NTLM Authentication Supported by Mozilla on All PlatformsTuesday November 18th, 2003Microsoft's NTLM authentication protocol, popular on Windows-based corporate networks, is now supported by Mozilla on all platforms. Previously, NTLM authentication was only available to Windows Mozilla users, requiring the presence of the Windows SSPI API. Now, the SSPI code has been discarded and a cross-platform implementation has been checked in. Bug 224653 has more details, including a list of caveats. This is a big step forward for Mozilla corporate use, especially for those of us who work at a non-Windows computer. Thanks! The only thing I would be worried about for the future is M$ changing the Windows implementation of NTLM just enough to break this in Mozilla, but I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Last I knew, FTP upload was implemented but had no XUL GUI, so we still couldn't use it. Sad I have to use netscape 4 for that still. If it did, you'd probably have heard about it. It doesn't, and I don't think there are any current plans to implement it either... There have been plans for nearly four years, in fact. Just take a look at bug 24867. There's even been significant work on adding this functionality, and there's obviously much interest from the community. Maybe sometime in the next few milestones this will get done. If you're going to use a dedicated program for ftp uploading anyway, why not use a real ftp client? There are tons of free high quality graphical ftp clients. What's wrong with them? Thats the whole point, I don't want a dedicated program. Lots of us only occasionally need to upload a file, but have a browser open all the time. Its so much easier and more convenient to just drag a file and drop it onto the browser after clicking on a ftp bookmark then it is to fire up some other program. Currently I make-do with Send-To FTP <http://www.pclightning.com/sndtoftp.html> I found at <http://www.tinyapps.org/internet.html> so I can just right-click a file and pick Send-To FTP from the Send-To menu, but its really not that great, and I can't delete files unless I am ssh'd in to the place where the files are going. I don't think people realize what an important feature this is. A trivial ftp client that can upload, download, and maybe even delete files is a very big deal to many users. #6 Re: Re: Re: But does FTP *UPLOAD* have a GUI yet?by remline <remline@hotmail.com> Wednesday November 19th, 2003 12:16 PM I doubt this will be implemented, considering that the Mozilla organization is headed toward breaking Mozilla into several smaller parts (Firebird, Thunderbird, etc.) The whole idea is to have a program that does one thing and does it well. Hence separate applications for web browsing, e-mail, and FTP access. Plus, is you like your program to have "zilla" at the end of its name, check out Filezilla for FTP ( <http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/> ). It is an excellent FTP application for Windows. I would say Ark42 (and most other people who still use the Mozilla suite) are the kind of people who prefer to have one application that does it all - internet wise. His point was that it is annoying to have to open a separate program to do each little thing, and I agree. Why oh why do people think that separate apps will mean reduced functionality? There's no reason at all for one big single process. It's bad design. As far as the end user is concerned, they shouldn't have to know whether the suite is one app or multiple... except they'll appreciate when one is performing slowly or crashing that all the other windows are fine. End users see icons on the desktop and windows on the screen. Not process IDs or entries in a task list. I want all the functionality of the current suite... but I want it in separate apps. Firebird, Thunderbird, etc, is the right approach done many years too late, it's just not as functional yet. MSFT Office is very well integrated with lots of functionality and the ability to embed, yet it isn't one gawd awful bloated bursting at the seams process! I don't care about processes or task lists or junk like that either. In the future if I download the Mozilla Suite and it includes Firebird and Thunderbird instead of the current bundle, thats fine, as long as it works the same with the shortcut bar in the lower left of the programs to launch my email program and my irc program (being thunderbird and chatzilla). If FTP is supposed to be a separate program, I want it officially supported as part of the default Suite Download and I want a icn in the compenent bar for it. That seems quite sill though, FTP should be part of the browser just like HTTP, HTTPS, gopher, etc. Part of FTP is uploading and deleting files from the remote server, just like part of HTTP is