firefox just exploded, and now I'm reminded of how fragile it really is

kent_dorfman766

kent_dorfman766

So what started as a security precaution has blown up into a major fiasco that shows how truly fragile and low quality a lof of FOSS software really is. I had to change my google account password because it is on a device I no longer control. Simple, right?...Not on your life. Shortly thereafter I start getting thunderbird email imap login error popups...Oops! Yeah, I know...change it in thunderbird too. Seems simple enough...except that for whatever reason I'm still getting imap login errors every 15 minutes: coincides with my email check time period. OK. So it shows in the thunderbird password list that it's been changed...but still that damned imap error...hmmm...

OK, so I decide to avoid using thunderbird until I can figure it out, because the last thing I need right now is the google monster to lock me out of my account based on spurious incorrect login attempts. Guess what!? Now when I go to firefox and view the saved logins information, IT SHOWS NOTHING!!! sure, the data is still being being autofilled when I bring up a login page (like forums.freebsd.org) and logs me in, but the settings screen is totally blank! whiskey tango foxtrot, batman!

Eventually I get frustrated with trying to diagnose firefox peculiarities and decide to export my login information and bookmarks to CSV files, delete the .mozilla directory, and start with a clean instance of firefox. Exports go as planned and I can see and manage all my booksmarks and passwords in CSV format now. A newly discovered weirdness: the exported files are in DOS newline format, not UNIX...another thing slips thru the cracks at mozilla. When I try to import my firefox generated CSV password list into the new firefox instance...well, you get three guesses and the first tow don't count...Yup! "FILE IMPORT ERROR!!!" Of course the web searches on the subject are as informative as a trump press conference. I thought maybe the parse errors were because of the newline formats so I futzed with dos2unix connversions and no joy.

The bookmarks imported correctly...I guess that's something...but now I'm stuck manually copy/paste in up to 50 login credentials daily from my keepass vault...

I really really miss the 1980s...
 
kent_dorfman766 said:
The bookmarks imported correctly...I guess that's something...but now I'm stuck manually copy/paste in up to 50 login credentials daily from my keepass vault...
Click to expand...
I think this is the crux of it. Try to rely less on online services. Requiring a login for each one was never going to be sustainable.

I also note that not every password matters. Sure, keepass for important ones like email but for data dumps like Google/Microsoft/reddit/theregister where there should be no personal data, treat the accounts like temp throw-aways and just use the same complex password. Plus they will never get their crap together and use something decent like priv/public SSH key pairs for auth.
 
I avoid Google. It's some kind of total surveillance mega-universe. Only YouTube maintains my Google account... I'm addicted to YouTube.
You described everything correctly and interestingly. Yes, Firefox isn't perfect either, which is why things like this happen.
For you, it's really critical.
And I also have a bad impression of Google today. And also of email...

Since my English isn't very good, I'll write briefly and point by point.
Task: access the email account of the quasi-"government" portal ukr.net via a Tor browser.
Now check out the "logic" and interconnectedness of the global email system space.
1. I boot into Windows 11 (a "broken" build for schoolchildren) via a live USB;
2. Since the Tor browser isn't included in the Windows build, I download the Tor browser and unzip it to the same flash drive;
3. Let's get started!
4. Enter the address ukr.net;
5. We receive a "403 Forbidden" error from the portal;
That's it. Changing hosts or country is useless. No matter what, the "403 Forbidden" error persists.
But Google Mail is here to the rescue!
What needs to be done to open the ukr.net website:
1. Launch the Tor browser and enter ukr.net. The error is "403 Forbidden"; DO NOT close the tab!!!
2. Log in to your Google Mail account in the same browser (DO NOT change hosts or country!!!) and change the password to a different one. The phone number is used. Everything is OK.
3. Now, after about 10 minutes, switch to the ukr.net tab and REFRESH the site!;
4. And lo and behold! The "403 Forbidden" error magically disappears, and the ukr.net portal opens.
That's all.
Is this just a coincidence or a pattern?
 
FWIW, the thunderbird login problem is documented online as a result of google no longer allowing simple passwd access to 3rd party imap clients. It has to use oauth2, and for whatever reason (after removing and trying to recreate the server link) thunderbird cannot access google portal to get its oauth2 token...404 error instead.

So I'm stuck using google webmail now...oh joy!

Sure I'm a suspicious guy, but I do understand the google MO of allowing stuff to work until you need to fix/change something and then causing it to break unless you agree to more intrusive mechanisms to reconnect than what you originally signed on for...by then they got you by the gazoids, right? But that doesn't explain why the thunderbird client cannot connect to google's portal (404 error)

Gotta love (oozing with sarcasm) the mozilla tech page on the subject though: try deleting all your cached data, the server connection, and then attempt to recreate the profile.
 
kent_dorfman766 said:
FWIW, the thunderbird login problem is documented online as a result of google no longer allowing simple passwd access to 3rd party imap clients. It has to use oauth2, and for whatever reason (after removing and trying to recreate the server link) thunderbird cannot access google portal to get its oauth2 token...404 error instead.
Click to expand...
Well, I knew that the problem has to do with xoauth.

thunderbird should ask for the master password if it cannot login.

You can perhaps try the following. Login in the web to your google account, go to the 'account' page and to 'security', then search in the page the link to 'connection to apps' and enter it, then try to delete the connection to thunderbird. Then try again with thunderbird.
 
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