Add-on cannot be installed because of a connection faliure after update to latest version

Qutrit

Hello,

I am not able to install the latest version of the Firefox extension getting the error message specified in the subject. I have search the forums and I have tried all the advice given there: I had deactivated kaspersky: same problem. I have tried the alternative link: same problem.

I have had to install manually following the version history link (https://app-updates.agilebits.com/product_history/OPX4), but that version seems to outdated and the installation asked me to verify a code in order for it to accept it.

Everything was fine and worked well until the update of 1passsword for windows (I installed add-ons always without having to deactivate Kaspersky (or doing anything else for that matter). I would very much prefer to install the add on automatically and securely. Any ideas what I could do?

Also, after manually installing the extension, is there any way to verify that the installed add-on is legit and signed by agilebits?

Thanks!

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1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided

AGAlumB

@Qutrit: Are you (or were you previously) using some other "security" software that performs a person-in-the-middle attack on your connections to websites? This is unfortunately becoming more common. You will not be able to download and install the extension if something is interfering with the establishment of a secure connection. We don't want someone to be able to masquerade as AgileBits to offer you malicious downloads. So you're right to ask! You can always get the latest signed extension from this page:

https://agilebits.com/onepassword/extensions

And if you're being prevented from downloading it directly in Firefox, you can always go there using another browser, download the Firefox extension, and manually drag it to Firefox to install it. However, you should definitely investigate what is preventing you from making secure connections in Firefox in the first place. This isn't typical of Firefox itself. Let me know what you find!

Qutrit

Hi,

Thanks for the reply! No I am not, in fact I recently performed a clean install of Windows 10 and installed the previous version of 1password, then the update came (without any software at all being installed in the meantime) and the updated version told me that I needed to update the add-on. It redirected me to the the website you pasted and then the installation failed (it didn't fail before, only after the udpate). Other than Kaspersky Anti-virus (which was always isntalled) I had no other security software.

I also have to say that it looks like I am able to establish secure connections with other websites with no problem.

Any advice? This worries me since I don't know what is causing the problem. I see in the forum that other people are having similar problems:

https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/70539/unable-to-update-firefox-extension#latest

https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/70319/cant-authorise-1password-extension#latest

Could it be a problem on your side? the latest version's release notes for 4.6.1 include the statement:

" Improves verification and authentication of communication with the 1Password browser extension to address an issue reported by Tavis Ormandy of Google Project Zero. Users should update promptly."

Do you think that there may be a problem with its implementation perhaps?

AGAlumB

Thanks for the reply! No I am not, in fact I recently performed a clean install of Windows 10 and installed the previous version of 1password, then the update came (without any software at all being installed in the meantime) and the updated version told me that I needed to update the add-on. It redirected me to the the website you pasted and then the installation failed (it didn't fail before, only after the udpate). Other than Kaspersky Anti-virus (which was always isntalled) I had no other security software.

@Qutrit: Thanks for following up! I'm a little confused though. In another comment you said you do not have any security suites installed, but here you mentioned Kaspersky. Others have reported that disabling the Kaspersky Firefox add-on helped. Can you try that?

I also have to say that it looks like I am able to establish secure connections with other websites with no problem.

Good point! In fact, most websites don't care much who they're connected to so long as the SSL/TLS connection is established. Many also use old, obsolete, exploitable protocol versions. As you can imagine, at AgileBits, we don't play fast and loose with security. Our servers require a secure, end-to-end-encrypted connection between from your device. Otherwise, someone could simply connect to you "securely", connect to us "securely", and be able to monitor all communications. Or they could just pose as agilebits.com and serve you malicious downloads. Obviously, that's not something anyone wants to happen.

Could it be a problem on your side? the latest version's release notes for 4.6.1 include the statement:
" Improves verification and authentication of communication with the 1Password browser extension to address an issue reported by Tavis Ormandy of Google Project Zero. Users should update promptly."
Do you think that there may be a problem with its implementation perhaps?

The difficulty with our mutual authentication implementation is that it is inflexible. But this isn't a problem; rather, this is by design, since — much like the example above of connecting to websites — we have an obligation to make sure that 1Password only communicates with its extension. Otherwise your sensitive data is being sent to an unknown entity, and what is received cannot be trusted either. If we adopt a laissez-faire attitude and allow this, maybe nothing will happen. But that's not a chance we're willing to take with our own data, so we don't want to take any chances with yours either.

Even if you're not using any security suites, are you using a firewall or proxy? A firewall will block connections outright; and, as you can imagine, a proxy setting sending 1Password's communications to the proxy server will mean the browser extensions on your local machine never get the message, so be sure to configure those:

Configuring Windows firewall and proxy settings

One way or another, we'll get this sorted out for you. Let me know how it turns out! :)

Qutrit

Thanks for your reply!

but here you mentioned Kaspersky. Others have reported that disabling the Kaspersky Firefox add-on helped. Can you try that?

Yeah, perhaps my wording on the other thread wasn't the best, my apologies. What I meant is that I had deactivated Kaspersky to try the installation to no avail. Also, I did not install Kaspersky Firefox add-on at all, so that is not the problem.

Even if you're not using any security suites, are you using a firewall or proxy? A firewall will block connections outright; and, as you can imagine, a proxy setting sending 1Password's communications to the proxy server will mean the browser extensions on your local machine never get the message, so be sure to configure those

My configuration did not change from the old version (capable to install the add-on automatically) and the new one. More important, I have no proxy configured whatsoever.

