Can't modify website settings anymore?
Being privacy-minded, I've messed with my about:config preferences a bit at the behest of some internet articles. After doing this on both Firefox and SeaMonkey, I noticed that I can no longer edit my settings on a certain website I visit daily. Before, I could check and uncheck the boxes that made up their settings and set a custom CSS, but now the [save settings] button that used to be there is gone so I can't change any of my settings, as such they remain static. I believe this website doesn't use cookies but localstorage. Below are my Important Modified Preferences as shown on the browser about:support page:
browser.cache.disk.capacity 358400 browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported 1 browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max false browser.cache.offline.enable false browser.display.use_document_fonts 0 browser.download.importedFromSqlite true browser.download.manager.retention 1 browser.fixup.alternate.enabled false browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion 4 browser.search.useDBForOrder true browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone rv:48.0 browser.tabs.autoHide false browser.tabs.closeButtons 4 dom.apps.reset-permissions true dom.battery.enabled false dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled false dom.indexedDB.enabled false extensions.lastAppVersion 2.45a1 keyword.URL https://searx.me/?q= media.peerconnection.enabled false media.peerconnection.ice.default_address_only true media.peerconnection.identity.timeout 1 media.peerconnection.turn.disable true media.peerconnection.use_document_iceservers false media.peerconnection.video.enabled false network.cookie.cookieBehavior 1 network.cookie.prefsMigrated true network.dns.disablePrefetch true network.http.sendRefererHeader 0 network.http.speculative-parallel-limit 0 network.prefetch-next false places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages 104858 plugin.importedState true plugin.state.npgoogleupdate 0 plugin.state.npttplugin 0 privacy.donottrackheader.enabled true privacy.popups.remove_blacklist false privacy.trackingprotection.enabled true privacy.warn_tracking_content false security.warn_mixed_active_content false security.warn_mixed_display_content false services.sync.declinedEngines services.sync.engine.greasemonkey false ui.osk.debug.keyboardDisplayReason IKPOS: Touch screen not found. webgl.disabled true
Thanks in advance.
Chosen solution
Firefox_and_Seamonkey_for_Life said
I was hoping for someone having encountered a similar issue and having already resolved it by trial-and-error so I wouldn't have to start from scratch anew to try to isolate the cause.
Each site is different so your guess is probably better than ours!
Cookie permissions govern a site's access to local storage as well as cookies. Have you already tested with third party cookies allowed to see whether that makes any difference on this site?
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (4)
Disabling the referrer can cause issues, so make sure you understand what prefs are about when you make changes.
- network.http.sendRefererHeader 0 (default is 2)
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/network.http.sendRefererHeader
Best is to leave all prefs at their default value. I also see prefs like keyword.URL and security.warn prefs that are no longer supported.
Disabling indexedDB (dom.indexedDB.enabled) or DOM storage (dom.storage.enabled) in general is also not a good idea.
Delete possible user.js and numbered prefs-##.js files and rename/remove the prefs.js file to reset all prefs to the default value including prefs set via user.js and prefs that are no longer supported in current Firefox releases.
Modified by cor-el
I was hoping for someone having encountered a similar issue and having already resolved it by trial-and-error so I wouldn't have to start from scratch anew to try to isolate the cause. Thank you for the prompt, polite answer anyways. I should close it now?
Chosen Solution
Firefox_and_Seamonkey_for_Life said
I was hoping for someone having encountered a similar issue and having already resolved it by trial-and-error so I wouldn't have to start from scratch anew to try to isolate the cause.
Each site is different so your guess is probably better than ours!
Cookie permissions govern a site's access to local storage as well as cookies. Have you already tested with third party cookies allowed to see whether that makes any difference on this site?
I can't say I have, no. I did try to figure out the suspect preference(s) by writing down and comparing what my difference instances of Firefox/SeaMonkey had in common across different PCs though but couldn't find it. I ended up being able to change the website's settings by entering safe mode, very handy. Thank you all for your friendly answers, I'll be closing it now.