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Google Starts Blocking Extensions Not In the Chrome Web Store
An anonymous reader writes "Google has begun blocking local Chrome extensions to protect Windows users. This means that as of today, extensions can be installed in Chrome for Windows only if they're hosted on the Chrome Web Store. Furthermore, Google says extensions that were previously installed 'may be automatically disabled and cannot be re-enabled or re-installed until they're hosted in the Chrome Web Store.' The company didn't specify what exactly qualifies the "may" clause, though we expect it may make exceptions for certain popular extensions for a limited time. Google is asking developers to reach out to it if they run into problems or if they 'think an extension was disabled incorrectly.'"
Does this include Java?
It's only going to get worse as more and more "platforms" get tied to some company curated web store.
No thanks!
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I refuse to use Google search, maps, cloud, G-mail or anything of theirs. I strongly object to entries in their terms of service and this is the only way that i can express my displeasure with them. Try to find an e-mail address that a live human will read at Google.
The extension I used to correct their staunch adherence to the idiocy that is mapping backspace to the browser back button is unhosted, so... bye.
The claim of protection is just the public plausible deniability excuse.. The real reason is to force people to use their stupid 'app store.'
Kaspersky AV installs it's extensions in Chrome, and frankly I a) don't want to depend on the Chrome Store for them since I can only trust them if they come directly from Kaspersky and b) don't want them disabled since I installed Kaspersky specifically for this purpose. I can see refusing to enable local extensions until the user confirms they ought to be there, but Chrome isn't the only source of browser components on my computer.
This was announced six months ago. Unpacked extensions will still run.
They say developers will still be able to install locally. My guess is that if you enable developer mode (checkbox in the extensions page) you can still use local extensions like always.
I help fix computers for friends and family and the amount of incredible crapware that gets installed into browsers "by itself" is staggering. NONE of that is ever wanted.
Firefox had this problem first, and I'd say it was the only reason why most of them moved to Chrome.
Now Chrome is just as bad.
It is good for everyone I know, including me.
For those of us on the Dev channel for Chrome hit this in February. It's definitely a fucked up decision by the Chrome team and has led to a lot of folks ripping out Chrome in favor of something else. The claim made by the devs is that it's safer if the extensions come out of their web store and would eliminate malicious activity from extensions. They obviously didn't want to fix the browser to alert the user when malicious extensions are installed or provide a sysadmin set of functions necessary to install necessary, safe extensions. Of course we all know it's another fucking walled garden take-over by Google. I've already recommended to clients that they don't use Chrome and have removed it from a little over 4000 systems thus far. Personally Google is fucking the user community on this one, so fuck Google.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
The article clearly states that you can still do this with developer mode. To me this is non story. They trying to stop the malware stuff for 90% of users.
The rest of us can still do what we want. Or anyone else that can manage to click a single check mark.
So how do I unambiguously indicate to a web browser that I want to delete only one character from a text area, not have the entire message be destroyed because I accidentally navigated away from the page?
From the link you posted: "You can still load unpacked extensions in developer mode on Windows."
If an application's design encourages user error, the application's design is at fault.
There is no problem. Chrome is for the clueless and they should be shielded from external extensions. The tech savvy all use Chromium, which has no such restriction.
They can block extensions they don't like for instance youtube ripper or ad blocker.
From the Chrome Developer page:
1. Unzip the .crx file
2. Go to chrome://extensions
3. Tick on Developer Mode
4. Click Load Unpacked Extension...
5. Select and install.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
So how do I develop extensions?
Like you always did. Developer mode did not change this time around.
Also, how do I run the custom extensions that are used in our company and should not be publically available?
Enterprise install policy is unchanged. If you can use it, you can use extensions from any source. Even NPAPI extensions, which are now banned from Store.
How about extensions that are installed with some hardware, like the one that makes Dymo labelwriters accessible from JavaScript?
It's probably not an extension, but a plugin. That's a bit different, but they will also be going away end of this year.
Not that I want you stay on Chrome for any particular reason (I've gravitated to mostly using firefox myself, for other reasons) but I do use this web-store hosted extension - backstop - for blocking 'backspace sometimes blows away your entire comment instead of deleting one character' idiocy.
Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.
Ugh. I'm one of those developers who would be affected, as I have custom FF extensions deployed for a mid-size client. We don't use the "Enterprise" FF though. I suppose we might have to switch, and deploy FF updates differently, just to keep the ability to run extensions (that have no business being uploaded to anyone's store, as they're entirely site-specific.)
For the time being, but Mozilla keeps making Firefox worse and worse. If that trend continues even a little while longer, then FF won't be a viable alternative anymore.