"permissions.sqlite" Integration

[t1470258]

Hi,

First of all thank you for NoScript since it's a combined tool that made me forget the tools I used to use to get the same functionality like FlashBlock etc...

I recently found another potentially good addon; ExExceptions (look upper right for script option)

which is basically a permissions.sqlite editor (PSQL=permissions.sqlite for short from now on) . Since PSQL is the default Firefox v3.x permission central, can NoScript make use of permissions.sqlite instead of prefs.js or at least bidirectionally synchronize with it (or at worst provide an option for such)??...

AFAICS NoScript stores its settings in a looooong line of prefs.js consisting of 4 numbers per site. I'm aware that NoScript may be storing additional information which might not be present in PSQL yet what will be the use of the default FireFox PSQL if every addon tries to store their permission settings (settings that can be stored in PSQL instead) in prefs.js or so resulting double settings for similarly functioning add-ons in prefs.js causing size bloat. Unlike my script manager NoScript, my cookie manager CookieSafe really make use of PSQL instead. Being that's the case, one has to import/export permission settings for every manager addon (script, cookies, images etc...) they had in case of migration or such instead of simple copying of PSQL to target...

Permission settings seperation from prefs.js is also good for backup/recovery programs/addons like FEBE/mozbackup too. I know NoScript provides import/export yet it's on demand and can't be automated like backup programs requested. Although instead of PSQL, prefs.js could be backed up yet there might be circumstances one will prefer otherwise...

So in short IMHO it will be good for NoScript to integrate with permissions.sqlite for the cases explained above and can't be foreseen...

Thanks for reading ...

[Giorgio Maone]

Relying exclusively on PSQL is impossible for NoScript, since it uses CAPS to enforce script blocking and therefore the long preference entry is mandatory.
But since a SQLite-based backend for site permission, with prefs.js synchronization for CAPS, was already planned for the 2.x serie, pigging back on PSQL rather than creating an ad-hoc database is probably a good idea.

[Aerik]

Ugh.

I tried installing exexceptions, and it installed OK, but then whenever I tried to open it up, I had terminal browser freeze. I'm frostbitten. I even tried it on my secure profile which had only Shiretoko-compatible addons installed, same deal.

I had to install it on a fresh defaulted profile to find out that this extension is the most monumentally bloated thing this site of bill o'reilly's ego. After having to click "continue" instead of "stop script" on that annoying dialog twice, I just decided to let it go forever, see if anything would ever happen.

It took more than 2 minutes for this thing to finally open up. And it's the only addon on the entire profile. Gross.

Surprisingly, it seemed to come with a pre-configured set of sites. Which is nice, I guess, but may contribute to the bloat?

It looks pretty cool, but the slowness of opening it is just unacceptable.

[Aerik]

Also, I only realized this after the fact..

in my everyday profile, my addons manager says that exexceptions is not compatible with shiretoko, yet it installed perfectly fine with the exact same build, with no other addons. What's with that?

[Aerik]

OK I've been using this for a day now, and besides the incredible bloat upon opening the thing, this extension is actually very useful!

I wish all browsers could control site-based content policies to this detail. Or at least had a window for each of the 15 types of content you can modify here.

It makes me wish for something.

What if a popular anti-malware program such as spybot search & destroy could be partnered with this extension? Already spybot (and spyware blaster, and probably other programs) goes into your firefox permissions to block cookies, images, and installations from known malicious domains. If spybot could work with this extension and preconfiger the hostsperm.1 file for you, it'd be just sublime. That way we'd be protected from malicious sites by virtue of spybot's updates, like with our hosts file.

This extension does some very interesting things. If you block a domain by the "document" category with the "deny" parameter, it works the same as the extension "blocksite," which I notice stops connections faster than the loopback from using a hosts file.

Second is what the "site" parameter setting does inside any category, but especially in the "document" category. When you use this, you can open a site like, say, tinyurl, in a new tab, but the tab never connects. The result is the same as if you open a tab do a domain you've blacklisted in blocksite. An empty XUL pane with the address in the addressbar, going nowhere. Only here, you can go to the tab then press the go button (or hit enter), and only then do you go so the site.

