Items tagged with Firefox
Mozilla’s Firefox is generally considered a safe, privacy-centric browser. However, a change to the default configuration of a relatively new feature may change some users' minds. Firefox is now sending keystrokes, location info, and more back to Mozilla. Thankfully, there is a way to disable some of this, which we will get to shortly. In Firefox version 92, Mozilla enabled its “Firefox Suggest” feature by default, a significant change from the feature's initial launch back in September. According to a Mozilla blog post, “Firefox Suggest” is a “new discovery feature that is built directly into the browser” that provides suggestions based on what...
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Microsoft will unleash Windows 11 for the public on October 5th. But users should be aware that the company has made some annoying changes to the default browser behavior compared to Windows 10. As we reported last month, changing your default browser from Microsoft Edge to Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is more cumbersome, requiring you to delve into Settings and change individual file type associations for your browser. At the time, Mozilla SVP Selena Decklemann warned that Microsoft's behavior towards third-party browsers had become untenable. "We have been increasingly worried about the trend on Windows. Since Windows 10, users have had to take additional and unnecessary steps to set and...
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As the push for privacy ramps up, user data collection is beginning to drop, starving people and organizations of useful information for legitimate purposes like research. To combat this, Mozilla has created Rally, a tool that allows users to selectively “contribute their browsing data to crowdfund projects for a better Internet and a better society.” The primary concern one would have with Mozilla Rally is privacy, but as Mozilla states, it is “Built for the browser with privacy and transparency at its core,” allowing users to control and contribute any browsing data they generate. If this manages to take off, the crowdsourced data will be used to “help understand...
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It seems almost impossible that four technology titans could possibly be on the same page. It's not totally unprecedented, however, considering Apple and Google managed to work together on COVID-19 contact tracing. However, it's much more common to read about companies taking potshots at one another over their differences. After all, Google and Apple went after one another over privacy privacy concerns. Microsoft took shots at Apple in advertisements architecture and platform differences. Mozilla is just trying to keep its head above water. They've all got a lot going on. So when the Four Horsemen of Web Browsers -- Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, that is -- agree on something,...
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Web browsers are a window into the internet, and they need to blend in and be easy to use for the best experience. Mozilla Firefox took this to heart as overnight, Firefox 89 rolled out, bringing a fresh redesign and more privacy protections for all users. The major thing that both new and old Firefox users will notice in Firefox 89 is the clean-looking redesign across all versions. It brings new iconography, typography, and more to look quite distinct from prior versions. M.J. Kelly of Firefox explained that this new update is easier on the eyes and more streamlined than ever before. The toolbar and other menus within Firefox have also been decluttered and consolidated to make it easier to “get...
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Is Mozilla trying to have its cake and eat it too? That certainly seems to be the case with its commentary surrounding the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust lawsuit brought yesterday against Google. The DOJ has alleged that Google has partaken in a number of monopolistic practices specifically related to the search market in the United States. The DOJ specifically alleged in yesterday's press release that Google is "generally using monopoly profits to buy preferential treatment for its search engine on devices, web browsers, and other search access points, creating a continuous and self-reinforcing cycle of monopolization." This is of course in references to search deals that Google...
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Mozilla has definitely seen better days, and it is coming under increasing pressure in the browser market. Mozilla's Firefox was once in a distant second to Google Chrome in the desktop browser market, but has been recently supplanted by Microsoft Edge; a move that happened after Microsoft ditched its own EdgeHTML engine in favor of Google's Chromium (much to Mozilla's chagrin). Despite these obstacles, Mozilla is moving forward with Firefox development, and just released version 82 to the public channel. There are a number of updates with Firefox 82, including a new picture-in-picture button. The button has been completely redesigned to make discoverability easier. The browser also...
