Add-ons have long been the most appealing feature of Firefox. It was the first browser to allow its users to create add-ons that modify its core functionality. More browsers including Chrome, IE, and Safari have tried to follow the Mozilla add-ons model, a model which Mozilla has successfully applied to all their products, but no other browser developer has been nearly as successful, mainly because the Mozillian model relies on an open product, one without walls. All major corporate browsers sit pretty much inside their walled gardens.

However, as powerful as open add-ons are, they can break a browser as well, which is the biggest case against open add-ons. For example, the second most significant add-on browser, Chrome, lives with a policy that keeps a priority on the browser while add-ons take the backseat. There is a certain conviction that the potential dangers of add-ons outweigh the benefits of add-ons or extensions. The fact is that add-ons have the potential to be used as malware, but is this the browser’s fault? I don’t think so, but I may be in the minority in this case.

Whether the bad in add-ons really outweigh the good is a matter of opinion and I will leave that up to you to decide for yourself. However, there are a few things that are hard to argue against. The fact that the average consumer prefers stability over power and automation has been proven time and time again. Perhaps the biggest advocate in this strategy is Apple: People are willing to give up the ability to modify their systems in a heartbeat for the promise of Apple stability, security, and supervision. Apple’s apps cannot make full use of the iPhone, but, at the same time, they cannot ruin it either, and users are grateful for that.

While Mozilla follows an open model, the company knows that consumers like stability and therefore they are now moving towards more security and control. However, Firefox is not closing its doors to innovation and extensions. Instead Firefox is cracking down on third party add-ons, the biggest security hole in the system, as they cannot be supervised by Mozilla.

Third party add-ons are add-ons not installed by the user via Firefox. If an add-on is being installed by software on your computer, it goes unchecked and sometimes cannot be removed. Those of you who use Skype or anti-virus software know what I mean. Those of you who have Comcast Xfinity probably also know the pain crapware can inflict on your system. Those of you with a hijacked search engine, those with a strange home page, your inability to modify your settings and all those sannoying toolbars? That may be malware, or it may be trusted software you installed taking advantage of your trust and Mozilla’s openness.

Mozilla believes that enough is enough. In future versions of Firefox, third party software will not be able to install add-ons without you knowing so. When third party add-ons are installed, the user will be informed and will have to confirm that he agrees to have them being installed before they do so. On top of that, third party add-ons should always be removable and it should be much harder to hijack your browser as more security is layered on top of it. And, if by some chance something did slip by, Firefox will have a much easier way to restore it back to its defaults.

While we are on the subject, Mozilla has also been working on improving their upgrade manager; removing the bloat, making it much simpler and much more efficient. This way, if you have an add-on you forgot you were using or allowed to be installed and never took advantage of, you will be reminded of it when you update your browser and have the option to disable it or remove it completely.

 

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.