Mozilla Flips Kill-Switch On Skype Toolbar

An anonymous reader writes "Whenever Skype is installed or updated, it automatically installs the Skype Toolbar add-on for Firefox. Unfortunately, the add-on causes serious performance problems, slowing down some operations by a factor of 300 and is one of the top causes for Firefox crashes. As a result, Mozilla has decided to 'soft-block' the add-on, effectively killing it on all Firefox installs unless the user intentionally re-enables it. Given the extreme popularity of Skype, this has ramifications for millions of users."

Good Griddance

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank god. I had to install skype for an interview.
When I removed it, it decided to wipe out all my bookmarks, addons and themes for firefox.

I was pissed, but at least I had xmarks.
If not, there would be hell to pay.

Grayed-out Addons...

[kcbnac]

Are installed not to the user profile. Exit Firefox, re-launch as an Administrator (Right-click the shortcut, select 'Run as Administrator' and accept the UAC prompt)

You'll now find yourself able to uninstall that, and any previous versions of the Java Console that have been left behind by numerous updates to that piece of software as well.

Re:But you still can't uninstall it...

[The MAZZTer]

Because such add-ons are installed and loaded differently from standard add-ons. Normal add-ons are per-user and reside in the user's profile; Firefox knows what this directory structure looks like and can safely remove addons. However these special add-ons are installed who knows where on your disk and a special registry entry set up to have every Firefox user profile load them. Firefox doesn't even know if it CAN be uninstalled (Example: user permissions forbid writing to the add-on's folder, likely to happen under Vista/7).

Re:Two Comments

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

1. Skype shouldn't have the ability to install an extension without explicit user agreement. I believe this is Mozilla's fault, it has been abused by others as well. Fix the extension installation process.

No, its the OS's fault. As Mozilla is just another application with the same level of privileged access to the user's configuration settings as any other application, anything that Mozilla can do to stop auto-installers can be undone by the very same auto-installers. If Skype really wanted to, the next version of their auto-installer could turn off this "kill-switch" too.

purpose.

[LordMyren]

i wasnt aware the addon had a toolbar. what i was aware of, is that it attempts to detect phone numbers on the page, and replaces those numbers with a graphical link that launches a skype call to that number.

Re:do it mozilla.

[Anonymous Coward]

All in all, this kind of "strategy" puzzles me. What is the toolbar for anyways?

Highlights phone numbers online, then adds a button so you can make a skype call to that number.