Faulty Software Updater on 16.04

[Bret Busby]

On 07/10/2017, Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 6 October 2017 at 21:58, Ralf Mardorf <silver.bullet at zoho.com> wrote:
>>
>> Actually dpkg as well as
>> http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/xenial/man8/apt-mark.8.html allow
>> to "hold" packages and to upgrade anything else, assuming there
>> should be no dependency conflicts, but I'm not willing to help you
>> holding a browser, that needs a security upgrade,
>> https://usn.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-3391-1/ . Synaptic allows this, too, but
>> is using another term, not "hold".
>
> This is wise and prudent.
>
> Bret, it is NOT SAFE to run out of date browsers.
>
> Switch to the ESR version direct from Mozilla. Add the Ubuntuzilla
> repositories, uninstall Ubuntu's provided Firefox and add the ESR
> version.
>

What does "the ESR version" mean? Does it come as a .deb package, for
simple installation?

> Then proceed as normal.
>
> By the way, the accusation of F'fox 50 being malware sounds like
> paranoid insanity. But it's long dead anyway. Current is v56.
>
>

1. It is v54, to which I referred as malware.

I would go so far to say that firefox v54 is a trojan.

2. Reasons for it being regarded as malware, included the following
occurring after an upgrade from v53 to v54.

I do not know how it happened, but, after firefox on another computer
was updated to v54, I could no longer open a browser window or a tab,
with a blank address, and,  every time I open a new tab, it opens a
malicious web site, and I can't block that web site, and, the URL is
not in about:config.

I have tried, extensively, and I can't stop a new tab (not "Open link
in new tab", but, "Open new tab") from going to the malicious web
site.

In the attempts to try to fix the problem, I got the "Open new window"
to go to duckduckgo, but nothing can stop "Open new tab" from going
to the malicious web site.

The malicious web site is rspark.com .

Two problems with firefox, that prevent me from fixing the problem, are:

1.  in Edit  -> Preferences -> General ,
in v53, with "Homepage" set to blank, it respects that, and so,
whenever I open a new browser window, or, open a new tab, the URL box
is blank, but
in v54, it basically says "screw you, I will go where I want, and you
can't stop me"

2. I have been unable to find any way in firefox, to block rspark.com

3. whilst in firefox, v53.0.3, if the Home Page is set to <blank>,
that is, as said above, respected, but
in v54, if the Home Page is set to <blank>, it says "screw you", and
changes the Home Page to the "Mozilla Firefox Start Page", with all
new tabs after the initial tab in a new window, going automatically to
rspark.com.

That is why, as someone had suggested, I set the Home Page in v54, to
dudckduckgo, but, that is only applied by v54, to the initial tab
opened in a new window; thereafter, every new tab goes automatically
to rspark.com, the malicious web site.

I have now installed within that firefox v54, an addon named "Site
Blocker", I think it is, which now that I have installed it and
configured it to block content from rspark.com, apparently blocks
content from rspark,com, but firefox still effectively says "screw
you, I am going to go there, whatever you try and do to stop me"

-- 

Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia

..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
 you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
 Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
 "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
 A Trilogy In Four Parts",
 written by Douglas Adams,
 published by Pan Books, 1992

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