Installing the legacy MV2 Smoothwall Cloud Filter extension

Organisations that have Google ChromeOS devices (e.g. Chromebooks) that cannot all be updated to a version of the Chrome browser later than 110 need to deploy our legacy MV2 extension to be able to continue to use Smoothwall Cloud Filter. You can see how to check if this applies to your devices here: Upgrading ChromeOS to a version which supports Cloud Filter MV3

This extension is hosted by Smoothwall rather than through the Chrome Web Store, so requires blocking the deployment of the existing extension, and replacing it with the legacy extension.

Step 1 - Allow MV2 extensions to run on devices

1. Go to the Google Workspace Admin Console at https://admin.google.com and sign-in as an administrator.
2. Find the Chrome settings in Devices > Chrome > Settings.
3. Check that you are on the 'User & browser settings' tab at the top of the screen:
   
   
   
   
4. Select your top level organisational unit on the left, which is typically your Google domain name
5. Search for settings with the word Manifest and set the Manifest V2 extension availability setting to 'Enable force-installed manifest V2 extensions'.  This will allow MV2 extensions to run on devices higher than Chrome version 110, which is helpful if you have a mix of older and newer devices.
6. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Step 2 - Allow extensions to be installed from Smoothwall

1. Find the Apps & Extensions settings in Devices > Chrome > Apps & Extensions.
2. Click on the Users & Browsers tab.
3. Ensure that your top-level domain organisational unit is selected on the left hand side.
4. Click the ADDITIONAL SETTINGS link at the top right.
   
5. Add the following URL to the App and extension install sources setting, pressing enter to add a new line if required. This allows extensions to be installed from the Smoothwall self-hosting website.

   https://software-mv2.smoothwall.com/*

   
6. Click Save at the top right of the page.
   
   

Step 3 - Add the extension to locations

1. Click on Apps & extensions in the navigation tree on the left hand side of the page.
2. Search for all deployments of the existing Smoothwall Cloud Filter extension by looking for the ID.

   jbldkhfglmgeihlcaeliadhipokhocnm

   
3. Depending on your setup, there may be multiple organisational units where the extension is deployed.  In each of the identified locations, we will block the existing extension and add the new self-hosted extension.
   
4. Click on the Smoothwall Cloud Filter extension.
5. Copy the Policy for extensions contents and keep this safe. 
6. Set the installation policy to Block. This will prevent the old extension from running on any devices. Note that the policy for extensions might be different for each organisation unit depending on your setup. This is unique per customer, so do not use the information from the example below.
   
7. Click the plus icon at the bottom right of the page and select Add Chrome app or extension by ID.
   
8. In the popup window that appears, enter the Extension ID.

   nlcnbnnmbfgekccnapcfjpoofnoblfpk

9. Change the dropdown From a custom URL and enter the following URL.

   https://software-mv2.smoothwall.com/filter/update.xml

   
10. Click on the nlcnbnnmbfgekccnapcfjpoofnoblfpk extension and set the Installation policy to Force Install.
    
11. Paste the Policy for Extensions from the old extension.
    
12. Press Save at the top right of the page.
13. Repeat for any other organisational units with the old extension deployed.
    
    

Step 4 - Check the setup

Log in to one of your Chrome devices and check that:

• the nlcnbnnmbfgekccnapcfjpoofnoblfpk legacy MV2 extension is running.
• the jbldkhfglmgeihlcaeliadhipokhocnm previous extension is no longer installed.

You may also want to check the diagnostics to ensure that ‘Mode 2’ is present. This indicates the extension is provisioned and operating correctly. You can see this article for how to access diagnostics on a client: Running Cloud Filter Diagnostics