Disable Firefox Phishing Protection (Safe Browsing) (decreases security)

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Works with any Linux distroWorks with any Linux distribution that can run bash scripts.

• Linux onlyThis script improves your privacy on Linux
• Multiple actionsThis page belongs to a category, containing some changes with similar goal.
• Impact: High

  System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: High

  This action improves privacy with high impact when you run the recommended script.

• Bash (Shell script)These changes use Linux system commands to update your settings.
• 4 scripts
• No subcategories
• Sudo/root requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
• Fully reversible

  You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.

  The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.

Overview

Firefox's Safe Browsing feature, now referred to as Phishing Protection, is still internally recognized as "Safe Browsing" ¹.

To provide protection against phishing and malware, Firefox transmits the following data:

1. Partial address information for visited webpages ².
2. Details such as name, origin, size, and hash of contents for downloaded files ².

This data is sent to Google Safe Browsing ² to aid in issuing warnings for downloaded files and visited sites ².

While Phishing Protection bolsters your security, it may decrease your privacy as it involves sending data about the websites you visit and files you download to Google ¹².

There have been concerns about the potential for Google Safe Browsing to be used for censorship in the future, although this has not occurred as of yet ³.

Not Advised

This script should only be used by advanced users.

This script is not recommended for daily use as it breaks important functionality.

Consider creating a system backup before doing any changes.

Sources

PrivacyLearn.com maintains strict sourcing standards for accuracy, integrity and up-to-date content. Our content relies on authoritative sources including vendor documentation, industry standards, and verified research. Learn more about our verification process and quality standards in our editorial standards page.

• Security/Safe Browsing - MozillaWiki. wiki.mozilla.org. (2022).
  Original: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Security/Safe_Browsing
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221026164502/https://wiki.mozilla.org/Security/Safe_Browsing
• 2. (2022).
  Original: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-does-phishing-and-malware-protection-work
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221025193000/https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-does-phishing-and-malware-protection-work#w_what-information-is-sent-to-mozilla-or-its-partners-when-phishing-and-malware-protection-is-enabled
• Google Is the World's Biggest Censor and Its Power Must Be Regulated. usnews.com. (2022).
  Original: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-06-22/google-is-the-worlds-biggest-censor-and-its-power-must-be-regulated
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221025192516/https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-06-22/google-is-the-worlds-biggest-censor-and-its-power-must-be-regulated

Apply Now

Choose one of two ways to apply:

Download script

Download and run the script directly

• No app needed
• Offline usage
• Free
• Open-source

Maximum — Strongest Possible Privacy (Military-Grade)

• Military-grade privacy protection
• Major system impact
• Consider having system backup.

Read more about Maximum and other protection levels

Apply protection

Undo protection

Help

How to apply or restore "Disable Firefox Phishing Protection (Safe Browsing) (decreases security)" using script

• ≈ 3 min to complete
• Tools: Web Browser
• Difficulty: Medium
• ≈ 5 instructions

1. 1

   Download

   Download the script file by clicking on the   Apply protection  button above.
   Use   Undo protection button above to restore changes.
2. 2

   Keep the file

   If warned by your browser, keep the file.
3. 3

   Open

   Open the downloaded file.
4. 4

   Exit

   Once it's done, press any key to exit the window.
5. 5

   Restart

   Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.

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Guided, automated application with safety checks

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• Includes safety checks
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Help

How to apply or restore "Disable Firefox Phishing Protection (Safe Browsing) (decreases security)" using privacy.sexy

• ≈ 3 min to complete
• Tools: privacy.sexy
• Difficulty: Simple
• ≈ 4 instructions

privacy.sexy is free and open-source application that lets securely apply this action easily with more advanced options.

1. 1

   Open or download

   Open or download the desktop application
2. 2

   Choose script

   1. Search for the category name: Disable Firefox Phishing Protection (Safe Browsing) (decreases security)
   2. Check the category by clicking on the checkbox of the category.
3. 3

   Run

   Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.

   This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.

Explore This Guide

• 4 Privacy settings

Choose what to protect based on your needs:

Click any option to learn more about what it does.

Each change can be applied and reversed individually.

Some settings and commands may require technical knowledge to apply correctly.

Disable blocking of unstable plugins in Firefox

This script sets "browser.safebrowsing.blockedURIs.enabled" to 'false', thereby disabling plugin stability blocking. Disabling this feature might have mixed implications: These plugins may include malware, which would compromise user privacy and data. frequent requests to download large amount of data. Disabling the blocking of unstable plugins can potentially expose the user to vulnerabilities associated with these plugins. • It removes the need for data communication via Mozilla servers `addon...

Disable Firefox application reputation checks for downloads

This script pertains to a feature that safeguards users from malware downloads. This protective measure operates by transmitting downloaded URL and file data to Google's servers. The script modifies "browser.safebrowsing.downloads.enabled" to a disabled state. This adjustment consequently disables application reputation checks for downloaded files. Inhibiting this feature concurrently disables remote lookups ("browser.safebrowsing.downloads.remote.enabled"). Read more: [Security/Features/Applica...

Disable Firefox malware protection

Mozilla Firefox maintains a list of known malware, and checks user downloads against this list. If the user downloads a file that matches an entry in the list, a warning can be displayed. This script modifies "browser.safebrowsing.malware.enabled" to a disabled state. This preference dictates whether to enable malware checks. Disabling it halts the downloading of malware blacklists and ceases checks on downloads. It is active by default. Note that disabling this protection disrupts application r...

Disable Firefox phishing protection

This script modifies "browser.safebrowsing.phishing.enabled" to a disabled state. This preference determines whether to enable phishing protection. It is active by default.

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Same Goal

Other guides in Configure Firefox 

See settings that are in the same category as this guide.

Using other actions in the same category may help you achieve your goal better.

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Disable Firefox telemetry

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About the Creators

These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:

• 

  undergroundwires

  • Certified security professional
  • 7+ years experience securing banks
  • Open-source developer since 2005
  • EU advisor, Public Speaker, Moderator
• Open-Source Contributors

  • Hundreds across the globe
  • Testers, reviewers, developers
  • Companies, military agencies
  • Community since 2017

About Us

Reviewed By

This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:

• Expert review by undergroundwires

  • Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
  • Assessed system impact and user privacy risks

• Public review by large community

  • Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
  • Millions of end-users tested across different environments

History

We continually monitor our guides, their impact and all other privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.

Review Change History Our Change Process