Articles about Mozilla

Mozilla has released Firefox 78.0, the latest in a long line of major updates to the veteran browser. Available for Windows, macOS and Linux, the new release is joined by Firefox ESR 78.0, the first major update of the Extended Support Release browser since Firefox 68 last year.

The release sees the Privacy Protections screen renamed to Protections Dashboard. It also gains two new features: the ability to track the number of resolved breaches directly from the dashboard itself, plus an option to check to see if any saved passwords have been exposed in a data breach. Type about:protections to access the dashboard quickly.

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VPNs can be wonderful for protecting a user's privacy, but they are not infallible. For instance, while they can hide your activity from your ISP or an unsecured Wi-Fi network, the VPN company can potentially see everything you do. With that said, you'd better be very smart about selecting a VPN provider. Rule number one: Never trust a "free" VPN or one that offers a pay-once "lifetime" subscription, as you simply can't trust their business models to protect your privacy. Instead, splurge a bit and go with a reputable company that requires periodic payments and promises not to keep any logs. Do your homework, folks.

Mozilla is a company that I trust more than some others (I trust no person or company 100 percent, however!) thanks to its respectable data privacy principles. That is why I surf the web with Firefox whenever I can. That company has been beta-testing a VPN service of its own called "Firefox Private Network VPN". Yeah, that name stinks as it is too wordy. Thankfully, the company has wisely decided to rename it to the much cleaner "Mozilla VPN." In addition, we learn how much the VPN service will eventually cost -- $4.99 a month.

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Mozilla has released Firefox 76.0 for Windows, macOS and Linux, the latest in its long line of major updates to the venerable open source browser.

The chief focus in this new release is the further development of Mozilla’s Lockwise password manager. Users gain several enhancements including alerts of website breaches with prompts to update all online accounts that share the same password.

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Mozilla Firefox is damn good web browser that is largely open source and focuses on privacy and security. That is why I choose it as my default browser on both Windows 10 and Linux-based operating systems such as Ubuntu and Fedora. Many people wisely choose Firefox for the same reasons.

Sadly, today, we discover that if you have been using Mozilla Firefox to access Twitter, you may have had non-public information data saved locally to cache. Twitter makes it clear that other major browsers, such as Google Chrome and Apple Safari, are not affected. Thankfully, the social network says it fixed the issue on its end.

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Mozilla has released Firefox 74.0 for desktop, along with Firefox for Android 68.6.0 and Firefox ESR 68.6.0.

Firefox 74.0 ships with several new features, none of which are jaw-dropping, but all of which serve to further improve the browser’s privacy, security and usability. In addition, the Facebook Container add-on now gives users control over which sites are blocked from reporting back to Facebook.

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Firefox users in the US will soon have DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) enabled by default. Mozilla is in the process of rolling out the privacy- and security-focused feature after an intensive period of testing.

DoH is an option for anyone outside of the US, but it will have to be manually enabled. Once enabled, DNS lookups are routed through Cloudflare or NextDNS using an encrypted HTTPS connection, hiding it from third parties such as your ISP.

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If you prefer to access your email through a desktop client, then Thunderbird is one of the better choices. However, the future of the open source tool has been a little rocky in recent years after the Mozilla Corporation decided to stop supporting it.

However, there’s a lot of love for Thunderbird out there, and it’s managed to survive, and even grow thanks to user donations. And now the email client has found a new home.

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Mozilla has released Firefox 72.0 for desktop, along with Firefox for Android 68.4 and Firefox ESR 68.4.0.

Mac and Linux users gain the picture-in-picture video feature introduced for Windows in Firefox 71. Fingerprinting scripts are now blocked as standard with this new release, while intrusive pop-up notifications from websites have been confined to the Address Bar to prevent disruption when browsing.

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As we entered 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into force, giving residents of California GDPR-like rights and protection. One of the rights afforded to people by the new law is to request that companies delete their user-specific data.

To comply with CCPA, Mozilla has announced that Firefox 72 -- due for release next week -- will include a new option that enables users to request the deletion of desktop telemetry. Although CCPA is only applicable in California, the new setting will be made available to Firefox users around the world.

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Four of the biggest names in technology -- Mozilla, Intel, Red Hat and Fastly -- have come together to create the Bytecode Alliance. The joining of forces sees the birth of an, "open source community dedicated to creating new software foundations, building on standards such as WebAssembly and WebAssembly System Interface (WASI)".

One of the aims is to take WebAssembly outside of browsers, taking whatever steps are necessary to ensure a secure ecosystem. More companies are expected to join the four founding member in the coming years.

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Users of the Mac and Windows versions of Firefox are being targeted by malicious sites that display a fake warning message and then completely lock up the browser.

Hackers are taking advantage of a bug in Mozilla's web browser to tamper with the software and render it unusable without the need for user interaction. At the moment there is no fix, and the problem is wreaking havoc and causing distress.

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Mozilla is clamping down on browser add-ons in Firefox, and has announced that it is discontinuing sideloaded extensions in the browser.

The reason given for dropping support is that Mozilla believes that sideloaded extensions cause problems for users, and also that they do not offer users enough control. The company has set out details of the timetable for introducing the new policy.

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Like many users, we prefer to use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox over either Edge or Safari. Problem is, if you use a third-party browser to store your logins and passwords, move to your iOS device and they aren’t stored in your keychain.

Recent iOS changes have enabled third-party password managers to be granted access to any login on your device, so for this reason Mozilla has launched Lockwise which will separate your stored Firefox passwords from your browser.

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Mozilla has released Firefox 70.0 for desktop, along with Firefox for Android 68.2 and Firefox ESR 68.2.0.

Despite the landmark version number, Firefox 70’s most visible change is a refreshed icon and new welcome screen. Better support for your OS’s system dark mode is also unveiled, while Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) has now been made the default for all platforms and users.

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If you're the impatient type, the current six to eight weeks between major new builds of Firefox may have been agonizing. Mozilla feels your pain, and it is stepping things up a notch.

Eager to get new features out to users faster, Firefox's release schedule is being accelerated significantly. The change isn't happening immediately, but from the first quarter of next year, you can expect to see a major new build of Firefox every four weeks.

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