I have followed the development of the browser from pre-beta to the final release, and have to admit that it was not always a pleasant ride. It looked in the beginning as if the developers planned to make changes for the sake of changes, and not because they made sense or were demanded by the majority of the Firefox community.

Features like the new tab management module Panorama or the move to display mouse over link addresses in the address bar caused quite a stir among the community, and were disabled or changed in the end.

So what are the dominant new features that have been added to Firefox 4?

One can say that the new version improves the browser’s core considerably. The developers have made the Mozilla Firefox web browser faster, so that it does not take the rear ranks anymore in web browser benchmarks. The JavaScript performance alone has been improved by a factor of three (or more depending on the benchmark) when compared to the current stable Firefox 3 branch.

The version offers now comparable speeds to other fast browsers such as Internet Explorer 9, Opera or Google Chrome.

Firefox 4 comes with improved web standards support, including better CSS3, HTML5 and web graphics compatibility. Other notable features include hardware acceleration support, support for the HTML5 video WebM format, out of process plugins for Macs (Linux and Windows have it built-in since Firefox 3.6), privacy enhancements and multitouch support under Windows 7.

Interested users can access an overview, that compares the changes with previous Firefox browsers, on the Mozilla website.

As mentioned earlier, the Firefox interface has seen quite some changes. The dominating additions are the new Firefox button at the top of the browser that leads to most options of the menu bar. The menu bar has been removed as a result, and tabs have been moved above the Firefox address bar. Lastly, the status bar has been replaced and is now hidden by default.

Check out Firefox 4, How To Undo The Changes for instructions on how to revert the changes (get the old menubar back, move tabs below address bar, display status bar).

The add-on manager has been changed as well, it displays now in a tab instead of a standalone window. It is likely that some add-ons that have been working fine under Firefox 3 will not work under Firefox 4. You can try and force compatibility the following way:

Enter about:config in the Firefox address bar and hit the return key. Accept the warning message if this is your first time, and right-click on a blank spot afterwards. Select New > Boolean and enter the value extensions.checkCompatibility.4.0. Double-click the entry afterwards after clicking OK and change the value to false.

Firefox 4 Download

The final version has been pushed to the Mozilla ftp server where it is available for all supported operating systems and languages. It usually takes between 24 and 48 hours until the release is publicly announced on the Mozilla website. We do know however that Mozilla will announce the final release tomorrow, which is the time when downloads will become available on the web page.

The only option for now is to download the release from one of the official mirror sites (for instance this one) or from one of the big software portals. Softpedia for instance lists the download already on their download portal.

Outlook

The Firefox developers have already announced plans to ship a first patch shortly after the final release has been published on the website, as it is likely that the increase in users will reveal bugs that have not been discovered before. Plans overall are to release three new major releases in this year, which would mean a Firefox 7 release at the end of the year. Plans are plans on the other hand, and we have seen how delays can break them.

Mozilla Firefox Themes

With the release of Firefox, Mozilla offered developers the chance to create unique themes. Themes are also available on newer versions. Firefox themes change the general appearance of the browser, usually without disrupting functionality. A browser can take on the theme of almost anything, from the NASA Space Shuttle launch to Mac OSX. Textures are a major aspect of themes. If a user wants his or her browser to look metal plated or wood paneled, he or she can find those themes online. Mozilla’s official theme site can be found at addons.mozilla.org. Themes can also be used as promotional tools. The production studios for many popular films and video games develop Firefox themes to help generate excitement about upcoming releases and maintain fan loyalty. Several themes are also available for holidays. Users are not forced to choose a theme. The standard Mozilla Firefox theme is a simple and minimalist look, that comes packaged with Mozilla Firefox. It is designed to mirror the look of the operating system it uses, whether Mac or Windows. Installing a theme is easy. Go to Mozilla’s add-on site at addons.mozilla.org and select Themes. Find a favorite theme and click on it to open its page. Then click download, if you’re not using Firefox. If you are using Firefox, the “download” link will automatically change to “add to Firefox.” Click on this link. The Firefox download function will download the theme and open the preferences for the program, where you will be able to select the theme. To revert back to the default Mozilla Firefox theme, open the Firefox preferences and select “Manage Add-ons.” Select the “Themes” tab and click on the desired theme. Firefox will need to restart when changing any theme, but will save any open windows and tabs. Uninstalling a theme is just as easy. To do this, open the Firefox Preferences menu and click on “Manage Add-ons.” Next, open the “Themes” tab and select the theme you want to uninstall. Finally, click “uninstall.” Firefox does not need to restart when uninstalling add-ons, but they are only removed completely from the browser on restart. Some of the most popular themes are Oskar, Lavafox, Nasa Night Launch, Ambient Fox for Xyan, Mac OSX, and Blue Sky, to name a few.

