Helpful Tip: Firefox “Secure Updates” Extension Warning

This article was written on October 19, 2007 by CyberNet.

Firefox Extension Secure Updates

Mozilla is trying to beef up extension security in Firefox 3 by ensuring that the updates are provided by a secure address. All of the extensions on the official Mozilla add-ons site will work perfectly with this new system, but there could be problems when venturing outside of the site.

An example of this happened when I tried to install a development release of Tab Mix Plus. I was prompted with a message that said:

“Tab Mix Plus” will not be installed because it does not provide secure updates

As expected there is a hidden setting that you can adjust to prevent Firefox from checking the address from which an extension retrieves its updates. Here’s what you have to do:

  1. Start Firefox.
  2. In the Address Bar type “about:config” and press Enter.
  3. Right-Click and select New->Boolean.
  4. A box requesting the Preference Name will popup and you should enter “extensions.checkUpdateSecurity” (without the quotes). Press OK to continue.
  5. Select “False” from the box and press OK again.

After that you should be able to install your extensions just as you normally would. Disabling this feature could pose a security risk though, so be careful with what extensions you install when this is disabled.

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