815809 - Fetch the most recent blocklist file as part of the install process

Status: NEW

(Firefox :: Installer, enhancement, P5)

Description

[Blair McBride [:Unfocused] (UNAVAILABLE)]

Currently, we ship the version of the blocklist file that was current at the time that version of the application was built. Then sometime after Firefox has been running for awhile, the most recent blocklist file is fetched by the blocklist service. For that period in between, the blocklist can be upto 6 weeks old - much more if an out-of-date version of Firefox is being installed (for whatever reason), or an ESR release.

To address that, the installer could fetch the most recent blocklist file as part of the install process, and put it in the application directory - overwriting the shipped file.

Comment 1

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

This would only apply to the stub installer... we also have stand alone installers that won't be able to do this since we need to support installing on systems that are unable to reach the network for whatever reason.

Also, this would require always replacing the app provided blocklist on update for partial updates.

This could improve things for that subset.

Another option would be to fetch an updated blocklist when the add-ons manager does its add-on compatibility check before the add-ons are loaded.

Comment 2

[Robert Strong (they/them - no direct email)]

Filed bug 815813 for comment #1