[Ext] Cookie Controller, now with 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 »

The blue tick mark indicates that the current permission for a website is allow cookies but remove them at the end of the session. This permission may be permanent, or it may expire at the end of the session. The permission right now can be detected, but there is no API to say whether that permission is scheduled to change in the future.

Cookie Monster performs its own temporary permission management. It sets a new permanent permission and remembers what the permission was before the temporary permission was set. Then it can reset that permission at some point in the future. I consider this to be too unreliable.
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alphaniner
Posts: 14
Joined: January 11th, 2009, 6:49 pm

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

Post by alphaniner »

I have FF set to 'show windows & tabs from last time' and I recently began having issues with the feature. After restarting FF, some tabs I had closed would be restored, some tabs would show the site's favicon but have title of 'New Tab' and when clicked would be a blank tab, some tabs seemed to be restored to an older state, etc. I also recently moved from Cookie Monster to CC, but I don't think the problems began immediately. Anyway, I created a clean profile and couldn't reproduce the problem. Then I installed [only] CC and reproduced the problem; removed CC and problem went away. I've gone back to CM for now, but if there's any troubleshooting I can do let me know.

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:43.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/43.0
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

The issues you describe are related to known bugs with session restore when cookies are blocked. Actually it is session storage being blocked that causes the problem. The problem only becomes visible if an addon, or possibly a web page or the user, tries to access session storage before the session store code gets to it. Cookie Monster doesn't do this so things appear to work correctly, although it is still possible to reproduce the problem by visiting certain websites that use session storage.

This has been reported as fixed in Firefox 45 beta, but I don't believe it. I'm going to download the latest versions and test later today.
MeSat
New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: February 8th, 2016, 10:33 pm

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

Post by MeSat »

I was directed to you addon in a discussion about the removal of Ask Me Everytime form Firefox 44.

I am wondering if that is a feature that could be added to your addon?

Thank you.
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

That's funny MeSat! Not funny that they removed a feature that people are using, unilaterally accepting cookies that previously weren't accepted. Just funny that I spent all afternoon updating Cookie Controller to understand that Ask Me Everytime doesn't exist any more (and a few other things that broke along the way). I'm afraid this isn't something that Cookie Controller can do. It is a whole addon in itself, and not as simple as you might expect. Perhaps someone will write it. Probably not me unless a whole bunch of spare time opens up.
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

I wrote an export/import function. I know, who would have imagined it!

It will export your preferences related to cookie permissions, including all Cookie Controller preferences, into a file. It will also add all cookie permission exceptions. That file can be used as a backup or imported into a different Firefox.

It is English only for now, consider it a beta function. You should allow for the import wiping out all your cookie permissions and then bailing, or just plain bailing. More importantly there are definite problems with importing a pre-42 file into a post-42 release. It won't work, intentionally. The formats all changed internally and you should let Firefox do this upgrade, then export a new file.

Let me know if I missed anything important, or if it just plain breaks.
eson
Posts: 2
Joined: February 23rd, 2016, 1:17 am

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

Post by eson »

Hi,

I have used your extension for years without any trouble, but suddenly all three buttons are gone. They are gone from all the plcaes where they normally could be found. The extension seem to be installed when looking in extension manager, but your page at addon.mozilla.org still says "Add to Firefox".

I have tried to uninstall/install the add-on but that didn't help. My Firefox version is 44.0.2 x64 EMEfree running on Windows 8.1. I'm pretty sure the extension worked fine before updating to v4.7.

Is there anything I can do? I feel totally lost without your excellent extension.
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

Someone else has reported this. It seems to be related to the new version 4.7. Downgrading to 4.6 apparently fixes it. I don't know yet why this happens for some people but not others. I'll put out a fix as soon as I find out.
eson
Posts: 2
Joined: February 23rd, 2016, 1:17 am

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

Post by eson »

lithopsian wrote:Someone else has reported this. It seems to be related to the new version 4.7. Downgrading to 4.6 apparently fixes it. I don't know yet why this happens for some people but not others. I'll put out a fix as soon as I find out.
Yes, you are right. Downgrading did solve the problem. Guess I'll have to turn of auto update for a while. Good luck finding the bug, and thanks for a good extension. Don't hesitate to ping me if I can help debug.
yfdyh000
Posts: 13
Joined: April 9th, 2011, 10:11 am

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

Post by yfdyh000 »

Some strings is missing in locales except en-US.
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

yfdyh000 wrote:Some strings is missing in locales except en-US.
Yes, this is the problem. English locales work, but not others. I have uploaded a new version, it should be approved in the next few hours.
Forklift
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: March 2nd, 2016, 5:27 pm

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

Post by Forklift »

I have been using Cookie Controller for a bit and would like to report some issues and suggestions.

I do not think most of the sites I use will tolerate no cookies so your tool is invaluable at enabling me to nuke particular cookies on an adhoc basis and from time to time to delete all of them.

Sadly the companies that place these cookies do not follow the rules, some will create sub-domains others use 3rd party sites and will make their sites not work without them.

