Firefox 65.0.1 default browser?

[chimak111]

So you haven't installed Firefox using apt or apt-get. I too have Firefox installed locally and don't have the problem. So please run

find . '!' -user $USER -ls

just to make sure relevant files/folders aren't owned by root thus preventing changes you make from being saved.

[GregM]

Here's what I get

greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ find . '!' -user $USER -ls
2519112 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.config/nemo
2519113 4 drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.local/share/nemo
2519115 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.local/share/nemo/actions
2519114 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.local/share/nemo/scripts
2519109 4 drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:45 ./.cache/dconf
find: ‘./.cache/dconf’: Permission denied

[GregM]

I used
sudo apt install firefox
to install FF

[chimak111]

I used
sudo apt install firefox
to install FF

So why does the locate command return only "/home/greg/Desktop/firefox-bin"? This is all too confusing

[GregM]

Beats me.
I looked at my desktop using Dolphin and it's not there.
I think this computer might be haunted.

[Snowhog]

Here's what I get

greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ find . '!' -user $USER -ls
2519112 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.config/nemo
2519113 4 drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.local/share/nemo
2519115 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.local/share/nemo/actions
2519114 4 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:37 ./.local/share/nemo/scripts
2519109 4 drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Dec 14 09:45 ./.cache/dconf
find: ‘./.cache/dconf’: Permission denied

Nemo is a filemanager. The results of the find command show that it has been launched and run from the CLI using sudo, which is why the results above for it's 'user directories/files' are owned by root, and not by you.

dconf shouldn't be where it has been reported (./.cache/dconf). On my 18.04 it is located at ./.config/dconf

And again, the ./.cache directory should not be owned by root; it should be owned by you.

Open a konsole and verify you are in your user home directory (/home/greg) and then execute:

sudo chown -R greg:greg .config
sudo chown -R greg:greg .local
sudo chown -R greg:greg .cache

Then execute the find command again to ensure that nothing in /home/greg is owned by root.

[GregM]

Did I do this right?

greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ cd /home/greg
greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ sudo chown -R greg:greg .config
[sudo] password for greg:
greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ sudo chown -R greg:greg .local
greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ sudo chown -R greg:greg .cache
greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$ find . '!' -user $USER -ls
greg@greg-OptiPlex-990:~$

[Snowhog]

Yes, you did.

[Snowhog]

I would strongly suggest that you stop launching nemo from the CLI using sudo. That's what messes up ones /home directory. You were 'lucky', as in worst case scenarios, you could get things messed up enough that you would not be able to start/access the Desktop.

[GregM]

Ok, but I did not know I was using it.

I have been using Dolphin for some time. Could this be from a long time ago?

[Snowhog]

You've not/never run Nemo?

[TWPonKubuntu]

GregM
I have Firefox installed on my system but it is not the default browser (Palemoon is). Since you have removed Firefox and it does show up in the trash folders, you might still have the config files in your home directory. Mine are in /home/twp/.mozilla/firefox and Dolphin will display them if you have set Dolphin to show "hidden" files.

This might (maybe, perhaps) be why Firefox is still seen as your default browser. Reading the file: profile.ini in the .mozilla/firefox folder, it has one parameters set to "default" and the default parameter is set to 1 (which I assume is a binary true).

In the past, I have simply deleted the .mozilla/firefox folder. It will be recreated if you do a reinstall of Firefox, but you lose all configuration (like bookmarks).

[GregM]

You've not/never run Nemo?

Maybe a couple years ago.

[GregM]

GregM
I have Firefox installed on my system but it is not the default browser (Palemoon is). Since you have removed Firefox and it does show up in the trash folders, you might still have the config files in your home directory. Mine are in /home/twp/.mozilla/firefox and Dolphin will display them if you have set Dolphin to show "hidden" files.

This might (maybe, perhaps) be why Firefox is still seen as your default browser. Reading the file: profile.ini in the .mozilla/firefox folder, it has one parameters set to "default" and the default parameter is set to 1 (which I assume is a binary true).

In the past, I have simply deleted the .mozilla/firefox folder. It will be recreated if you do a reinstall of Firefox, but you lose all configuration (like bookmarks).

I was hoping to not get too radical and have to rebuild all the passwords and stuff.
I operated off a screwy system I got to go using Tar downloads in to subdirectories for a few renditions of FF because I didn't want to do the full update. Actually ever since they developed their screwy obsession with not allowing "tabs on bottom" and forced updates in the middle of the night.

Seems like how much I think I have backed up I still forget something and then have to do a bunch of reconstruction for days. (since obviously I'm not to hot at doing all this stuff anyway.)
I like FF when it works the way I want it to.
I tried Vivaldi in there too for a while.

[TWPonKubuntu]

I can understand not wanting to try to restore passwords and bookmarks. I do backup the bookmarks, just in case, but passwords are something I try not to let the browser store (just memorize the few that I need) and I have no idea how to capture them in a backup.
Wish you luck on this, 'tis a puzzlement...