[Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

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lithopsian
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

Diamanti wrote:Addon show cookie name not content that i not can to copy to clipboard.

It does show the content, but not in a way that you could easily copy. That's the way the cookie crumbles. I don't think I'm going to change the way the dialog opens for now. I think it is more helpful to most people the way it is. Let's see if anyone else has any thoughts.

Just thinking, maybe it would be possible to open a completely new dialog from the existing Cookie Controller menus? Showing all the detail for a particular cookie, perhaps with a modified click of some sort?
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lovemyfoxy »

After trying several cookie controls, just downloaded yours. I hope this overrides the old cookie permissions under Tools>Options> Privacy, which are still in my long-lived profile, but never worked properly.

And I've already been through Cookie Monster (overly complex) and Cookie Culler (claims to but does not delete cookies I mark "Unprotected")

And is it updated for FF 19?
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lithopsian
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Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

Cookie Controller is updated for FF19 and FF20. However, Firefox still has a number of bugs related to cookie management in private browsing windows in FF20. Permissions work in private browsing windows, but you won't be able to see or manually delete cookies from private browsing windows until Firefox bugs are fixed. They will automatically be deleted at the end of your session.

Cookie Controller will not change your settings when it is first installed. It will just try to decide whether your existing settings most closely match the "on" or "off" state and start from there. The tooltips will describe your settings. However, pressing the Toggle button will change your cookie permissions to whatever you have configured in Cookie Controller. If you select to force the state on or off at startup, your cookie permissions will be set appropriately the next time you (re-)start Firefox.

The default on/green state is to allow cookies for the session. The default off/red state is to block all cookies. You can change these settings with the checkmarks on the context or tools menu. Better is to allow exceptions only for those sites that need them, using the Permissions button in Cookie Controller.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lovemyfoxy »

Thanks. I don't have private browsing mode on, as I don't share the computer with anyone. I keep all history, form and download history, but keep cookies only selectively.

In plain English, what's DOM storage?
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lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

In plain English, what's DOM storage?

The Germans call it Supercookies. They are bigger than cookies and they need to be written and read from javascript, but otherwise much the same: pieces of information that websites can place on your computer and read back later.

Firefox supports DOM storage but is behind the ball on controlling it. DOM storage cannot be seen at all from Firefox without an addon. There is no support for blocking "third party" DOM storage, it is all or nothing. Permissions for DOM storage cannot be set differently from cookies (except that certain options such as "ask every time" just don't work for DOM storage), although very few people would want to. DOM storage from https sites is invisible to addons (and so cannot be deleted!), but will possibly become detectable in FF21. DOM storage is up to several megabytes by default and malicious sites can fill your disk.

My recommended settings are to deny cookies, which automatically denies DOM storage. For trusted sites you can provide an exception.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lovemyfoxy »

Interesting. Is it stored in a file in my profile?

(OT--Interesting name. Lithops is a genus of desert plant that resembles little stones./OT)
Last edited by lovemyfoxy on July 6th, 2014, 11:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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lithopsian
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Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

LoveMyFoxy wrote:Interesting. Is it stored in a file in my profile?

webappsstore.sqlite. Obvious, huh?
lithopsian
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Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

Ver 1.8 is uploaded, awaiting approval. Not sure where v1.7 went!

The main change is support for the new cookie permission type you may have heard about. Starting in FF21 or FF22, you can allow third party cookies but only from sites you've visited (actually only from sites that already have a cookie, visiting without setting a cookie isn't sufficient). It is hoped this will be the default, but if it breaks too many sites then perhaps not just yet. This is a global permission. There is no exact corresponding exception for individual sites, but the new-ish exception type to allow sites to set cookies only as a first party is similar.

DOM storage is still very buggy. In some cases Cookie Controller will not show you storage items, for example on secure pages. A major rewrite is in progress which should fix most of the problems (bug 600307). Landing perhaps FF21, probably FF22. Firefox will not show you DOM storage items at all, or allow you to delete them other than by deleting everything including cookies, so Cookie Controller is at least better than that.

Private browsing is now on a per-window basis rather than the whole of Firefox (Firefox 20, released April 1st), and Cookie Controller supports this. The toggle button icon in private browsing windows is now (v1.8) wearing the purple face mask. In a private browsing window, Firefox will show you (and allow you to delete) the wrong cookies (bug 823941). So unfortunately the tidy button is disabled in private windows. There is no ETA for this bug to be fixed.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lovemyfoxy »

I have a cookie question not related to the new revision. I'm still on FF 19.0.2. I have cookies from sites where I had allowed session cookies only. When I remove them, the next day they're back, even if I haven't revisited the site. How is this possible?

