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afaik, there just is no "manual update mode"

  • 3 Replies
  • Last reply by rona3
  1. eu.net 0 posts
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    from what I read in the article, there are 2 slightly different automatic update modes, of which one is called "manual mode".

    Either I don’t understand or the choice of words is wrong. Since in so-called "manual mode", the update will still run automatically at a later time than the other auto-mode, but cannot possibly be halted manually or defered for several months (for all practical purposes), the term "manual" is unwarranted if not outright misleading.

    There are perfectly legitimate reasons for not wishing to update, such as avoiding breakage and many other reasons.

    The Documentation should clearly state that updates are forced onto the user and there is essentially no escaping them. This obviously leaves very little control to the owner of the computing device, so he may decide against firefox outright – which many users in fact do.

    from what I read in the article, there are 2 slightly different automatic update modes, of which one is called "manual mode". Either I don’t understand or the choice of words is wrong. Since in so-called "manual mode", the update will still run automatically at a later time than the other auto-mode, but cannot possibly be halted manually or defered for several months (for all practical purposes), the term "manual" is unwarranted if not outright misleading. There are perfectly legitimate reasons for not wishing to update, such as avoiding breakage and many other reasons. The Documentation should clearly state that updates are forced onto the user and there is essentially no escaping them. This obviously leaves very little control to the owner of the computing device, so he may decide against firefox outright – which many users in fact do.
  2. 881 0 posts
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    in waterfox, I successfully thwarted all attempts to update against the owner’s intention.

    Possibly the article is worded a bit poorly, seeming to imply that the user is incapable of denying all updates.

    It should be made clear how a user can stop all updates and just stick with what she or he has got. Updates often are very painful and introduce all sorts of trouble and waste of time.

    Even though on MDN there are claims to the opposite – e.g. https://mzl.la/2M1FHDZ – that may well be just propaganda, as the user is the final judge in this matter and not the developers.

    in waterfox, I successfully '''thwarted''' all attempts to update against the owner’s intention. Possibly the article is worded a bit poorly, seeming to imply that the user is incapable of denying all updates. It should be made clear how a user can stop all updates and just stick with what she or he has got. Updates often are very painful and introduce all sorts of trouble and waste of time. Even though on MDN there are claims to the opposite – e.g. https://mzl.la/2M1FHDZ – that may well be just propaganda, as the user is the final judge in this matter and not the developers.

    Modified by 881 on

  3. AliceWyman 6154 posts
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    eu4 said

    Either I don’t understand or the choice of words is wrong. Since in so-called "manual mode", the update will still run automatically at a later time than the other auto-mode, but cannot possibly be halted manually or defered for several months (for all practical purposes), the term "manual" is unwarranted if not outright misleading.

    I changed "update manually" to "check for updates at any time" in the article Introduction.

    881 said

    It should be made clear how a user can stop all updates and just stick with what she or he has got.

    The last paragraph of the article mentions that update settings can be changed in the General panel, "Firefox Updates" section of Firefox Options/Preferences.

    Instead of the default automatic updates, Firefox can be set to check for updates but lets you choose whether to install them. "Never check for updates" is not an option.

    Forum Response - Turning off auto-update includes this note: Note: Never check for updates was removed from update preferences in Firefox version 63. The only way to achieve this now is through an enterprise policy, as explained in the release notes.

    How to stop all update checks (explained here) is beyond the scope of this article. The Firefox for Enterprise articles, Managing Firefox Updates and Customizing Firefox Using policies.json are available for advanced users and IT professionals.

    ''eu4 [[#post-20734|said]]'' <blockquote> Either I don’t understand or the choice of words is wrong. Since in so-called "manual mode", the update will still run automatically at a later time than the other auto-mode, but cannot possibly be halted manually or defered for several months (for all practical purposes), the term "manual" is unwarranted if not outright misleading. </blockquote> I changed "update manually" to "check for updates at any time" in the article Introduction. ''881 [[#post-20756|said]]'' <blockquote> It should be made clear how a user can stop all updates and just stick with what she or he has got. </blockquote> The last paragraph of the article mentions that update settings can be changed in the General panel, "Firefox Updates" section of Firefox Options/Preferences. Instead of the default automatic updates, Firefox can be set to check for updates but lets you choose whether to install them. "Never check for updates" is not an option. ---- [[Forum Response - Turning off auto-update]] includes this note: '''Note:''' ''Never check for updates'' was removed from update preferences in [[Find what version of Firefox you are using|Firefox version]] 63. The only way to achieve this now is through an enterprise policy, as explained in the [https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/63.0/releasenotes/ release notes]. ---- How to stop all update checks (explained [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1420514#c137 here]) is beyond the scope of this article. The Firefox for Enterprise articles, [[Managing Firefox Updates]] and [[Customizing Firefox Using policies.json]] are available for advanced users and IT professionals.
  4. rona3 0 posts
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    well, interesting that they put outside the "scope of the articel", what people come here for.

    So long story short: To get rid of forced updates in Linux, create the text file

    /etc/firefox/policies/policies.json

    with the content: { 

      "policies": {
  "DisableAppUpdate": true
  }
}

    Then, a new text line in firefox will notify you of the active suppression of updates as a matter of policy.

    well, interesting that they put outside the "scope of the articel", what people come here for. So long story short: To get rid of forced updates in Linux, create the text file '''/etc/firefox/policies/policies.json''' with the content: '''{ "policies": { "DisableAppUpdate": true } }''' Then, a new text line in firefox will notify you of the active suppression of updates '''as a matter of policy.'''