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What addons aren't portable?

Stevoisiak - September 21, 2009 - 6:44am

Edit: Due to the large amount of addons, I am only listing those that are known NOT to be portable. Please only report addons that don't work.

As an avid user of FireFox Portable, I use alot of addons. However, I don't like to leave traces on the PCs I visit. So I decided to begin a short list of addons that are not portable. If you know an addon that is not portable, please comment.

Adobe Flash: Leaves settings behind/Alternative installer [Link]
AVG Safe Search: Local install required
CoolIrs: Leaves settings behind/Requires flash on host PC
FireShot: Leaves settings behind
Java: Local install required*
Java Quick Starter: Local install required
Silverlight: Does not work

*Although there is a Portable Java, it does not integrate with FireFox portable at this time.


( categories: )

WOT = yesAddblock Plus =

WOT = yes
Addblock Plus = yes
LastPass = ? whats that?
NoScript = yes

reg setting only might happen with windows only addons

What you should worry about is folders for things like downloads which can't be portabled!

Last pass is an automated

Last pass is an automated forum logon machine, and much more

the only addons that i know of that don't work portably are

Cool iris: the newest version creates a desktop icon

BetterPrivacy: disables flash on your FFP (if you have it)

[username] [at] gmx [dot] us

Not right for BetterPrivacy

BetterPrivacy IS PORTABLE, but you need to change one option in it. It is Portable in a way that it leaves no data behind, but it will not DO it's job when using portably unless you check the "Always search directory" box.

Pyromaniac, please don't give wrong information. BetterPrivacy DOES NOT DISABLE FLASH! That's a silly thing to say about it. It removes a new kind of UN-ERASABLE COOKIES called "Local Shared Objects", "LSO", "SOL", or just "SuperCookies".

BetterPrivacy is a good add-on to have, and fully portable if you let it do it's job by checking that box.

Whoever doesn't know about the "SuperCookies", either check on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Shared_Object

or go to your System APPDATA folder and you'll see your own past of all the websites you visited! Scary, when you think of it! Sad

The paths to that folder are as follows:
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\random code\domain\

Windows Vista:
C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\random code\domain\

For Linux and Mackintosh take a look at Wikipedia. I would invite everyone who sees this to read about it on Wikipedia, and get informed!

Hope this helps...
Cheers Smiling

Most things in life cost money... Be happy with those which don't!

I know

I figured that out last month when I got it again.

I meant to edit that but it slipped my mind.

Sorry!

EDIT: It also crashes firefox sometimes after using silverlight.

[username] [at] gmx [dot] us

Ok

Thanks for the help. I have tons more addons for FF that I want on my drive, so I appreciate the help. I was REALLY afraid addblock would leave settings behind. I'll add a few other addons I like later. Maybe someone should should make a list of addons that are portable, work but leave stuff behind, and the non-working ones.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

That would take a VERY long time

considering that there are over 7,000 addons.

And try some experiments yourself. The only reason I know that I know some addons that are portable is that I tried them on different computers.

[username] [at] gmx [dot] us

Maybe a few?

Maybe it could only list the Non-Portable addons?

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

It would still take time to test all the addons

to see which ones are portable.

Bt yeah, maybe only the popular ones could be tested.

[username] [at] gmx [dot] us

An idea

Maybe the way to go is people report on their own addons as they use them.Then can report reports and maybe develop a table from there?

PortableApps.com Advocate

My Addons

DownloadHelper = Not sure. Works portably but may leave a folder behind.
Download Statusbar = Portable
DownloadThemAll! = Portable
FoxyProxy = Portable
English (Australian) Dictionary = Portable
Web Of Trust (WOT) = Portable

PortableApps.com Advocate

Reg test?

You regestry tested these with regedit, right?

If so, I think I can start a list.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Not as yet.

I haven't as yet but haven't come across anything for those I stated as portable. With DownloadHelper I think it creates a folder in App Data or something which is it's default download location. May only occurred with older versions though.

PortableApps.com Advocate

Respectfully

Respectfully,

This topic will become ridiculous.
List addons/extensions that are NOT portable.
THAT is the only thing that matters, and the only way that will make sense.

Tim

Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?

Good idea.

Changed the list. MUCH better now.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Updated

Updated to include CoolIrs.

List any addons you know don't work.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

LastPass should be fully portable

I actually contacted LastPass about a folder left behind back in July (the post is located here.) They said they would remedy the situation and have released updates since then so it should now be fully portable. I haven't seen the folder appear since the update.

Well, on the site...

On the official LastPass website, they have a download specially made for FireFox Portable. There's probably a good reason for that, so I'm linking there.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Safe to remove

It should be safe to remove this from the list. I asked about it in their forums and they check to see what version of Firefox you're running. Both versions of the extension are the same, they just list it different ways so people don't ask questions.

Add-on notes

Here's the list of add-ons that I have...