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If any of you out there are running the Firefox browser app for Android, please update immediately. Versions below Firefox version 79 on mobile are vulnerable to exploitation of Android intent URIs. This attack uses SSDP payloads to trigger actions without user interaction. According to exploit researcher Chris Moberly, the exploit he found is a way to trick Firefox on Android into running applications. The simple service discovery protocol (SSDP) engine in Firefox can be sent payloads which trick it into running Android intent URIs. Android intent URIs are “messages which request actions from another app component,” according to the developer site for Android. Intents can be...
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It was reported that earlier this week that Mozilla's current Firefox default search deal with Google is set to expire in November 2020 and that no new agreement had been made. Today, it has been confirmed that Mozilla has inked a three-year deal to retain Google as the default search provider in Firefox. The news of the Google lifeline first was reported by ZDNet, which was able to confirm the news via multiple sources. Mozilla later added confirmations of the news itself by stating: Mozilla's search partnership with Google is ongoing, with Google as the default search provider in the Firefox browser in many places around the world. We've recently extended the partnership,...
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Earlier this month, we reported that Mozilla -- the company behind the Firefox web browser -- was starting to see some of the ill-effects of its worst fears concerning Microsoft's switch to Chromium for its Edge web browser. Microsoft announced its decision to abandon EdgeHTML for Edge in late 2018, after which Mozilla's Chris Beard decried, "Microsoft’s decision gives Google more ability to single-handedly decide what possibilities are available to each one of us. We compete with Google because the health of the internet and online life depend on competition and choice." Fast forward to the present day, roughly 7 months after the first public release of Chromium Edge, and Firefox...
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Microsoft is fed up with CCleaner, a popular utility that has been around for a decade and a half. Originally called "Crap Cleaner," CCleaner aims to do a better job at removing files and programs than Windows does on its own, with the promise of making PCs run faster. However, Microsoft has updated its Windows Defender security scanner to recognize CCleaner as a PUA, or potentially unwanted application. To be clear, a PUA is different from a virus or outright malware. On the surface, Microsoft's issue with CCleaner is that the free and trial-based paid versions come bundled with applications that are not required or even produced by Piriform, the company that developed the utility. "While the...
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Back in April, we reported that the Edge browser is quickly gaining market share now that Microsoft has transitioned from the EdgeHTML engine to the more widely used Chromium engine (which also underpins Google's Chrome browser). At the time, Edge slipped into the second-place slot for desktop web browsers, with a 7.59 percent share of the market. This dropped Mozilla’s Firefox – which has long been the second-place browser behind Chrome – into third place. Now, at the start of August, we’re getting some fresh numbers in for the desktop browser market, and things aren’t looking good for Mozilla. Microsoft increased its share of the browser market...
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Mozilla has been on a roll with updates to its popular Firefox browser, and now the team has bumped the version number to 76. One of the biggest changes comes to Lockwise, Firefox’s built-in password manager. For starters, security has been improved, as you will now be required to enter your device password before you can access the Logins and Passwords page within Lockwise. It’s a small change, but adds another critical layer of security for users. Once you enter your device password, you have access to your stored site credentials/passwords for a total of 5 minutes. After that 5-minute period expires, you will have to login once again with your device password. Once you...
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One of the things that every internet user has to deal with is the fear of loads of spam emails each time they enter their email address into an online form. However, Firefox users now have a new tool that can help them eliminate the deluge of spam to their email address, and it's called Firefox Private Relay. Firefox Private Relay promises to allow users to make an email alias with one click and keep their actual email address to themselves. Firefox says that by using the Private Relay add-on, users can keep their real email address off spam lists and away from companies that may not deserve their trust. The caveat is that most people have probably been using the same email address for...
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You may have noticed that Mozilla has begun pushing out a new version of its Firefox browser. Build 75 started to go out earlier this week (you can initiate an upgrade by going clicking on the three vertical lines in the upper-right corner and navigating to Help > About Firefox), and with it comes scheduled telemetry. Let's discuss what exactly is going on, and how you can disable this new function (if you so desire). This is something Mozilla outlined in March, with the browser maker saying its daily data collection is designed to "ensure we can understand default browser trends in a way that helps us improve Firefox." Incidentally, Microsoft's Edge browser (now powered by Chromium, the same...
