Closed Bug 446301 Opened 16 years ago Closed 14 years ago

Unrequested connections if opening addons menu / extension manager

Categories

(Toolkit :: Add-ons Manager, defect)

x86
Windows XP
defect
Not set
trivial

Tracking

()

VERIFIED INVALID

People

(Reporter: me639241, Unassigned)

Details

(Keywords: user-doc-complete)

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; de; rv:1.9.0.1) Gecko/2008070208 Firefox/3.0.1
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; de; rv:1.9.0.1) Gecko/2008070208 Firefox/3.0.1

Firefox tries to connect to something like
dyna-services-amo.nslb.sj.mozilla.com [63.245.209.15], port 443
just by opening the addons menu.

This behaviour cannot be turned off. Note even with extensions.blocklist.enabled=false. 

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open addons menu

Actual Results:  
Firefox opens menu and makes an unrequested connection to
dyna-services-amo.nslb.sj.mozilla.com [63.245.209.15], port 443

Expected Results:  
Firefox just opens menu without calling home.

May be related with
- extension compatibility and
- protection from malicious extensions.

This behaviour cannot be turned off. Note even with extensions.blocklist.enabled=false.
It also fetches the list of recommended add-ons to be shown in the "Get Add-ons" tab. I wouldn't worry about it.
It is likely entirely the Get Add-ons prefetch of data. Opening the Add-ons mgr. doesn't cause a request for blocklist data or an add-on update check so those points in comment #0 are not applicable.
It needs a patch for an about:config option and should then be documented here:
http://support.mozilla.com/de/kb/Firefox+makes+unrequested+connections
Product: Firefox → Toolkit
What sort of behaviour do you think we should have in the event of such a preference? Only request the list when you switch to the get add-ons pane or something? That still seems almost as "unrequested" as when opening the add-ons manager.
Well, I assume it is not so unrequested if somebody clicks on "download", although one would usually get the possibility to cancel it.
The preference could have a name like get-addons-prefetch, but it wouldn't be necessary to have such a preference if the connection would be established only after a click on get-addons. (Depending on the locale the text "Get add-ons" or "Download add-ons" might be different, but it should be clear anyway)
Is the intent of this bug to be able to turn off all unrequested connections (that, apparently, is the intent of the SUMO article linked to in comment 3)?

The prefetch provides a good user experience, and while I suppose we could be a little more sensible in our cache-usage there (perhaps only refreshing the cache if it's > 24hr old, but that's a different bug) I think that the 2k payload is worth the time saved when flipping over to the Get Add-Ons tab.

While I originally told Mossop over IRC that I'd support a WONTFIX, I suppose that if someone were to write a patch that prevented the pre-fetch (in all cases) and replaced it with a button that said "Find recommended add-ons" in the content area, Mossop could find time to review it. I don't think it's a priority in the slightest, though.
Status: UNCONFIRMED → NEW
Ever confirmed: true
Summary: Unrequested connections if opening addons-menu → Unrequested connections if opening addons menu / extension manager
(In reply to comment #6)
> The prefetch provides a good user experience, and while I suppose we could be a
> little more sensible in our cache-usage there (perhaps only refreshing the
> cache if it's > 24hr old, but that's a different bug) I think that the 2k
> payload is worth the time saved when flipping over to the Get Add-Ons tab.

That is bug 415277
(In reply to comment #6)
To answer the question: No. The purpose of this bug is just to have the addons-prefetch configurable and documented. At least documented. Most of the mentioned features in the article in comment 3 can be configured (in about:config) though. UI changes are welcome too. Lets leave this bug open then. 

Proposed text for the article mentioned in comment #3 (I cannot add it myself):
---
Add-on list prefetching

Firefox will prefetch a list of add-ons each time the add-on menu is opened.
It will establish a secure internet connection to an address like

dyna-services-amo.nslb.sj.mozilla.com [63.245.209.15], port 443

At the moment no dedicated configuration options or user interface elements are available. More info at: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=446301
Please file a bug in Firefox Help Documentation for getting updates made to that page made.
Severity: normal → trivial
I've changed the text in the article and pinged a reviewer.  It should be updated by the end of the day.
We no longer download the recommended list automatically
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 14 years ago
Resolution: --- → INVALID
Status: RESOLVED → VERIFIED
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