The Firefox/Mozilla Thread

[trium]

ff v65.0

 

29. january 2019

 

New

• Enhanced tracking protection: Simplified content blocking settings give users standard, strict, and custom options to control online trackers. A redesigned content blocking section in the site information panel (viewed by expanding the small “i” icon in the address bar) shows what Firefox detects and blocks on each website you visit. To learn more about content blocking, visit the Mozilla Blog.

• A better experience for multilingual users: An updated Language section in Preferences allows users to install multiple language packs and order language preferences for Firefox and websites, without having to download locale-specific versions.

• Support for Handoff on macOS: Continue browsing across devices. Pick up where you left off with iOS (via Firefox or Safari) on Firefox on Mac.

• A better video streaming experience for Windows users: Firefox now supports the next-generation, royalty-free video compression technology called AV1. Read about Mozilla’s contribution to this new open standard.

• Improved performance and web compatibility, with support for the WebP image format: WebP brings the same image quality as existing formats at smaller file sizes, which saves bandwidth and speeds up page load.

Fixed

• Various security fixes.

Changed

• Enhanced security for macOS, Linux, and Android users via stronger stack smashing protection which is now enabled by default for all platforms. "Stack smashing" is a common security attack in which malicious actors corrupt or take control of a vulnerable program.

• Firefox will now warn you when closing a window (regardless of whether you have automatic session restore enabled for restart).

• Easier performance management: The revamped Task Manager page found at about:performance now reports memory usage for tabs and add-ons.

• Improved the pop-up blocker to prevent multiple pop-up windows from being opened by websites at the same time.

Enterprise

• Firefox for Windows is now available with 32- and 64-bit MSI installers for easier enterprise deployments.

Developer

• Additional support for Flexbox: Launched a new Flexbox inspector tool that details Flexbox containers and helps debug Flex item sizes.

• All CSS changes made in the Rules panel are now tracked in the new Changes tab.

• Added support for the Storage Access API on desktop platforms.

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v60.5.0 esr

 

29. january 2019

 

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Developer

Developer Information

[hazelnut]

Mozilla halts Firefox 65 distribution on Windows.

Quote

It became clear quickly that some antivirus solutions on Windows, Avast and AVG were named explicitly, caused the issue in Firefox 65.0.

Mozilla decided to halt the distribution of the update on Windows. Windows users won't get upgraded to Firefox 65.0 automatically anymore until the issue is resolved. It is still possible, however, to download the installer to upgrade Firefox manually.

https://www.ghacks.net/2019/02/01/mozilla-halts-firefox-65-distribution-on-windows/

[nikki605]

Interesting. My laptop was updated to Firefox 65.0 and I've not seen any problems with Norton Security Deluxe. Guess I was just lucky.

[nukecad]

Avast have now issued a HotFix for both Avast and AVG products.
(They have just temporarily disabled https scanning by default in those AV's for Firefox browser, so more of a work round than a fix).

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1523701#c20

[trium]

as an esr- user im lucky too, i use the last v52 esr :-)

[trium]

ff v65.0.1

 

12. february 2019

 

Fixed

• Fixed accidental requests to addons.mozilla.org when an addon recommendation doorhanger is shown (bug 1526387)

• Improved playback of interactive Netflix videos (bug 1524500)

• Fixed color management not working on macOS (bug 1506495)

• Fixed incorrect sizing of the "Clear Recent History" window in some situations (bug 1523696)

• Fixed audio & video delays while making WebRTC calls (bug 1521577 & bug 1523817)

• Fixed video sizing problems during some WebRTC calls (bug 1520200)

• Fixed looping CONNECT requests when using WebSockets over HTTP/2 from behind a proxy server (bug 1523427)

• Fixed the "Enter" key not working on password entry fields for certain Linux distributions (bug 1523635)

• Various stability and security fixes.

Developer

• Made support for <meta> viewport tags in Responsive Design Mode, initially enabled in Firefox 64, pref-controlled and off by default (bug 1521814). To restore the previous behavior, change the devtools.responsive.metaViewport.enabled pref to true.

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v60.5.1 esr

 

12. february 2019

 

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Developer

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v60.5.2 esr

 

22. february 2019

 

Fixed

• Fixed a frequent crash when reading various Reuters news articles (bug 1505844)

Developer

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v65.0.2

 

28. february 2019

 

Fixed

• Fixed an issue with geolocation services affecting Windows users

Developer

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v66.0

 

19. march 2019

 

New

• Firefox now prevents websites from automatically playing sound. You can add individual sites to an exceptions list or turn blocking off. To learn more about block autoplay, which will be rolled out gradually to all users, visit the Mozilla blog.

