Categories: developers releases

Add-on Signing Update

In Firefox 43, we made it a default requirement for add-ons to be signed. This requirement can be disabled by toggling a preference that was originally scheduled to be removed in Firefox 44 for release and beta versions (this preference will continue to be available in the Nightly, Developer, and ESR Editions of Firefox for the foreseeable future).

We are delaying the removal of this preference to Firefox 46 for a couple of reasons: We’re adding a feature in Firefox 45 that allows temporarily loading unsigned restartless add-ons in release, which will allow developers of those add-ons to use Firefox for testing, and we’d like this option to be available when we remove the preference. We also want to ensure that developers have adequate time to finish the transition to signed add-ons.

The updated timeline is available on the signing wiki, and you can look up release dates for Firefox versions on the releases wiki. Signing will be mandatory in the beta and release versions of Firefox from 46 onwards, at which point unbranded builds based on beta and release will be provided for testing.

119 comments on “Add-on Signing Update”

  1. Andrew Merkel wrote on

    You have put my system at risk by not allowing me to use Kapersky anti-virus protection.
    I am now forced to stop using Mozilla.
    You people are not very saavy, after years of promoting Mozilla and FireFox, you are throwing it all down the tubes with this assinine, no election policy for unsigned add-ons.

    Fork Use Peoples

  2. Denis wrote on

    L’antivirus Kaspersky ne fonctionne à peu près plus. Du moins, il fonctionne à moitié du temps. Navigation sécurisée est ou n’est pas disponible. Pour être absolument certain qu’il fonctionne, je dois aller sur Chrome ou d’autres moteurs de recherche. Et puis, c’est assez compliqué, merci, d’avoir une signature. Je pense à peut-être laisser tomber, à quitter Mozilla.

  3. 13thknight wrote on

    Not pleased at all by this turn of events. I have decreased functionality, which makes me quite irate, whereas before I was extremely happy with this product. You do us, and yourselves, no favors here, Mozilla.

  4. 13thknight wrote on

    Not cised, not cised at all.

  5. Sam wrote on

    Once again, like many others have stated, I too have been using FF for many many years, because it used to work the way I wanted it to. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not try and protect us from ourselves!!!!! Some of us are very much not able to be safe on the web, and then there are us who know what a phishing site might look like, how to maintain our passwords with products like Kaspersky and other security software from companies that are in the Security business. Do what you do Best, Do not try to be everything to everyone. I do not use my toaster to fry eggs, and I do not use my car to haul stuff to the dump. I have some of the best cast iron pans for eggs and a truck for the dump runs. Many of us do not need our browser (that once was amazing) to be a security devise, we have quality firewalls, great virus software and a good head for when something is not right.

    I had dinner with a buddy just last night who finally admitted FF was a far superior browser than IE (He has been a MS whore forever) Boy, is he going to be surprised.

    Ummm, just noticed, seems like the spell checker is not working either.

    Time to back grade to the earlier Version.

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