Mozilla Firefox Browser Stable Version Releases

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by JRViejo, Mar 18, 2014.

  1. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    Thats not entirely correct.It only sends a partial hash to google so identifiable info is not sent.I see no reason to disable these features in firefox as this will weaken protection.
     
  2. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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  3. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

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  4. Kobayashi maru

    Kobayashi maru Registered Member

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    Still comes from a fixed IP.
    Related to Google, and in combination with everything else you do that they keep tabs on, can still be used to track like anything else. 'identifying info' is just a buzzword that has no real meaning any more. Non-identyfying does not mean non-trackable, nor non-locatable.

    Dodgy sites don't worry me, so the lesser of two evils is to disable it IMO.
     
  5. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    Kobayashi, I disable safebrowsing as much as I can. Here is what I done via about:config.

    Sin título.jpg

    I wish I know how to keep safebrowsing from updating automatically every time Firefox starts but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that.

    Bo
     
  6. Kobayashi maru

    Kobayashi maru Registered Member

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    Thanks, bo.

    What do you mean, updating at startup?
     
  7. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Hi Bo, how does one check this part "safebrowsing ... updating automatically every time Firefox starts"? In other words, how do you know this happens? Do you use some network connections monitoring software?

    Best wishes,

    vasa1
     
  8. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    Hi Vasa, if you look at the time stamp of files inside the Safebrowsing folder inside the Firefox folder in AppData>Local, you ll see that files there update pretty much every time you run Firefox. I would like to keep Firefox from connecting to the Google Safebrowsing site but the workarounds that I know of for doing that(using a firewall or editing the host file) is not the way I like to get that done.

    Bo
     
  9. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    You are welcome, Kobayashi. Firefox, to update Safebrowsing, connects to Googles safebrowsing site every time you run Firefox. Read my reply to Vasa. Unfortunately, we cant stop Firefox from doing that via about:config (which is the way I would like to do it).

    Bo
     
  10. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Thanks a lot :) I will take a look. And, if by chance, I find anything useful I'll let you know.
     
  11. TheWindBringeth

    TheWindBringeth Registered Member

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    @bo elam: It sounds like you are assuming that there is communication with SafeBrowsing servers because SafeBrowsing related files are being modified. You should test that assumption.

    What happens if you start Firefox when there is no Internet connection? What does a sniffer, such as Wireshark, tell you?
     
  12. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    You are welcome, Vasa. Please let me know if you do, thanks.:)

    Bo
     
  13. pandorax

    pandorax Registered Member

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    I guess you are talking about the files like test-malware-simple.cache that created after every firefox startup in cache folder. These files are not fetched from goole, they must be related to testing something :p . Just remove the safebrowsing folder, stop internet connection and restart firefox. You will see these files created again. For convenience you can also remove the adresses from *.gethashURL, *.updateURL etc.. strings in about:config. Personally, I remove every google related strings in about:config
     
  14. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    Yes, those are the files I am talking about. And the updates come from Google. Those files are phishing database. By the names of the files it is obvious where they come from and what they are for.

    Look at the picture below, from my XP. I always run Firefox sandboxed, last time I ran Firefox out of the sandbox was the 11th of September, that's why that's the Date that you see there as last time this files were modified. But if I run Firefox out of the sandbox right now, the files will get updated as soon as Firefox opens up. And if I run Firefox again unsandboxed, in a half an hour from now, they ll update again. And on and on.

    untitled.JPG

    Bo
     
  15. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Hi Bo,

    As you may remember, I switched to Linux some years ago. So there maybe some differences between what you and I see.

    I ran the find command recursively on my .mozilla folder. All I got was this:
    Code:
    11:30 AM ~/.mozilla $ find . -iname *safe* -type f
    11:32 AM ~/.mozilla $ find . -iname *safe* -type d
    ./firefox/itjrx7ly.Testing/storage/permanent/moz-safe-about+home
    ./firefox/yfska9ip.Main/storage/permanent/moz-safe-about+home
    11:33 AM ~/.mozilla $
    The first command searches for files, the second for folders. yfska9ip.Main is my default profile which I run every day.

    Here's the listing of ./firefox/yfska9ip.Main/storage/permanent to show the contents of subfolders and hidden files:
    Code:
    11:36 AM ~/.../storage/permanent $ ls -alR
    .:
    total 20
    drwxrwxr-x 5 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 .
    drwxrwxr-x 5 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 ..
    drwxr-xr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 chrome
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 indexeddb+++fx-devtools
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 moz-safe-about+home
    
    ./chrome:
    total 16
    drwxr-xr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 .
    drwxrwxr-x 5 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 ..
    drwxr-xr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Sep 25 11:18 idb
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  29 Aug 11 21:43 .metadata
    
    ./chrome/idb:
    total 52
    drwxr-xr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Sep 25 11:18 .
    drwxr-xr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Aug 11 21:43 ..
    drwxr-xr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Aug 11 21:43 2918063365piupsah.files
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 40960 Sep 23 07:05 2918063365piupsah.sqlite
    
    ./chrome/idb/2918063365piupsah.files:
    total 8
    drwxr-xr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 .
    drwxr-xr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Sep 25 11:18 ..
    
    ./indexeddb+++fx-devtools:
    total 16
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 .
    drwxrwxr-x 5 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 ..
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Sep 24 11:21 idb
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  63 Jul  4 22:27 .metadata
    
    ./indexeddb+++fx-devtools/idb:
    total 52
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Sep 24 11:21 .
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Jul 14 16:21 ..
    drwxrwxr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Jul 14 16:21 478967115deegvatroootlss--cans.files
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 40960 Aug 13 09:24 478967115deegvatroootlss--cans.sqlite
    
    ./indexeddb+++fx-devtools/idb/478967115deegvatroootlss--cans.files:
    total 8
    drwxrwxr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 .
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Sep 24 11:21 ..
    
