despite idea from various quarters that the master password actually protects your data, it never has. IT's sole purpose was to provide an encryption key for the files that help passwords in Thunderbird.

If you want to lock folks out of your account I suggest you use the user accounts that come with your operating system. Windows have an instant lock screen that can be enabled. Windows key + L activates it.

hello you ! thanks for your rapid answer but yes I know that I can lock my account and I do that when necessary ! also when I start my PC I have to put a password .. ok ok ! but here this is NEW problem since update TB 68.4.1 that I installed yesterday 9/1. When I open TB now it opens totally (I see the incoming mails !) and at the same time it asks for my password ... when I click on "annuler" that little password window goes away and I can go into all the dossiers .... this was NOT like this before the update !! before I had to put my password FIRST and only then the TB income mails window did open !!! Thanks anyway !

there are many changes in this version, the timing of the master password may well have been changed as major effort is being made to streamline program load and moving the mail get into it's own thread instead of stopping the program loading was, or is to be one of those things. From what you are saying it has already occurred.

However the application is functioning as designed, so there is nothing to fix here.

Hello again ! Thanks again for your rapid answering ! sorry but NO TB is not functionning as it should because when I a start TB the password DOES NOT work !!!! I have the little window asking for my password while the mail window is fully OPEN and everybody can read my mails !! I do NOT even have to put my password because when you click on "CANCEL" (the password) it does nothing and permits to continue reading all the mails  !! it's really personnal security problem !!!  ;-) ;-) George.

geomar2 said

sorry but NO TB is not functionning as it should because when I a start TB the password DOES NOT work !!!!

Can you get your mail without putting in the password? no you can not. So the master password is functioning as it should and as it was always intended to. That you may have incorrectly used it to do a double duty it did not do well, is not relevant at all to this discussion.

You can insist that the function has changed and I will agree with you. It does appear the timing is different. But that does not change the fact that the master password has never been about hiding your profile contents. It is for the sole purpose of encrypting your stored passwords.

It was always the case that pressing the escape key removed the dialog and it finished loading. It is also a fact that your entire mail store is help on disk in plain text files. What you thought you had and what you had were not the same thing and now it is fixed that is obvious to you.

Your desired profile password was first filed as a bug 21 Years ago. A decision was made that it would not be implemented.

See https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=16489

You have a valid alternative to what you thought you had that does secure not only the user interface, but your data as well from casual snooping. Use Windows key + L to lock your windows session.