[Tip] Block Firefox to Download Updates Using BITS on Windows
The newer versions of Mozilla Firefox web browser (version 68.0 and later) come with BITS support on Windows operating system which means Firefox will use BITS service on Windows to download and install updates so that it can upgrade itself without any interruption even if the user closes Firefox window.
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What is BITS?
BITS stands for Background Intelligent Transfer Service which is a built-in and essential service of Windows operating system. BITS can be found in almost all Windows versions so don’t consider it as an exclusive service of Windows 10. Almost all Windows versions use BITS to download updates and upgrade applications.
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is used by Windows to download or upload files. BITS runs in background and doesn’t affect running programs and apps. BITS has been developed specifically to support and handle network interruptions so that it can pause and resume file transfers even if the user disconnects Internet or restarts the computer.
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BITS is also used by Windows to download and install updates so it’s a very important component of Windows operating system.
You can read more about BITS using its properties window. Just launch Services Manager using services.msc command in RUN dialog box or search box and look for “Background Intelligent Transfer Service” in the list. Double-click on the service and you can read its full information which is given as following:
Transfers files in the background using idle network bandwidth. If the service is disabled, then any applications that depend on BITS, such as Windows Update or MSN Explorer, will be unable to automatically download programs and other information.
BITS executable path is shown as C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs -p.
How will Firefox Use BITS to Download Updates?
Starting version 68.0, Firefox has started using BITS on Windows operating system to check for updates and download them. The benefit of using BITS on Windows is that Firefox will continue downloading updates even if the user closes Firefox window.
So if you are working on Firefox and you exit or close Firefox window, Firefox will take help of BITS on Windows to download available updates even if Firefox is not running.
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It’ll help Mozilla to upgrade all Firefox users to the latest version even if they are running older versions and don’t run Firefox for long time to complete the full update download.
How to Disable BITS Update Download Support in Firefox?
Many Firefox users may not like this new functionality. Some Firefox users may want to intentionally run older versions of Firefox as they don’t like new feature or UI or their favorite add-ons are not compatible with newer versions of Firefox or some of their favorite features have been removed from newer Firefox versions. Many users might also be worried about their Internet connection bandwidth and they don’t want Firefox to consume the bandwidth by running in background to download updates.
Fortunately Firefox comes with a built-in preference/flag to disable BITS update download support so that interested users can block Firefox from downloading updates using BITS on Windows operating system.
If you also want to prevent/restrict Firefox from using BITS on Windows to download and install updates, following steps will help you in disabling BITS support in Firefox. Once you use this preference to turn off BITS support in Firefox, it’ll no longer use BITS in background to download updates when you have closed Firefox window.
Check out following simple steps to disable BITS support in Firefox:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox and type about:config in the addressbar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “I accept the risk!” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.
2. Now type BITS in Search filter box and look for following preference in the window:
app.update.BITS.enabled
The preference value is set to true by default, which means Firefox will use BITS on Windows to upgrade itself.
3. To disable BITS support in Firefox, double-click on app.update.BITS.enabled preference and set it to false. Alternatively, you can right-click on the preference and select Toggle option.
That’s it. Now Firefox will stop using BITS on Windows to download its updates. It’ll not stop automatic updates feature in Firefox. Firefox will be able to update itself using traditional update mechanism which comes built-in.
PS: To restore the BITS support in Firefox, set the value of above mentioned preference to true.
Also Check:
[Tip] Disable Automatic Background Updates Feature in Mozilla Firefox
Fixing Windows 10 Automatic Updates Installation Problem
[Tip] How to Disable or Block Auto-Update Feature in Opera Web Browser
Sorry to say altering BITS in services.msc and Registry hack does not work, Firefox 90 still want to update., nor does adding a .json file in the distribution folder…. so what give, ideas anyone?
I can stop it applying the updates by-:
Going to folder options, set to view hidden files, clicking on C drive to view files look for and open ‘Program data’. We have two options, Looking for Mozilla folder we can delete that or the ‘Update’ folder inside as well as the UpdateLock file….. I have C**p Cleaner deleting the files on computer start up.
If you open the file and leave it open, when you start Firefox the files are back in a flash… you can clean them and they USUALLY stay clean whilst browsing….. notice ‘usually’ in upper case, once in a while they may appear whilst browsing.
The trouble is you just gotta clean them out before starting the computer or you’ll get updated.
I’m stumped, I’m trying Brave browser on another computer away from Firefox prying eyes – I just don’t trust them anymore, I’ve been with them at least Firefox 1.5, maybe 1.2.