• Improved search experience:

  • Find a specific webpage faster when you have a lot of tabs open: You can now search within all of your open tabs from the tab overflow menu
  • Easier search via a redesigned new tab in Private Windows

• Smoother scrolling: Scroll anchoring keeps content from jumping as images and ads load at the top of the page

• Improved performance and better user experience for extensions:

  • Extensions now store their settings in a Firefox database, rather than individual JSON files, making every site you visit faster
  • A redesigned keyboard shortcuts section in about:addons makes it easier to view and adjust default shortcuts

• Redesigned certificate error pages help you better understand and resolve issues, including identification of certificate issuers for anti-virus software

• Added basic support for macOS Touch Bar

• Experimenting with an improved Pocket experience in New Tab with different layouts and more topical content

• Improved performance and reduced crash rates by doubling web content loading processes from 4 to 8

• Easier, passwordless security: Added support for Windows Hello on Windows 10, allowing you to use your face, fingerprint, or external security keys for website authentication

Fixed

• The Dark and Light Firefox themes now override the system setting for title bar accent color on Windows 10

• Linux users: Resolved an issue that caused Firefox to freeze when downloading files

• Various security fixes

Changed

• System title bar is hidden by default to match Gnome guideline for Linux users

Developer

• DevTools Inspector is now fully usable when the Debugger is paused

• Lowered priority of setTimeout and setInterval during page load to improve overall page load performance

• Fixed: <button> element is no longer special cased in event dispatch, per latest specifications

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v60.6.0 esr

 

19. march 2019

 

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Enterprise

• In the network connections settings, sites added to the "No proxy for" list will now honor that setting regardless of any other specified proxy settings

Developer

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v66.0.1

 

22. march 2019

 

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Developer

Developer Information

[trium]

ff v60.6.1 esr

 

22. march 2019

 

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Developer

Developer Information

[adamdevine]

No issues. It's all ok

[trium]

after a little bit of problems with updates and addons thanks to hazelnut and andavari remember me for updates for firefox :-)

 

ff 66.0.4

 

05. may 2019

 

Fixed

• Repaired certificate chain to re-enable web extensions that had been disabled

Developer

Developer Information

[trium]

ff 60.6.2 esr

 

05. may 2019

 

Fixed

• Repaired certificate chain to re-enable web extensions that had been disabled

Developer

Developer Information

• Reference link to 60.6.1esr release notes

unresolved

• A small number of add-ons may be listed as unsupported or may not appear in about:addons. Their data is not lost; users should be able to re-install the add-ons and recover the data (Bug 1549129). More support information

• If add-ons that use Containers functionality (such as Multi-Account Containers and Facebook Container) were disabled as part of this problem, any lost site data or custom configurations for those add-ons will not be recovered by this release. Users may need to set them up and login again in about:addons (Bug 1549204). More support information

• Themes may not be re-enabled. Users may need to re-enable them in about:addons (Bug 1549022). More support information

• Home page or search settings customized by an add-on may be reset to defaults. Users may need to customize them again in about:preferences or about:addons (Bug 1549192). More support information

• Users with a master password set may need to enter or reset it for the fix in this release to take effect (bug 1549249). More support information

[trium]

thanks to nukecad for his info about new updates :-)

 

ff 66.0.5

 

07. may 2019

 

Fixed

• Further improvements to re-enable web extensions which had been disabled for users with a master password set (Bug 1549249). More support information

Developer

Developer Information

 

[trium]

ff 60.6.3 esr

 

08. may 2019

 

Fixed

• Further improvements to re-enable web extensions which had been disabled for users with a master password set (Bug 1549249). More support information

Developer

Developer Information

[Winapp2.ini]

Fenix is now available on the Play Store through the beta/nightly process.

https://events.mozilla.org/becomeabetatestingbughunter

This is the upcoming rewrite of Firefox for Android (fennec) to be based on GeckoView (a la Firefox Focus and Reference Browser). It's been available via task cluster for a while but being on the playstore means automated installs etc

[Nergal]

14 minutes ago, Winapp2.ini said:

Fenix is now available on the Play Store through the beta/nightly process.

https://events.mozilla.org/becomeabetatestingbughunter

This is the upcoming rewrite of Firefox for Android (fennec) to be based on GeckoView (a la Firefox Focus and Reference Browser). It's been available via task cluster for a while but being on the playstore means automated installs etc

