It sounded like a good idea at
Mozilla -- promote computer
security and privacy awareness
using a tie-in with an online game
from the popular Mr. Robot hacker
TV series . But almost immediately,
the plan started backfiring.
On Wednesday, Firefox users started
complaining that a cryptic extension
had been installed in their browser
with no explicit permission or
explanation of what it does -- only
a description that read "MY
REALITY IS DIFFERENT THAN
YOURS." People ripped into Mozilla in
a Reddit discussion after one
Firefox user fretted , "I have no
idea what it is or where it came
from. I freaked out a bit and
uninstalled it immediately."
Mark 57, a Firefox-themed takeoff
on an Iron Man suit, served as
Mozilla's Quantum mascot.
Mozilla
Mozilla had installed the Looking
Glass extension remotely on their
machines this week through a
partnership with Mr. Robot , but it
stopped doing so when people
started giving them an earful, the
nonprofit organization said.
"Suffice to say, we've learned a
good deal in the last 24 hours ...
Although we always have the best
intentions, not everything that we
try works as we want," said Jascha
Kaykas-Wolff, Mozilla's chief
marketing officer. "Within hours of
receiving feedback," Mozilla moved
Looking Glass to its Firefox add-on
store, where people will be able to
get it if they want it as it becomes
available this weekend.
The issue shows just how much
control outside organizations have
over our computing hardware and
software -- even well-meaning
organizations devoted to online
privacy and to making us all
"empowered, safe and independent."
"Mozilla should have known better,"
said computer security and privacy
researcher Bruce Schneier.
Like Apple's U2 moment
Schneier likened the situation to
Apple sending iPhone users U2 music
even if they hadn't asked for it
and Amazon remotely removing a
copy of George Orwell's "1984"
from people's Kindle e-book
readers. "These companies have
control, and you don't," Schneier
said. "They can do things against
your interest all the time."
To check to see if you got the
extension, type "about:addons" into
Firefox's address bar; then click
"extensions" on the left side of the
page. If "Looking Glass" is there,
you can click the "remove" button.
The faux pas comes at a bad time.
With its new Quantum version of
Firefox years in the making and
released a month ago, Mozilla is
trying to win back users from
Chrome with faster performance
and software that's designed to
benefit you, not a powerful
corporation. It's also jabbing Google
with an ad campaign that says,
"Big browser is watching you."
Mozilla is trying to get people to use
Firefox to protect their privacy,
taking a potshot at Google Chrome
in this ad on Facebook.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/
CNET
But the Mr. Robot extension
damaged trust for some. "I switched
back to Mozilla about a month ago
when Quantum came out, and this is
just frustrating," said one Redditor.
"Are you guys trying to make me
switch back to Chrome?" asked
another. "Right as they pulled me in
with that 'we respect your privacy'
sweet talk," complained a third.
Remote installation
To install the extension, Mozilla had
used a tool that lets it test Firefox
features. Several on the Reddit
discussion said they're disabling
that ability, another sign of
damaged trust.
"In the past I was fine with
Mozilla's approach to telemetry and
studies, making my browser
available for occasional testing/
experimenting/data collection to
track down bugs or measure
improvements or whatever is fine,"
a Redditor said . "This is not doing
any of those things. This is an
advertisement. This is an abuse of
the telemetry and shield studies
program. If I cannot trust Mozilla
to use these tools responsibly I will
have to disable them and
recommend my friends and co-
workers do the same."
Mozilla distributed the extension
only to people in the United States,
the organization said, adding that
it checked the extension to make
sure it didn't collect any user data.
Mozilla wasn't paid for the Mr.
Robot tie-in, Kaykas-Wolff said.
"We've enjoyed a growing
partnership with the show and the
show's audience," he said.
The extension was part of a Mr.
Robot alternate-reality game that
offers players clues and puzzles.
"We've found the audience of the
show and our users have many
points of alignment. This was not a
paid promotion but rather a
collaboration that was intended to
be fun."
Security : Stay up-to-date on the
latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and
all those cybersecurity issues that
keep you up at night.
