Warning -- Firefox users please read!

scaramonga · 08 Jun 2009

How to disable the Firefox .NET Framework Assistant installed by MS.
[COLOR=DarkBlue]
In a recent update of the .NET framework Microsoft silently installs an extension to your Firefox browser if it is found on your system. This extension enables websites you visit with Firefox to silently install software on your computer, thus injecting the most serious flaw of Internet Explorer into Firefox.

Microsoft installs this extension in such a way that it cannot be removed directly by the user -- it is listed in the Extensions list but Uninstall is disabled.

This is not a bug -- this is the intended functionality of the Firefox extension, probably to enable Microsoft to install software on your machine when you visit their websites with Firefox instead of IE. This extension introduces a serious security vulnerability to Firefox. It should be removed immediately, using the instructions below.

Links removed by dmex
-This is not a vulnerability or anything to be concerned about, The Author of that article does not know what ClickOnce really does, please see page 3 for a detailed explanation-

Ballistyx · 08 Jun 2009

Thanks for the heads up with the info :)

kodi · 08 Jun 2009

I am running 7100rc x 64 bit and the extension uninstall is not grayed out and allowed me to remove it

zigzag3143 · 08 Jun 2009

kodi said:

I am running 7100rc x 64 bit and the extension uninstall is not grayed out and allowed me to remove it

kodi
First welcome to SF. Tons of resources and really nice ppl. See scaramonga's post (#1) and use the removal instructions link. Also we can help you more if you fill in your "my system specs" in control panel

Good luck

Ken

scaramonga · 08 Jun 2009

kodi said:

I am running 7100rc x 64 bit and the extension uninstall is not grayed out and allowed me to remove it

Yes, but if you read the article:

Note that on Windows 7 and possibly some Versions of Vista the Uninstall button may actually be active for the .NET extension in the Firefox extensions list. However, using it does not appear to remove all the components of the extension. Since the vulnerability is so serious you should still manually check all the items on the Windows Annoyances check list to make sure they have all been removed.

:)

torrentg · 08 Jun 2009

On x86 7201, Firefox 3.5 Beta 4, it was not greyed out and it let me uninstall normally. I then went to the annoyances site and did what they said.

I did not have this following part because I'm guessing I deleted it when uninstalling.

Type microsoftdotnet in the Filter field to quickly find the general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet setting.
Right-click general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet and select Reset.

To delete the DotNetAssistantExtension folder, I had to take ownership and also have Firefox closed.

This is horrible practice by Microsoft. We specifically go out of our way to not use IE and they have to do this to us? Overall, M$ is making good progress but this is not acceptable at all.

Thank you Scaramonga. I'd +1 rep again if I could.

sandman · 08 Jun 2009

Thanks for the heads up, and i to was able to uninstall the add-on with no issues as far as i can tell.

scaramonga · 08 Jun 2009

torrentg said:

On x86 7201, Firefox 3.5 Beta 4, it was not greyed out and it let me uninstall normally. I then went to the annoyances site and did what they said.

I did not have this following part because I'm guessing I deleted it when uninstalling.

Type microsoftdotnet in the Filter field to quickly find the general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet setting.
Right-click general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet and select Reset.

To delete the DotNetAssistantExtension folder, I had to take ownership and also have Firefox closed.

This is horrible practice by Microsoft. We specifically go out of our way to not use IE and they have to do this to us? Overall, M$ is making good progress but this is not acceptable at all.

Thank you Scaramonga. I'd +1 rep again if I could.

Yup my friend, exactly the same procedure I had as well, but got there in the end :)

Jacee · 08 Jun 2009

I was able to add to rep ... thanks again scaramonga :)

Orillion · 08 Jun 2009

iam tring to delete %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\Windows Presentation Foundation folder but i wont allow it. i tried giving my user full control but that did not help. how do i transfer ownership of the folder to my user ?