Impero Extension in Chrome

[Jawloms]

In case anyone uses it and has missed it, Google have decided that the Impero Extension is no longer good enough so will stop working for you, if it hasn't already! I logged a ticket asking about it and got;

 

Thank you for your inquiry regarding our browser extension. We acknowledge the notice that appears within the extension. Please note that it currently operates using Manifest V2, which will not be supported by Chrome browsers in the future.

 

We are currently developing an extension that will be compatible with Manifest V3, and we will announce its availability to all users once it is ready.

 

Edge is happy with it.

 

Stuart

[mavhc]

if you enable https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/#ExtensionManifestV2Availability you have until june 2025

[mikes]

Ours has just stopped working today for some reason on Chromebooks - users just stop showing up in the console. No idea why, am investigating it now. Have enabled the legacy extension option in the g-suite but baffled. they logged on then slowly dropped one by one now none show up. Windows clients working fine Edited January 27, 2025 by mikes

[timbo343]

Ours has just stopped working today for some reason on Chromebooks - users just stop showing up in the console. No idea why, am investigating it now. Have enabled the legacy extension option in the g-suite but baffled. they logged on then slowly dropped one by one now none show up. Windows clients working fine

 

Funny enough - mine has done the same thing - it was working this morning! I thought it was because I changed the Manifest version in Workspace - https://www.imperosoftware.com/blog/the-impact-of-googles-manifest-v3-on-impero-products/ - but changing it back has made no difference.

Edited January 27, 2025 by timbo343

[mikes]

Funny enough - mine has done the same thing - it was working this morning! I thought it was because I changed the Manifest version in Workspace - https://www.imperosoftware.com/blog/the-impact-of-googles-manifest-v3-on-impero-products/ - but changing it back has made no difference.

 

Just got an e-mail from Impero Support saying the weekend upgrade from 130 to 132 has broken it

 

"It appears that the latest version of ChromeOS (132.0.6834.94) breaks the plugin which is why ChromeOS devices are not connecting.

 

We will have this checked and raised to our team for further investigation and testing."

 

They say other schools have reverted back to 130 and it works, I'm nervous though because:

 

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/12569990?hl=en

 

the revert support page says reverting chromebooks wipes and re-enrolls them - and ours were enrolled using a temporary Hwb account (some Welsh govt thing) so if I set a revert they might all just get stuck on a re-enroll screen!

Time to do some testing I think or otherwise hope Impero can fix it soon!

[ITGuyNW]

It doesn't mention it on the Impero blog, but extending V2 manifest is also in GPO (for windows users). I've had it set for a while knowing this was coming and I've not seen Impero affected, so assume that method works fine. Edited January 28, 2025 by ITGuyNW

[mavhc]

Senso also broke with the new Chrome/Edge https://senso.freshstatus.io/incident/1081245

[mikes]

Even our school homepage isn't loading correctly on this new version. I thought it was MS known for dodgy updates not Google!

[MW_NetSupport]

This might be down to Google depreciating support for the Native Client (NaCl) in Chrome 132. There is a setting which forces this to be enabled in the Google Admin Portal. Devices > Chrome > Settings, under the Content section, Allow Native Client (NaCl). Might be worth enabling that to see if it resolves the issue.

[mikes]

Seems the setting under Users shows that it applies only up to version 131 - but there is an option under devices that shows version 132 so I will try and turn that on as well and see if that helps.

 

DeviceNativeClientForceAllowed

ChromeOS since version 132

 

Will turn it on and do some testing

[mikes]

This might be down to Google depreciating support for the Native Client (NaCl) in Chrome 132. There is a setting which forces this to be enabled in the Google Admin Portal. Devices > Chrome > Settings, under the Content section, Allow Native Client (NaCl). Might be worth enabling that to see if it resolves the issue.

 

hmm my test user seems to be online after enabling the setting under Devices not Users so you might be onto a winner here! Will keep an eye out for more clients!

[mikes]

Just to update - changing that setting worked - did file a ticket with Impero but haven't heard back from them yet (usually they are pretty good) but our clients are back! Hopefully they can get something sorted for Manifest v3 - not sure how good they can even make the client on Android as it has never been as good as the Windows one (presumably based on what Windows allows executables to do vs Android)

[MW_NetSupport]

Must be the first time NetSupport have resolved an issue with Impero!

[FragglePete]

Noticed that our Chromebooks were dropping off one by one. Have forced a downgrade to 130 and they have started to pop back up on the console.

 

From their notice on their website, they knew about this since April 2024 - but no update as of yet.

 

I was told quite clearly at BETT Impero Education Pro was no longer under development, which we're still paying support for. Do you think something that supports v3 will actually every happen?

