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How to get rid of msg. "Your organization is managing your browser"?

  • 14 uphendule
  • 2 zinale nkinga
  • 12 views
  • Igcine ukuphendulwa ngu Kev King

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A msg. suddenly appeared at the top of my ff general settings page saying "your organization is managing your browser". Upon clicking on it it appears that Chrome has taken over most of my ff settings and disabled some of them. I have NO organization; I am retired and have a personal computer that only I use for personal things. I have run numerous anti malware programs that have found nothing. I have restored the computer to a much earlier time. I chose Firefox, NOT Chrome. Please help me get rid of this. And please don't assume I have knowledge as I am old and not very computer literate so if you could use simple terms I can understand that would be much appreciated. If no help, what can I do next to get some. Thank you I am using Windows 7 home premium on an older Dell business machine.

A msg. suddenly appeared at the top of my ff general settings page saying "your organization is managing your browser". Upon clicking on it it appears that Chrome has taken over most of my ff settings and disabled some of them. I have NO organization; I am retired and have a personal computer that only I use for personal things. I have run numerous anti malware programs that have found nothing. I have restored the computer to a much earlier time. I chose Firefox, NOT Chrome. Please help me get rid of this. And please don't assume I have knowledge as I am old and not very computer literate so if you could use simple terms I can understand that would be much appreciated. If no help, what can I do next to get some. Thank you I am using Windows 7 home premium on an older Dell business machine.

All Replies (14)

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Hi, this message refers to an external configuration file or a policy in the Windows registry.

As the first steps in tracking that down, could you type or paste about:policies in the address bar and press Enter to load that internal page?

On the "Active" panel, it usually says "The Enterprise Policies service is inactive." Does yours say that or does it list some policies?

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Actually, clicking the message might already have taken you to that page. What is listed on the page?

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Documentation Policy Name 3rdparty Set policies that WebExtensions can access via chrome.storage.managed. AllowedDomainsForApps Define domains allowed to access Google Workspace. AppAutoUpdate Enable or disable automatic application update. AppUpdatePin Prevent Firefox from being updated beyond the specified version. AppUpdateURL Set custom app update URL. Authentication Configure integrated authentication for websites that support it. AutoLaunchProtocolsFromOrigins Define a list of external protocols that can be used from listed origins without prompting the

Jscher, above is a partial list I copied and pasted of what is on the page, and it is labelled 'active' It also diables some of ff's options, but that wasn't copied as I just did some as its a long list.

Okulungisiwe ngu Shona Browne

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You had said it was 'Window's' policies. Why would a 'window's' policy be on a browser's settings page rather than my being notified in "Window's". I probably shouldn't ask as it is all Greek to me. This does seem like a hijacking of FF policies by google Chrome to me. I have something on my computer called Edge which is a chrome thing. Could that have done something? This msg. is new, yet I've not downloaded anything iffy. I was running Defender and two other anti-malwares daily, and cleaning with CCleaner. None raised any alarms at all. The msg. appeared recently not long after another of FF's updates, which I always dread as I have had problems after some of them. I am careful not to check programs I download to make sure they haven't slipped me some new thing. So how did this happen?

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Meant to say "I am careful TO check programs I download"

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Normally policies would be set by an IT department for its employees; that doesn't sound like what is going on here.

Could you switch the list -- click "Active" in the left column of the page. The "Documentation" list shows all the possibilities that an administrator could use, but usually there would only be a few Active policies.

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Nothing happens when I click 'active'. Under the word 'active' is the word 'documentation' and clicking on that brings up what I posted above. Here's a copy and paste again:

Documentation Policy Name 3rdparty Set policies that WebExtensions can access via chrome.storage.managed. AllowedDomainsForApps Define domains allowed to access Google Workspace. AppAutoUpdate Enable or disable automatic application update. AppUpdatePin Prevent Firefox from being updated beyond the specified version. AppUpdateURL Set custom app update URL. Authentication Configure integrated authentication for websites that support it. AutoLaunchProtocolsFromOrigins Define a list of external protocols that can be used from listed origins without prompting the user. BackgroundAppUpdate Enable or disable the background updater. BlockAboutAddons Block access to the Add-ons Manager (about:addons). BlockAboutConfig Block access to the about:config page. BlockAboutProfiles Block access to the about:profiles page. BlockAboutSupport Block access to the about:support page. Bookmarks Create bookmarks in the Bookmarks toolbar, Bookmarks menu, or a specified folder inside them. CaptivePortal Enable or disable captive portal support. Certificates Add certificates or use built-in certificates. Cookies Allow or deny websites to set cookies. DefaultDownloadDirectory Set the default download directory. DisableAppUpdate Prevent the browser from

And there is more. Again, this just appeared a few days ago. Been using ff for years. So don't know what it is or why it is suddenly on my page.