This both excites me and causes me trepidation. Firefox is my daily driver, how unstable are these betas (nightlys I don't have to ask about definitely not on a DD)

[Winapp2.ini]

It's functional but lacking support for things you'd expect from mainline firefox (ie. webextensions support - planned but not implemented in GeckoView). I haven't experienced any issues but i use Focus as my default browser and only spin up Fennec or Fenix sparingly

It's definitely worth checking out if you're interested, it does not conflict with any existing Firefox installations on your phone

[trium]

ff 67.0

 

21. may 2019

 

New

• Firefox 67 demonstrates improved performance thanks to a number of changes such as:

  • Lowering priority of setTimeout during page load
  • Delayed component initialization until after start up
  • Painting sooner during page load but less often
  • Suspending unused tabs

  Learn more about our approach to performance in 67 in the Mozilla blog.

• Users can block known cryptominers and fingerprinters in the Custom settings of their Content Blocking preferences.

• Keyboard accessibility has improved in the latest version of Firefox. Toolbar and toolbar overflow menu are both fully keyboard accessible: keyboard users can now access add-ons, the downloads panel, the overflow, Page actions and Firefox menus, and much more.

• Private Browsing sees both usability and security improvements:

  • Save passwords in private browsing mode
  • Choose which extensions to exclude from private tabs

• A myriad of new features help make Firefox easier to use:

  • We’ve added a toolbar menu for your Firefox Account to provide more transparency for when you are synced, sharing data across devices and with Firefox. Personalize the appearance of the menu with your own avatar
  • Tabs can now be pinned from the Page Actions menu in the address bar
  • Firefox will highlight useful features (like Pin Tabs) when users are most likely to benefit from them.
  • Easier access to your list of saved logins from the main menu and login autocomplete. Learn about all the ways you can manage your passwords in Firefox.
  • The Import Data from Another Browser feature is now also available from the File menu
  • Users will be able to run different Firefox installs side by side by default so that you can run the beta and release versions simultaneously

• Firefox will now protect you against running older versions of the browser which can lead to data corruption and stability issues

• Firefox is upgrading to the newer, higher performance, AV1 decoder known as ‘dav1d’

• WebRender is gradually enabled by default on Windows 10 desktops with NVIDIA graphics cards

• Mozilla’s highest performing JavaScript compiler now supports ARM64 Windows devices.

• Enable FIDO U2F API, and permit registrations for Google Accounts

• Some users will see experiments with an improved Pocket experience in Firefox Home with different layouts and more topical content.

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Changed

• Firefox no longer supports handling webcal: links with 30boxes.com

• Change to extensions in Private Windows: Any new extensions you add to the browser won’t work in Private Windows unless you allow this in the settings.

• Users will no longer be able to upload and share screenshots through the Firefox Screenshots server. Users who want to keep existing screenshots need to export them before the server shuts down in the coming months.

• Included Twemoji Mozilla font updated to support Emoji 11.0 🥳

• Font and date adjustments to accommodate the new Reiwa era in Japan

Developer

Developer Information

• The DevTools Changes panel now supports copying modified CSS. You can either copy the full changes or individual changed rules.

• CSS Viewport-compat - Firefox for Android's mobile viewport behavior is now aligned with other browsers, resolving known compatibility issues with websites.

• JavaScript module imports - Firefox now supports dynamic module imports.

• New streamlined worker debugging in the JavaScript Debugger with the new Threads panel.

• New inline breakpoints provided by the JavaScript Debugger give a much higher fidelity and reliability for pausing in specific locations within a line of code.

[trium]

ff 60.7.0 esr

 

21. may 2019

 

Fixed

• Various security fixes

Changed

• Font and date adjustments to accommodate the new Reiwa era in Japan

Developer

Developer Information

[Winapp2.ini]

https://hacks.mozilla.org/2019/05/firefox-67-dark-mode-css-webrender/

 

Firefox 67: Dark Mode CSS, WebRender, and more

By Dan Callahan

Posted on May 21, 2019 in Featured Article, Firefox, and Firefox Releases

Firefox 67 is available today, bringing a faster and better JavaScript debugger, support for CSS prefers-color-scheme media queries, and the initial debut of WebRender in stable Firefox.