I've started controlling DOM storage by having a shortcut to webappsstore.squlite on my desktop, and wiping the text clean daily. :-) So far my browsing is none the worse for it.
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lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

Very few sites are yet using DOM storage for anything critical, but it is probably more widespread than most people realise. Many major sites use it for storing configuration, preference, or tracking information.

The other possibility is that you are misunderstanding the cookies you have and the behaviour you are seeing. Examine the cookies very carefully. Check the expiration date if they have one, or see if they are truly marked as session cookies. Consider whether you are restoring your previous session when you restart Firefox, which will automatically restore the cookies from that session.

There are a variety of sites that use some form of super-persistent cookie. For example, they may store a copy in DOM storage and then retrieve it if the cookie is not present. There are at least half a dozen different ways that this can be done, but none of them would work without you visiting the site, or at least accessing it perhaps through an iframe or banner on another page.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lovemyfoxy »

lithopsian wrote:
The other possibility is that you are misunderstanding the cookies you have and the behaviour you are seeing. Examine the cookies very carefully. Check the expiration date if they have one, or see if they are truly marked as session cookies. Consider whether you are restoring your previous session when you restart Firefox, which will automatically restore the cookies from that session.


I don't understand iframes, and I don't get ads with AdBlock Plus, so I never click on ads. I've never restored a previous session and wouldn't know how to. How can I tell a session cookie from a permanent one?

Why would cookies return after I've removed them? For instance, lastpass.com, where my last visit was maybe 2 or 3 months ago, yet the cookie returns after I restart the browser,. This was happening before I ran your add-on.
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lithopsian
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Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

I don't think you're ever removing them. I suspect your session is being restored, perhaps you have it set for your tabs to come back automatically? A little known fact is that session cookies don't go away at the end of a session. Close down Firefox, open it, restore the previous session, and all your session cookies are back. They were never deleted! They get deleted when the previous sessionstore data is discarded after you start browsing in a new session.

Hover over the cookie in the Cookie Controller menus, it will tell you whether it is a session cookie or not, and if not when it should expire. You can click to delete it immediately. If you do that and it comes back then you have serious problems.

P.S. You should probably set exceptions from the Cookie Controller button rather than about:permissions. Using about:permissions will get you very confused as it can set exceptions for different subdomains at the same website, and it lists everywhere you've visited that has any kind of permissions whether it has a cookie exception or not.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lovemyfoxy »

I don't use tabs, I have an add-on that eliminates them. I don't restore sessions, don't even know how. And I've never used about:permissions. You've used up your options. Anyway, thanks for your time.
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lithopsian
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Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

Correction: apparently all session cookies are not restored when you restore a session, only those for pages that get restored. However that does include pages in the session history for any windows that get restored, not just the current page. Amazing how complex cookie handling is!

I don't use tabs, I have an add-on that eliminates them.

They're still there. Probably only one but everything you do is in a tab. Not really relevant to this issue but worth remembering. You might have a shock when Firefox 23 comes out because native tab hiding is dropped, or maybe your addon will continue to hide them some other way. Which one is it?

I don't restore sessions, don't even know how.

You don't have to. Firefox will do it for you in all sorts of situations. Usually though you'll see a web page loaded when you start, so perhaps not that. Still, if truly deleted cookies come back without you even visiting the page then you have some major issues. I'd keep digging because that's not right.
lithopsian
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Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

Re: [Ext] Cookie Controller, now with DOM storage

Post by lithopsian »

v1.8 is approved now. Next on the planning board:
- possible dialog for viewing and editing individual cookie details (and DOM storage?);
- trying to chivvy Mozilla into making cookies from private browsing windows visible (and countable and deletable);
- tracking the DOM storage rewrite so I can get it working fully in the addon.

Also perhaps supporting schemes other than http? Theoretically Firefox supports cookies and DOM storage for any scheme that has a host. Except ftp. Plus file. Plus about: pages for DOM storage, but possibly that will go away since it is a hack. In practice, cookies for the file: scheme are a nightmare full of bugs and security loopholes, and I've never seen cookies used for any other scheme. What do you think?
Last edited by lithopsian on April 10th, 2013, 4:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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