* AdBlock Plus -- Portable
* All-in-One Sidebar -- Portable
* AVG Safe Search -- Cross-over from local version of Firefox
* Better Privacy -- Portable
* Download Statusbar -- Portable
* DownloadHelper -- MOSTLY Portable, file conversion settings require local installation of additional software.
* ErrorZilla Mod -- Portable
* Fission -- Portable
* Forecastbar Enhanced -- Portable
* Gmail Manager -- Portable
* IE Tab -- Partially Portable, requires Internet Explorer on local computer for use.
* Java Quick Starter -- Cross-over from local version
* Microsoft .NET Framework assistant -- Cross-over from local version
* Move Media Player (for Fox's VoD) -- UNCERTAIN Potentially portable, but requires local install
* NoScript -- Portable
* PDF Download -- Portable
* Vacuum Places Improved -- Portable
* Yahoo! Mail Notifier -- Portable

The ones that are in bold are key ones to note here, especially the "Cross-Over" ones. Those are stored on the local version of Firefox (NOT the portable version) that, for some reason (probably from the local registry) manage to find themselves active in the Portable version.

Hope this helps!

~TStodden
Game Monkey Likes You!

Thanks for posting!

Yes, this helps alot. Though, you only need to list the non-portable addons. I'm not listing all the ones that work. Also, I'd like to ask a few questions about some of the addons you listed before I include them in the list.

Microsoft .NET Framework assistant: Well, I know there used to be a forced install of .Net in FF, which would obviously be PC dependent, but did you test the addon when installed from the Firefox addon website? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9449 And doesn't FireFox actually disable the addon if it's installed?

IE Tab: Doesn't EVERY PC have internet explorer on it? It's tied into the OS, right? The only time I could see it not working is if it was run in Wine.

DownloadHelper: What do you mean exactly? Do you mean only if you change the default settings it will leave a folder, it leaves a folder on the PC you made the settings changes on, or does it just leaves a folder no matter what?

Move Media Player: Did you mean to say Windows Media Player? And what is VoD? And "potentially portable"? Aren't all of these addons potentially portable?

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

IE Tab

is definitely NOT portable, since it uses the local IE, which means that all the history you generate, any forms you fill in, all the cache, any passwords you enter, are all stored on the local PC as if you had simply run the local IE.

Updated

Removed lastpass, put addons in ABC order, added Java Quick starter, CoolIrs, and AVG Safe Search, and did some general cleanup.

Can a Mod sticky this topic? I feel it's a pretty important one.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Updated

Added Microsoft Silverlight to the list.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Depend on what version windows OS platform.

Most of my all my application (and Firefox add-ons) on Portable Apps install on windows XP. When i run on Vista all my Firefox add-ons not working "COMPLETELY".
Not really sure about 32bit or 64bit cause of this problem & I wanna ask windows 7 (32bit or 64bit) user if problem happen as well?

p/s
still wanna use Windows XP even Windows "lucky" 7 more cool. if i jump to other OS my first option will be MAC OSX.

Farid Zenon

Vista

Well, I may need a more thourough test about Windows Vista before I add that, since I have access to a Vista PC.

Oh, and for the OS, Windows 7 is like Vista, but it doesn't suck. XP and Windows 7 are both pretty nice. And before you check out mac, take a look at Ubuntu Linux.

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

I'm with you!

When I switch from the proprietary Windows XP OS, it will not be to yet another proprietary OS (Mac OS X) - it'll be to the truly open-source Linux OS! I just can't decide yet exactly which distro it'll be... Cool

FlashGot = Portable PwdHash =

FlashGot = Portable
PwdHash = Portable
ChatZilla = Portable

Read before posting

Due to the large amount of addons, I am only listing those that are known NOT to be portable. Please only report addons that don't work.

Not to be mean, but I clearly stated to only list non-portable addons. I mean, I put it in bold font and everything!

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Still useful, IMHO

I think "SomeAddon = portable" is still useful. As a user of ChatZilla, I was happy to see I had one fewer addon that needed checking.
Sure, the main topic is only for non-portable addons, but IMHO seeing that an addon is portable is equally useful if not more so, since seeing that an addon is not in the non-portable list could mean that nobody tested it.

"The question I would like to know, is the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. All we know about it is that the Answer is Forty-two, which is a little aggravating."

FireShot

FireShot isn't portable - it creates a "Fireshot" folder in %APPDATA%.

"The question I would like to know, is the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. All we know about it is that the Answer is Forty-two, which is a little aggravating."

Thanks

Added Fireshot to the list. Thanks for reporting!

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

BugMeNot & MenuEditor

I moved my FirefoxPortable folder to a different location. Both the BugMeNot and MenuEditor extension no longer work. Re-installing each extension fixes them, so it seems that they write a path somewhere within their settings that does not get updated everytime FirefoxPortable starts.

BugMeNot = partial
MenuEditor = partial

Interesting

Where exactly did you move it? Was it to a new flashdrive? Did it still reside in the "Firefoxportable" folder?

The guy who acts like he knows what he's talking about.

Copied to Desktop

Everything inside the FirefoxPortable folder remained the same, all I did was copy it from a flash drive to my desktop. Running it from the copy on my desktop caused the symptoms above. If I change the drive letter of the flash drive, the addons work properly, so it looks like there's a path dependency somewhere.