Mozilla -- promote computer
security and privacy awareness
using a tie-in with an online game
from the popular Mr. Robot hacker
TV series . But almost immediately,
the plan started backfiring.
On Wednesday, Firefox users started
complaining that a cryptic extension
had been installed in their browser
with no explicit permission or
explanation of what it does -- only
a description that read "MY
REALITY IS DIFFERENT THAN
YOURS." People ripped into Mozilla in
a Reddit discussion after one
Firefox user fretted , "I have no
idea what it is or where it came
from. I freaked out a bit and
uninstalled it immediately."
Mark 57, a Firefox-themed takeoff
on an Iron Man suit, served as
Mozilla's Quantum mascot.
Mozilla
Mozilla had installed the Looking
Glass extension remotely on their
machines this week through a
partnership with Mr. Robot , but it
stopped doing so when people
started giving them an earful, the
nonprofit organization said.
"Suffice to say, we've learned a
good deal in the last 24 hours ...
Although we always have the best
intentions, not everything that we
try works as we want," said Jascha
Kaykas-Wolff, Mozilla's chief
marketing officer. "Within hours of
receiving feedback," Mozilla moved
Looking Glass to its Firefox add-on
store, where people will be able to
get it if they want it as it becomes
available this weekend.
The issue shows just how much
control outside organizations have
over our computing hardware and
software -- even well-meaning
organizations devoted to online
privacy and to making us all
"empowered, safe and independent."
"Mozilla should have known better,"
said computer security and privacy
researcher Bruce Schneier.
Like Apple's U2 moment
Schneier likened the situation to
Apple sending iPhone users U2 music
even if they hadn't asked for it
and Amazon remotely removing a
copy of George Orwell's "1984"
from people's Kindle e-book
readers. "These companies have
control, and you don't," Schneier
said. "They can do things against
your interest all the time."
To check to see if you got the
extension, type "about:addons" into
Firefox's address bar; then click
"extensions" on the left side of the
page. If "Looking Glass" is there,
you can click the "remove" button.
The faux pas comes at a bad time.
With its new Quantum version of
Firefox years in the making and
released a month ago, Mozilla is
trying to win back users from
Chrome with faster performance
and software that's designed to
benefit you, not a powerful
corporation. It's also jabbing Google
with an ad campaign that says,
"Big browser is watching you."
Mozilla is trying to get people to use
Firefox to protect their privacy,
taking a potshot at Google Chrome
in this ad on Facebook.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/
CNET
But the Mr. Robot extension
damaged trust for some. "I switched
back to Mozilla about a month ago
when Quantum came out, and this is
just frustrating," said one Redditor.
"Are you guys trying to make me
switch back to Chrome?" asked
another. "Right as they pulled me in
with that 'we respect your privacy'
sweet talk," complained a third.
Remote installation
To install the extension, Mozilla had
used a tool that lets it test Firefox
features. Several on the Reddit
discussion said they're disabling
that ability, another sign of
damaged trust.
"In the past I was fine with
Mozilla's approach to telemetry and
studies, making my browser
available for occasional testing/
experimenting/data collection to
track down bugs or measure
improvements or whatever is fine,"
a Redditor said . "This is not doing
any of those things. This is an
advertisement. This is an abuse of
the telemetry and shield studies
program. If I cannot trust Mozilla
to use these tools responsibly I will
have to disable them and
recommend my friends and co-
workers do the same."
Mozilla distributed the extension
only to people in the United States,
the organization said, adding that
it checked the extension to make
sure it didn't collect any user data.
Mozilla wasn't paid for the Mr.
Robot tie-in, Kaykas-Wolff said.
"We've enjoyed a growing
partnership with the show and the
show's audience," he said.
The extension was part of a Mr.
Robot alternate-reality game that
offers players clues and puzzles.
"We've found the audience of the
show and our users have many
points of alignment. This was not a
paid promotion but rather a
collaboration that was intended to
be fun."
Security : Stay up-to-date on the
latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and
all those cybersecurity issues that
keep you up at night.
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