McAfee ScriptScan has been blocked by Firefox

[astor]

I just had my Firefox browser pop-up a warning message saying McAfee ScriptScan has been blocked for my protection.  More information shows:

Why was it blocked?

    This add-on causes a high volume of crashes.

Who is affected?

    Users of McAfee ScriptScan versions 14.4.0 and below for all versions of Firefox and SeaMonkey.

What does this mean?

    Users are strongly encouraged to disable the problematic add-on or plugin, but may choose to continue using it if they accept the risks described.

Hopefully a fix is provided real soon, right

[Hayton]

Yep, we know. Ex_Brit had it happen about an hour before you posted and emailed to tell us. No idea what's caused it, so there's nothing we can tell you just yet. Maybe we can get some news out of Mozilla but until then we're in the dark too.

Edit - @All : I have FF 7.01 and SA 3.4.0.143 and FF is not giving me the "disable" message. Anyone on a different version of either? Using SA Live, perhaps?

fwiw this machine has Internet Security 2010 on it - what McAfee product/version have you got?

(This request-for-info is going into the other FF/SA threads on this issue as well).

Message was edited by: Hayton on 04/10/11 04:50:19 IST

[exbrit]

Discussion moved to VirusScan to join the other threads on this subject.

In Firefox go to Tools/Manage Add-ons and see if any have a warning sign against them in the Extensions section.

It may not be appearing on your XP machine as perhaps (just a thought) this may be somehow linked to the operating system also.

You mention SA Live, mine is also the Live version of SA but SA has nothing to do with ScriptScan or so I have been told.   Let's not get the two mixed up.

I've emailed our contact at McAfee as you know and Dinz from TS is also getting in on the act.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 04/10/11 7:38:45 EDT AM

[weeshus]

It would seem that the current spate of Firefox updates has more to do with Firefox's self perceived image rather than customer / user needs. The upgrade to Firefox 7.01 automatically disables the Site Advisor.

For wht it is worth I have copied below the justification from the Firefox website.

This add-on causes a high volume of crashes and is incompatible with certain versions of Firefox.

Users of McAfee SiteAdvisor below version 3.3.1 for Firefox 4 & Users of McAfee SiteAdvisor 3.3.1 and below for Firefox 5 and higher nare affected

This means that when Mozilla becomes aware of add-ons, plugins, or other third-party software that seriously compromises Firefox security, stability, or performance and meets certain criteria, the software may be blocked from general use. For more information, please read this support article.

      Blocked on May 27, 2011. View block request.

I hope this helps

regards

weeshus

Message was edited by: weeshus - reason = typo on 10/4/11 10:20:28 AM CDT

[exbrit]

Solution: Update SiteAdvisor, which is working fine in Firefox 7.0.1.

ScriptScan is nothing to do with SiteAdvisor but rather VirusScan and this issue has been reported to the VirusScan people who are working on it.

[exbrit]

Just got this from McAfee...

I’ve asked Support to push an FAQ out ASAP, but meanwhile:
1)    It’s NOT a security issue
2)    It’s a decision made by Mozilla based on crashes that have been reported to Mozilla
3)    McAfee is aware of it, has a bug filed and is working with Mozilla to address the problem
4)    Until it is fixed, the primary workaround is to re-enable the ScriptScanner.  Alternatives include use another browser for now (with most browsers you can import bookmarks and homepages).  Also, SiteAdvisor 3.4 will provide *some* overlapping protection, specifically for scripts run in iFrames on webpages

[Gene]

When Firefox was updated to version 7, I was asked for the first time during the initial start-up if I would participate in their feedback program which automatically sends info about problems back to Mozilla without user intervention. I accepted, and I suspect that is how Mozilla discovered this problem. In the past they depended on users to report problems, I believe.

[astor]

Gene wrote:
When Firefox was updated to version 7, I was asked for the first time during the initial start-up if I would participate in their feedback program which automatically sends info about problems back to Mozilla without user intervention. I accepted, and I suspect that is how Mozilla discovered this problem. In the past they depended on users to report problems, I believe.

That's interesting.  I wonder if that's the reason why they blocked the scriptscan.  It could be a good thing as now McAfee can't hide any more and pretend their software doesn't have some major problems.  Now they are forced to fix it.  This is good for all, including McAfee itself in the long run so it can make their software as reliable as possible without delay.  I wish the same automatic problem and reporting tactic was used in other applications.  Imagine the quick turnaround in fixing our issues, rather than waiting for months for McAfee or some other vendor to recognize there is a problem in the first place.  This is not a bash against McAfee.  It's just a comment in general that's applicable to all third party software vendors.

[exbrit]

In this particular instance, I think the blame isn't McAfee's.  Firefox have entered a rapid-fire update period lately which has disabled all kinds of add-ons, extensions and plug-ins.

[astor]

Ex_Brit wrote:
In this particular instance, I think the blame isn't McAfee's.  Firefox have entered a rapid-fire update period lately which has disabled all kinds of add-ons, extensions and plug-ins.

OK, then Firefox is the hot seat for now.  However, I still stand by what I said as a general comment.