are working.

*That's a serious question, not a sarky one!

[cee-dee]

Well I'm using WF and everything seems alright EXCEPT the videos on "Dailymotion" won't play. The sound is OK but there's no video. Vimeo music and Youtube videos all play OK.

Why do I use anything other than Youtube? Well, some things are on Youtube for a while, then get removed for some reason or another (not a copyright issue) but they stay on the other two platforms.

A week or so back (I can't remember what I did in checking around) but DM came up with something about "Outdated Browser" and that I should update. My WF is on 55.2.0 (64 bit)

[cee-dee]

I forgot to say that Dailymotion videos play OK with Internet Explorer.

[cee-dee]

Also.......... Some (not all) videos on youtube have an advert. Although I've got Adblock Plus enabled the ads still run BUT.... if I open the same video in Internet Explorer the advert doesn't appear.

Seems they altered something in WF??

[otherego]

Why isn't anyone who doesn't want 57 using Waterfox?

'Cos it's not in the Mint/Ubuntu repositories, sadly. Neither is Pale Moon.

I'm warming to 57. It seems quicker than the older versions and lighter on computer resources - it's almost certainly more secure.

NoScript is gradually becoming more comprehensible and useable. If I can actually figure it out, I might use 57 (and onwards) full-time.

In the meantime, the Extended Support Release (ESR) should keep me going for a while. I think it is to receive security updates until June, and is Firefox 52-based. All my old add-ons work on it.

If anyone installs the ESR, you might find that when you go to the add-ons page, several will tell you they need Firefox 57. Simply scroll down the page to "Other versions" and find the last version of the add-on concerned which worked pre-Firefox 57 - pretty easy.

For anyone using Mint (and presumably, Ubuntu), the following terminal commands should install an ESR PPA (sort-of private repository, although this one seems to be supported by Mozilla - I think - and should hopefully receive updates):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox-esr

(From https://askubuntu.com/questions/894871/how-do-i-install-firefox-52-esr-on-16-04 )

Press Enter after each line and let it finish doing  its own thing - authenticating with your user password as needed.

FWIW, I closed the installed Firefox during the installation - no conflicts so far, thankfully. I've not had the courage to launch both simultaneously, though.

Windownistas can download the appropriate Windows version of Firefox ESR from the Mozilla site. They try desperately to persuade you that it's meant for businesses etc and that you should obediently use the latest and greatest... I'll certainly go back to that, but only once I've figured out how to use the new add-ons.

Your choice!

[*scyllabub*]

Good answers, CeeDee and OE 🙂

(I'm not familiar with Daily Motion, except by name.)

[cee-dee]

Somehow I seem to have resolved the Dailymotion issue. They play OK now.

[*scyllabub*]

---

@cee-dee wrote:

Somehow I seem to have resolved the Dailymotion issue. They play OK now.

---

Dang, then I just subjected myself and Waterfox to several celeb videos on DailyMotion for nothing

[aernethril]

Just a quickie - I hope.

Yes I know, I should have taken the plunge ages ago but I couldn't find the answers I needed so here goes:

1) if I update to the new version, does Ad Blocker still work as normal without me having to do anything?

2) do all the things that didn't work at first now work such as flashblock, adblock for gmail, classic theme restorer, tinyeye, plugin thingies?

3) what happens if I don't like the layout in the task bars etc - can they be changed easily like wot the old version could?

4) will I have to change my settings or does all that stay the same?

5) does anyone have a pretty picture of what it looks like at the top of the browser page?

6) can anyone hold my hand please 'cos I'm not doing very well with the increasing ageing of me ol bod and am a bit poorly and fragile these days and do not like changes wot I don't understand wot to do with.

I'm off to bed now anyway but I guess I've got to take the plunge and would like to be prepared.