Deployment:Deploying Firefox: Difference between revisions

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< [[Deployment]]
Please visit https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/firefox-enterprise for our current documentation.
 
== Deploying Firefox ==
 
Many people are using Firefox at home, and many also want to use it at work or see it on public computers such as at libraries or Internet Cafes.  This article provides links and references to issues that might come up when considering or executing a Firefox deployment plan.  It describes a wide variety of tools and features available that can be to deploy Firefox and centrally manage and control the use of Firefox in enterprise, business, education, and a variety of large and small organizational settings.
 
== Deploying Firefox ESR ==
[[Enterprise/Firefox/ExtendedSupport:Proposal|Firefox ESR]] is an extended support release; deployment tools should be very similar since there are only minor changes between the normal release version and the ESR.
 
== The Rational for Deploying Firefox inside Organizations and Institutions ==
 
* [[http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/10-Reasons-Why-Companies-Should-Consider-Alternatives-to-Internet-Explorer-559225/  This EWeek Article ]]  By Don Reisinger, July 20, 2009,  does a good job of analyzing the major reason why companies have reason to consider Firefox deployment to their employees.
 
These are also reasons we have heard in the past from a variety of sources:
 
*<b>Concerns about security</b> is a strategic reason some organizations move to Firefox exclusively, or set up support support for multiple browsers. 
 
* Many users choose Firefox when it is offered inside their organization, or go around IT policies because it <b>makes these users more efficient and more productive in accessing information on the web.</b>  They take advantage of firefox features such as tab browsing, rss feeds, and integrated search to get more done, faster.  With the amount of time that "knowledge workers" spend using a browser each day these productivity increases can add up to be significant to the bottom line and the competitiveness of a company.
 
* Some organization also <b>chose Firefox as a tool to assist in ensuring development of internal applications and documents comply with web standards, and that the organizations do not get locked into proprietary document formats that could become difficult or costly to support.</b>  If your applications and content works in Firefox its highly likely they will work in other browsers, and  open up possibilities that ensure your internal organizational content is searchable and useful with other applications that support standards.
 
* International organizations, and organizations that support multiple Operating Systems also like Firefox because its a way to standardize the browser for all their users.  If you have an organization where engineering teams might use Linux or Unix Systems, Design and Web Development Teams using Mac, and Business Teams using Windows Firefox is the one browser that can be used across the company, and its available in over 70 languages.
 
* <b>Firefox can also be customized and extended to meet specific needs of an organization by creating addon extensions or building on the Firefox platform or leverage existing addons that improve productivity.  http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175084/10_must_have_Firefox_extensions_for_business has some examples of productivity improvement addons.</b>
 
* Firefox adoption seems to work best in organizations where there is a strong emphasis on employee productivity and where employees can influence the technology that they use.  It tends to be adopted in  organizations that consider it a priority to stay on the leading edge of technology adoption and security updates.  This article explains the different kinds of organizations in Australia and their adoption patterns.  http://delimiter.com.au/2010/09/30/desktop-dictatorship-corporate-australia-still-prefers-ie/
 
== Extending and Customizing Firefox for Enhanced Productivity ==
 
You can control thousands of Firefox settings, and extend Firefox with additional Addons to provide the best web experience for your users.
 
To see the many settings that can be customized in Firefox type:
 
    about:config
 
in the location bar of the browser.  Documentation about each of these preferences is available from a wide variety of sources.  One of the best may be at [http://preferential.mozdev.org/preferences.html the mozdev site]
 
[http://www.greatbigpodcast.com/2006/10/05/very-best-firefox-extensions-for-entrepreneurs/  The Very Best Firefox Extensions for Entrepreneurs] article recommend several Firefox addons that might be useful for increasing productivity of users inside large organizations.
 
A variety of tools are also available to assist in making changes to the browser and repackaging these changes before deploying to your users.  More information on those tools is provided below
 
== Firefox Customization (CCK and Repackaging Tools) ==
 
The Firefox Client Customization Kit (CCK) was designed as a successor to two Netscape products, CCK, and Mission Control Desktop (MCD). These two products were used to customize Netscape browsers for deployment for ISPs (CCK) and enterprises (MCD).
 
The goal of the Firefox CCK is to provide an extension that can be deployed with Firefox that does most basic customizations.
 
A CCK addon is now available at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/cck/
<!-- Removed 02-16-2012 as link is 404
More information is available at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/cck/firefox.
-->
 
Information on the release repackaging tool is available here  http://benjamin.smedbergs.us/release-repackager/
 
== Centralized Settings Management and Control ==
 
The core technology in Firefox and Thunderbird contains a feature called "Mission Control Desktop/Auto Config" that can be used to centrally manage Browser and Mail configuration settings for the client software that is deployed across an organization.  The source code is here:
 
http://mxr.mozilla.org/comm-central/source/mozilla/extensions/pref/autoconfig/src/
 
The code is still in use by Thunderbird, and still probably works for Firefox, although testing would be needed to confirm.  If anyone has tested please update with status here.
 
