Firefox automatically downloading files instead of asking
After a forced update, firefox stopped giving the popup that lets you choose what to do with the file.
A temporary fix is to go into options and set "Always ask you where to save files", however this is clunky, and much much slower, so is there any way to get this popup back?
If not, then i will have to migrate to a different browser for safety, since this new "Feature" can be easily abused by hackers and malicious websites.
Chosen solution
As you noticed, Firefox 98 changed the standard behavior for "unknown" content types from "ask what to do" (before) to "save file" (now). In a future update to Firefox, there should be a global way to choose between the new and old approaches, but I'm not sure whether it will arrive in Firefox 100 or take more time.
For now, you can change the action for known content types and add other content types to the list over time. Here's how:
(1) You can try changing the behavior for the specific file type on the Applications list on the Settings page. This article has the steps:
Manage file types and download actions in Firefox
(2) If the file type you want to manage is not listed there, try this first: open the Downloads list, right-click the file, and choose "Always Open Similar Files".
Firefox then should add that file type to the Applications list with a "Use [default application]" action. You can use the steps in the previously mentioned article to change it to an "Always Ask" action if you prefer that.
(3) If that menu item is missing for these downloads, the site might be misidentifying the file as generic binary content instead of identifying it as a specific type.
This is harder to work around. I can suggest an add-on if you encounter this frequently.
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Chosen Solution
As you noticed, Firefox 98 changed the standard behavior for "unknown" content types from "ask what to do" (before) to "save file" (now). In a future update to Firefox, there should be a global way to choose between the new and old approaches, but I'm not sure whether it will arrive in Firefox 100 or take more time.
For now, you can change the action for known content types and add other content types to the list over time. Here's how:
(1) You can try changing the behavior for the specific file type on the Applications list on the Settings page. This article has the steps:
Manage file types and download actions in Firefox
(2) If the file type you want to manage is not listed there, try this first: open the Downloads list, right-click the file, and choose "Always Open Similar Files".
Firefox then should add that file type to the Applications list with a "Use [default application]" action. You can use the steps in the previously mentioned article to change it to an "Always Ask" action if you prefer that.
(3) If that menu item is missing for these downloads, the site might be misidentifying the file as generic binary content instead of identifying it as a specific type.
This is harder to work around. I can suggest an add-on if you encounter this frequently.