the ability to do file-posts via forms that accept a file. I consider the current browsers FTP functionality mostly broken, and personally this is more important to me, and probably many other people, then whether its good or bad design to split up the big program into separate smaller programs that work the same together anyways. #10 Re: Re: Re: Re: But does FTP *UPLOAD* have a GUI yby bzbarsky Wednesday November 19th, 2003 6:36 PM > Hence separate applications for web browsing, e-mail, and FTP access. There are plans for a separate FTP client? Please enlighten me... FTP functionality is not removable from a "web browser", since so many sites really do depend on it.... Why shouldn't FTP be part of the browsing experience? Content is presented online in several forms, including FTP. The current implementation leaves a lot to be desired... the interface is shit with filenames truncated and poor performance. The XUL implementation that I saw a long time ago worked better. It's just another way to present online content. HTTP, FTP, WebDAV, Gopher... all ways of dealing with content. Let's not make using the internet harder than we have to by putting up unnecessary barriers. I'd love to agree with you there, but if you look closely what a browser does... it browses content available on a number of different protocols. You can browse ftp sites, like mozilla.org to download your favourite application but there is only really a niche group of users (albeit a vocal group) wanting this functionality. If the functionality is there now in the backend, then it might be best as an extension. #9 OK! Now there is just Kerberos that is missingby lstep <lstep@adequat.net> Wednesday November 19th, 2003 3:56 PM But it is on its way, see bug <http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17578> I am curious about how to log out when using NTLM. From my understanding, you can't log out until you close your browser. I have concern about security fault. Please correct me if I am wrong. I was upset when I found I couldn't use NTLM to authenticate to a MS News Server. Am I missing something? Will this support ever come to be? To date, the only News client I know of that supports NTLM is Outlook Express... Sadly enought my university upgraded all servers this summer and at the same time adding NTLM authentication(well i think so,,, if i use lynx it returns " Alert!: Invalid header 'WWW-Authenticate: NTLM' ") to the private parts of their webpage, <http://www.te.hik.se/tekinet>... strangely enough i cant log in using mozilla 1.6 (under gentoo liunx, binaries from mozilla.org)... anyone know why it doesn't work? Sadly enought my university upgraded all servers this summer and at the same time adding NTLM authentication(well i think so,,, if i use lynx it returns " Alert!: Invalid header 'WWW-Authenticate: NTLM' ") to the private parts of their webpage, <http://www.te.hik.se/tekinet>... strangely enough i cant log in using mozilla 1.6 (under gentoo liunx, binaries from mozilla.org)... anyone know why it doesn't work? The original browser, Mosaic, got its name precisely because it combined the functionality of many programs in one. I recently found how important FTP functionality including upload capability is; there's no other simple way a group can share large files like engineering drawings using the web wihout having to get the other users to learn or download new software. Internt Explorer is, as much as I hate to say it, fairly clever about this; you can upload a file to an ftp archive by drag-and-drop and delete it by right click and select-from-popup. Netscape 4 allowed a fairly easy upload method but npo delete. It doesn;t have to be exactly like this, but having ftp upload capability without changing programs would be useful. There are only two commands, upload ad delete, that are really needed. is this bug truly fixed? at my company we're using IE and IIS 5.0 left and right and I still have to type in my user credentials all the time. An ethereal trace on my computer when connecting to an internal site using the dreaded Internet Explorer shows NTMLSSP_NEGOTIATE, NTLMSSP_CHALLENGE and NTLMSSP_AUTHENTICATE messages passing to and from the IIS 5.0 webserver. When I try to connect to the same site using Mozilla 1.7.3 I see none of the messages. Is there something I need to enable in Mozilla? thx for your help, JJK I completely agree with all that here is told "So you can find the information on it on my search resource <http://fileshunt.com>" I recently downloaded Thunderbird but I could not find the NTLM authentication option (which is the only one supported by my office' Exchange servers). If it is really supported, can someone point me to the right place in the setup? |
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