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policies.json not applying

  • 10 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 10 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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Hi,

I am running Firefox 74.0 on Windows 10 (1709). I have created a policies.json file and saved this in `C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\distribution`.

The settings within it are not being applied. I tried to put this same policies.json file in a new folder named `distribution` under Firefox's binary location in a Linux environment and the policies didn't apply there either.

File as below:

{

 "policies": {
   "Certificates": {
     "ImportEnterpriseRoots": true,
     "Install": [
       "cert.pem"
     ]
   },
   "Homepage": {
     "StartPage": "homepage",
     "URL": "http://<our homepage redacted>"
   },
   "Proxy": {
     "AutoLogin": false,
     "HTTPProxy": "http://<proxy server redacted>:<port redacted>",
     "Mode": "system",
     "SOCKSVersion": 4,
     "UseHTTPProxyForAllProtocols": true,
     "UseProxyForDNS": false
   }
 }

}

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Kind regards, Edan

Hi, I am running Firefox 74.0 on Windows 10 (1709). I have created a policies.json file and saved this in `C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\distribution`. The settings within it are not being applied. I tried to put this same policies.json file in a new folder named `distribution` under Firefox's binary location in a Linux environment and the policies didn't apply there either. File as below: { "policies": { "Certificates": { "ImportEnterpriseRoots": true, "Install": [ "cert.pem" ] }, "Homepage": { "StartPage": "homepage", "URL": "http://<our homepage redacted>" }, "Proxy": { "AutoLogin": false, "HTTPProxy": "http://<proxy server redacted>:<port redacted>", "Mode": "system", "SOCKSVersion": 4, "UseHTTPProxyForAllProtocols": true, "UseProxyForDNS": false } } } Any advice would be much appreciated. Kind regards, Edan

All Replies (10)

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What if you try the simplest part only --

{
  "policies": {
    "Homepage": {
      "StartPage": "homepage",
      "URL": "https://support.mozilla.org/"
    }
  }
}

-- then add other policies one at a time?

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Hi,

Thanks for your rpely.

I have tried the below config as I thought it was the simplest and easiest policy to test. This did not work either. :(

{

 "policies": {
   "BlockAboutConfig": true
 }

}

Regards

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Are you sure there isn't a hidden .txt file extension on policies.json? See:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-show-file-extensions-in-windows/

Usually exiting and restarting Firefox will trigger a re-read of policies.json but you also could try a system restart in case Firefox is not unloading properly.

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Are you possibly using GPO ? I don't think that policies.json works when GPO is active.

Did you check the about:policies page ?

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Hi,

We are not managing Firefox via GPO. The file extension is definitely .json (see attached image).

Weird, huh?

Thanks, Edan

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Any chance Firefox is running from a different directory, i.e., not

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe

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Hi,

No, it's definitely from that location. Also, can't get it to work on my Linux Mint VM either.

Thank you, Edan

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Does Firefox validate the policies.json file and view the file with the JSON viewer if you open the file is a tab ?

Did you try to recreate policies.json in Linux using an installed plain text editor then this should work and you should see the policy on the about:policies#active page.

If you use the same file in Linux and in Windows and the file isn't working in either then this would suggest a problem with the file.

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Hi,

The JSON looks fine to me.

Thanks Edan

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Your System Details list shows the Enterprise Policy Generator extension.

This extension would create GPO rules and that makes policies.json not work. The error you see on the about:policies#errors page also indicate that other rules are being applied that fail for some reason.

You can inspect the Mozilla and Firefox keys with the Windows Registry Editor in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and possibly in HKEY_CURRENT_USER with the Windows Registry Editor to see whether GPO policy rules are active.

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox\