Deploying Firefox

[Michael]

For instance, the CSS tries to disable #bookmarksMenu, however in Michael's custom version it is not disabled, it appears to use a different ID tag as it is named "Favorites", and I cannot load the DOM inspector to find out what tag it is since addons are disabled (lol)

For clarification (by default) Internet Explorer uses Favourites and Firefox uses Bookmarks. The Bookmarks menu is being disabled by userChrome.css and as its replacement a Firefox extension is installed so it displays Favourites.

The whole purpose of this idea is so users can dynamically switch between Internet Explorer and Firefox and still keep their Favourites. Some websites/applications unfortunately still require Internet Explorer, but the majority will run using Firefox. As a result it means even less experienced users have a small learning curve if they switch from one browser to the other.

There might be an extension that allows you to block specific file extensions. Have a look here

[Arthur]

Michael is correct. We both use the Plain Old Favourites add-on for Firefox as this allows users to keep the favourites they already have in Internet Explorer while avoiding confusion and duplication of sites in both browsers. Hence why the native Firefox bookmarking system is disabled. While our students would be fine with this, I don't think staff would be able to cope with two sets of bookmarks.

Blocking file-types is normally done at the Internet gateway/proxy level, but I'm sure there is a way to do this with Firefox.

[Alomax]

That's pretty slick actually.

There is an addon that filters downloads : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3911

It does a lot of the same things that Michael's MSI build does, but I haven't figured out how to integrate it into my custom build yet. The -install-global-extension command will install the addon, but not configure it (default filters no downloads). I suspect I can set the extension options in the mozilla.cfg file the same way as the other settings, right?

If I can filter the allowed extensions, this will be perfect!

[cookie_monster]

I haven't really been following this thread, i'm just wondering if this has been posted.

Firefox MSI

[Michael]

I am aware of Frontmotion's existence, however the Logistix Mozilla Firefox 3.5.7 Pack does things Frontmotion's does not. Typical examples of this are -

- The Tools > Options menu is all greyed out and unchangeable
- Bookmarks is replaced with Favorites. Users can switch between IE and FF and keep the same list of Favorites
- Add-ons cannot be installed, improving security and consistency
- Upgrading FF is disabled. This allows a Network Manager to consistently keep the same version across their domain
- Proxy Settings and Exceptions are configured by default
- The Homepage is configured by default

I hope this clarifies the differences

[cookie_monster]

I am aware of Frontmotion's existence, however the Logistix Mozilla Firefox 3.5.7 Pack does things Frontmotion's does not. Typical examples of this are -

- The Tools > Options menu is all greyed out and unchangeable
- Bookmarks is replaced with Favorites. Users can switch between IE and FF and keep the same list of Favorites
- Add-ons cannot be installed, improving security and consistency
- Upgrading FF is disabled. This allows a Network Manager to consistently keep the same version across their domain
- Proxy Settings and Exceptions are configured by default
- The Homepage is configured by default

I hope this clarifies the differences

So it's similar but school proof

[Michael]

So it's similar but school proof

Exactly, you got it! The original reason for the creation however was because of Policy Central, however thankfully the latest v3.0.0.9 appears to speed things up. Still as a precaution I'm still going to keep both browsers operating side by side and I recommend others do too

[Arthur]

I haven't really been following this thread, i'm just wondering if this has been posted.

The FrontMotion .msi has been mentioned before, but the main problem I see with it is that his releases often lag anywhere between several days to a few weeks behind the official Mozilla releases; sometimes even missing out point releases completely! The table I created below illustrates this quite well. IMO, a bit worrying when there are so many zero day exploits around these days. Another disadvantage is that the FrontMotion GPOs are incapable of setting defaults for users without locking them completely or modifying other Firefox settings which are controlled via JS/CSS files (as far as I can tell).

Release   Mozilla      Front Motion    Difference
3.5       30/06/2009   07/07/2009       8 days
3.5.1     16/07/2009   22/07/2009       7 days
3.5.2     03/08/2009   05/08/2009       2 days
3.5.3     09/09/2009   18/09/2009      10 days
3.5.4     27/10/2009       -           17 days
3.5.5     05/11/2009   12/11/2009       8 days
3.5.6     15/12/2009   31/12/2009      17 days
3.5.7     05/01/2010   11/01/2010       7 days

Also, as mentioned above, Michael's (and my own) customized versions of Firefox are more school-proof.

[cookie_monster]

So are you setting it up so IE and FF can be run at the same time by users? How are you making it so they share favorites and history etc? (or has this been covered deep in the thread)

[Michael]

Yes, both IE and FF can be run at the same time. The important little trick is FF is set to not check whether it's the default browser and IE is also set to not check whether it's default using Group Policy. They'll then work together without nagging the user.

IE technically remains the system default however which is still recommended. IE is used for many system functions as it's well integrated into Windows XP for example. To ensure users use a specific browser for a particular website, you can create a custom shortcut. By creating a shortcut from Firefox.exe, the target path would read as follows:

"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" http://www.logistixonline.com/

The Bookmarks menu has been removed from FF and an add-on to emulate IE's Favorites is included. This means both browsers dynamically read Favorites, so if I add a new Favorite in IE, it's visible in FF and visa versa.

IE and FF History is not shared or transferred. Generally speaking a user will use one browser or the other and rarely both at the same time. This probably is possible to achieve, but I haven't seen the demand for it.

[rob998]

How do you guys get around using SSL site using this version of FF.

I cannot access my OWA or Portal, just getting a timed out message for each.

Rob

[DaveP]

How do you guys get around using SSL site using this version of FF.

I cannot access my OWA or Portal, just getting a timed out message for each.

Rob

Not helpful I know [unless other replies are similar to mine] this aspect worked straight away wothout any extra work required from me.

[Michael]

How do you guys get around using SSL site using this version of FF.

If you're using a proxy, within the exceptions make sure localhost and 127.0.0.1 are listed as a minimum otherwise accessing SSL sites will fail.

[Arthur]

Looks like Mozilla will be releasing Firefox 3.6 tomorrow at 5.30 p.m.

Firefox 3.6 will be available for download at www.firefox.com on Thursday, January 21st at 9:30am Pacific Standard Time.

[Edu-IT]

It's been released. Do you plan to make this available Michael anytime soon? Looking at deploying Firefox to a few machines so makes sense to hold off if you're working on this.

Any chance you can also summarise again what you've done to this version or point me in the direction of the latest explanation? The first post hasn't been updated and I assume you've tweaked it again since October.