How can you protect your configuration settings from being accessed by others
You use a computer with several user accounts. You want to ensure that only you, as administrator, can change important browser settings such as configuration of the proxy. However, users should be able to make changes in the general settings.
The key to this is a configuration file, in which you block selected options and which you then encode online.
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Determining options concerned: Type ‘about config’ in the address bar of the browser and find the entries you want to block for other system users in the list. You cannot do without the configuration of the Internet proxy set by you in the example. The line ‘network, proxy, type’ sees to it that Firefox uses the proxy. Therefore, you have to ensure that this line cannot be changed.
Creating a configuration file: Starts a text editor for this. Type two slashes in the first line and then go to the next line. Place the ‘lock Perl’ character string before the presetting to be blocked. For example: Lockpref(‘Network.proxy.type’,1);
You can add the entries for more setting that gave to be blocked in a new line. That way, you can also ensure that Firefox always displays the preset homepage. Save this file in the TXT format; for instance, write as ‘firefox-sperre.txt’.
Encoding file: Convert the block file you have just created so that other users cannot open it. The easiest way to do so is using an online encoder such as the tool on ‘http://alain.knaff.linux.lu/howto/MozillCustomization/cgi/byteshf.cgi’. Click on ‘Upload.txt to get mozilla.cfg(byteshift 13)’ on ‘Browse’.
Then, browse to the TXT file you created and select ‘Open’ Click on ‘Convert mozilla.txt to mozilla.cfg’ to start the conversion and save the resulting file ‘mozilla.cfg’ in the program folder of the browser: ‘C:\program\Mozilla Firefox’.
Activating the block file: You still have to integrate the converted file to the configuration of the browser. To do that. Open the ‘greprefs’ sub folder on the Fifefox program folder. Then, open the ‘all.js’ Javascript file. Insert the following line at the end of the file: ‘pref(‘general.config.filename’, ‘mozilla.cfg’);’.
Save the change and restart Firefox. Now, the blocked values under ‘about:config’ has the ‘blocked’ status. Accessing them even through menu dialog boxes is not possible any more. You can stop even experienced users from cracking the block by taking away the writing rights of ‘all.js’ from them. You can remove the reference to the CJG file within ‘all.js’ to lift the block at a later stage when it is no longer needed.
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