mozilla.cfg became dg.cfg under ESR and no longer works
I switched from Firefox 51.0.1Standard to 52ESR. All previous versions of Firefox had Mozilla.cfg working with multiple Update settings set to False which resulted in Help/About displaying a message that updating had been disabled by the system administrator. Ever since I switched to 52.0.1ESR, the internal setting changed from Mozilla.cfg to dg.cfg. I can manually change it back but Firefox seems to no longer be reading my dg.cfg or Mozilla.cfg settings. I have tried numerous variations assuming some settings were no longer supported. A very scaled down version of Mozilla.cfg does not apply. I need to be able to lock down Firefox ESR so that it does not attempt to autoupdate plus numerous other security settings, especially when I leave ESR and return to Standard in early 2018. What changed from Standard Channel to ESR Channel and how do restore functionality ?
I have tried all the obvious solutions concerning Mozilla.cfg, Dg.cfg, Local_Settings.cfg, prefs.js, new profiles, uninstall reinstall, rev back to version 47 or 49 and then up to Standard 54.0.1, check registry settings.
Whatever broke my ability to lock down Help/About seems to be caused by Firefox completely ignoring my attempt to use Mozilla.cfg.
My Mozilla.cfg looks like this: // Firefox Default Settings
pref("browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone", "ignore");
// disable default browser check pref("browser.shell.checkDefaultBrowser", false);
// set proxy server settings pref("network.proxy.autoconfig_url", "http://xxxx.xxx.xxxx"); //removed for security reasons from this posting pref("network.proxy.type", 5); pref("network.proxy.socks_remote_dns",false); pref("signon.autologin.proxy",false);
// SET DHE SSA to false pref("security.ssl3.dhe_rsa_aes_128_sha",false); pref("security.ssl3.dhe_rsa_aes_256_sha",false);
// Temp fix for NPAPI plugin elimination with FF52 pref("plugin.load_flash_only", false);
// NRAS request for CVO Config pref("security.mixed_content.block_active_content", false);
// disable application updates lockPref("app.update.enabled", false); lockPref("app.update.auto", false); lockPref("app.update.autoUpdateEnabled", false); lockPref("app.update.staging.enabled", false); pref("app.update.url", " "); pref("app.update.url.manual", " "); lockPref("app.update.service.enabled", false); pref("app.update.url.details"," "); pref("app.vendorurl"," "); pref("browser.aboutHomeSnippets.updateUrl"," "); pref("app.support.baseURL"," ");
// disables the request to send performance data from displaying pref("toolkit.telemetry.prompted", 2); pref("toolkit.telemetry.rejected", true);
MY local-settings.js has the two lines obscure_value set to 0 and filename set to "Mozilla.cfg". My override.ini is standard with the XRE setting.
Has anyone experienced this switching from Standard to ESR and could you please provide me with a solution if you have discovered one?
Thank you for your time and any ideas you can offer for me to try.
Chosen solution
I just figured it out. We have a security application installed on our PCs. It is called Digital Guardian Agent from vendor Digital Guardian, Inc. This software adds an extension - "DG Extension". Under C:\Program Files\DGAgent\, I have found a file dg.cfg. When I copied the settings from Mozilla.cfg into this dg.cfg file my security settings returned. When we upgraded to version 7.3.1.0103 of the "DG Extension" extension it appears that this extension now behaves differently than prior versions and forces Firefox to completely ignore local-settings.js and any config file resident in program files (x86)\Mozilla firefox\.
It seems to force Firefox to only accept the file c:\program files\dgagent\dg.cfg.
Disabling the extension does not even restore normal configuration behavior. The only solution other than modifying that dg.cfg file would be to uninstall the software which I am not permitted to do.
For now I will see about programming my Firefox install package to modify that file.
Thank you for your earlier response. I won't take up any more of anyone's time.
Thanks.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (4)
If Firefox doesn't read mozilla.cfg then it is likely that there is a problem with the local-settings.js file. Try to use all lowercase filenames to see if that has effect. If there isn't a mozilla.cfg file then Firefox should refuse to start with an error message, so you can test that as a start.
Is local-settings.js still present in the defaults\pref folder and is this a .js file?
You can have to start this file as well with a comment line (//).
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\local-settings.js is equal to: // pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0); pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg");
For some odd reason, it seems that Firefox is not even bothering to read local-settings.js. Why is the setting "general.config.filename" in about:config suddenly set to dg.cfg by default ever since I switched to ESR? (see attachment). I can't find where that is coming from. When I delete Mozilla.cfg from C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\, Firefox opens just fine. It is completely ignoring my attempt to use Mozilla.cfg as a general config filename. I don't have a dg.cfg in the folder either.
I have uninstalled and rev'ed back to 49.0.2. Didn't work. I uninstalled and installed back to 44.0.2. Didn't work.
Any machine I haven't upgraded to ESR yet is still working. Once I go to ESR, the admin lock is removed and cannot be relocked, autoupdate is reactivated and Firefox stops respecting Mozilla.cfg and local-settings.js.
Modified by LTHAL
It's odd that you have a general.config.filename as a default rather than a "user set" setting.
Where did you install ESR from?
Could you try:
Clean Reinstall
We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. It's not essential to uninstall Firefox, but you can if you like, saying No to any request about removing personal data.
It only takes a few minutes.
(A) Download a fresh installer for Firefox to a convenient location. You can choose between:
Regular version for Windows 7-10 https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ Note: only runs Flash, no other legacy plugins "Windows" version is standard 32-bit version, which is generally recommended; to take advantage of more memory, you could switch to the 64-bit version, see: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox
Extended Support Release for Windows XP-10 https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/all/ Note: Windows (32-bit) runs legacy plugins that ran in Firefox 51; 64-bit runs Flash and Silverlight. If anyone reading this is thinking of switching to the 64-bit version, see: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox
(B) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).
(C) Using Windows Explorer/My Computer, rename the program folder as follows:
64-bit Windows users with 32-bit Firefox: Rename
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
to
C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox
Other Windows/Firefox combinations: Rename
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
to
C:\Program Files\OldFirefox
(D) Run the installer you downloaded in step (A). It should automatically connect to your existing settings.
Does Firefox start up normally with no config filename specified?
Assuming so, please copy your local-settings.js and mozilla.cfg from the OldFirefox folder to the new program folder and see whether they are read at startup.
Chosen Solution
I just figured it out. We have a security application installed on our PCs. It is called Digital Guardian Agent from vendor Digital Guardian, Inc. This software adds an extension - "DG Extension". Under C:\Program Files\DGAgent\, I have found a file dg.cfg. When I copied the settings from Mozilla.cfg into this dg.cfg file my security settings returned. When we upgraded to version 7.3.1.0103 of the "DG Extension" extension it appears that this extension now behaves differently than prior versions and forces Firefox to completely ignore local-settings.js and any config file resident in program files (x86)\Mozilla firefox\.
It seems to force Firefox to only accept the file c:\program files\dgagent\dg.cfg.
Disabling the extension does not even restore normal configuration behavior. The only solution other than modifying that dg.cfg file would be to uninstall the software which I am not permitted to do.
For now I will see about programming my Firefox install package to modify that file.
Thank you for your earlier response. I won't take up any more of anyone's time.
Thanks.