+- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com)
+-- Forum: Culture (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-49.html)
+--- Forum: General Discussion (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-48.html)
+--- Thread: Mozilla explains why Firefox add-ons stopped working... and how to fix problem (/thread-7050.html)
Mozilla explains why Firefox add-ons stopped working... and how to fix problem - C C - May 5, 2019
https://betanews.com/2019/05/04/mozilla-fixes-firefox-add-ons-problem/
EXCERPT: Since late last night, Firefox users have been plagued with a problem [...] Extensions were disabled and users were unable to re-enable them, causing confusion and frustration around the world. [...] the reason ... is that a signing certificate expired. ... Mozilla has developed a fix for users of the desktop version of Firefox on the Release, Beta and Nightly channels.
[...] Mozilla is taking the somewhat unusual step of using the Studies system ... to roll out a fix. Unless, of course, you happen to have disabled Studies. You can check to see whether you have it enabled by heading to Options > Privacy and looking for the Allow Firefox to install and run studies option. Just check the box if it is not already.
[...] It can take a few hours for the fix to be applied, but to check if it has been, you can click "View Firefox Studies" to see whether the hotfix appended with "1548973" is in there. [...] Mozilla is also working on a fix that does not involve using the Studies system...
###
RE: Mozilla explains why Firefox add-ons stopped working... and how to fix problem - stryder - May 5, 2019
From my web development over the years I know there are two potential things that can easily be overlooked when uploading files.
One is the difference between using ASCII and Binary during Data transmission (especially in FTP/SFTP) The other is when files are prepared their native OS can effect how white-spacing and carriage returns are effected. Both can literally effect whether a file can be run, whether it has the same equivalent hash (It's not just the content of the file that can appear different but the filesizes to)
Mozilla suggested that the problem was "Intermittent" meaning it didn't effect everyone, which makes me query as to whether it was actually down to a Cloud system configuration where one system was serving up the data in the correct format and another likely had a slight miss configuration (or happened to be on a different OS) as this would cause a Cache of a file to appear in two different formats, one that works and the other that causes an error in it's HASH/Size check and stops it from being downloaded.
In any event the "Studies" method of roll out does fix the problem, however it should be stated that if you are having the problem "DO NOT UNINSTALL ADDONS" (They have stored data that will be lost on uninstall.)
RE: Mozilla explains why Firefox add-ons stopped working... and how to fix problem - Syne - May 5, 2019
I just configured Firefox to not verify add-ons. Instant fix, and I've used the ones I have for ages.