Firefox Hole "Maybe"?

jeckgo · 01-26-2006, 01:18 PM

Greeting's

I am not sure if its a bug but I don't understand why such a *feature* is there (okay it might help improve performance but can also serve as a security weakness). I read two threads on firefox about its prefetch feature. I have *disabled* prefetch in firefox on my system (Although i don't think it hold's much relevance here)

Anyway I found out that before we click "SAVE", firefox already starts to download the file in background (so even before I have clicked save the file will be placed in temp directory). Now if this can be disabled or is a feature (i don't know why it should be a feature) then please tell me.

I have conformed this by trying a simple experiment.

I went to sourceforge.net. There I went to BO2K project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/bo2k/)
I clicked on download then I selected the latest file (http://sourceforge.net/project/show...p?group_id=4487)
and then I selected the server closest to me (I also tried with two different random servers but again this information is irrelevant).
Then the opening (and the file name here) dialog box appears in firefox. ** At this point of time I have NOT clicked save ** but the file is already being downloaded while window is in background. I had a look into my firewall and say that even before clicking "save" the file is being downloaded (because the bytes received counter is going up) just to double check I let the download continue after about 1.3 MB being downloaded my anti virus starts showing automatic clean up and warning message's.

Once again if this is a feature then please tell me, I didnt know of such a feature.

Also I have firefox 1.5

Hellbreather · 01-26-2006, 01:23 PM

I dunno I haven't read it on the release notes and the features list but who knows maybe it is, the best thing to do is ask around (I'm sure you have friends who have firefox)

Or you could drop Mozilla an e-mail explaining whats happening.
Hope this helps.
Hellbreather.

lee101 · 01-26-2006, 06:17 PM

i've noticed that before, actually i like it, as often i click to download something, go out the room for an hour or so then realise i have forgot to click ok, but maybe it is a little glitch?

01-26-2006, 01:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
jeckgo banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 54	Firefox Hole "Maybe"? Greeting's I am not sure if its a bug but I don't understand why such a feature is there (okay it might help improve performance but can also serve as a security weakness). I read two threads on firefox about its prefetch feature. I have disabled prefetch in firefox on my system (Although i don't think it hold's much relevance here) Anyway I found out that before we click "SAVE", firefox already starts to download the file in background (so even before I have clicked save the file will be placed in temp directory). Now if this can be disabled or is a feature (i don't know why it should be a feature) then please tell me. I have conformed this by trying a simple experiment. I went to sourceforge.net. There I went to BO2K project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/bo2k/) I clicked on download then I selected the latest file (http://sourceforge.net/project/show...p?group_id=4487) and then I selected the server closest to me (I also tried with two different random servers but again this information is irrelevant). Then the opening (and the file name here) dialog box appears in firefox. At this point of time I have NOT clicked save but the file is already being downloaded while window is in background. I had a look into my firewall and say that even before clicking "save" the file is being downloaded (because the bytes received counter is going up) just to double check I let the download continue after about 1.3 MB being downloaded my anti virus starts showing automatic clean up and warning message's. Once again if this is a feature then please tell me, I didnt know of such a feature. Also I have firefox 1.5

01-26-2006, 01:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
Hellbreather Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 20 Posts: 736	I dunno I haven't read it on the release notes and the features list but who knows maybe it is, the best thing to do is ask around (I'm sure you have friends who have firefox) Or you could drop Mozilla an e-mail explaining whats happening. Hope this helps. Hellbreather. __________________ There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary code, and those who don't Windows XP Pro Setup Intel Pentium 4 Processor - 3.2Ghz With HT Technology, 1024MB DDR RAM, 200GB SATA HDD, 40GB SATA HDD, Sound Blaster Live! 24 BIT!, Radeon 9800 PRO 256MB, Gigabit Ethernet Card

01-26-2006, 06:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
lee101 VIP Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Age: 17 Posts: 1,150	i've noticed that before, actually i like it, as often i click to download something, go out the room for an hour or so then realise i have forgot to click ok, but maybe it is a little glitch? __________________ My PC: Core2Duo E6300 @ 1.86 Ghz, Asus P5v-VM DH , 200 GB Maxtor SATA ,2GB (21GB Kingston DDRII), Radeon x1650 Graphics (256 mb), 2 Acer 17 inch TFT's, Windows Vista Home Premium Server: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ 256 Mb Ram, 8Gb IDE for o/s, 2 * 250GB SATAII for storage, Ubuntu Server 7.10

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