461473 - KB article: Firefox runs even if I cancel the Master Password

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(support.mozilla.org :: Knowledge Base Articles, task)

Description

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

See bug 461134.
Some people mistakenly think that Firefox is not supposed to load if you click on [Cancel] in the Master Password prompt.

Comment 1

[myles7897]

Should this be included in the Master Password article? I would think a short section explaining that the master password only protects users from using passwords stored in Firefox, not stopping Firefox from running.

Comment 2

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

I agree, the Master Password article should explain what the master password actually does.

If we want to create a new article it should be about how to password protect Firefox from launching.

Comment 3

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

I see no indication that the people asking about this have read the KB article.

The article <http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Protecting+stored+passwords+using+a+master+password> already explains what the Master Password does.
"Using the Master Password feature, you can protect all of your locally stored usernames and passwords with a master password. When a stored username or password is accessed, you or anyone accessing it must enter the master password first."

This should be a separate article, so it appears clearly in search results. We can add a link to it in the Master Passwords article.

Comment 4

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

(In reply to comment #3)
> I see no indication that the people asking about this have read the KB article.

Have they gone to SUMO at all? The parent bug mentions other bugzilla users who have complained. If we're not seeing the same problem on the forums, the solution here might be to leave as is and link people with the problem to the master password article.

Comment 5

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Nelson, when you say that this is an FAQ, where are you seeing it?

Comment 6

[Nelson Bolyard (seldom reads bugmail)]

Chris, in bug 461134 I wrote that this is a frequently asked question.
I did not mean that it has been published in some list of frequently 
asked questions, but only that in the last month, numerous people have
filed "security sensitive" bugs in b.m.o with this same complaint.

Comment 7

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

In that case, I agree with Lucy. If people aren't using support.mozilla.com when they have this problem, I don't see much good a KB article would do. This looks like something that should turn up when searching for a bug (prior to reporting it). Are those bugs all marked as invalid, not duped?
Any thoughts?

Comment 8

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

> Any thoughts?

No objections posted; so I'm marking this as INVALID.

Comment 9

[[:Cww]]

I've never even heard of this complaint and a search of the last month of forum threads turns up nothing also.

Comment 10

[Nelson Bolyard (seldom reads bugmail)]

The complaints about this that I have seen have all been filed as "security 
sensitive" bugs, as if the reporters thought they had discovered real serious
deep dark nasty security flaws.  Such bugs tend to be resolved invalid, and 
not to be marked as dup's. :(

It would be nice if we had a page to which we could point users to set their
expectations about this stuff.  An "Intro to the Master Password" page.
Doesn't have to be on SuMo.

Comment 11

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

(In reply to comment #10)
> It would be nice if we had a page to which we could point users to set their
> expectations about this stuff.  An "Intro to the Master Password" page.
> Doesn't have to be on SuMo.

<http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Protecting+stored+passwords+using+a+master+password>

Comment 12

[Nelson Bolyard (seldom reads bugmail)]

Chris, thanks.  That's good as far as it goes.  

The problem seems to be that many people misunderstand what it protects 
exactly.  They think it locks all access to all browser functions, much
like a "screen saver password" locks access to your system.  They are
surprised to learn that it only protects stored passwords, and does not 
protect access to bookmarks, form fill-in data, prefs, general browsing, 
nor (for seamonkey and TB users) to contents of local email folders.