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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: 0.336s | 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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skymt ◴[15 Dec 17 16:32 UTC] No.15932953[source]▶
Speaking for myself here, but I'm not concerned that Mozilla might push malware into Firefox installations. I'm concerned about the lack of judgement in pushing an extension with a vague, scary-sounding name and description simply for a cross-marketing tie-in, and I'm worried that it could have damaged the trust ordinary users have in Firefox.
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TylerH ◴[15 Dec 17 21:41 UTC] No.15935418[source]▶
What's scary about "Looking Glass"? It's not named something like "PrivacyRemover" or "SpamEmailer" or anything.
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1. bigbugbag ◴[15 Dec 17 22:31 UTC] No.15935803[source]▶
What was wrong about apple automatically adding a U2 album to itunes library ?

Same here for looking glass, we do not want corporations to be in control of our stuff. Mozilla showing that they have built the capacity to auto install addons into your browser is quite the issue, you can rest assured that some are already working on ways to abuse this.

That they have done it as a promotional marketing trick and not or something useful or serious sends the wrong kind of message on top of it.