Notice to Firefox Users: Plugins No Longer Work
This is a notice to all Minds users who are currently still using Firefox as their default web browser:
As of around 10:30 PM Central Daylight Time, Friday, April 03, 2019, Mozilla have apparently unilaterally decided that ALL of your browser plugins and extensions (including ad blockers, tracking blockers, script blockers and media download tools) are "corrupted" and they have disabled them for your "safety". They claim that the signatures of these necessary extensions are "invalid". As a result, ALL OR NEARLY ALL OF YOUR BROWSER EXTENSIONS NO LONGER FUNCTION AND YOU CAN'T EVEN UPDATE OR REINSTALL THEM! >:-(
This means NO ad blocker, NO script blocker, NO media downloaders, NOT EVEN THE COSMETIC "IMPROVEMENTS" MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE MOZILLA PLUGINS STORE! Unless you have "another way" to do these things, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MODIFY YOUR WEB BROWSER TO BE MORE SECURE OR BE TAILORED TO YOUR DESIRES!! In short, YOU CURRENTLY HAVE LOST ALL CONTROL OF YOUR BROWSER!! >:-(
Why am I posting this, you might ask? No doubt, if you are a longtime Firefox user, as I am, you already know this and I'm stating the obvious. However, I want YOU, THE READER, to have as much of a heads-up so you can better secure your browsing. PLEASE INSTALL A BACKUP BROWSER, AT THE VERY MINIMUM! Tor Browser WILL NOT WORK because it is a direct fork of Firefox. What happens in Firefox will happen in Tor.
If you are relying on plugins in Firefox, you will have NO ad or tracking blocking. You will NOT be able to improve to look of your browser because that is also an extension that you have to install. I have no idea if this is temporary or permanent. I can't say if this is merely a massive global security update or if Mozilla have unilaterally decided that plugins and extensions are "SOOO LAST CENTURY". I don't know. But, if you want your security and ad and tracking blockers, YOU MUST CHANGE BROWSERS, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING.
I guess I'm gonna be branded a hypocrite now after what I have said against the Brave browser here on Minds. That's fine. I don't really fucking care now. I'm entitled to make mistakes and bad judgments from time to time. I'm not perfect and I can learn from that. I am suggesting that you switch to Brave, at least until someone can figure out just what the hell Mozilla are doing to and with Firefox and pass that knowledge along to us end users. I CAN say with certainty that I AIN'T HAPPY with any of this. When you mess with my security modifications, to the point where NONE OF THEM WORK, trust me, YOU HAVE ANGERED A SLEEPING MONSTER! I don't appreciate ANYONE deciding what I will and will not use on MY computers! So, I have switched to Brave and I honestly can say that, despite my now hypocritical former stance, I LIKE THIS BROWSER! I LIKE IT A LOT!! It displays photos AND your stats on your home page! It makes my old laptop look like a brand-new one with Windows 10, but without the Windows 10!! It has ALL the ad and tracker blocking you could ever want BUILT RIGHT IN! And Bloody Hell, is it EVER FAST!! I've NEVER seen pages load so quickly in Firefox, even when it was brand-new with NO installed extensions! Who knows, I may even change my mind and actually try out the "pay to surf" feature in Brave ("Brave Rewards") DESPITE my misgivings about having to sit through ads in order for the Brave team to pay me in return for wasting my limited time.
Thank you for reading this. Please REMIND, SHARE AND SUPPORT! I know I'm not active enough here, but I felt that this was serious enough to get it up here. Chip in a Token or two, if you want. It would help and I'd appreciate it. STAY FREE!!! >:-(
UPDATE MAY 10, 2019:
Since posting this blog entry, I discovered that the issue with your browser plugins apparently had something to do with the way in which Mozilla validates the security of plugins. Somehow, some way, a bug in their centralized certificate verification system caused an "intermediate certificate" to expire, causing ALL plugins, both installed and in the Firefox Extensions Store, to fail the check and self-disable. This was NOT AN INTENTIONAL ACT ON MOZILLA'S PART!! This was simply a bug and it bit them...HARD. As of this writing, the bug has been corrected and proper functioning of Firefox plugins and extensions has been restored.
But this does not mean you no longer need a backup browser. I'm standing by my recommendation that you install Brave to your computers. Even if you decide to continue to use Firefox or any forks of it, having another different browser as a backup will prevent you suffering lost time and productivity in the future due to bugs or acts more malicious in nature. Thanks for your comments and attention. STAY FREE AND STAY SAFE, FELLOW MINDSERS!!