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Tag: Mozilla Firefox

  • Another Week, Another Round of Serious Google Chrome Security Flaws

    Another Week, Another Round of Serious Google Chrome Security Flaws

    In what is becoming a regular occurrence, Google has issued another Chrome update to fix a number of issues, including seven serious security flaws.

    Google Chrome is the most popular desktop browser by a wide margin. Unfortunately, it also seems to have its fair share of security issues, with Google issuing a patch every couple to few weeks to fix critical ones.

    Google has now issued another fix, addressing seven serious security issues. Even the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is recommending users and admins update immediately.

    This version addresses vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit to take control of an affected system.

    CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Chrome Release Note and apply the necessary updates.

    A recent report showed Firefox has dropped 50 million users in the last couple of years, and is now hovering around 200 million. Google’s ongoing issues show why it’s important to not only have a variety of browsers on the market, but also ones that use different rendering engines.

    Safari uses Webkit, Firefox uses Gecko and Chrome is based on the Chromium codebase, which uses Blink. Many others, such as Brave, Opera, Vivaldi and Microsoft Edge are also based on Chromium, meaning they all use the same engine.

    As a result, with the popularity of Apple’s Safari on mobile, and Chrome-based browsers on the desktop, Firefox’s future as a private, secure third option is more important than ever.

  • Microsoft Edge Has Worst Default Privacy Settings

    Microsoft Edge Has Worst Default Privacy Settings

    In a study of major web browsers, Microsoft’s Edge was found to have the worst default privacy settings of the entire bunch.

    Douglas J. Leith, computer scientist with the School of Computer Science & Statistics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, conducted the research on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Brave Browser, Microsoft Edge and Yandex Browser. The study evaluated a number of different factors, including the data transmitted by search autocomplete features, data transmitted while the browsers are idle, back-end services the browsers use and more.

    Brave took the top spot, with not evidence of “identifiers allowing tracking of IP address over time, and no sharing of the details of web pages visited with backend servers,” according to Leith. Chrome, Firefox and Safari were in the middle of the pack.

    “From a privacy perspective Microsoft Edge and Yandex are qualitatively different from the other browsers studied,” continued Leith. “Both send persistent identifiers than can be used to link requests (and associated IP address/location) to back end servers. Edge also sends the hardware UUID of the device to Microsoft and Yandex similarly transmits a hashed hardware identifier to back end servers. As far as we can tell this behaviour cannot be disabled by users. In addition to the search autocomplete functionality that shares details of web pages visited, both transmit web page information to servers that appear unrelated to search autocomplete.”

    For individuals and companies concerned with privacy and security, it seems Edge is the one to avoid until Microsoft tightens things up.

  • Mozilla Launches Firefox Quantum, Poses Real Threat to Google Chrome

    Mozilla Launches Firefox Quantum, Poses Real Threat to Google Chrome

    Mozilla has been quietly sitting on the sidelines for a while now, content to slowly work on improving Firefox. But the release of the Firefox Quantum shows that the company is now ready to join the big league once again and take on Google’s Chrome.

    Mozilla unveiled the new and improved version 57 of Firefox on Tuesday, claiming that the browser is now twice as fast as before. The company also revealed a new user interface (UI) that looks decidedly minimalist.

    According to Mozilla executive Mark Mayo, the latest update is the biggest one they’ve rolled out since the company launched Firefox 1.0 in 2004. It’s also the apex of six years worth of research and development, as well as engineering work that ran for about a year and a half.

    The Firefox Quantum touts a revamped rendering engine along with a new CSS layout engine. The engine and other components are written in Rust, a programming language developed by Mozilla’s own research group with the goal of increasing speed. Mozilla also claims that Quantum uses 30% less memory than Chrome and that it has been designed to meet the needs of people who surf the internet by switching from various tabs.

    Firefox’s release notes also listed changes in active tab prioritization, a switch-over from legacy add-ons to those developed via the WebAssembly API, and Pocket integration. The reworked browser is also sporting a new UI, its first redesign since Firefox 4. The changes in the browser’s UI and UX (user experience) puts significant emphasis on giving it a speed boost.

    It’s clear that the new UI compliments the austere look that rivals Edge and Chrome sport. Firefox Quantum integrates the search and address bars in a bid to reduce the clutter usually found on top of the window. A revamped new tab page was also revealed.  