    ./moz-safe-about+home:
    total 16
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 .
    drwxrwxr-x 5 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Aug 11 21:43 ..
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Sep 24 11:21 idb
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  55 Feb 26  2015 .metadata
    
    ./moz-safe-about+home/idb:
    total 620
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Sep 24 11:21 .
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Jul 14 16:21 ..
    drwxrwxr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Jul 14 16:21 818200132aebmoouht.files
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 622592 Sep 23 07:53 818200132aebmoouht.sqlite
    
    ./moz-safe-about+home/idb/818200132aebmoouht.files:
    total 8
    drwxrwxr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Jul 14 16:21 .
    drwxrwxr-x 3 vasa1 vasa1 4096 Sep 24 11:21 ..
    11:36 AM ~/.../storage/permanent $
    So nothing at all re. safebrowsing! I wonder if some other Linux users would share their experience.

    Perhaps a mod may want to move these posts to a separate thread?
     
  16. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    Hi Vasa, I am totally unfamiliar with Linux but on Windows, in AppData, Mozilla has two folders. One in Local and another one in Roaming. The one that contains the safebrowsing database is under Local.

    As safebrowsing gets updated, there are a couple of files (cert8 and blocklist) in the other Mozilla folder under Roaming, this files also update when safebrowsing is updated.

    Bo
     
  17. pandorax

    pandorax Registered Member

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    Ok. They definetely comes from google except the files start with test-*
    There is something wrong with your firefox profile maybe.

    It is under "~/.cache/mozilla"
     
  18. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    My profile is fine. The one in my W7 is pretty much the same. If I create a new profile right now and take a picture, it will look pretty similar to the one I posted a little while ago.:)

    Bo
     
  19. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    You are probably right about the ones that start with test. I just tested something and those files did not update at the same time as the ones that the name begins with goog. I also created a new profile, the safebrowsing files look almost 100% the same as the ones in the other profile, the only difference is the size in some of them. I took a picture but I don't think is necessary to post it. Regards, pandora:cool:.

    Bo
     
  20. BoerenkoolMetWorst

    BoerenkoolMetWorst Registered Member

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    A quick guess; try changing browser.safebrowsing.updateURL into something invalid.
     
  21. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Thanks!
    Code:
    01:20 PM ~/.../yfska9ip.Main/safebrowsing $ ll
    total 1540
    drwxr-xr-x 2 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Sep 25 13:16 ./
    drwx------ 7 vasa1 vasa1  4096 Sep 25 13:16 ../
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  12 Sep 25 13:16 goog-badbinurl-shavar.cache
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 161262 Sep 25 13:16 goog-badbinurl-shavar.pset
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 172464 Sep 25 13:16 goog-badbinurl-shavar.sbstore
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  12 Sep 25 13:16 goog-malware-shavar.cache
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 308154 Sep 25 13:16 goog-malware-shavar.pset
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 356674 Sep 25 13:16 goog-malware-shavar.sbstore
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  12 Sep 25 13:16 goog-phish-shavar.cache
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 318188 Sep 25 13:16 goog-phish-shavar.pset
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1 186336 Sep 25 13:16 goog-phish-shavar.sbstore
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  44 Sep 25 13:16 test-malware-simple.cache
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  16 Sep 25 13:16 test-malware-simple.pset
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  232 Sep 25 13:16 test-malware-simple.sbstore
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  44 Sep 25 13:16 test-phish-simple.cache
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  16 Sep 25 13:16 test-phish-simple.pset
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  232 Sep 25 13:16 test-phish-simple.sbstore
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  44 Sep 25 13:16 test-unwanted-simple.cache
    -rw-r--r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  16 Sep 25 13:16 test-unwanted-simple.pset
    -rw-rw-r-- 1 vasa1 vasa1  232 Sep 25 13:16 test-unwanted-simple.sbstore
    01:20 PM ~/.../yfska9ip.Main/safebrowsing $
     
  22. pandorax

    pandorax Registered Member

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    I have only these on Debian with Iceweasel. Their date changes to the current time whenever you restart the browser. If you have other than these, it means you disabled the safe browsing after it downloaded from google and you never removed the cache.
    Code:
    test-malware-simple.cache
    test-malware-simple.pset
    test-malware-simple.sbstore
    test-phish-simple.cache
    test-phish-simple.pset
    test-phish-simple.sbstore
     
  23. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    TheWindBringeth, I done more tests and this is what I found. By simply unticking the options to block reported attack sites and Block reported web forgeries, files in the safebrowsing folder that the name starts with goog dont update anymore when Firefox starts. The ones that show test in the name do update regardless if I am connected to the internet or not. If you know, why do they update even without internet connection?

    Bo
     
  24. TheWindBringeth

    TheWindBringeth Registered Member

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    @bo elam: I think test-malware-simple,test-phish-simple, and test-unwanted-simple are created for the Mozilla/Firefox itisatrap.org test pages:

    https://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-rel...omponents/url-classifier/SafeBrowsing.jsm#211

    I, myself, was confused to see some files remain and some files being recreated. The first time, and a second time when I forgot the first time :oops:

    If you delete all of the test- & goog- safebrowsing files, then restart, do you only see the test- files? I do like the idea of sniffing to confirm things, just in case something unexpected is going on.
     
  25. Kobayashi maru

    Kobayashi maru Registered Member

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    I use peerblock, so FF can't connect to Mozilla to check anything, even though it tries at every start.
     
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