Yonke imikhiqizo Community Forum

I've been struggling for months to standardize a deployment of Firefox ESR across various client environments that reliably auto-updates and doesn't cause UAC prompts and XULRunner profile error pop-ups(I work in IT).

We deploy Firefox ESR in bulk on machines via a batch script which runs as SYSTEM, with msiexec /i and /qn flags.

Firefox installs fine, but then users are typically met with a UAC prompt when they first try to run Firefox. If they decline, then the UAC prompt comes back again next time and often fails to update at all, so the machine is left on an older, vulnerable version.

Regarding the environment: we have deployed the Firefox ESR admx templates and enabled the relevant auto update settings in Group Policy. But only some machines seem to stay up to date, and it seems like this only happens if a user with local administrative privileges has run the program at least once.

What I find unusual is that Firefox seems to attempt to make a "Background Updater" scheduled task for every user that runs the software on each PC, but these users do not have administrative privileges, and the scheduled task is set to only run when that user is logged in. Obviously a scheduled task running as a user with limited privileges isn't going to be able to update files in the Mozilla/Firefox subdirectory in "Program Files" as by default that's read-only access for non-admin users. And, obviously, if a user with local admin privileges DOES log into the machine, then it can update once, but then the scheduled task that it creates for that user (now with admin privileges) will only run when that user logs in - and we don't login as "admin"-privileged users day-to-day.

So, various machines are out of date, running vulnerable Firefox 128 instead of 140 or 142 even though they're all deployed from the same image and have the same policies and restrictions, and ran the same installer for Firefox.

Is there some reason why the auto update scheduled task isn't created at installation time, when administrative privileges have been granted? It's very odd that it doesn't, because then every time a user logs into a machine it seems like Firefox ESR creates the background upgrade task under a non-admin user which simply won't work. I see machines having 4 or 5 background upgrade scheduled tasks, all created by Firefox ESR, and yet the software still won't update - there's a UAC prompt every time the program launches, and going to Help -> About shows "Restart Firefox to update..." but then when clicking the button to restart Firefox, we get the UAC prompt, user doesn't have privileges, so this goes around and around in circles.

Is there a reliable way to keep Firefox up to date without manually logging into each machine and going through the UAC prompts? Can we manually create a scheduled task with the correct user account that has privileges to actually upgrade Firefox?

The background auto update mechanism simply doesn't make sense to our team on a machine-wide install.

Hi,

I installed Thunderbird 140.2.1 on WIndows 11 v25H2 with winget but it autoupdated to release version 144. I uninstalled release version 144, re-installed esr version and disabled Updates in Settings, but it auto-updated to release version. So I uninstalled one more time release version, installed esr 144, disabled Updates in Settings and I set up the registry key DisableAppUpdate at 1 but Thunderbird auto-updated again to release version 144.0

Please, can you tell me what can I do to prevent Thunderbird esr auto-updating to release version ?

Thanks.

Being in a rush after a botched TB update from v120 to 140.0esr, and missing disk backups, I reinstalled v102 and recreated two of my four email provider accounts in TB 102. Now. I'd like to try the update again this way: 1. export the few messages downloaded to the reinstalled v102 2. Completely delete v102 and any traces of TB on my C: disk (Program Files folder, user account folders, registry...) 3. Install the latest version (143 as I write this) 4. Copy and set as default (or import?) a two-weeks old disk backup of the old TB v102 profile into v143 without anything missing:

   - Four email accounts
   - All the messages in all the mailbox folders (received, sent, drafts, etc.) of these accounts
   - The complete archives folders structure and content
   - All the other folders I created as direct children of the email accounts in the TB "Folders" outline and their contents
   - one RSS feeds account and its settings
   - ~40 RSS feeds subscriptions and their settings

5. Import the recent messages from step 1 into the corresponding TB accounts.

Is that the correct way to do this?

I'm wondering about a few things:

   - Best email export format for later import?
   - Will the restored email accounts automagically reconnect to the provider accounts? I may have changed the format of one of them from Imap to pop3, and the server handled it very well, but it would be Imap again in TB after restoring the disk backup...
   - Why is v140 the only one with ESR in its name and not the following ones? I was on ESR when I froze 102 and blocked updates)
   - Is the Sqlite DB part ot the TB account file structure, and is it carried over when moving or duplicating that account?
   - Has the TB account folder and/or the Sqlite DB changed format between v102 and v143?

P.S. the email account for this post is among the inactive ones at the moment!

I am using version 88.0 and browser, both outdated and not supported. How do I update to current version and update browser? I am 80 yrs old and not computer literate, please keep it simple. Also, I am alone, not help available. Thank you

Hello Thunderbird team,

Would it be possible to specify the security fixes in the “Update” releases for Thunderbird/Firefox products in more detail—i.e., which versions are affected? For Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, etc., and for which category, e.g., desktop or mobile version? That would be really great and useful.

This information is not readily available or requires unnecessary effort to find online.

Many, many thanks –

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How in the world is Thunderbird 5 revisions behind in the flatpak repo, i.e. 140? But current version is 145? Windows version is 145, but flakpak is only 140? REALLY FRUSTRATING when you are migrating from Windows to Linux and Thunderbird is way out of date! No wonder people don't like migrating to Linux. You make it truly painful! Documentation/website for Thunderbird states that flatpak always installs latest version? RIGHT, what a load of BS.

Hello, After the last update 143.1.0 a large part of one of a sub folder in my local folders disappeared. I restored my recent backup but still the part of the folder is missing. I used a copy of my profiles made on my laptop with no results. I completely uninstalled Thunderbird then copied my backup with no luck. Finally, I had to make a full image restore to get Thunderbird back to where it was before 143.1.0 I updated to 144.0 with no change. Each time I open TBird, it asked me to install the 143.1.0 update and if I do then the same happens, a big part of one of my local folders subfolders disappears. Strangely, on my laptop that is basicly a duplicate of my PC thunderbird everything is ok with the last 143.1.0 update. What is in the 143.1.0 update to cause these problems, is there a command to reject long file names.  ? Has anyone experienced this problem otherwise I will be stuck with update # 143.1.0 for years Thank you Douglas Noades