Deploy Mozilla Firefox with SCCM 2012

How to deploy Firefox using SCCM 2012. I am going to use the Extended Support Release (ESR) version of Firefox but this tutorial will work just fine with regular 32-bit or 64-bit Firefox as well. I like to get the ESR because this is the Mozilla recommended version for businesses and you can learn more about Mozilla Firefox ESR here:
Firefox ESR FAQ
You can download the latest Firefox ESR from the following link:
www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/
Or, if you prefer a regular version, you can get that from this link:
www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/
In this tutorial we will deploy Firefox with some preconfigured settings, like: suppressing any welcome page, accepting EULA, default homepage, remove older version.
Step-1: Download the latest ESR Firefox (or whichever version of Firefox you prefer) available from the following link and share the file on your network share folder:

• Firefox ESR
• Firefox Regular (Non-ESR)

I personally recommend Firefox ESR since this version is meant for businesses as it supports mass deployment and I found it more stable, regardless you can use a regular version of Firefox using this tutorial. There’s no difference in user experience or functionality.

Download Firefox ESR

Step-2: Create a new text file called ‘override.ini’ in the same folder and copy in the following information:
[XRE]
EnableProfileMigrator=false


Create override.ini file

Step-3: Create a second text file called ‘mozilla.cfg‘ and paste the following information in it:

//Firefox Default Settings
// set Firefox Default homepage
pref(“browser.startup.homepage”,”http://www.ohoque.com/”);
// disable default browser check
pref(“browser.shell.checkDefaultBrowser”, false);
pref(“browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone”, “ignore”);
// disable application updates
pref(“app.update.auto”, false)
pref(“app.update.enabled”, false)
// disables the ‘know your rights’ button from displaying on first run
pref(“browser.rights.3.shown”, true);
// disables the request to send performance data from displaying
pref(“toolkit.telemetry.prompted”, 2);
pref(“toolkit.telemetry.rejected”, true);
// disable history, download, cache, password and settings
pref(“browser.privatebrowsing.autostart”, true)
// clear cookies
pref(“privacy.clearOnShutdown.cookies”, true)

Create config file

Step-4: Create a third text file called ‘install.cmd’ and paste the following information:

@echo off
REM==========================================
REM Install FireFox 31.5.0 ESR
REM==========================================
REM Date : 3 March, 2015
REM Author : Risalatul Hoque (Source: mockbox.net)
REM .
REM Script Details:
REM --------------
REM This script will:
REM + silently install or upgrade Firefox 31.5 ESR WITHOUT Firefox being the default browser
REM + Disables the 'Automatically check for updates' option
REM + Disables the 'Always check to see if Firefox is the default browser on startup' option
REM + Runs in private browsing by default
REM + Disables the Import Wizard
REM + Works for Windows XP / 7 /8 32-bit and 64-bit
REM .
REM===========================================
echo Installing Firefox - Please Wait.
echo Window will close after install is complete
REM Install Firefox
“%~dp0Firefox Setup 31.5.0esr.exe” -ms
REM Install 32-bit customisations
if exist “%programfiles%\Mozilla Firefox\” copy /Y “%~dp0override.ini” “%programfiles%\Mozilla Firefox\browser\”
if exist “%programfiles%\Mozilla Firefox\” copy /Y “%~dp0mozilla.cfg” “%programfiles%\Mozilla Firefox\”
if exist “%programfiles%\Mozilla Firefox\” copy /Y “%~dp0local-settings.js” “%programfiles%\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref”
REM Install 64-bit customisations
if exist “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\” copy /Y “%~dp0override.ini” “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\browser\”
if exist “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\” copy /Y “%~dp0mozilla.cfg” “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\”
if exist “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\” copy /Y “%~dp0local-settings.js” “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref”
REM Return exit code to SCCM
exit /B %EXIT_CODE%

Create batch file

IMPORTANT: If you’re using a different version of Firefox, make sure to adjust the batch file accordingly. You will almost always need to change the following line with the appropriate file/version name:
"%~dp0Firefox Setup 31.5.0esr.exe" -ms
Step-5: Create the fourth and final text file called ‘local-settings.js’ and paste in the following information:
pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg");


Create local-settings.js file

Step-6: Make sure, Firefox .exe and the four files created above are within the same folder and your deployment folder from the network share should look similar to this:

Network share folder should have these files

You have all the files you need to create the package using SCCM. Let’s head over to SCCM and create our package.
Step-7: Go to SCCM > Software Library > Application Management > Packages. Right click on Packages and select Create Package.

Deploy Firefox using SCCM 2012

Step-8: Specify some application details and description. Check box This package contains source files and browse to the folder using UNC where the Firefox ESR resides. Click OK. Click Next.

Package description

Step-9: Standard Program should be selected by default. Click Next.

Firefox Deployment

Step-10: Fill in with some package details. Browse for Command line and select install.cmd (you might have to change browse pattern to *.* all file types). We’ll select Run as Hidden, Program can run as Whether or not a user is logged on. Click Next.

Firefox Deployment using SCCM 2012

Step-11: In this window, we can specify if the program is compatible for all versions or some specific OS versions. Since I got all Windows 7 computers in my environment, it doesn’t matter much for me and I will just click Next. But if you have a diverse group of computers with different kinds of OS’s, you might want to take care of this step accordingly. But either way, this step is optional and I am going to accept the default setting. Click Next.

SCCM Firefox Deployment

Step-12: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-13: Click Close.

Click Close

Step-14: Now we’ll need to distribute the content. Right click on the Firefox package we just created and select Distribute Content.

Distribute Content

Step-15: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-16: Click Add and check the Distribution Point where you want to distribute this package. Click Next.

Firefox Deployment using SCCM 2012: Distribute Content

Step-17: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-18: Click Close.

Firefox Deployment using SCCM 2012: Done Distributing Content!

Step-19: Now that your package has been distributed, it’s ready for deployment. Right click on the package and select Deploy.

Firefox Deployment using SCCM 2012: The Actual Deployment

Step-20: Click Browse and select the collection or machine where you want to deploy this package. Click Next.

Deployment continues…

Step-21: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-22: Select Action as Install (default) and Purpose Required. Click Next.

SCCM 2012: Firefox Deployment

Step-23: In this window, you will get to schedule your deployment. For simplicity’s sake, I am going to make my deployment available ASAP. Click New. Check Assign immediately after this event: and select As soon as possible. Click OK.

Schedule Firefox Deployment using SCCM 2012

Step-24: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-25: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-26: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-27: Click Next.

Click Next

Step-28: Click Close.

Congratulations! You just deployed Firefox using SCCM!

And that’s it! If you need any clarification or help understanding any of the above steps, please do feel free to ask question in the comment section and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Hope this tutorial was helpful.