Again, just to consider, let me reiterate that I am able to establish secure connections with (as far as I now) two party authentication with other websites. I know you mentioned that 1password may be special and the most secure of them all, which is definitely not impossible, but still it is something to consider, from the point of view of user experience, that it looks like I only have such problems with one service and the problems start right after an update. From my side there is a 1-1 correlation between the update and the start of the problems.

At this point I have no clue as to what the problem may be.. Thanks in advance for your help!

MikeT

Hi @Qutrit,

This is not related to establishing a connection or a connection issue at all but rather an interference with the extension installation in Firefox, the error message from Firefox isn't explaining the problem accurately. What you described in the original post is the normal process, you are supposed to get an authorization dialog from 1Password for the first time after installing the extension, this is part of the new security changes we've made in the latest 1Password browser extensions and the program.

We've seen these extension failure messages with Avast and BitDefender for a few years now and reported to them but it doesn't appear they've fixed it.

We've added more encryption code changes in 1Password extension 4.6.1 that is causing more anti-malware solutions to start blocking our extension files, it is likely a behavior algorithm that sees an encrypted payload as bad news and wants to flag it right away. We're testing and contacting the companies to see if they can help us with this. ESET is already helping us with this.

Qutrit

Hi,
Thanks for the response. IN my case I have Kaspersky anti-virus, btu I have not installed the firefox extensions and I 'deactivated' the antivirus to try and see if it worked with negative results. Do you happen to know if Kaspersky is giving troubles with this version? and if so, any way to test if that is the case deactivating it?

AlexHoffmann

@Qutrit

We seen a few reports of various Kaspersky products giving users grief but they are far and few in between. It quite odd because Firefox add-on installation hasn't been an issue with Kaspersky up until now.

That said, it's unsurprising that you would be seeing this issue even with Kaspersky apparently disabled. Their software embeds itself so deep in the system that it's almost impossible for the user to completely shut it down, even if they want to. Many of the protection routines stay active. I'm going to give this a try tomorrow to see if I can find a way around this. In the meantime, I'd recommend you manually install the 1Password Firefox add-on by following the instructions in this guide: If you can't install the 1Password extension on your Windows PC

Please let us know if this helps, or if there's anything else we can do for you.

Cheers,

Alex

Qutrit

HI,

I managed to manually install the extension downloading the xpi file manually form the alternate server (https://cache.agilebits.com/dist/1P/ext/1Password-4.6.1.xpi), but for example, updates won't work giving the same kind of problem. I was wondering if you found anything that could be of interest for this case. I distrust manual installs because it is easier for a third party to fake a link and compromise security (more room for human mistakes on my side).

It is strange that Kaspersky may be doing this. I was wondering if you had any luck trying it yourself?

Thanks!

AlexHoffmann

I'm still waiting to hear back from Kaspersky on this. My own tests haven't yielded any reproducible results, so far.
It's really strange.

We'll keep you updated on the state of this. If you feel like contacting Kaspersky yourself and asking them what might be happening here, it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Alex

Qutrit

I will contact Kaspersky and ask what may be happening. It is indeed strange as I have no other security software installed other than Kaspersky anti-virus.

AGAlumB

@Qutrit: I'll just throw this out there: reinstalling Firefox or creating a new profile may help. I've encountered similar extension issues in the past, both personally and with other 1Password users. And a team member just informed me that they weren't able to get either Firefox or the extension updated until reinstalling the browser. Given that Alex isn't able to reproduce it with Kaspersky himself and these experiences with Firefox, it may be that Kaspersky isn't involved. But it never hurts to check. While manually installing the extension from the AgileBits site via a secure connection is safe, it's still a nuisance to have to do so.

Qutrit

Hi!

So I have tired reinstalling and no dice.... I am using the 64bits Windows 10 Firefox version. No idea what may be going on.... is there any log file that I could share with you to help figure out what is blocking what exactly?

Thanks!

AGAlumB

@Qutrit: Definitely try it with a fresh Firefox profile first in case it's as simple as that, but if you're still having trouble, the best thing to do will be to restart your PC, reproduce the same issue, and then generate a diagnostic report and send it to support+forums@agilebits.com so we can look at the logs to determine exactly what is happening:

Sending Diagnostics Reports (Windows)

Just be sure to include a link to this forum thread and your username in the email so we can 'connect the dots'. Also, knowing your timezone and the date/time of the incident will help us find it in the logs.

However, keep in mind that if it is a Firefox or Windows issue (for example, a problem with the certificate store on your PC) we won't have data on that, just what 1Password can see from its perspective. Hopefully this will shed some light on things though.

jyun

I had the same problem just now but figured it out. After disabling every Firefox Add-On (Kaspersky, Disconnect, HTTPS Everywhere, uBlock Origin, Decentreleyes, RequestPolicy, etc.) - it still would not download. I figured out that it was Malewarebytes & their Anti-Exploit Premium Software. Just right click it and 'Stop Protection'. Then also Right Click Malewarebytes and Stop Website Protection.

Enjoy -
J

AlexHoffmann

Hi @jyun,

Thanks for letting us know about this.
It's certainly news to us because Malwarebytes Anti Malware Premium has worked with 1Password without issues for a long time now.

I've tested this and confirmed the issue. We'll be contacting them about it.

Cheers,

Alex