Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2019 May 5

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May 5

Ghostery on Firefox

Resolved

 – 15:25, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

Firefox just disabled my Ghostery add-on because it "could not be verified for use on Firefox". When I went for "more information", it mentioned "Add-ons installed through the official Firefox Add-ons site go through security checks before they are published. These add-ons are verified and signed." When I went to the 'official Firefox Add-ons site' -- there was Ghostery, as a 'featured extension', even. I already have the current version (8.3.3}. The disabled Ghostery was moved to 'Legacy extensions', and when I clicked 'Find a replacement', Ghostery was on the list of "replacements"!

I tried uninstall/reinstall, but when I tried [Add to Firefox] from the Firefox add-on page above, I got "Download failed. Please check your connection" -- nothing wrong with my connection! When I tried to install from www.ghostery.com, I got message: "The addon downloaded from this site could not be installed because it appears to be corrupted". I've rebooted, checked for latest Firefox update, and tried again ... and again, and... -- with same results. I've looked for news on this problem; its a very popular extension, and I expected to find some mention on the internet somewhere, but I couldn't find anything. There was a problem 1 month ago (discussed on reddit), but this problem just began yesterday. Any info or assistance would be appreciated! Thanks in advance. —2606:A000:1126:28D:F466:E1BE:BFA8:B73 (talk) 04:49, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

It's a temporary glitch by Firefox. See this Verge article. Don't uninstall any more of your addons; they'll start working again as Firefox makes changes to fix the problem.-gadfium 06:51, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

Also reported via LWN, Firefox bug disables all extensions (May 4, 2019): a certificate signature problem has caused all extensions to fail. The official bug tracker contains detailed technical information. Non-technical users should wait for an official fix from the Firefox team. A few websites report at least a few options to temporarily work around the problem, but these work-arounds may entail technical consequences: they are "not recommended." An official fix will be released soon, in the form of a software update, but the Firefox team is trying to do this in a way that is safe and effective for all users. Their blog post is on the official Mozilla (Firefox) website. "Rather than using work-arounds, which can lead to issues later on, we strongly recommend that you continue to wait. If it’s possible for you to receive the hotfix, you should get it by 6am EDT, 24 hours after it was first released. For everyone else, we are working to ship a more permanent solution. (Update Regarding Add-Ons..., May 5, 00:54 EDT)"

Nimur (talk) 15:05, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

Thanks! [OP]:2606:A000:1126:28D:48FC:1A03:FF03:7CB2 (talk) 15:25, 5 May 2019 (UTC) -- P.s.: I just received the following: ...The fix will be automatically applied in the background within the next few hours. For more details, please check out the update at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-ons-failing-install-firefox

External link add request

Please add https://www.thecollectionbook.info/ on external link in Microsoft Windows. --151.49.59.52 (talk) 11:05, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

No. See WP:LINKSTOAVOID. --Guy Macon (talk) 12:31, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

"Recommended for you" system on YouTube

How does the system on YouTube that shows me videos that has the phrase "Recommended for you" actually work? When I watch YouTube videos, I know that the site/service tracks me by collecting my IP address and storing that information plus it leaves cookies on my browser based on browsing and viewing history. Also, how can the site/system list videos that I am not interesting in by showing me offensive/shocking videos and having the phrase "Recommended for you" under it? Is it based on the views the videos has, the creator/up loader paid a fee to use that video as advertising, or something else? How does the algorithm on YouTube works? WJetChao (talk) 23:44, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

That sort of algorithm is generally considered proprietary IP. WP has an article on the subject: Recommender system. Although not specifically about YouTube's algorithm, the following provides a basic overview of the subject:

• Jennifer Wei; Jeep Veerasak Srisuknimit (28 August 2017). "Recommended For You: How machine learning helps you choose what to consume next". Science in the News.

Recommended for you:

• Amarabha Banerjee (30 September 2018). "Is YouTube's AI Algorithm evil?". Packt Hub.

—2606:A000:1126:28D:9C3C:E8AA:C8E4:28F1 (talk) 03:17, 6 May 2019 (UTC)