*SOLVED* How to undo upgrade from Thunderbird v68.10.0 > 78.7.1 ?
Hi all,
upfront I have to admit that I hadn't been paying close enough attention when I ran my Linux distro's updates this morning and stepped into the Thunderbird v78.x upgrade trap.
It's a mess. What's extra annoying is that I had made the decision to avoid this v78.x upgrade until this OpenPGP implementation will have matured, since having the GPG passphare stored on the drive is wrong on so many levels. And 'no', setting a master password is no sensible 'workaround' ! This is what I am talking about: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/12/07/you-need-to-use-a-master-password-in-thunderbird-if-you-use-openpgp/
So this is what I did so far: - restored a previous system snapshot (Linux Mint 20.1) - changed the Thunderbird launcher command to "thunderbird --allow-downgrade %u" - launched Thunderbird - reinstalled language packs and addons, incl. Enigmail - removed the master password which I set up after this TB v78.7.1 upgrade was performed
These are my questions/issues: 1) How do I remove all that which was done to my profile folder in the course of this upgrade? (I would have a full copy of that profile folder, unfortunetaly only from November 2020 and I'm using POP3 instead of IMAP for all accounts)
2) <Here used to be a stupid question>.
3) How do I ensure that NO passphrase remains stored ANYWHERE on PC as a result of this upgrade? Do I have to manually edit the key4.db SQLite database or would using the older version of that from this November 2020 backup be helpful, since, if I understand things correctly, this (Open)PGP implementation uses that file for storing such information?
4) How do I get Enigmail to work again? Opening Enigmail settings shows my key(s) but the Enigmail icons on the menu bar are grayed out. What am I missing?
5) Which *.bak files in the profile folder do need need attention/renaming/replacing?
A BIG thank you to everyone who can help clear up this mess in advance!
Modified by rogerwilco75
Chosen solution
Apologies, but I can't resist making this cynical remark and I am aware of the fact that this will even lower my chances of receiving helpful input: Wow, what an active and helpful community. Thanks for - let me quickly check the number of replies either from the Mozilla/Thunderbird side of things or other users within two days - ZERO.
I "dare" to speak so plainly since I believe that I have come up with an idea how to get the mail & account data out of the (imho) borked Thunderbird 78.7.x version, go back to Thunderbird 68.10.x and insert said data there.
Complex GPG passphrases stored on the local drive, unencrypted, UNLESS one sets a Thunderbird master password, which needs an equivalent degree of complexity (entropy) otherwise granting too easy access to said sacrosanct GPG passphrases, which then needs to be typed EACH TIME one launches Thunderbird using this relatively new implementation, YAY, what a great user experience.
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Thinking "out loud":
Since I have this full backup copy of my profile folder from November 2020 (am using POP3 and not IMAP) - and neither my addons nor keys have changed since then, - would there be a way to take what's good and TB68.10.0 compatible from that profile backup - and somehow keep the current profile's mail & account data?
Chosen Solution
Apologies, but I can't resist making this cynical remark and I am aware of the fact that this will even lower my chances of receiving helpful input: Wow, what an active and helpful community. Thanks for - let me quickly check the number of replies either from the Mozilla/Thunderbird side of things or other users within two days - ZERO.
I "dare" to speak so plainly since I believe that I have come up with an idea how to get the mail & account data out of the (imho) borked Thunderbird 78.7.x version, go back to Thunderbird 68.10.x and insert said data there.
Complex GPG passphrases stored on the local drive, unencrypted, UNLESS one sets a Thunderbird master password, which needs an equivalent degree of complexity (entropy) otherwise granting too easy access to said sacrosanct GPG passphrases, which then needs to be typed EACH TIME one launches Thunderbird using this relatively new implementation, YAY, what a great user experience.
*SOLVED*
Yes, I was able to fully undo the v68.10.0 > v78.7.1 upgrade. No mails, contacts, account settings etc. lost. Entering PGP passphrase only necessary when sending encrypted e-mails. Sanity (kinda) restored.