ubuntu-users Digest, Vol 88, Issue 155, Unexpected Firefox Software Installation for Language Packs

[jimmckenzie at earthlink.net]

All these are is extra language packs for English (Your local language) so it can't hurt anything to install them. You probably won't even notice them for the most part. If it's a hard-drive space issue OK then worry about it, otherwise it won't hurt anything.  



Message: 11
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:16:15 -0700
From: scar <scar at drigon.com>
To: ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
Subject: Unexpected Firefox Software Installation for Language Packs
Message-ID: <jdivsh$fmf$1 at dough.gmane.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I have been getting a strange pop-up lately when i start Firefox, asking
me if i want to install some foreign language packs.  I'm in the USA,
and Firefox is wanting to install language packs for en-GB and en-ZA.
Initially it was only asking for en-GB and I didn't think anything of it
because Firefox was recently updated.  So, even though I clicked
'install' it still asked to be installed whenever i restarted Firefox.
en-GB shows up in my Add-ons/Languages, and if i click on 'Disable' and
restart Firefox, it just keeps saying en-GB "will be uninstalled when
Firefox is restarted" no matter how many times i restart.

Now it is also wanting to install en-ZA.  I never explicitly told the
system i needed these languages, but somehow the extensions ended up in
/usr/lib/firefox-3.6.24/extensions.

How did they get there?
Can i just delete the xpi files from that directory?
Is something malicious going on? Why is it still asking to install en-GB
even though i already clicked 'install' and now it's asking for en-ZA?
And why won't en-GB uninstall from within Firefox

I'm  using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS with Firefox 3.6.24
here's a screen shot of the pop-up: http://i.imgur.com/a4lSg.png
and here's the xpi files if someone wants to inspect them:
http://www.sendspace.com/filegroup/DGZPzIU4zb%2FLXdEWGxwUTQ

thanks