Firefox Annoyances in a Managed Environment
If you've read my earlier article on lab management practices, you know that I have a logout script that runs in my labs to ensure all users have a consistent environment. The script works by replacing the user's home directory with a template at each logout.
Firefox, however, presents a challenge to this system. The first time firefox is opened after being updated, it displays a tab notifying you of the update and providing the change log. It does this on a per-user basis, so clearly the setting must be stored in the user's home directory. Since I replace the home directory at every logout, the user gets this notification repeatedly: the first time firefox is started after each login.
After doing some digging, I found the preference that controls this behavior. Adding the following line to prefs.js in the template user's mozilla profile directory will prevent the update notification altogether:
user_pref("browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone", "ignore");
With the advent of firefox 3, Mozilla added a copyright notice notification tab that appears the first time firefox is started. The following preference will convince firefox that it has already shown you the notice:
user_pref("browser.rights.3.shown", true);
Please note that if you are making these additions to prefs.js in a live home directory firefox must not be running while they are added. This is because firefox overwrites the file at exit.