ThinApp and SpywareBlaster

I am using a ThinApp'd version of FireFox 3.0.1 ... Is there no way in the Spyware Blaster config to POINT to the .EXE for a ThinApp'd browser?

ThinApp is VMware's "Application Virtualization" product... Surely there are other products like it, and I would think this question has come up before...

Any way at all, or am I stuck having to do a LOCAL install of FireFox
in order for SpywareBlaster to see it and protect it?

Thanks very much.

 

Hi,

SpywareBlaster requires access to the Firefox "profile" folder (and files) to enable protection.

To determine where the Firefox profiles are located, SpywareBlaster looks for the "profiles.ini" file and parses its contents. By default, this file is located in:

[Windows 2000\XP] C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox
[Windows Vista+] C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox

You could modify this profiles.ini file to point to any location where the Firefox profiles are stored. (Some users do this to support custom Firefox installations - for example, those stored on a USB key.)

However, SpywareBlaster would still have to be able to access the Firefox profile folder + files.

You may have to dig around to see where ThinApp causes Firefox to store its profile information. If it's in some unchanging path that's accessible from *outside* the ThinApp sandbox, then SpywareBlaster should be able to write to it (and you could edit the profiles.ini as a workaround to tell SpywareBlaster - and other programs - where it's located).

Best regards,

-Javacool

 

This sounds like it might be a good answer, but I don't understand:
Is it SPYWAREBLASTER's "profiles.ini" file that I'm editing - which I
cannot find anywhere in the SpywareBlaster folder - or is it some
OTHER "profiles.ini"?

I can easily browse to the Profiles directory (on my USB drive, where
my ThinApps are stored) for FireFox... What does that get me? It's
SpywareBlaster that I have to be able, somehow, to TELL where to
find FireFox, don't I?

Thanks very much for the quick reply. Looking forward to your next...

 

Hi,

It's Firefox's profiles.ini, not SpywareBlaster's (although SpywareBlaster reads it).

In this case, you'd have to create the "profiles.ini" file in the appropriate location, if it doesn't exist:

On Windows 2000/XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\

On Windows Vista+:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\

(Please note: The "Application Data" or "AppData" folder is usually hidden, so you'll either have to enter it manually in the address bar of Windows Explorer to open it, or enable viewing hidden files and folders to see it.)

Exactly. And that path is just the information that needs to go in the profiles.ini file in the normal location (see above).

So, in detail:

1.) Browse to the appropriate default location for the Firefox profiles.ini file. (See above.)

2.) If the file doesn't exist, create a new one. Make sure it's named exactly "profiles.ini" and not "profiles.ini.txt". (It it already exists, make a backup copy.)

3.) Edit the contents of the profiles.ini to be the following:

Where "FULL PATH TO FIREFOX PROFILE FOLDER" is the full path to Firefox profile folder containing your bookmarks, "cookies.sqlite", "places.sqlite", etc.

4.) Save the profiles.ini file.

5.) SpywareBlaster should then be able to detect your custom Firefox profile.

Best regards,

-Javacool

 

Thanks again for the response.

I tried this... As I expected, it didn't work: SpywareBlaster has to be able
to be TOLD where to look for FireFox... It doesn't matter what I put IN the
FireFox folder if SpywareBlaster cannot "SEE" that Folder...

So some file inside SpywareBlaster -- that is trying to look for a "default"
path to FireFox and not finding it -- has to be able to be edited, so I can
TELL it, "no, don't look there, look HERE..." If SpywareBlaster isn't seeing
FireFox at all, then of course it's not going to see any file INSIDE of the
FireFox folder (on my USB drive)...

Am I missing something?

 

So am I going to get any further help with this As I noted, it makes no sense to have a "Profiles.ini" in the FireFox folder on my USB drive, when SpywareBlaster cannot FIND FireFox to begin with ...

Please help me with this. I really like SpywareBlaster, but it's no good to me if it doesn't offer protection for my primary Browser...

Thanks.

 

Hi,

SpywareBlaster reads the following file to determine where the Firefox profiles are:

On Windows 2000/XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini

On Windows Vista+:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini

That's the file you have to edit to tell SpywareBlaster where the non-standard Firefox profiles actually are. (There is no file stored in the SpywareBlaster directory - SpywareBlaster detects the path to your "Application Data" folder, where the Firefox profiles are normally stored, and uses that profiles.ini file to determine the profile paths. If you enter different and correct path information in the profiles.ini file, SpywareBlaster should be able to detect them anywhere else as well. We've had some users do this in the past for "portable" versions of Firefox stored on USB keys.)

It's easy to mess up the formatting of the profiles.ini file slightly, however, so if you'd like to post the contents you tried here, I can take a look.

Best regards,

-Javacool

 

AHHH.... The Key point that I probably missed -- perhaps you didn't note it -- was that SpywareBlaster looks in the DEFAULT PATHS for that "Profiles.ini" file... THANK YOU for including that Default Path to Firefox...

And this, of course, explains why SpywareBlaster couldn't find my Firefox: I didn't install it in the Default path, but instead on my USB drive...

So all I had to do was move that Profiles.ini file I had created, above (per your suggestion) into a "bogus" path (of folders) that I created, in the DEFAULT location, so that Firefox could see it! BOOM, fired up SpywareBlaster and it now sees my USB-based instance of Firefox...

THANKS FOR THE HELP!

One quick question tho:
IE doesn't HAVE a "profiles.ini", so how does SpywareBlaster "see" it?

Thanks again.
gs

 

Hi,

Glad to hear you got it working.

SpywareBlaster uses whatever detection method makes sense for each different browser it supports. In the case of Internet Explorer, it's fairly easy to detect - every supported version of Windows has the IE engine installed. (Even if you "remove" Internet Explorer in a newer version of Windows, the underlying engine remains because a large number of third-party programs use it to display content.)

Best regards,

-Javacool