Sadly, CC does not seem to delete ALL cookies and I find myself having to use other add-ons and products

1. If I run CCleaner I will find a load of cookies with zero bytes, some examples are below. You will know that even a file with zero bytes can be named with a unique PID and track you

Code: Select all

Removed Cookie: gist.github.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: mail.yahoo.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: s0.wordpress.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: s.yimg.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: github.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: security.google.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: api-iam.intercom.io	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.smartftp.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: rarbg.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: js.recurly.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: stats.g.doubleclick.net	0 KB
Removed Cookie: kat.cr	0 KB
Removed Cookie: public-api.wordpress.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.spamhaus.org	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.icann.org	0 KB
Removed Cookie: 452230554.fls.doubleclick.net	0 KB
Removed Cookie: static-sjc.recurly.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: sso.godaddy.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: v.cdn.vine.co	0 KB
Removed Cookie: torrentz.eu	0 KB
Removed Cookie: api.skype.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: easylist-downloads.adblockplus.org	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.phplist.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: services.addons.mozilla.org	0 KB
Removed Cookie: addons.mozilla.org	0 KB
Removed Cookie: n75.network-auth.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: codeload.github.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.microsoft.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: pixel.facebook.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.facebook.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: secure.booking.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: cdn.syndication.twimg.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: login.yahoo.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: en-us.reddit.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: hangouts.google.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: analytics.twitter.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: dap.digitalgov.gov	0 KB
Removed Cookie: mail.live.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: us.yahoo.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: lw.skype.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: developers.google.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.avforums.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: signup.wordpress.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: v0.wordpress.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: us-mg5.mail.yahoo.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: cdn.tinypng.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: vine.co	0 KB
Removed Cookie: thumbs.videopress.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: www.dropbox.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: static.avforums.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: login.skype.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: player.vimeo.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: api.github.com	0 KB
Removed Cookie: rarbg.to	0 KB

2. CCleaner also finds cookies stored in other folders, these may not be standard but they are being used by sites to track people.

Code: Select all

C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\default\https+++www.pinterest.com\.metadata	1 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\default\https+++www.pinterest.com\cache\caches.sqlite	64 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\l1pdf234.default\storage\default\https+++www.pinterest.com\cache\morgue\201\{520db9c5-552e-429c-a9c6-e81cb13f87cc}.final	2 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\default\https+++www.pinterest.com\cache\morgue\36\{5d0bg229-b61b-4e27-8406-69f412feb824}.final	2 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\.metadata	1 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\metadata	1 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module10	149 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module11	52 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module12	31 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module13	48 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module14	48 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module15	48 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module8	220 KB
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefoxs\l1pdf234.default\storage\temporary\https+++mega.nz\asmjs\module9	83 KB
3. You will probably have heard of retargetting cookies, many of these are not stored anywhere near the cookies location, some are known as "flash cookies" they are stored in the following folders.

Some sited simply add a string to the default LSO file, others like YouTube use their own LSO files, ebay will create these and create them for Paypal too when you log in to their site. You can view these files with the "better privacy" firefox addon

The advertising industry invented retargetting cookies to get around people deleting cookies, the real power of them is that they are shared by agencies and added to a profile you can't escape. Some sites use widgets, beacons and analytics to track you, these are mostly handled by Ghostery but there are a few I think Cookie Controller could go after, the covert ones that store their cookies in config files for flash or in other folders.

Code: Select all

C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Flash Player\AssetCache\
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\
Facebook uses retargetting cookies that it is very hard to get away from because they store your PID that uniquely identfies you when you click on an ad, the advertiser can they add you to a "custom audience" and advertise to you unless you specifically ask FB to stop them. Some ad agencies are using Facebook to create custom audiences but also adding their own cookies so they can target the same demographic without paying FB for additional campaigns. These agencies use cookies that are shares by millions of sites, so visit any one site and they have you.

4. Sometimes there are cookies I can't see that I want to protect that are deleted by CC, an example of these would be Lastpass, all I can ask here is that you contact lastpass and ask if there is a way for you to protect their cookies.

Well I hope this gives you a few things to work on to improve your excellent add-on!!

Sadly for the moment we are lulled into a false sense of security by thinking it is enough to use your add-on

Thanks for your efforts.
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

Forklist, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing ;)
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

about:permissions has been removed from Firefox. As of now. Check it, it is caput as of 45.

So Cookie Controller no longer has a menu item to open an about:permissions dialog. Unfortunate, because it could be useful even if it was confusing and buggy. Maybe someone will bring it back as an addon. In any Firefox build that has an about:permissions page then the menu item will automatically appear.
lithopsian
Posts: 3664
Joined: September 15th, 2010, 9:03 am

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

Post by lithopsian »

Does anyone have any good ideas for IndexedDB? It is theoretically controlled by the same permission settings as cookies and DOM storage, but it is very difficult to check and control. It can also be enabled entirely (I do this in my own browser), so I could add a toggle for that. I might also be able to display whether a site has IndexedDB data. even perhaps show individual IndexedDB object stores. Then they could also be deleted.
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