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Jscher, can you send me a direct way to link back to this page without having to go back to my email everytime. I am logged in but can't find this page until I go back to the FF notification that was sent me . So I am having to go back to that to get here, then back to the ff settings page to give info on the msg we're discussing, then back to my inbox to get to this page to reply to you.

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There is no It professional and I am too computer illiterate to do anything. I live in a private residence and am on a personal, private computer used only by me. I am not connected to any biz or organization. No one but me should be making any decisions about how things are done on my computer, just me and however the software programs work. How is it that Chrome is in all this? A competing browser?

Okulungisiwe ngu Shona Browne

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jscher, Please help. I just went to Amazon prime to watch my usual videos on there, and I can't watch any of them . My account is paid, etc. Their support person couldn't do anything but go thru a useless script that achieved nothing. Could this be connected to microsoft Edge webview, which is a Google Chrome thing I earlier tried to delete, then when I did a restore it reappeared but maybe something crucial is missing from what I did earlier? Please help me. Sorry for all the questions.

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Normally, the Active pane looks like this (well, I added the red box for emphasis):

Is yours completely blank on that right side? Nothing at all?


Here is another thing to try. Just take it slowly.

Clean Reinstall

This takes about 5 minutes. This doesn't clear your settings, but it removes folders that might contain Policy and AutoConfig files that can cause the "organization" message. It is not necessary to uninstall Firefox, but you can if you like, saying No to any request about removing personal data.

(A) Download a fresh installer for Firefox to a convenient location:

https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/#product-desktop-release

(B) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

If you use Microsoft Office, please change your default browser to Internet Explorer temporarily before the next step.

(C) Using Windows Explorer/My Computer (hold down the Windows key and press E to launch it), right-click > rename the program folder as follows (you might have one or both):

Open C:\Program Files and look for Mozilla Firefox

If you see it, right-click Mozilla Firefox, click Rename, and rename it to OldFirefox

Open C:\Program Files (x86) and look for Mozilla Firefox

If you see it, right-click Mozilla Firefox, click Rename, and rename it to OldFirefox

(D) Run the installer you downloaded in step (A). It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Any improvement at your next startup? If not, any error messages?

Okulungisiwe ngu jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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Regarding some of the other questions:

Returning to this thread

You can bookmark it, or just leave this tab open. Or when you come to support.mozilla.org, hover the mouse pointer over your user picture in the upper right corner of the page to get a panel where you can access your profile and questions.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is Google's browser. While Chrome might make itself the default browser when you install it, it is not known to change your Firefox settings.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is Microsoft's replacement for Internet Explorer. However, I don't know whether it is available for Windows 7. ??

Microsoft Edge WebView

This is not intended for consumers to use, it is for developers of other apps to use as an embedded browser within their app. If someone told you to install this, that is very strange.

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You can inspect the Mozilla and Firefox keys with the Windows Registry Editor in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and in HKEY_CURRENT_USER with the Windows Registry Editor to see whether GPO policy rules are active.

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox\
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox\

The mere presence of the "Mozilla\Firefox\" key is sufficient to make Firefox display this notification, so if you have the Firefox key then remove it and only leave the Mozilla key or remove this key as well if it is empty.

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox\ =>
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\
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Hi Shonatrill. I have had a similar problem, but also with Microsoft Edge Webviewer appearing to do things and slow down my PC. I did NOT install it either. I only noticed it recently when the PC was taking ages to load as things were going on in the background , using up memory. I also use Windows 7 home premium, with an AVG security suite. I started 'task manager' which showed the Edge WebViewer issue. My solution was a bit long but simple. Type 'regedit' into the windows button search bar (bottom left) and click on the programme it brings up (the registry). Top left, in the drop down list, click on 'edit' then 'find next' and type 'edge' into the search bar. Keep tapping 'find next' and it will go through the registry. Each time you find a folder/file with 'edgeWEBVIEWER' in it delete it. DO NOT delete any others such as 'edge' from MS paint or similar. That will delete the MS Edge Webviewer. It also got rid of the 'your organisation' thing (as i am also more mature and not in an organisation)! So far it has not returned and my PC now loads properly - PHEW!