Is there any way to stop Firefox from deciding which version I can run ?

[fixit7]

I am running Ubuntu-Mate 22.04.

I am trying to prevent Firefox from ever updating.

This did not work.

andy@7:~/Temp$ sudo apt-mark hold firefox
firefox was already set on hold.

Or this.

On Ubuntu-Mate 22.04 Firefox comes as a Snap, so apt-mark hold won’t stop updates — you need to remove the Snap version (sudo snap remove firefox) and install the Debian package from Mozilla’s PPA if you want to control updates.



Alternatively, disable snap refresh timers (snap set system refresh.hold=$(date -d "2099-01-01" +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%:z)) to block Snap from updating it.

andy@7:~$ snap list
Name Version Rev Tracking Publisher Notes
bare 1.0 5 latest/stable canonical✓ base
core20 20250526 2599 latest/stable canonical✓ base
core22 20250822 2133 latest/stable canonical✓ base
gnome-3-38-2004 0+git.efb213a 143 latest/stable/… canonical✓ -
gnome-42-2204 0+git.38ea591 202 latest/stable canonical✓ -
gtk-common-themes 0.1-81-g442e511 1535 latest/stable/… canonical✓ -
snapd 2.71 25202 latest/stable canonical✓ snapd
snapd-desktop-integration 0.9 315 latest/stable/… canonical✓ -
software-boutique 0+git.0fdcecc 57 latest/stable/… flexiondotorg classic
ubuntu-mate-welcome 22.04.0-d3d4bb1a 726 latest/stable/… flexiondotorg classic
andy@7:~$ snap set system refresh.hold=$(date -d "2099-01-01" +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%:z))
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `)'
andy@7:~$ snap set system refresh.hold=$(date -d "2099-01-01" +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%:z)

 

[Condobloke]

In Linux, you have choices. Lots of them

It is a conscious choice to elect to use snaps. They are easily deleted, either individually, or, removing snap in its entirety

Uninstall Snap Packages from Ubuntu and Other Linux Distros

Here's how you can remove Snap packages from your system. Also learn about uninstalling snap altogether.

itsfoss.com

to run a specific older instance of Firefox, download it from the Mozilla site:

This one issues warnings etc re why it is a risk, re security etc

Install an older version of Firefox | Firefox Help

Downgrading to a previous Firefox version doesn't solve most problems. This article links to older versions and provides some alternatives.

support.mozilla.org

This one shows an exhaustive list of old versions

Directory Listing: /pub/firefox/releases/

I run Linux Mint 22.2. Firefox is one of the browsers I use
""Firefox Browser, Firefox Mozilla for Linux Mint""
""mint-001 - 1.0"
"Updates are disabled by your organisation" (Linux Mint)

If for some reason I don't wish to receive updates for Firefox, ....when an update shows in the Update Manager, I simply right click and select "ignore all future updates"

My main browser is Waterfox, 6.6.3 I am able turn updates off in the browser if I wish to do that

 

[MikeWalsh]

@fixit7 :-

No, no, no, no. NO.

Irrespective of the packaging type, choice of browser, whatever, I would never, EVER voluntarily choose to run with an out-of-date browser.

We may run a lot of other things under Puppy that are out-of-date, often for years at a time - "If it ain't 'broke', why 'fix' it?", y'know? - especially if a specific version of something does exactly what you want it to, and in a way that you like.......but for anything internet-facing, the "choice" doesn't even exist as far as I'm concerned.

The internet is the gateway by which malware of any kind will enter your system. This goes for not just browsers, but mail-clients, download managers, YouTube-downloaders.....anything that's cloud-based OR has a cloud-facing component.

Why voluntarily give ANY kind of sh*t access to your OS? Firewalls & the robust Linux permissions system play their part, too, but the first line of defence should always be an up-to-date browser. You decline that, you're deliberately putting cracks in what is a tried & tested defence system, honed over decades of experience.

It's your choice, of course, but to MY mind it's a foolish one.


Mike.

 

[f33dm3bits]

Irrespective of the packaging type, choice of browser, whatever, I would never, EVER voluntarily choose to run with an out-of-date browser.

Agreed! The only out of date web-browser I would use if it was a still supported LTS version of the web-browser.

 

[guiverc]

snap info firefox will show what channel options you can utilize, which can (for some apps) offer other versions of apps
I see the following versions available (via snap package)

channels:
  latest/stable:    143.0.1-1    2025-09-20 (6836) 259MB -
  latest/candidate: 143.0.1-1    2025-09-22 (6867) 259MB -
  latest/beta:      144.0b3-1    2025-09-22 (6874) 261MB -
  latest/edge:      145.0a1      2025-09-22 (6873) 296MB -
  esr/stable:       140.3.0esr-1 2025-09-16 (6773) 257MB -
  esr/candidate:    140.3.0esr-1 2025-09-16 (6773) 257MB -
  esr/beta:         ↑                                   
  esr/edge:         ↑                                   
installed:          143.0.1-1               (6836) 259MB -

Channels | Snapcraft documentation

Snaps are containerised software packages that are simple to create and install. They auto-update and are safe to run. And because they bundle their dependencies, they work on all major Linux systems without modification.

snapcraft.io

FYI: You can prevent snap packages from updating within certain limits; Alan Pope when he left Canonical wrote a number of blogs about all he knew about snap packages.

