https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/dedicated-profile-thunderbird-installation was at least a little helpful in explaining that the programmers are trying to deal with multiple installations of varying versions of Thunderbird. I can't really envision an environment (other than among Thunderbird programmers themselves) where having multiple versions of Thunderbird on the same computer would be useful for any practical purpose. So it would seem to be entirely an INSIDER accommodation rather than being user relevant. Hence I remain confounded by having my purposes thwarted to facilitate such a thing. I gather however, that to the extent I allow any further "upgrades" on my systems, it has been determined that I am in fact going to be thus confounded. Can you provide any rough description of HOW IF EVER such multiple versions on the same computer could be of any use to anyone other than Thunderbird INSIDERS?

I notice by omission of any response that the storage\permanent\chrome\idb regularly updated apparent database file is either an accepted intrusion by Thunderbird or an accommodation of Google Chrome's activities for unknown to me reasons. Not even an indication that it exists solely because I have a gmail address active on my installation of Thunderbird. To me it seems an extremely serious security breach to allow such activities within the Thunderbird directories (or anywhere else since I have long since discontinued any use of Chrome itself because of its defects. If I need to discontinue my use of gmail to avoid such a security breach, I need to know that.

As for iampowerslave's intrusion, he set forth some additional reasons that I have never allowed IMAP into my life. I would suggest to him that he read carefully my explanations of WHY I never allowed IMAP into my life. To me at least it was obvious that the problems he has seen with IMAP were CERTAIN TO OCCUR if it was ever allowed to infest his systems, along with the higher level concerns which caused me to avoid it from the gitgo.

re :storage\permanent\chrome\idb regularly updated apparent database file is either an accepted intrusion by Thunderbird or an accommodation of Google Chrome's activities for unknown to me reasons.

chrome in this instance is purely Thunderbird. The word chrome has been used for a long time for folders, since before Google had a browser. Google just happened to decide to use the same name, albeit with a capital C for their browser called 'Google Chrome'. They also named the browser application exec as chrome.exe. They really know how to confuse people.

I believe the database is actually related to address book ,it's the CardBook cache.

thank you Toad-Hall, the discussion of the "chrome" file was very helpful for resolving my serious security concerns. As you mentioned, the Skia Vector Graphics package existed long before Google used its pre 2005 name for its then new full scale browser. I have gone ahead and installed Thunderbird v68.10.0 on my Windows 7 machine. But asking about the version 78 which has been mentioned in relation to this inquiry, I'm finding not only that it isn't "yet" being suggested as an "upgrade" for my installation but that it is reported on the web site as having a vast array of severely serious problems including refusal to send out any emails at all after installation. Is that the basic situation with version 78, that it is really only a "beta" version with no immediate prospect of being inflicted on my system?

I'm running two different versions of Thunderbird on the same Windows 10 1909 64bit OS.

Initially, I was only running version 68.10.0 win32 It is installed in the default location in C:\Program Files(x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\ I created a second profile and copied all the data from the default into the new profile. So I had two identical profiles, just with different profile names. They are stored in the default location at the moment, although space may need me to move one of them later on. The idea being that I wanted to keep version 68.10.0 (I still get a lot of support questions about the 68 version). That version is set to tell me when there is an update, but not install until I say so. As of yet, like yourself, I have not received any prompt about an update to version 78, so it remains as is and i'll probably leave it that way. It's just so much easier for me helping people to have more than one version running.

I downloaded and installed version 78.0.1 win64 using the 'Custom' option so I could install onto a different drive where I had created a 'Program Files' folder thus : D:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\ This new version is currently available as a release on the main download webpage - not a beta. I started that 78 version, it created a new empty profile, so I went into 'about:profiles' and chose that duplicate profile I had previously created and set it as default. This version was set up to run the second duplicate profile as I did not want a problem with original profile data, if it all went pete tong. 78 converted the address book with no problem. I'm not having any problems with sending anything and I have four email address, 3 pop, 1 imap. I am currently getting to grips will all the new updated items and helping to identify bugs in 78 that were not picked up previously, so the bug guys can get on top of them asap.

Yes Toad-Hall, I understand why YOU would want to be running both v68.10.0 and v78.0.1 of Thunderbird on *your* Windows 10 v1909 64bit OS. I have now copied the updated v68.10.0 Profiles *and* the x86 program directory over to my Windows 10 v1903 64bit OS (note that I wasn't willing to go to v1909 for my AMD cpus which seem to me wouldn't benefit from 1909's machinations, of course let alone the grossly defective v2004). Thunderbird works successfully there to the extent that I can't allow it out on the Internet but can only verify access to all of the things that are supposed to be there.

I'm pleased to see your explanation of what YOU are doing with v78.0.1 and confirmation that it isn't being offered "yet" to general Thunderbird users such as myself. The normal "more info" about any "update" notice will hopefully help protect me from jumping in to version 78 "too soon".

Awhile back you pointed me in the direction of cleaning up my horribly overloaded Address Book. Got that completed this morning and it works much nicer when I need to correspond with my regular people. But I do have a related puzzlement for my Tools\Options\Saved Passwords "Saved Logins" list. I have no idea how nor why duplicate entries for many of my actual email accounts have been created. The ones that I have proceeded already to "Remove" were apparently identical in all regards including the "Last Changed" dates. But WHY would there *be* duplicates?!? and do I need to worry about sabotaging one of my established email accounts if/when I do "Remove" an apparent duplicate? The reason it matters is that I do need, from time to time, to go into that Saved Passwords area and it gets confusing having 33 entries there versus the actual sixteen POP based email accounts.

Found the top of column labels capable of sorting everything in the "Saved Logins" list such that I was able to wade through the entire overstuffed set. Once I realized that the logins were in PAIRS, one for the POP and the other for the SMTP login information, it was a little easier to figure out which ones were live and operable and which ones were expired or long since modified duplicates. Am now down to exactly 32 entries for my 16 POP based email accounts. Only one of the accounts remains incapable of sending outgoings and I have every reason to believe that that is a "feature" of the server involved for an email address that I've had since the pre-Internet bulletin board system days.

Bottom line, the various comments that Toad-Hall has made in response to my inquiries have helped me clean up numerous aspects of my Thunderbird installation and has resolved a worrisome to me "apparent" security risk which turned out to be nothing of the sort. I now have version 68.10.0 installed and operable on both my Windows 7 and Windows 10 computers. I am likely to want to be cautious when version 78.anything is offered to make sure that the bugs that Toad-Hall has been working on have all been cleared up, but his seriess of comments have solved my concerns at this time about the "updates" and I am marking this discussion as SOLVED.

Good Morning,

I lost the tags I had in one of the email accounts in thunderbird version 60.9 just in the inbox. I have no problems with other accounts and those sent from this account I using IMAP

Can someone help me with this problem.

Thanks,