    Users in Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the U.S, also quickly noticed that Mozilla has foregone using Yahoo as its default search engine. Instead, the company has reverted back to using Google, its partner and main financier before the two companies had a falling out in 2014. However, Firefox will continue using its default search engine in other countries. For instance, China will still be using Baidu while Belarus and Russia will continue using Yandex.

    Mozilla is hoping that the changes Firefox Quantum carries will be more than enough to challenge Chrome and other browsers. But it’s admittedly an uphill battle at the moment. However, Firefox’s stance to be tech neutral and the groundwork it has laid down can make Mozilla’s bid to return to the top easier.

    [Featured image via Mozilla]

  • Mozilla Kills The PDF Plugin In Firefox 19

    We just got Firefox 18 earlier this week, but Mozilla already has its sights set on the future. That future is one devoid of PDF plugins, like Adobe Acrobat Reader, that could harbor dangerous security flaws. Instead, the non-profit will continue pushing HTML5 in the new year.

    Mozilla announced today that Firefox 19, which is currently in beta, will have a new PDF reader called PDF.js. The .js extension should tip you off that the new reader is built in JavaScript and HTML5. The idea is that the new PDF reader will be more secure than “proprietary closed source code.” Here’s all the details:

    For a number of years there have been several plugins for viewing PDF’s within Firefox. Many of these plugins come with proprietary closed source code that could potentially expose users to security vulnerabilities. PDF viewing plugins also come with extra code to do many things that Firefox already does well with no proprietary code, such as drawing images and text. These problems, and the desire to push the boundaries of the HTML5 platform, led Andreas Gal and Chris Jones to start a research project they named PDF.js. The project quickly picked up steam within Mozilla Labs, where it grew into a full-fledged PDF viewer.

    Today, the PDF.js project clearly shows that HTML5 and JavaScript are now powerful enough to create applications that could previously have only been created as native applications. Not only do most PDF’s load and render quickly, they run securely and have an interface that feels at home in the browser. As an added benefit of using standard HTML5 API’s, the PDF viewer is capable of running on many platforms (PC’s, tablet, mobile) and even different browsers. Last, performance will only get better as JavaScript engines and rendering performance continue to improve in browsers.

    Mozilla Kills PDF Plugins In Firefox 19

    PDJ.js is now available in Firefox 19, but it’s still in beta so bugs may be present. To that end, Mozilla encourages beta users to file bug reports if they run into any problems. The developers want to get PDF.js into the release version of Firefox, and plenty of bug reports will help them polish it up for release six weeks from now.

    As for developers, you can help contribute to the project by visiting the PDF.js github page. It would be an excellent opportunity to work in more advanced HTML5 projects.

  • Firefox 14 Launches With Secure Search

    Firefox 14 Launches With Secure Search

    Firefox 13 may have been the most substantial release of Firefox since moving to the new rapid release process and it will probably be the last one we’ll see for a while. The launch of Firefox 14 on Tuesday only brought a few new updates, but what’s there is good.

    The big update for Firefox 14 is that Google searches are automatically sent through HTTPS by default. Here’s how team at Mozilla explained it when they introduced HTTPS search in Aurora two months ago:

    Enabling HTTPS for these searches shields our users from network infrastructure that may be gathering data about the users or modifying/censoring their search results. Additionally, using HTTPS helps providers like Google remove information from the referrer string. While Google users may expect Google to know what they are searching for, Firefox users may not be aware these search terms are often transmitted to sites they visit when they click on items in the search results; enabling HTTPS search helps sites like Google strip this information from the HTTP referrer string, putting the user better in control of when and to whom their interests are shared.

    Of interest for Mac users, Firefox now has full screen support on Mac OS X Lion. Here’s hoping that they add retina display support to Firefox soon. Chrome is already testing it and Firefox obviously doesn’t want to fall behind Chrome in features.

    Another great security update is that Firefox 14 features opt-in activation for plugins. What does that mean? When you visit a new site, Firefox will give you the option of allowing only the plug-ins that you trust to be activated. If you visit the site often and trust it fully, you can allow Firefox to load all plug-ins automatically.

    The awesome bar is getting a little bit more like Chrome as well. Firefox will now auto-complete typed URLs. It’s a simple additions that’s been a long time coming.

    Other security fixes include an improved site identity manager that should prevent spoofing an SSL connection. As you may recall, Firefox now uses a lock favicon to indicate that a Web site is on an SSL connection. Some developers could spoof this to trick people into thinking they were on a secure site when they were not.