Because you're not even connecting to anything, this can make opening multiple tabs both safe and speedier. I use a similar trick by not allowing frames at reddit with noscript, that way I can open lots of tabs and nothing loads b/c noscript is forbidding it with a place holder. The trick with exexceptions is similar, only firefox doesn't even have to use up any javascript/css cycles creating the page and the placeholder.

[Alan Baxter]

I tried installing exexceptions, and it installed OK, but then whenever I tried to open it up, I had terminal browser freeze. I'm frostbitten. I even tried it on my secure profile which had only Shiretoko-compatible addons installed, same deal.

I had to install it on a fresh defaulted profile to find out that this extension is the most monumentally bloated thing this site of bill o'reilly's ego. After having to click "continue" instead of "stop script" on that annoying dialog twice, I just decided to let it go forever, see if anything would ever happen.

It took more than 2 minutes for this thing to finally open up. And it's the only addon on the entire profile. Gross.

Surprisingly, it seemed to come with a pre-configured set of sites. Which is nice, I guess, but may contribute to the bloat?

It looks pretty cool, but the slowness of opening it is just unacceptable.

There appears to be something wrong with your setup, Aerik. I've installed ExExceptions in a clean profile.
- Its footprint in the extensions folder is only 13KB, not bloated IMHO.
- The only way I see to open it is Tools > Add-ons > Extensions > ExExceptions > Options. But when I clicked on that, it came up in less than five seconds on my 600MHz PIII.
- It came up without any preconfigured sites. I don't know why you saw some.
- I copied the permissions.sqlite from my default profile to the ExExceptions profile and started it again. ExExceptions came up in less than five seconds again. This time displaying all the permissions that had been set by Firefox, CookieSafe, and SpywareBlaster. That's over 200 sites for me.

Perhaps you got a bad install package somehow. Try uninstalling it and reinstalling a fresh copy of the xpi from amo. Something's screwed up for you.

[dhouwn]

What if a popular anti-malware program such as spybot search & destroy could be partnered with this extension?

That should be possible, did you ask the makers of Spybot-S&D about it?

If spybot could work with this extension and preconfiger the hostsperm.1 file for you, it'd be just sublime.

Hostperm.1 is sooo Firefox 2, the title of this thread tells you how it's done in Fx3.

[SPooNGuaRD]

I just want to be able to control a site's scripting permissions from the Page Info->Permissions window. Could it be done without synchronizing noscript settings with permissions.sqlite?

[GµårÐïåñ]

Some level of permissions.sqlite integration would be nice and probably will happen, but it needs to make sure that it remains effective and efficient as possible and choose whatever configurations gives you the best delivery.

[dhouwn]

but it needs to make sure that it remains […] [as] efficient as possible

Spybot-S&D currently adds 10772 entries for blocking images, installations and popups and 193 cookie blocking entries and I don't notice any performance loss.

[GµårÐïåñ]

Ditto, I don't either. Not to mention we have our own internally maintained black lists pushed via AD policy updates in addition and again no loss of performance. One of our developers even tried stressing a given system by writing a script that opens ALL of the blocked domains SIMULTANEOUSLY and it barely slowed us down and raised the CPU process to 64% and that's it. If done properly, your system should perform very optimized and quick, barring any special breakage.

[therube]

[Supposedly there are issues between Spybot-S&D & IE8 (or vice-versa, depending upon where you want to lay blame) & it's (extensive use of) ActiveX blocking (killbits) causing slowdowns in IE8 operations.]

[GµårÐïåñ]

That's what I don't get though, we use IE8 (for testing only) and it doesn't suffer any performance issues with Spybot S&D 1.6.2 installed. So not sure what's going on but maybe its a system configuration issue.

[dhouwn]

That's what I don't get though, we use IE8 (for testing only) and it doesn't suffer any performance issues with Spybot S&D 1.6.2 installed.

5 seconds or more here.
Are you sure you used the immunisation feature after updating to IE8? (maybe the update purged the black list)

[GµårÐïåñ]

5 seconds or more here.
Are you sure you used the immunization feature after updating to IE8? (maybe the update purged the black list)

Of course my friend, otherwise what I said would be quite ignorant now wouldn't it?
See for yourself:





I wish I could be more help but I can only think that a system restriction is slowing you down, maybe another policy in effect, mods, or any number of things really. Sorry.