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Unknown Mozilla dev addon "Looking Glass 1.0.3" on browser

(support.mozilla.org)
757 points shak77 | 1 comments | 15 Dec 17 13:47 UTC | HN request time: 0.212s | source
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blauditore ◴[15 Dec 17 16:23 UTC] No.15932880[source]▶
Many people seem to be shocked because Mozilla installed an add-on automatically. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter since the code is coming from Mozilla - they're building the whole browser, so they could introduce functionality anywhere. If someone distrusts their add-ons, why trust their browser at all?

The main question is what behavior is being introduced. I haven't researched deeply, but apparently the add-on does nothing until the user opts-in on studies.

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kryptiskt ◴[15 Dec 17 17:58 UTC] No.15933656[source]▶
The major problem is that they installed an add-on without properly communicating what it was. A somewhat smaller problem but still a big problem is that was an utterly frivolous add-on that shouldn't have been pushed to people who didn't explicitly want it. But the biggest problem is that Mozilla seems to have trouble understanding why any of those two would be a problem, I want my browser vendor to be serious and not play silly games that can so easily backfire.

Yeah, add-ons from Mozilla merits the same trust as the browser. But this cuts both ways, this stuff undermines my and probably more people's trust in the browser.

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1. ryanisnan ◴[15 Dec 17 20:42 UTC] No.15934910[source]▶
I completely agree. A browser sits on a bit of a higher plane than most other pieces of technology these days, as it is so important. I have no reason to doubt the ability or intent of the developers involved with this add-on, but there is zero reason for it to be pushed to everyone without consent. I use Firefox because I want to trust my browser and not have to worry about it doing dumb shit behind my back. This goes against that very notion.