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Firefox Facts

Security Zone Policy Errors in Firefox 3

Here is an interesting update that seems to be drawing a little heat from the Web at large.  Depending on your Internet settings (from Control Panel > Internet Options) you might have issues with some downloads being blocked.

Fx3exeBlocked

Here is what Mozilla has to say about the issue.

Starting in Firefox 3, downloads of executable files (e.g., .exe or .msi) may fail and the Firefox Downloads window will contain this message, under the filename:  This download has been blocked by your Security Zone Policy.

This issue occurs because Firefox 3 now honors your Windows security settings for downloading applications and other potentially unsafe files from the Internet.

The rage here is that the Internet Options you see from the Control Panel links back to Internet Explorer 7.  So in a round about wacky way, Firefox 3 follows IE7’s security settings.  Need a fix?

To change the setting, open Internet Options (via Control Panel or from Internet Explorer -> Tools) and click the Security tab. With the Internet zone icon highlighted, click the Custom level… button. A list of security settings for the Internet zone will appear. Find the “Launching applications and unsafe files” setting (under Miscellaneous) and select “Prompt (recommended)”.

If that does not do the trick for you, there are a few more fix suggestions on Mozillazine.org you can try.  So are you upset about this or could you care less?

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  • Tri Suharminingsih
    i can't download anything and send email
  • Ilze
    OMG! It WORKS!!!! I 6month can't download anything..and then changed the setting..and now i can download!!!! Tnx :***
  • johnofphilly
    TYPOS above: ...to Mozilla FOR... last word is hereaFter.
  • johnofphilly
    It doesn't sit comfortable with me that Mozilla, a champion of resistance to the Microsoft bully (driven by that jack-o-lantern faced weasel) has sold out and given in.

    While I'm still grateful to Mozilla to providing an alternative in the past, I realize they've relegated their enterprise to the pre-mortem convalescent home. And they will be joining the 8 track, the Corvair, Studebaker and Edsel in the enterprise hereatter.
  • {{ It appears like FF needs an option to bypass this lunacy to tie it back to the Windows OS settings! This is inconsistent with FF’s linux and Mac offerings (obviously!)! I mean even when MS is admitting that Vista is a flop, you now see FF trying to hooks in to it? Get real! }}

    All excellent points, FF3'd Up! As I suggested in an earlier comment, Firefox has been bought out...though I thought it was Micro$oft, it turned out to be Google! My hunch is that Chrome will acquire all of Firefox's advantages in its attempt to be king of the browser hill. See:

    From Firefox to Chrome: Why I made the switch
    http://tinyurl.com/5ognjw

    When Google tossed its browser hat into the ring, it did so after first acquiring the soul of Firefox.

    There is a definite whiff of sulfur in this Browser War!
  • johnofphilly
    I'm grateful for Zeke's Opera browser on CD. I can now do downloads without a problem. Firefox wouldn't, and my IE6 doesn't function at all, and I couldn't even download IE7 even back when Firefox was capable of downloads. So in my case FF was defaulting to a non-existent browser for its security settings.

    The beauty of Opera is that it is a Norwegian product, and not an American one. I hate to use the arrogant name "America", because it only really refers to the funky United States and not most of North "America".

    Of the last 20 years, when have the united states ever turned out a good product of any kind? We import our manufactured goods from other countries because when it comes to producing quality "we" simply DON'T KNOW HOW.
  • FF3'ed up!
    The problem with this explanation for me is that I have IE6 installed, not IE7. So the fix is not available!

    Second, it does not block small files. It appears like there is some kind of a delay. I am not sure, it appears a bit odd and non-consistent.

    Another thing I have been seeing too, is that it is altering the file name and tacking on a mime-type equivalency extension. For example, a file named SomeData.txt that is tab deliminated data with a mime-type for Excel so that Excel could be used to open the data directly from the browser.