More documentation on this feature can be found at:
* http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/MCD%2C_Mission_Control_Desktop_AKA_AutoConfig
* https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Automatic_Mozilla_Configurator/Locked_config_settings
 
Most of the controls are carried out via the preference system.  An overview of the this system can be found at
* http://www.mozilla.org/catalog/end-user/customizing/briefprefs.html
* http://www.xulplanet.com/tutorials/xulqa/q_prefs.html
 
Extensive lists of preferences can be found at:
* http://preferential.mozdev.org/preferences.html
 
Some customization ideas can be found here
* http://www.mozilla.org/support/firefox/tips
 
This article also talks about controlling other features such as bookmarks and history and an approach to "Securing Mozilla in the Public Library":
* http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/pro/mozilla/
 
== Installer and Packaging Options ==
 
Large Oranizations have a variety of software deployment systems.  In most cases the Firefox installation package can be wrapped inside these deployment systems.
Some groups have packaged the firefox installer inside a MSI package to do their deployments. The firefox installation program can be wrapped inside these deployment systems.  Two installer options are valuable in these set ups.
 
FirefoxSetup.exe  /ms    (for mode-silent)
 
or
 
FirefoxSetup.exe  /ma  (auto-mode, hands-free but visible)
 
Another installation option ( /ira ) might be useful in these scenarios as it keeps the program from running after the install has completed.
 
Some changes were made in Firefox 2 to modify installer command line options.  Information on those changes is here: http://wiki.mozilla.org/Installer:Command_Line_Arguments
 
A project is also underway to allow packaging of custom versions of Firefox.  See http://byob.mozilla.com/ for more information
 
== Deployment Tools ==
Automated deployment of Firefox with extensions, themes, and pre-configuration
http://firefox.dbltree.com/ (no longer maintained)
 
Firefox ADM (Active Directory deployment)
Manage Firefox settings through Group Policy and Active Directory.
http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/mcs/FirefoxADM/Readme.htm
 
== Software Update ==
 
Mozilla offers automated updates of  security patches and bug fixes for Firefox and Thunderbird though its software update system.  You can choose to use this system or modify the firefox configuration to turn software updates off and gain more control over the update process.  An overview of the software update system can be found at http://wiki.mozilla.org/Software_Update
 
== Companies ==
List of companies and contacts who can help with your evaluation, pilot projects, and deployment of Firefox or Thunderbird across your organization is provided below.
<br>
<br>
[http://www.epidataconsulting.com Epidata Consulting] - Buenos Aires, Argentina
<br>
[http://www.wayforth.co.uk Wayforth] - London, UK
<br>
[http://www.browsergarage.com Browser Garage] - Mountain View, CA
  Link/website appears inactive 2011-10-05
<br>
[http://kaply.com/consulting Kaply Consulting] - Austin, TX - contact [mailto:consulting@kaply.com Michael Kaply]
<br>
[http://www.webconverger.com Webconverger] - London, Berlin, Singapore & world wide
 
We are also interested in hearing about your success stories or problems at partners@mozilla.org
 
== Licensing/Distribution Terms and Conditions ==
 
The Firefox End User License can be found here:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/legal/eula/
 
and more information about logo and trademark use can be found here: http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/trademarks/
 
== United States Export Control Information ==
 
Companies looking to provide Mozilla Software outside the United States often ask about Export Control provisions to comply with US laws and regulations. 
 
The '''Export Notice''' can be found at
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/security/export-notice
 
In 2002, NSS 3.4 requested a '''CCATS''' commodity classification id '''G023895''' to make it easier for companies to file when they include NSS or Mozilla Applications such as Firefox which use NSS.
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/nss-3.4/nss-3.4-algorithms.html
This CCATS filing covered all the crypto operations used in the Mozilla code base, including SSL and S/MIME. 
 
More recent versions of NSS have not filed for further CCATS numbers, instead claiming a TSU exemption via 740.13(3) of the EAR because the NSS crypto code is "''publicly available''" and the binaries are built from purely open source software. 
 
: ''NB : the associated '''ECCN''' for software packages that include NSS is likely to be 5D002.c.1 (TSU unrestricted, via EAR 740.13(e)).  One could theoretically request a review of a specific set of binaries for authorization under 5D992.b.1 ("No License Required", but it's not known whether anyone has.  See Frank Hecker's Jan 2005 post: http://hecker.org/mozilla/eccn )''
 
More information on exporting products made from Open Source can be found at https://www.bis.doc.gov/encryption/enc.htm and http://www.access.gpo.gov/bis/ear/ear_data.html
(Part 740. Section §740.13(e) is on page 30 of the PDF).
 
We strongly caution you not to act on your personal reading of export regulations.  They are complex and loaded with history, precedent, and context which often require interpretation from a qualified attorney.
 
Most questions about features provided by Mozilla's security library are contained in this document:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/nss-3.9/nss-3.9-algorithms.html
 
== Other Links ==
 
Collection of other random thoughts, press, and other articles on Firefox Deployments in Enterprise and Large Organizations
 
<br>http://del.icio.us/chofmann/enterprise
<br>http://del.icio.us/chofmann/firefox-deployments
<br>http://mozillaenterprise.mozdev.org/information.html
<br>http://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox:1.5_Institutional_Deployment
<br>http://www.sanduskycomputers.com/downloads/fxcorp/
<br>http://fxcorp.sanduskycomputers.com/
<br>http://corporatefirefox.blogspot.com/
<br>http://firefox.dbltree.com/
<br>http://varun21.blogspot.com/
<br>http://www.frontmotion.com/Firefox/
 
[[Category:Firefox]]

Latest revision as of 16:07, 31 May 2019

Please visit https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/firefox-enterprise for our current documentation.

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