 

[APTI]

I can tell you how in fedora. you go into the dnf.conf file and put a line that says
exclude = {package name}

and that will stop it from updating. for you it is called apt.conf should be in /etc/apt
you may want to check the wording and make sure you know the firefox program name including capital letters. It matters.

However I would pay attention to the people above and their concerns about outdated browsers

 

[fixit7]

@fixit7 :-

No, no, no, no. NO.

Irrespective of the packaging type, choice of browser, whatever, I would never, EVER voluntarily choose to run with an out-of-date browser.

We may run a lot of other things under Puppy that are out-of-date, often for years at a time - "If it ain't 'broke', why 'fix' it?", y'know? - especially if a specific version of something does exactly what you want it to, and in a way that you like.......but for anything internet-facing, the "choice" doesn't even exist as far as I'm concerned.

The internet is the gateway by which malware of any kind will enter your system. This goes for not just browsers, but mail-clients, download managers, YouTube-downloaders.....anything that's cloud-based OR has a cloud-facing component.

Why voluntarily give ANY kind of sh*t access to your OS? Firewalls & the robust Linux permissions system play their part, too, but the first line of defence should always be an up-to-date browser. You decline that, you're deliberately putting cracks in what is a tried & tested defence system, honed over decades of experience.

It's your choice, of course, but to MY mind it's a foolish one.


Mike.

You are entitled to your opinion.

 

[fixit7]

I can tell you how in fedora. you go into the dnf.conf file and put a line that says
exclude = {package name}

and that will stop it from updating. for you it is called apt.conf should be in /etc/apt
you may want to check the wording and make sure you know the firefox program name including capital letters. It matters.

However I would pay attention to the people above and their concerns about outdated browsers

You also are entitled to your opinion. I have been working with computers for over 30 years.
I have written assembly language programs.

I make mistakes but I generally know what I am doing.

 

[Condobloke]

And yet you are advocating to run a browser which is not up to date, ie lacking security updates etc

Perhaps you might care to enlighten us as to the rationale behind that

 

[wizardfromoz]

I suspect that that would be of no benefit - if the OP has (and he has) asked a question of us, and receives back our advice that doing so would be folly, and still wishes to pursue a certain course, that is his prerogative.

It is not this site's policy to lend support ideas for end of life distros, nor browsers that are not fully functional.

If need be, I will lock this thread, but I hope folks will remain civil.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
(53 years in computing)

 

[wildman]

By not keeping Firefox updates you are taking a big chance for possible take over of your data or worse. While Linux is for the most part safe Firefox and for that matter Chrome updating and issuing patches aid in that safety.
Always,
Wildman

 

[MikeWalsh]

Well, I take this view:-

When an OP claims "expert" abilities with one breath - then shoots themselves in the foot with the very next statement they make - I become skeptical.

Perhaps a brief explanation for why they wish to "freeze" their browser might just help to clarify matters for the rest of us..? After all, as with all help fora - regardless of the subject - we ONLY know what the individual is prepared to share. If they don't wish to share, we can't give such good advice. We CAN only work with the information we have.

We're not mind-readers, and to the best of my knowledge we don't have a crystal ball kicking around the site anywhere.....

We're all of us happy to help with issues, if we can.....but we can't work "blind". It's as simple as that.

(I've been using these boxes of black magic for almost 45 years.......yet I still consider myself to be a noob. In this game, you're never done learning.)

(shrug...)


Mike.

 

[Brickwizard]

It is not this site's policy to lend support ideas for end of life distros, nor browsers that are not fully functional.

Being another crotchety old man [my first computer was an IBM compatible ] and Linux user of some 20 years, I have to agree with all my colleges purely from a security point of view, never run out of date distributions or apps if going online, [fine if you are using an isolated system without any connections to the web].

 

[Brickwizard]

this is not recommended and will not work on distributions that modify Firefox in their repositories

To turn off updates in Firefox, go to the "about:config" page, search for "app.update.auto," and set it to false.

 

[APTI]

this is not recommended and will not work on distributions that modify Firefox in their repositories

To turn off updates in Firefox, go to the "about:config" page, search for "app.update.auto," and set it to false.

combine this method with the one I mentioned for the apt.conf file and you should be good. Thanks brickwizard for picking up the other option I missed. The OP will need to use both methods.

 

[fixit7]

combine this method with the one I mentioned for the apt.conf file and you should be good. Thanks brickwizard for picking up the other option I missed. The OP will need to use both methods.

Thanks for your positive help.

I am working now on a patient portal that I can no longer access.
When I log in, it takes me to the doctor that I recently fired for "failure to treat."

Some fresh air from the complainers.

 

[fixit7]

I can tell you how in fedora. you go into the dnf.conf file and put a line that says
exclude = {package name}

and that will stop it from updating. for you it is called apt.conf should be in /etc/apt
you may want to check the wording and make sure you know the firefox program name including capital letters. It matters.

However I would pay attention to the people above and their concerns about outdated browsers

I am having a great day. So I work hard to stay that way by setting boundaries.

Boundaries are the limits and rules we set to protect our physical, emotional, and mental well-being and to maintain healthy relationships with others. Setting boundaries involves recognizing your own needs, communicating them clearly to others, and establishing consequences for violations, ultimately fostering self-respect and mutual respect within relationships

 

[fixit7]

combine this method with the one I mentioned for the apt.conf file and you should be good. Thanks brickwizard for picking up the other option I missed. The OP will need to use both methods.

Thanks. I set it to false.