    It appears like FF needs an option to bypass this lunacy to tie it back to the Windows OS settings! This is inconsistent with FF's linux and Mac offerings (obviously!)! I mean even when MS is admitting that Vista is a flop, you now see FF trying to hooks in to it? Get real!
  • Zeke Krahlin
    Dis is da link to dat artikul:

    http://tinyurl.com/6etbp2

    And dis is thu artikul itself:

    Firefox millions - only 12 per cent Google free

    * Track this topic
    * Print story
    * Post comment

    Mozilla faces IRS audit over search sugar daddy

    By Cade Metz in San Francisco • Get more from this author

    Posted in Financial News, 20th November 2008 05:44 GMT

    Free Download - Security Web 2.0

    In 2007, the Mozilla Foundation received 88 per cent of its revenue from a certain Mountain View sugar daddy. And thanks to its longstanding Google dependence, the organization is facing an IRS audit and questions over its tax exempt status.

    Today, the non-profit behind the open-source Firefox browser released its long-delayed 2007 financial report. Revenues hit $75 million, and $66 million of that came from Larry, Sergey, and crew.

    In 2006, the Foundation pulled in $67 million, and Google dollars accounted for 85 per cent ($59.5 million).

    Mozilla and Google have entered some sort of agreement that involves Firefox shuttling people onto the world's most popular search. You'll notice that Mozilla slaps a Google search box onto the Firefox toolbar and default home page. Just before Google unveiled its very own Chrome browser, the two outfits renewed their Firefox pact for another three years. It expires at the end of November 2011.

    Presumably, the pact is tied to ad revenue generated through Firefox. It dates back to at least 2005 - and most likely to 2004. Mozilla's 2004 tax form shows $4,422,674 in search cash, or 76 per cent of its revenues.

    The Foundation received tax exempt status in 2003. And it did not pay taxes on that $4,422,674 in 2004, saying that an arrangement with "a search provider...facilitates the dissemination of the Foundation's browser, thereby increasing the accessibility of the internet."

    We're not quite sure how a search box facilitates the dissemination of a browser. But there you have it.

    Then, in 2005, the Foundation spun off a for-profit operation. And multiple search engine contracts were transferred to this brand new Mozilla Corporation.

    That same year, according to today's blog post from Mitchell Baker, chairperson of the Foundation, it set aside a "tax reserve fund" in case the Internal Revenue Service (IRS, the US national tax agency) decided to review the tax status of its 2004 and 2005 search engine funds.

    And the IRS has indeed launched a review. "We are early in the process and do not yet have a good feel for how long this will take or the overall scope of what will be involved," Baker says.

    In its financial report, Mozilla argues that its 2004 and 2005 search revenues were royalties and should not be taxed. But it's well aware that the IRS may see things differently. Its tax reserve fund totaled $14,832,000 as of the end of 2007.

    The report also says there has been an "inquiry regarding its tax exemption" because Google is supplying such a large share of its revenue: "While the Foundation did not automatically qualify as a public charity with public support at 33 per cent of total support, it believes that it qualifies as a public charity under the facts and circumstances test with public support over 10 per cent."

    If it doesn't pass the test, the Foundation says, it will become a private charity, coughing up about $100,000 in taxes.

    We say all this merely to show there's a fine line between a tax-exempt charity and a multi-million-dollar Google traffic machine. ®
  • {{ You tease! that’s why we are here we can’t download anything, }}

    I am somewhat surprised that anyone who enjoys the Internet would not have one or two backup browsers at hand. I do, including about eight of 'em archived and ready to unzip at a moment's notice.

    Yet, I have a friend who, like you, did not have a backup browser while IE is too corrupted to run. So I put together a package of browsers, plus a lot of other good programs and games, pressed them to CD, and sent them off to Philadelphia where he resides.

    Were I in your situtation, I would try the following:

    - Seek out the cheap software at local thrift stores. You might get lucky.

    - Politely bother people at coffeehouses w/laptops, to see if they can give you a copy of their browser. (Bring a blank CD, or a USB device that links two laptops.)

    - Attend a local PC user group and ask for help.