    Firefox has also added more support for various HTML5 APIs that should help improve HTML5 applications like gaming. Two of the big ones are the Pointer Lock API and a new API that prevents your computer from sleeping. The Pointer Lock API is super important as it opens up the possibility of HTML5-powered first-person shooters.

    It’s not a huge update, but there’s some great stuff to be had in Firefox 14. Now it’s time to play the waiting game as Waterfox updates to the latest source code. I really hope Firefox 15 finally adds an x64 executable. If Mozilla is serious about the future of HTML5, restricting Firefox to x86 isn’t helping anybody.

    If Firefox hasn’t already updated itself to the newest version, you can grab Firefox 14 at Mozilla’s site.

  • Chrome Overtakes IE as the World’s Most Used Browser

    The dethroning of Internet Explorer has been a long time coming. For years Microsoft’s browser sat at the top of the browser heap, stagnating and becoming bloated. First Netscape, and the Mozilla tried to take Internet Explorer down with good design, modulability, and other modern features. Those browsers never spread too far beyond a core of internet-savvy users, though.

    When Google launched its Chrome browser in 2008, its focus was on speed. This aimed right at the weakness of the market’s large, slow browsers. Chrome’s ease of use, combined with its automatic updating features, gave the browser an edge and propelled it into the browser wars with a fury.

    Now, Statcounter is showing that Chrome might have overtaken Internet Explorer for good. As seen above, Chrome has gained over a 10% higher share of the market since this time last year, and has done so at the expense of both Microsoft and Mozilla.

    This comes at a time when Microsoft has actually improved Internet Explorer. Microsoft’s browser now has many of the features that Chrome and Firefox sport, and its newest version is faster than previous ones. Unfortunately, the company has a hard time getting users to upgrade to newer versions of the browser. Many IT departments don’t bother with the hassle of upgrading browsers on every employee’s computer. Also, many Internet Explorer users are less computer-savvy users who simply use the browser because it came with their Windows installation. Some people still use Internet Explorer 6, an outdated, unsupported browser that doesn’t work with much of the modern web. In fact, according to StatCounter, more people use Internet Explorer 6 than use Opera or Safari 5.1.

    Take a look at StatCounter’s statistics below and see for yourself. StatCounter also keeps statistics on operating systems, search engines, social media, and more.

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share

    (StatCounter via The Next Web)

  • Mozilla Launches Firefox Flicks Competition

    Today (Friday, March 2nd, 2012), Mozilla (the company behind the well-known browser Firefox), announced on their blog that they would be kicking off a new contest called Firefox Flicks. This contest is open to the public, and allows submitters to publish videos on the newly created Firefox Flicks website conveying the issues/debates of online piracy and security.

    The Firefox Flicks contest is not just any old contest. All of the videos that are submitted are judged by a diverse panel of well-known and prestigious Hollywood filmmakers, such as:

    • Edward Norton – Known for his roles in Primal Fear, Fight Club, Frida, and The Incredible Hulk. Norton is also a social and environmental activist, and recently founded CrowdRise, an innovative new web platform that brings the power of crowd-sourcing and the fun of social networking to fundraising and volunteerism.

    • Shauna Robertson – Producer of Meet the Parents, Elf, Anchorman, and The Forty Year Old Virgin. Last year, Robertson left the movie business to pursue her dreams of working in the non-profit sector.

    • Couper Samuelson – Paramount producer of Destination Wedding and co-producer of Two Lovers, We Own The Night, and The Ex. Samuelson began his career as an assistant in the Motion Picture Department of the Creative Artists Agency.

    The winners of the Firefox Flicks contest will win the following prizes as decided by the Hollywood panel:

    • Grand Prize Winners: A grand prize winner from each of the four regions (US & Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia) will receive $10,000 USD.
    • Category Winners: In each of the regions, a winner will be selected from each of the four categories. (Best 30 second spot, Best Animation, Best Public Service Announcement, Best Use of New Open Technology) . Each of these winners will receive $5,000 USD.
    • Category Runners Up: In each of the regions, a category runner up from each of the four categories listed above will receive $1,000 USD.

    Plus, the first 1,000 qualified entrants will receive a limited edition Firefox Flicks prize pack, including: exclusive t-shirts, stickers, pens, notebooks, and more.

    To give you some ideas of what Mozilla is looking for in this competition, I have provided a few examples from Mozilla below (based on common contemporary themes).

    For more information, including submission guidelines and categories, and to how to enter, be sure to visit FirefoxFlicks.com.