Firefox disabling addons

the watchman

Hi Folks,

I have used Firefox for a number of years and have always been very happy with it. Today I am very unhappy with it. Firefox has disabled a number of addons which I had. One in particular is Pixlr Grabber 2.1.4 which I use 20 times a day and have done so for a very long time. Firefox says it unsigned or something and gives instructions on how to get it back but you need to be a computer scientist to follow the instructions. I have tried to follow the instructions but it is way too difficult. This seems a very over the top security measure. why couldn't they just advise that its unsigned and to use it at your own risk.
This situation is seriously impacting on my day to day use of my computer.
Is there any other easier way of getting it back, you just can't enable/disable it yourself as you used to.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

maki

That addon was discontinued over a year ago so you're going to have trouble with it going forward.

I don't see how the instructions are difficult though?

1. Open a new tab.
2. Type about:config and press enter.
3. Accept the warning.
4. Scroll down to xpinstall.signatures.required and double click on it to set it to false.
5. Done!

Be aware this workaround will not work on the next release of Firefox (v44). And it's actually very good that they're doing this. Unsigned addons are a plague when it comes to web security.

Best bet is to find an alternative. Greenshot springs to mind.

the watchman

thanks Maki, I'll give it a try.

the watchman

Have enabled pixlgrabber again thanks to your short and clear instruction. Life back ! will check Greenshot in due course. Thanks again Maki. Much appreciated.

maki

No problem, but again be aware that Firefox 44 (due 26th January) will remove that flag and your addon will be permanently disabled.

After that your alternative is to find a new program or move to something like WaterFox where the addon should work, temporarily at least.