    But if all that fails, here is one last (though foolproof) option:

    - Pray to the Mozilla gods.
  • Adrian
    thanks, it works for me ;)
  • Rob
    Zeke, it's ironic, that you have a fix up there, but to do it you have to download a file! You tease! that's why we are here we can't download anything, LOL. this still sucks
  • Rob
    Ugh!! This doesn't help because I don't have "Launching applications and unsafe files" in my security tab. I can't download firefox 3 to try to fix the problem, um because I can't download ANYTHING!!!!!!!!

    THIS SUCKS!
  • Download from here:

    http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/pop.php?iertutil

    Hope that's all the problem is for you! If IE still won't work, you do have the option to update or download the latest version. If you don't wanna do that, you're screwed from using Firefox ever again. In which case:

    http://www.opera.com/
  • kyle
    I have to re-download iertutil.dll for Internet Explorer to work, and because I'm missing it and IE won't work, my computer is screwed.

    Wonderful, isn't it?
  • John Sturrock
    Thanks, simple and effective instructions which worked, unlike Mozilla's lack of help
  • Jim
    Thanks, Nigel, this worked for me. Windows wouldn't run the file renamed to .exe, but I went to its Properties and unlocked it. Worked fine.
  • Samuel Middleton
    why don't you get a firewall first that puts security in place but allows you to download anything
  • Richard
    why is Mozilla not trying to fix this problem, it appears to me that they have left us out dry and have no intent to fixing this F--- U- that has me pulling the little hair I have. All the solution that have been mention or suggested don't work. FF has to be seeing all of these complaints WHERE ARE YOU FIRE FOX ? FIX THIS PROBLEM YOU HAVE CAUSED WITH YOUR UPDATE
  • Version 3.0.4 is now available. Anyone brave or foolish enough to test it out?

    http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0.4/rele...
  • {{ Ok whatever Zeke. }}

    Anything BUT contribute anything useful, eh? Guess that affirms my assumptions about your lack of PC anything.
  • GhostOFGenova
    Ok whatever Zeke. Get a real life instead of talking out your a$$ about my knowledge of computers.
  • More reports of Firefox problems pouring in:

    firefox 3.0.3 very unstable
    http://tinyurl.com/62qpnp

    (Please ignore ghostofgenova's useless comment re. firewall and anti-virus. Neither is relevant to the matter at hand. Don't let a fool distract you.)
  • {{ Get a real life instead of talking out your a$$ about my knowledge of computers. }}

    So what DO you know about computers? Not much, it would seem. Your "solution" was not only lame, it was an insult to the intelligence of knowledgeable and concerned PC users. You ceratinly don't grasp this Firefox problem, 'cause it has NOTHING to do with whether or not your use Micro$oft's own firewall and anti-virus. Really, you had no point to make, you shouldn't even had added your dipwad comment, it's useless and a waste of everyone's time. Again:

    Goody gumdrops for you, that you use non-M$ security. I'm SO proud of you...now go out and play so Daddy can get some work done.
  • James Dashner Jr.
    Thank the gods for Linux!
  • {{ I've never had this problem then again I don't let M$ have anything to do with my security }}

    Goody gumdrops for you, ghostofgenova! What this tells me is you're NOT running Firefox 3, else you WOULD have this problem, whether you like it or not. For Firefox has decided w/o asking your permission, to FORCE its users to let M$ have anything to do with your security.

    News flash: as long as you run the Windoze operating system, you ARE allowing M$ to intrude upon your security...even IF you use your own firewall and anti-virus (as I do too).

    You have a LOT to learn; I don't think you know very much about computers, let alone security issues. Else you wouldn't "shrug" like a little know-it-all who has the answer to this latest Firefox dilemma. I repeat: this Firefox dependency on security settings is NOT eliminated in any way, shape or form, simply because you run a non-M$ firewall and anit-virus.

