HTTPS Everywhere 3.3 is out!

Quick update to mention that a new version of the browser extension I’ve been helping with this summer has just been released!

This release was spurred by the impending arrival of Firefox 23, which notably has Mixed Active Content Blocking enabled by default. In summary, this means that scripts loaded via HTTP on an otherwise-HTTPS site will be blocked automatically for security reasons. Although this is good news in general, it would have suddenly caused HTTPS Everywhere to become way less usable.

Micah at the EFF did tons of work on this one to make sure that mixed content rules in HTTPS Everywhere wouldn’t break a massive number of websites for FF23 users, while I implemented the UI to alert users to the fact that they would have to re-input any custom preferences once they updated to 3.3 (unfortunately). I also ended up fixing a previously-undiscovered bug along the way that prevented the HTTPS Everywhere tool-tip from showing up when users install the extension.

It’s kind of sad that the tool-tip didn’t show up for most people before. Did you know that you can disable HTTPS Everywhere rules by clicking on the toolbar icon? This is very handy when certain rules cause a site to break for some reason.

Anyway, happy upgrading!