 

Pete

[timbo343]

Ive not been on site today but i made the change last night for Native Client by setting it to ALLOWED and this has brought the chromebookes and users back online.

[mikes]

Noticed that our Chromebooks were dropping off one by one. Have forced a downgrade to 130 and they have started to pop back up on the console.

 

From their notice on their website, they knew about this since April 2024 - but no update as of yet.

 

I was told quite clearly at BETT Impero Education Pro was no longer under development, which we're still paying support for. Do you think something that supports v3 will actually every happen?

 

Pete

 

Didn't want to downgrade myself - do you know if they re-enrol or is the rollback fairly painless? We enrol ours with a temporary Hwb admin account they give us for 7 days so I was nervous about pushing them back to 130 then our entire chromebook fleet getting stuck on a "Please enroll" screen - the fix Netsupport provided has worked grand so I am leaving it like that for now. Good thing it got fixed before the kids noticed too as monitoring them via smoothwall cloud is so much more onerous!

 

But yes, I noticed online too everything they reference refers to Impero Connect which I guess is their cloud client - Education Pro has only had very minor updates since 2023 - we are still paying support until Mid July - June is apparently when Manifest 2 override support ends - so hopefully we get a month support to get a new extension if they make one.

But as you said it's no longer under development - I wonder if they can even make one that supports v3 as I've read v3 is a lot more restrictive in what you can do. Tempted to set our G-suite in May to stay on the May version and wait and see what happens but a) no updated chromebooks! and b) it might be the g-suite option itself that goes so the individual ChromeOS OS version might not even matter?

 

It's a shame as we like Impero Education Pro because it's easy to use, internal only, and provides a UI that even teachers can use and the screenshotting of safeguarding words is invaluable too. But might be time to look into something different.

 

Does Netsupport have a product that does what Impero Education Pro does? that supports Windows and ChromeOS?

[MW_NetSupport]

@mikes our classroom.cloud product provides similar functionality to Impero Education Pro and will work with Windows and ChromeOS. The extension for ChromeOS has been updated to use the v3 manifest so everything will continue to work when v2 is disabled in June this year.

[OLPTech]

We use Impero Education Pro and have support until 2027 so hoping they still update it. We really like using EdPro as found it was only of the only products that did everything we wanted all within 1 software / console. We tried looking at other software but didn't find anything with the same functionality. They are still offering it as a demo on their new site https://www.ativion.com/contact-us/ so I assume they are still selling it to new customers.

 

All of Impero / Ativion new products doesn't seem to appeal to us at all doesn't do much of what EdPro does. They seem to be trying to push ContentKeeper with all their other products (other than EdPro) which we don't want since we already have filtering and are happy with it.

[mikes]

Our chromebooks have just dropped off Impero (apart from 1 mysteriously) - got an e-mail off them yesterday explaining the fix explained here (bit late!) - they say they are still investigating so hopefully this is something they are doing!

(EDIT) it's a hwb thing our own enrolled clients are working fine - our hwb ones aren't - bet they've changed the damn setting

EDIT actually it seems the extension has disappeared from the chrome store - it says This Item is Unavailable - strange how our non hwb ones are working but I suspect they might be older logons perhaps

Edited February 7, 2025 by mikes

[Jawloms]

Just got this;

 

Due to Google’s upcoming changes, the current version of EdPro—which is based on Chrome’s Manifest V2—will no longer be supported on Chromebooks or Chrome extensions once browsers update to Chrome version 139, expected to release on August 5, 2025.

 

To continue using EdPro after this update, you’ll need to transition to our new EdPro client. If you're using a self-hosted setup, a server update will also be required. The new client is built to comply with Google’s Manifest V3requirements.

 

When will the new EdPro be available?

The rollout of the new EdPro client is planned in two phases:

• Early Access: June 6, 2025
  • A limited release will be available for early adopters who want to begin testing and deploying the new client.
• Full Release: July 4, 2025
  • The new EdPro client will be fully available for all customers. This version is ready for widespread deployment and includes support documentation and updates aligned with Google’s ManifestV3 requirements.

[timbo343]

Is this something we have to contact them about off our own backs? I presume they won't be reaching out to their customers.

[OLPTech]

We got that email too. I assume it’s been sent to all customers using Education Pro

[ITGuyNW]

Better late than never I suppose...

[CHiLL]

I wish they'd developed this earlier and it could have been deployed alongside the extension, to iron out any issues. From my experience, Impero have a habit of updates causing more problems after an update, even with minor updates, let alone a large update like this.

[PotNoodleTech]

Hmm i wonder if this will be a free update.