Mozilla Firefox Extensions

First available in pre-Firefox 2.0 versions, Extensions are add-on programs that assist in browsing. An extension basically runs as an attachment to Firefox. A common and popular example is Ad Blocker Plus, which prevents pop up windows as well as banner and margin ads in Firefox from interfering with the user’s browsing experience. This is a helpful application for parents who wish to allow their children to browse the internet without falling prey to sexual or inappropriate ads. Another popular extension is Video Download Helper, which allows users to download videos from video sharing sites such as Youtube, Vimeo, and Metacafe. While most of these extensions are developed by third parties, Mozilla has also released several official extensions available for Firefox download. Most popular among these is “Personas Plus,” which allows users to add “skins” to their browsers. Unlike the aforementioned Themes, skins only change the background of the browser bar and do not alter button shape or offer any unique animations. This enables the user to alter his or her browser’s appearance without bogging down the computer with extra graphics tasks. Downloading an extension is very similar to downloading a theme. Simply go to Mozilla’s Firefox download site at addons.mozilla.org and scroll over the “Add-ons” link at the top of the screen. When the drop-down menu appears, click on “Extensions.” Select an extension from the list, which is listen in descending order according to popularity. As with themes, you will be prompted to click “add to Firefox” or “Download,” depending on the browser you’re using. Next, the Firefox download function will download the extension and open the Extensions tab under the “Manage Add-ons” sections of the Firefox preferences. Once the extension is installed, Firefox will need to restart, but as always, it will save all open tabs and windows, reopening them automatically when it restarts. When it has restarted, the new extension may open a new tab for its own website so users can customize the extension further and optimize it for his or her specific purposes. To uninstall an extension, simply reopen the “Extensions” tab under “Manage Add-ons” in the Firefox Preferences menu. Click on the extension you want to uninstall, and click “uninstall.” As with themes, Firefox will not need to restart in order to perform the uninstall. While most of the third party extensions, and all of the official Mozilla extensions, are free, some do cost money. Others request a suggested donation to support their efforts. Both extensions and themes are rated directly on the web site, so users can see what other users have rated specific add-ons. If an add-on has consistently received a low rating, it is generally recommended that users avoid it.

A change in the add-on system resulted in options for developers to create so called restartless add-ons, which simply means that the add-ons can be installed or uninstalled without restarting the browser.

Mozilla Firefox Advanced Configuration

As Firefox is a Free and Open Source program, it strives to offer users a very high level of customization. While a great deal of basic customization is available through the Preferences menu and the aforementioned Themes and Extensions, as well as other add-ons, users with a greater understanding of programming can used Firefox’s advanced Configuration feature to further customize preferences. This can be damaging to Firefox’s core coding, however, so it is not recommended for users not already experienced in programming. In fact, Mozilla even offers a disclaimer when trying to access the Configuration menu, stating “This might void your warranty,” before allowing you to continue. To access the Configuration options, simply type “about:config” in the browser’s location bar. A list of every customizable option in Firefox will appear, and programmers can tweak preferences at will.

Mozilla Firefox Plug-ins

Similar to extensions, Plug-ins are applications that assist Firefox users with browsing. Unlike extensions, however, these Plug-ins are generally smaller, lighter versions of programs that run independently of Firefox. An example of this is Apple’s Quick Time, a popular video program. Installing the Quick Time Plug-in will allow users to view video within Firefox, even if it is in Apple’s proprietary “.mov” format. This is essential for viewing web sites such as Apple’s iTunes Trailer page, a popular movie preview site. Another essential Plug-in is Adobe’s Flash Player, which allows users to experience Flash-based content within the browser. Still another is Adobe’s Acrobat PDF Reader, which allows users to read Portable Document Files without downloading them. Some controversy has arisen around Plug-ins for Firefox however, because while users have the ability to disable any Plug-in, there is no option to fully remove it, as there is with Themes and Extensions. So once a user installs a Plug-in, he or she cannot uninstall it.

Mozilla Firefox Download

While Mozilla does accept donations, Firefox is available as a free download. Mozilla is a non-profit organization. Their official website, mozilla.com, features the link to download Firefox on its front splash page. Clicking on this link will prompt the download to begin pending your approval. The file size for Macintosh is about 17 MB and should be comparable to that size for Windows. After a quick download, you can install Mozilla Firefox and begin browsing and customizing immediately. Mozilla.com is a safe site, verified to protect your information and your system. If you wish to find out more about Firefox before downloading, mozilla.com offers a free tour of Firefox 3.6, which is the latest version available. This tour explains what’s new with Firefox 3.6, using an easy, visual format including several short, fast-loading videos. Key points of this tour include Firefox’s “Awesome Bar,” an improvement on the search bar that allows a user to type in keywords instead of websites; one click bookmarking, which allows users to click the star at the right side of the Awesome Bar to bookmark the page; and “Private Browsing,” which keeps a user’s search and data entry information off of the local computer’s records. This last feature is useful when browsing the internet on public computers. To access the tour, scroll down to “Meet Firefox,” and click “Take the Tour.” Mozilla.com also offers features and support for Firefox, and all of the aforementioned add-ons can be accessed through the website.

