Mozilla's web browser Firefox is having an major update. And that is version 47 that fixes a number of serious security problems, including some that can result in exploitable browser crashes. In total, Firefox 47 patches 13 vulnerabilities, with 2 of them deemed critical.
All existing users are able to upgrade to it automatically.
Mozilla doesn't really detail the exact number of Firefox users. But the company did mention about "half a billion people around the world" use the browser. In other words, Firefox continues to be the popular web browser and a major platform where web developers target.
The browser that is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, has gained several added improvements. For example, the browser has a for synced tabs from other devices. This is seen as the biggest highlight on Firefox version 47.
What this feature does, is to show app of a user's open tabs from smartphone or other computers. The sidebar also allows the user to search for specific tabs. The feature is only useful for users logged in to Firefox.
The next big update is Firefox's support for open source VP9 video codec on machines with powerful multiprocessors. VP9 and its predecessor VP8, are both under Google's WebM project that aims to free web codecs from royalty constraints.
What this really does is an improved experience for YouTube users and viewers. version 47 allows smoother playback, less bandwidth used and improved battery life for laptops.
There is also improvements to YouTube playback and better HTML5 support. This is done with a support for Google's Widevine CDM (content decryption module) on Windows and OS X. Widevine CDM is a cross-OS platform for distributing and displaying copy-protected content, such as movies, in a browser via a plug-in.
Below is a full change log:
- Support for Google's Widevine CDM on Windows and Mac OS X so streaming services can switch from Silverlight to encrypted HTML5 video.
- Enable VP9 video codec for users with fast machines.
- Embedded YouTube videos now play with HTML5 video if Flash is not installed.
- View and search open tabs from smartphone or another computer in a sidebar.
- Allow no-cache on back/forward navigations for HTTPS resources.
- Latgalu [ltg] locale added.
- Various security fixes
- FUEL (Firefox User Extension Library) has been removed. Add-ons relying on it will stop working.
- The browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand preference has been reset to its default value (true) to avoid e10s performance problems.
- The Firefox click-to-activate plugin whitelist has been removed.
- Web platform changes.
- View, start,and debug registered Service Workers in the Service Workers developer tool.
- Simulate Push messages in the Service Workers developer tool.
- ‘Start’ button for service workers in about:debugging to start registered Service Workers.
- Changes that can affect add-on compatibility.
- Added support for ChaCha20/Poly1305 cipher suites.
- Custom user agents supported in Responsive Design Mode.
- Smart multi-line input in the Web Console.
- cuechange events now available on TextTrack objects.
- WebCrypto: PBKDF2 supports SHA-2 hash algorithms.
- WebCrypto: RSA-PSS signature support.
And as for Android, the update is minor but still notable. The biggest change is the removal of icons that show in the URL bar. This is followed by the feature to hide/show web fonts. And also as always, the Android version is trickling out slowly on Google Play. Version 47 of Firefox marks Mozilla's last support for Android Gingerbread.
Below is Firefox for Android change log:
- Add "Show/Hide web fonts" in advanced settings to reduce bandwidth and data.
- Last release to support Android 2.3.x (Gingerbread).
- Stopped data usage when Firefox is in the background and a page uses meta refresh.
- "Open multiple links" setting under "Customize" has been renamed to "Tab Queue".
- Remove support for Android web runtime (WebRT).
- Remove Favicons in Awesomebar to prevent HTTPS spoofing.
- Web platform changes.
- WebCrypto: PBKDF2 supports SHA-2 hash algorithms.
- WebCrypto: RSA-PSS signature support.