These are just the highlights. For complete information, see:

• Firefox 67 Release Notes
• Firefox 67 for Developers
• Firefox 67 Site Compatibility

CSS Color Scheme Queries

New in Firefox 67, the prefers-color-scheme media feature allows sites to adapt their styles to match a user’s preference for dark or light color schemes, a choice that’s begun to appear in operating systems like Windows, macOS and Android. As an example of what this looks like in the real world, Bugzilla uses prefers-color-scheme to trigger a brand new dark theme if the user has set that preference.

The prefers-color-scheme media feature is currently supported in Firefox and Safari, with support in Chrome expected later this year.

Additionally, the revert keyword is now supported, making it possible to revert one or more CSS property values back to their original values specified by the user agent’s default styles (or by a custom user stylesheet if one is set). Defined in Cascading and Inheritance Level 4, revert is also supported by Safari.

WebRender’s Stable Debut

Nearly four years ago we started work on a new rendering architecture for Firefox with the goal of better utilizing modern graphics hardware. Today, we’re beginning to gradually enable WebRender for users on Windows 10 with qualified hardware. This marks the first time that WebRender has been enabled outside of Nightly and Beta builds of Firefox, and we hope to expand the supported platforms in future releases.

You can read more about WebRender in The whole web at maximum FPS: How WebRender gets rid of jank.

More Capable DevTools

Firefox 67 and 68 Developer Edition bring enormous improvements to Firefox’s JavaScript Debugger. Discover faster load times, amazing support for source maps, more predictable breakpoints, brand new logpoints, and much more.

We’ve collected the Debugger improvements in their own article: Faster, Smarter JavaScript Debugging in Firefox DevTools.

In addition to the Debugger, the Web Console saw numerous updates, including greater keyboard accessibility and support for importing modules into the current page.

We’ve also removed or deprecated a few seldom-used and experimental tools, including the Canvas Debugger, Shader Editor, Web Audio Inspector, and WebIDE.

Browser Features

Side-by-Side Profiles

Firefox now defaults to using different profiles for each installed version, making it easier than ever to run multiple copies of Firefox side-by-side.

In addition, the browser will warn you if you try to open a newer profile with an older version of Firefox, as such mismatches can occasionally lead to data loss. This protection can be bypassed with the new -allow-downgrade command line argument.

Enhanced Privacy Controls

Firefox 67 better protects your privacy online with new Content Blocking options to avoid known cryptominers and fingerprinters.

You also have more control over your extensions, which can be prevented from running in private browsing windows.

This is the default for all newly installed extensions in Firefox 67, though your previously installed extensions will receive permission by default. You can adjust these permissions on a per-extension basis by visiting about:addons.

Easier Access to Firefox Accounts and Saved Passwords

We’re working hard to make Firefox Accounts more useful and discoverable this year, starting with a new default icon in the browser toolbar.

The new icon indicates whether or not you’re signed into a Firefox Account, and makes it easy to perform actions like sending tabs to other devices or manually triggering a sync. Like other toolbar buttons, you can freely move or hide the Firefox Account button according to your preferences.

Check out the many improvements to Firefox’s built-in password manager, including quicker access to your list of saved credentials. You can either click on the new “Logins and Passwords” item in the main menu, or the new “View Saved Logins” button in the login autocomplete popup.

This can be especially useful if you need to look up or edit a login outside of the normal autofill workflow. And, if you use Firefox Sync, you can access your saved passwords with the Firefox Lockbox app for Android or iOS.

Web Platform Features

Support for legacy FIDO U2F APIs

We’ve enabled legacy FIDO U2F support to improve backwards compatibility with sites that have not yet upgraded to its standards-based successor, WebAuthn.

These APIs make it possible for websites to authenticate users with strong, hardware-backed authentication mechanisms like USB security keys or Windows Hello.

AV1 on Windows, Linux, and macOS

Firefox now supports AV1, a next-generation video codec, on all major desktop platforms. Also, playback on those platforms is now powered by dav1d, a faster and more efficient AV1 decoder developed by the VideoLAN and FFmpeg communities.

JavaScript: String.prototype.matchAll() and Dynamic Imports

Firefox joins Chrome in supporting the matchAll() String prototype method, which takes a regular expression and returns an iterator of all matching text, including capturing groups.

The import() function can now be used to dynamically load JavaScript modules, similarly to how the static import statement works. Now it’s possible to load modules conditionally or in response to user actions, though such imports are harder to reason about for build tools that use static analysis for optimizations like tree shaking.

And more awaits!

This release includes plenty of other fixes and enhancements not covered here, and lots more to come. So what are you waiting for? Download Firefox 67 today and let us know what you think!