Mozilla Firefox Technologies

Firefox also supports many other new technologies. Firefox was key in bringing tabbed browsing to the mainstream. Tabbed browsing is a technology that allows users to open more than one browser subject in the same window. This is a good alternative to opening several browser windows at once, which tends to clutter the desktop and lengthens the amount of time it takes to browse. Tabbed browsing allows the user to open a new tab every time he or she wants to start a new search without leaving the current page. It has become the standard for nearly every internet browser. Perhaps the most useful feature of tabbed browsing is Firefox’s ability to save a session. If a user has thirteen tabs open but must restart his or her computer, turn it off for any reason, or quit Firefox, the browsing session, along with all tabs and a history for each tab, will be saved and restored upon reopening Firefox. Firefox also features a unique password manager that allows users to see which user names and passwords they’ve allowed Firefox to save. This is easy to access. Simply click on Firefox preferences, and select the Security tab. Then click on “saved passwords.” This is useful for security, because it is recommended that a user keeps a different user name and password for each of his or her online accounts. Another new technology Firefox supports is “Instant Web Site ID,” which helps to verify the web sites the user visits. This is especially helpful when the user is spending or donating money. Internet scams abound, and it is useful to know which sites are safe when relaying credit card or bank account routing numbers. Many businesses and payment services such as PayPal, Inc. use Instant Web Site ID. Sites using Instant Web Site ID will feature a green icon next to their URLs in the search bar.

Mozilla Firefox Statistics

According to the statistics web site w3schools.com, Firefox was used by 44 percent of the browsing community in November of 2010. This is a drop from 46.9 percent in May. More specifically, 36.9 percent of the browsing community used Firefox 3.6 in November of 2010, while only .8 percent beta tested Firefox 4.0. Three point eight percent of the browsing community used Firefox 3.5 in November of 2010, while 3.0 users only numbered 2 percent. Older versions are still used by .5 percent of the browsing community. In November of 2010, Firefox was the most used browser of the internet community, averaging the aforementioned 44 percent. The closest competitor was Microsoft’s Internet explorer with 28.6 percent. Google’s burgeoning Chrome browser won 20.5 percent of the browsing community, while Apple’s Safari browser reached its highest user rating of 2010 with 4 percent of the market. Despite their dominance of the market, however, Firefox has dropped slightly in popularity. In October of 2010, it had 44.1 percent of the market, and the previous month it dominated 45.1 percent of the market.

Customizing Mozilla Firefox

There are many ways to customize Firefox. Personas, as mentioned above, changed the colors of the browser bar, tabs, and scroll bar. Many companies, including film production studios, auto makers, and video game manufacturers use personas to promote their new releases or foster brand loyalty. Themes are another way to customize Firefox. Though these use more memory, themes can be interactive and more customizable than personas. Themes, for instance, can change the shape of the buttons and tabs, as well as what happens when you click them. Themes also generally involve a background picture to match the browser customization, or vise-versa. Another opportunity for customization comes in the form of Extensions. Extensions, as mentioned above, are applications that can be useful to the user while browsing. Adding every Extension would drastically reduce speed, so Mozilla made it possible to add only the extensions that will be most helpful to the user. These can include applications like pop-up blockers, add blockers, anti-script security applications, and use-trackers, among many others. Most extensions are developed by third party programmers, who sometimes ask users to donate to their work before allowing them to download the extensions. Plug-ins are another useful way to customize Firefox. These are applications like extensions, but generally have a more incidental purpose, such as playing certain types of movie files or displaying document files. These are usually variations on standalone programs already installed on the user’s computer.

Updating Mozilla Firefox

Updating Mozilla Firefox is very simple. As Mozilla wants their Firefox users to stay updated on the most current versions of the browser, they’ve added a “check for updates” option under the Help menu. Simply click this option and Firefox will make sure you’re using the latest version of the browser. If not, you will be able to download the latest version. Firefox will save all of your preferences, extensions, themes, and add-ons, as long as they are supported under the new version. Firefox will need to restart to complete the installation of the newest version, but, as always, it will save all open tabs and windows.

