Why is WU installing Firefox add-on's?

Why is WU putting add-ons into Firefox? It's Mozilla's responsibility to take care of their own browser, and I imagine they would prefer it that way.

WU puts the new extension "Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 0.0.0" into Firefox without any prior notice to user. I'm not sure offhand exactly which WU update does it, but apparently one of the High Priority security updates related to .NET 2.0/3.0/3.5. This add-on from MS is not compatible with Firefox. Only the Enable/Disable button is active, the Options and Uninstall buttons are grayed out.

MS tried to provide a fix to enable the Uninstall button, but it doesn't work with later versions of Firefox as I and many others can verify:
Update to .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 for the .NET Framework Assistant 1.0 x86 (KB963707)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

MS also published manual removal instructions:
How to remove the .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=963707
I can verify that the manual removal method works OK with my Firefox 3.6 despite some inaccurate details. (There is no general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet preference item in my Firefox 3.6 about:config list.) However removing it is pointless(!), because WU then reinstalls it via High Priority KB963707. The only way to prevent reinstallation is to disable KB963707 in WU.

In fact Mozilla has their own version of Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.2 which works OK as I can verify with Firefox 3.6. It can be installed on top of the MS 0.0.0 version, then 0.0.0 doesn't appear. However the MS 0.0.0 version wasn't replaced and reappears if 1.2 is uninstalled. The MS 0.0.0 version is not needed, only causes problems, and somehow needs to be killed by WU.
--
G3

No one here works for or represents Microsoft.

"Gene3" <Gene3@not.valid> wrote in message
> Why is WU putting add-ons into Firefox? It's Mozilla's responsibility to
> take care of their own browser, and I imagine they would prefer it that
> way.
<SNIP?

Why is that strange comment relevant to my post?

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:uDiQnawuKHA.812@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> No one here works for or represents Microsoft.
>
> "Gene3" <Gene3@not.valid> wrote in message
>> Why is WU putting add-ons into Firefox? It's Mozilla's responsibility to
>> take care of their own browser, and I imagine they would prefer it that
>> way.
> <SNIP?

Because your comment/rant is falling on deaf ears here. IOW, save your
bandwidth.

Gene3 wrote:
> Why is that strange comment relevant to my post?
>
> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:uDiQnawuKHA.812@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> No one here works for or represents Microsoft.
>>
>> "Gene3" <Gene3@not.valid> wrote in message
>>> Why is WU putting add-ons into Firefox? It's Mozilla's responsibility to
>>> take care of their own browser, and I imagine they would prefer it that
>>> way.
>> <SNIP?

Gene3 wrote:

>Why is that strange comment relevant to my post?
>
>
>
Because he is a pig and a member of the Geriatric Society!

"EN59CVH" <EN59CVH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:uJfS6yxuKHA.5940@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Gene3 wrote:
>
>>Why is that strange comment relevant to my post?
>>
>>
> Because he is a pig and a member of the Geriatric Society!

....and your father fu@ks your sister. Don't throw stones whilst living in
an incestuous glass house.
--


"Don't pick a fight with an old man.
If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."

I thought this was the MS Windows Update group. Maybe I was mistaken - but
if not here, then where? At least I'd like a reasonable response to my
primary question... Why is Windows Update installing Firefox add-ons without
any prior notice to user, especially buggy incompatible ones?
--
Marco


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:eS5W8nxuKHA.6140@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Because your comment/rant is falling on deaf ears here. IOW, save your
> bandwidth.
>
> Gene3 wrote:
>> Why is that strange comment relevant to my post?
>>
>> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:uDiQnawuKHA.812@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> No one here works for or represents Microsoft.
>>>
>>> "Gene3" <Gene3@not.valid> wrote in message
>>>> Why is WU putting add-ons into Firefox? It's Mozilla's responsibility
>>>> to
>>>> take care of their own browser, and I imagine they would prefer it that
>>>> way.
>>> <SNIP?
>

"Michael" <mdsjhu@gropumail.com> wrote in message
news:2AA669D8-DAF5-44F4-8CF5-9CAE5FCA60AA@microsoft.com...

> ...and your father fu@ks your sister. Don't throw stones whilst living in
> an incestuous glass house.

So you are offering your wife and sister to him as well to get a job as his
spokes-person? How much is your sister charging these days for 0ral and
full blown sex?

"Gene3" <Gene3@not.valid> wrote in message
news:uFpOrjzuKHA.5940@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Why is Windows Update installing Firefox add-ons without any prior notice
> to user, especially buggy incompatible ones?

It could be so that it becomes easier for M$ to sabotage Firefox on your
system to force you to start re-using IE8!!!

Now this is just a guess. In Europe, people are offered a choice of
browsers and the patch is so bad that it has become a nuisance because of
pop-ups every now and then. Surely, M$ could have done a better job but no.
It has to cause inconvenience to its users to teach EU Commissionaires a
lesson!! Now this is called capitalism at its best!

You may be right but more likely, I believe, is the MS software engineers
are inept and out of touch. The whole .NET complex is a big mess, very
difficult to install and update properly. After several tries and a major
effort, I finally got .NET 1.0 thru 3.5 completely installed and patched,
working OK except for the subject of this thread. Then I get only strange
responses to my research in this MS WU group, suggesting that the MS-MVP's
here aren't up to the task either. So I can't be very optimistic that
they'll ever fix it...

"ybS2okj" <ybS2okj@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:upXtVwzuKHA.6140@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> "Gene3" <Gene3@not.valid> wrote in message
> news:uFpOrjzuKHA.5940@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> Why is Windows Update installing Firefox add-ons without any prior notice
>> to user, especially buggy incompatible ones?
>
> It could be so that it becomes easier for M$ to sabotage Firefox on your
> system to force you to start re-using IE8!!!
>
> Now this is just a guess. In Europe, people are offered a choice of
> browsers and the patch is so bad that it has become a nuisance because of
> pop-ups every now and then. Surely, M$ could have done a better job but
> no. It has to cause inconvenience to its users to teach EU Commissionaires
> a lesson!! Now this is called capitalism at its best!
>
>
>
>