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Google may be slowing down the rollout of new releases for its Chrome browser due to COVID-19, but Mozilla is moving right along with development of its Firefox browser. Firefox has been updated to version 75, with the headlining feature being a new address bar. Mozilla says that it has given the Firefox 75 address bar a refreshed look, and searches are said to be much faster and "smarter" with this update. The actual search field is now larger, and there is a larger font as well to liven things up. You will be given the opportunity to perform specific searches at Google or Amazon, and there are even additional keyboard suggestions that appear as you continue to type within the address bar. The...
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Many people were surprised when Microsoft threw in the towel for its original Edge browser and opted to build an entirely new desktop browser that was powered by Chromium. Microsoft predicted big things for its Chromium-powered browser, and the new Edge is now gaining ground on its competition. Recently, Microsoft Edge passed Mozilla's Firefox to become the world's second most used desktop browser. Data confirming the second-place ranking for Edge came from analytics firm NetMarketShare, and the changing fortunes for Firefox occurred in March. It is currently the second most-used desktop browser in the world, with a market share of 7.59 percent with Firefox very close behind at 7.19 percent....
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As far as Mozilla is concerned, its Firefox browser is becoming more secure by being the only one to enable encrypted DNS over HTTPS (DoH) by default for users in the United States. The gradual rollout has already begun and will continue over the new few weeks, so long as no major issues rear their ugly heads. "Today, we know that unencrypted DNS is not only vulnerable to spying but is being exploited, and so we are helping the internet to make the shift to more secure alternatives. We do this by performing DNS lookups in an encrypted HTTPS connection. This helps hide your browsing history from attackers on the network, helps prevent data collection by third parties on the network that ties your...
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Microsoft is company that produces numerous software apps across many popular platforms. From its Windows software, to apps for Android and iOS, to its Office family of products, to its Edge web browser, Microsoft reaches a broad segment of the consumer market when it comes to computing devices. However, the company's practices with respect to advertising some of these software packages to customers has been called into question recently. The most recent example of this is are advertisements that are showing up in Windows 10 for the Microsoft Edge browser. For Windows 10 users that have Mozilla Firefox installed and configured as their default internet browser, an ad is showing up in the Start...
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Mozilla is pushing out an incremental update to its Firefox browser to mitigate a critical security vulnerability. If left unpatched, the zero day threat could allow an attacker to gain full control of PC. Indeed, Mozilla is aware of malicious actors leveraging the flaw in the wild, so if you use Firefox, it is in your best interest to update right away. "Incorrect alias information in IonMonkey JIT compiler for setting array elements could lead to a type confusion. We are aware of targeted attacks in the wild abusing this flaw," Mozilla stated in a security document. A type confusion attack consists of accessing data in memory that is supposed be out of bounds. This could lead to a crash, or...
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Security researchers at Kaspersky have identified a new strain of malware affecting Chrome and Firefox browsers. The researchers say the malware's authors "put a lot of effort" into how it manipulates digital certificates and mucks with outbound TLS traffic, which ultimate compromises encrypted communications. "Analysis of the malware allowed us to confirm that the operators have some control over the target’s network channel and could replace legitimate installers with infected ones on the fly. That places the actor in a very exclusive club, with capabilities that few other actors in the world have," Kaspersky says. The malware allows an attacker to wreak havoc on a victim's PC remotely....
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Firefox has announced that it has relaunched its Test Pilot program. Test Pilot started as an add-on before it was released three years ago. Mozilla announced earlier this year that it was changing its culture of experimentation and closed the Test Pilot program as it explored what was next. Mozilla says that it learned a lot from the Test Pilot program, including that there was a group of users who would provide feedback on projects that weren't ready for general use. During the project, it used the feedback from that group to refine and revamp features, and in some cases to kill projects that didn't meet the needs of the users. Mozilla is now notifying Firefox users who signed up for a Firefox...
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