    And AFAIK, the proposed "solution" of changing the security settings in Windows does NOT work...at least, it won't for me, and for most others.
  • ghostofgenova
    I've never had this problem then again I don't let M$ have anything to do with my security on my computer. I use my own firewall and anti-virus. *shrugs*
  • Everyone figured out what's going on yet? I hate to state the obvious, but here goes:

    Micro$oft has infiltrated the Firefox programming community, to prevent their competition from succeeding. No doubt the FF higher ups were rewarded w/hefty $$$$ in exchange for selling out.

    Firefox's most loyal users and supporters are/were alternative indymedia types, and hackers. THAT is certainly no longer true, or it won't be true shortly...once word gets out.
  • johnofphilly
    Can I undo the "updates"? I turned off auto updates because they kept trying to shove the google toolbar down my throat. And if I hadn't accepted the last Firefox "updates", I'd still be able to download images.
  • johnofphilly
    Zeke's right. He experienced this with 98, I with XP.
    I could rename it, but it was blocked anyway.

    We placed our faith in Firefox to supercede the lousy IE browser, not sell out to it.

    I'm shocked with and disappointed at Mozilla. They must be planning to go out of business.
  • {{ I just add “.bin” to the filename when prompted where to save the file, then rename the file after downloading. }}

    You must know some trick that others don't. Firefox 3 does NOT let you change the file name for download. Unlike Opera.
  • Arkai
    Although firefox is better than other browsers, but i dont think any other browsers have this bs function to not allow people to dl things that they want.
  • Firefox WAS my favorite browser of all time. The fact that you now must rely on the WORST browser in history to make FF work as it used to...just plain SUCKS.

    I'm switching to Opera, good riddance Firefox, good riddance bullsh*t headaches and kissing Micro$oft's bootie. Firefox, what were you thinking?
  • Paige
    Thanks a lot. THIS REALLY HELPED. I was getting very aggravated because I couldn't download stuff when I could before. I get tired of IE and anything to do with microsoft basically because they make it so technical.
    Thanks again.
  • Mic
    People get away from Microsoft you kill your product when you even associate with it. i mean hot mail went too crap when they got involved
  • Amy
    thank you so much!
    this worked for me and ive been trying everything! :D
  • Nigel
    I just add ".bin" to the filename when prompted where to save the file, then rename the file after downloading.

    I still hate that Firefox does this. There's no way I'm enabling an IE option to "launch unsafe files", even with prompting. There's a difference between downloading and launching, and Firefox should know that if it's going to look at IE's options, which it shouldn't IMHO.
  • Ross
    I find it hard to express how much I hate this without resorting to Expletives!!!! This "feature" is flat-out horrible.
  • richard
    what are saying by removing the domain in question please explain this
  • Jari
    Removing the domain in question under Restricted sites solved the issue
  • rugel
    Same problem here with running a Win 2003 / 2008 so IE settings are set to "High" per default and lowering them just to run a different browser trying to tell it's user: You're now more secure, but hey - keep your OS insecure. Dunno if there's any logic behind.
    And if FF relies on IE settings at all - why use it ? Just to have another fancy GUI but the same problems in background ? Then maybe Opera might be the choice.
    To download blocked files - a small download manager helps - Wget, FDM or other pieces of software.
  • richard
    if I delete FF3 from my PC, will I be able to download IE7? can anyone tell me if I can download are will that security message continue to block. So can re-download FF3 and update my security level. Does anyone have an a way to contact FF to get my issue resolve are if FF is working to resolve this issue. I am currently letting everyone know to stay away from FF due to this downloading issue. A VERY FRUSTRATED PC USER THAT ABOUT TO DESTROY HIS PC HELP!!!!!
  • Dafnie
    every one says to go check the internet options and then the security tab and then the internet zone. but there is a BIG problem........i'm not have a zone called internet in the security tab, there is only one zone named My computer. What's wrong wid my comp???? i feel like throwing it out of the window!!!!!!
  • jaime
    Thanks, it was very helpful
  • richard
    has anyone been able to re-download FF2 to avoid the security message. are how can you get in contact with FireFox so I can get rid of my problem?
  • CashCoach
    I'm with Richard...I've spent hours trying to figure out how to make the changes recommended...can't download ie7 cause ff3 won't let me, d/t this Security Zone, which is honoring settings that I can't find when going through the steps as recommended...Incredibly frustrating.
  • richard
    I am sick of the security zone policy not allowing me to download anything, How can I get rid of FF3 and get FF2. I can't even update to IE7 since i get that stupid message. Can anyone help me I have tried changing all my security settings. HELP ME ANYONE
  • Randy
    Ditto to this being a horrible idea. I put Firefox on my admin servers to get around IE security. If I have to use IE to set Firefox permissions and LOWER IE security, I might as well pull Firefox off of the server and just use insecure IE. I'm going back to Firefox 2.
  • Red
    Pissing me off to no end..............
  • Quato
    That cause some Trojan, breaks Windows Defender PiPes, and want to change and write another pid, but it can't do. Try to find with sfc /scannow, SFC can't repair it you must do it manually. See the sfc log file!

