693281 - 'Show my windows and tabs from last time' option is dependent on retaining session cookies

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 530594

(Firefox :: Settings UI, defect)

Description

[Nils]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:5.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/5.0.1
Build ID: 20110707182747

Steps to reproduce:

I have the option to 'Show my windows and tabs from last time' selected so I can return to frequently used pages when restarting.

I visited a site that depends on session cookies for security, then exited Firefox.


Actual results:

After restarting, I was not logged out of the site. This was unexpected, as other browsers would always log me out.

A security concern is created that is not evident from the name of the setting.


Expected results:

The setting title should convey its reliance on retaining cookies (the security concern) for this feature to work.

To heighten awareness/caution, the title could be something like -
'Restore my last browsing session, including all cookies from the session'

Comment 1

[Jo Hermans]

See bug 401187 comment #5

Comment 2

[Nils]

Do you think the 'including all cookies from the session' wording may conflict with the 'Keep [cookies] until: I close Firefox' setting? 

Does that setting actually do what is says, or is it more like 'Keep until: I close Firefox, unless I choose to startup with the same windows again, which apparently means I will need to keep any cookies after closing'?

While [Keep until] 'They expire' (the default) can mean session cookies from open tabs may persist to a resumed startup, I think [Keep until] 'I close Firefox' is a fairly explicit setting that means 'remove cookies when I close, regardless of what I choose to happen when Firefox starts again'.

Anyway, if everyone is happy with the 'Keep until' options, and they actually do what they say, how about the option being something like -
'Restore my last browsing session, including any valid cookies'

As in, persistent cookies not past their expiry date, and any cookies available after the 'Keep until' options have been applied at Exit (session cookies retained, removed or user asked).

I think the 'Keep until' setting is about cookie handling decisions at Exit (with some regard to startup options), and 'When Firefox starts', about the startup - not necessarily always 'resuming' (See bug 693275 for an alternative resume option to complement this change).