    I think better if you reinstall WinXP or Vista ...
  • Fredrik
    Btw have you ever tried downloading firefox on windows 2003 with the default security zones with the new firefox version or IE 7.

    you must add 15-30 diffrent download sites before you the same mirror site so you can actually download the file.
    Or
    you could remove all the security settings from IE and make it really insecure for servers.
  • Fredrik
    I use firefox on all win2003 servers I administrate, and the biggest reason is that I don't want to edit zones becuse I need to download a file to a the server. I guess I have to stick with Firefox 2.0

    Firefox is already much safer then IE, it does not need this setting.
  • thornnnn
    where can i get an old version of firefox.. pre screwed up security settings?
  • thornnnn
    wish firefox was stand alone.. i too use ie set on highest settings possible for untrusted sites.. and use firefox for cnn yahoo..

    firefox should be configurable and seperate.. not stuck to ie
  • Tampabayjon
    You have to reset IE 7.0 to default levels in both the privacy as well as security tab fields. Once you do that, you can now download programs in Firefox. Hope this works for everyone...
  • Argh
    Wow...I'll be crap IE7 has some new features. Been using firefox for a couple of years.
    Now that I had to go back and mess with IE to get my spybot updates, I'm deleting firefox.
    c'ya -
  • Argh
    Stupid.
    I use IE7 to surf porn, with everything maxed out in terms of security, and firefox for everything else.
    So....what, now I have to relax the IE7 to get my updates, downloads.
    IE7 sucks, if this is the case, I'll delete firefox and use the old one for piece of mind.
  • martin
    Really, really bad idea. I can't get downloads to work from Firefox on Server 2003 and have to resort to using IE again.

    If you're going to do this (as someone said above) put the equivilent setting into Firefox.

    Cheers
  • Chris
    I feel you pain ASH. I am stuck with it too, regardless of the turning the setting on/off/prompt it wont let me download itunes (for example at the moment)
  • Roger
    Hay you all I had this problem with a game site for downloads. I ended up opening IE and going into the restricted sites where I found the game site and removed it. Seems to work
  • ASH
    ITS DRIVING ME INSANE. CHANGING THE IE OPTIONS DOES NOT HELP. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! I'M NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING~
  • > I only use Internet Explorer on
    > rare occasions when a site or
    > service does not support Firefox.

    You should be rather cautious of sites that require you to use an insecure browser. In other words, find replacement websites.

    I think it's logical that Firefox would follow the OS's security settings. The user set his preferences, the browser should obey that.
  • h.
    thank god for Macs.
  • BAD IDEA!
    This is a bad idea!

    I only use Internet Explorer on rare occasions when a site or service does not support Firefox.

    I like to have the security settings at High for these times - I don't trust IE at all.

    Now it appears that I need to juggle the settings just to use Firefox? BAD IDEA!

    If you must - please put an equivalient set of settings in FIREFOX3 - but don't use Internet Explorers.....
  • Whatever, doesn't make a difference to me.
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