Mozilla Firefox Mobile

New for 2010 is Mozilla’s Firefox Mobile, which allows users to access Firefox on their Android phones and Nokia Mameo mobile devices. Though the Android version does load slightly more slowly than the standard Android browser, an easy slider gives the user access to all open windows, and this is quicker than accessing open windows with the standard Android browser. It does, however, use more memory, which can slow the interface reaction time. Firefox for Android is currently in its second beta version.

This changed yesterday with the first sightings of 64-bit builds of Firefox for Windows on the official Firefox Nightly server. The first 64-bit build is experimental at this time and not intended for work environments.

The plan still stands to distribute 64-bit editions of Firefox with the release of Firefox 4 later this year.

It has to be noted that most browser plugins will not be compatible with a 64-bit edition of Firefox. Only Java and a non-final Flash version are currently supported.

The Windows builds of Firefox have another problem. A redistributable is missing (msvcr100.dll) and needs to be downloaded from Microsoft. It is likely that this is just a faux pax that will be corrected in future builds.

Firefox 64-bit for Windows, Linux and Mac can be downloaded from the official (and public) Mozilla ftp server. But keep in mind, the versions are experimental at this point in time.

Most Windows users do not know that 64-bit editions of Firefox exists. Firefox 64-bit editions for Windows are provided as downloads. Current downloads include Firefox 3.0, Firefox 3.5, Firefox 3.6 and the pre-builds of Firefox 3.7.

It should be obvious that 64-bit editions of Firefox work only on 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. The 64-bit edition supports 64-bit plugins and not 32-bit plugins. Those are the two restrictions that users should know before starting the download and installation.

It should also be noted that those builds are experimental builds that are not officially supported by Mozilla. This becomes obvious as bugs that are experienced in the 64-bit editions may not be added to Bugzilla, the bug tracking application for all Mozilla projects.

Users who want to download Firefox 64-bit for Windows can do so at this website. The website hosts 64-bit editions of Thunderbird as well.

The download manager extension dmextension replaces the standard download manager with an advanced version that provides additional functionality and information to the user.

The download manager window will display relevant information after installation of the add-on. This includes the source url, local download path and date the download was initiated.

The download manager window now contains buttons to access functions that have only been available by right-clicking the files listed in the window. Buttons are available to pause, retry or delete a download or to open the containing folder.

Another interesting feature of dmextension is the ability to change the location of the download manager. It is possible to open the download manager in a separate window or in the sidebar or a tab.

The options offer additional features like the ability to automatically launch downloads after they have been completed, showing alerts when all downloads have been finished, to automatically remove downloads from the list or remove buttons from the advanced download manager’s interface.

Dmextension is available for all Firefox 3.x versions. It can be downloaded from the Mozdev website.

It is therefor usually not a good idea to download and install an old version. It might be different during beta testing but it is generally recommended to figure out other ways of coping with a problem.

There is however a very easy way of downloading old versions of either Thunderbird or Firefox. Just point your web browser to ftp.mozilla.org and visit the ftp repositories for either program. The ftp server not only lists the latest version but also all other releases that have been created in the past. Here are the direct links:

• ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/releases/
• ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/

Again: It can be highly problematic to install old releases. Make sure you backup the data before installing an older version of Thunderbird or Firefox.

The very same page lists a few known issues of the Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 web browser. This includes a Google Mail bug (can be resolved by reloading the page), no new window creation when dragging tabs on the desktop, choppy OGG audio and video playback on old computers and SSL website loading problems after returning from private browsing mode.

Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 will access the user profile on the computer if another version of the Firefox web browser is installed. Several of the installed Firefox add-ons are at this time not compatible with the latest beta version of Firefox and will fail to load unless the user forces compatibility with Nightly Tester Tools.

Users who do not want to mess with their default installation of the Firefox web browser can download and use a portable version of the beta instead.

The following list contains the most important Firefox download extensions. The concentration on the most important (and not an overinflated list) makes it easier for anyone to handpick the best download extensions from the list.

The list is divided into the categories files, images, movies and misc. Each category lists a handful of extensions linking directly to their download page at the Mozilla website.

Files

Down Them All – Firefox Download Manager.

Fire FTP – ftp client for the Firefox web browser.

Flash Got – Download Manager integration in Firefox.

Get Filesize – Retrieves the file size of a selected file.

Save File To – Makes it possible to save files into custom folders without having to open the file browser.

Spiderzilla – A website mirroring software based on the excellent HTTrack.

Images

Image Grabber – Download images that are protected by a transparent spacer image.

Save Image In Folder – Save images in personalized folders.

Save Images – Saves the images from the current tab to a specified location.

Movies

MP4 Youtube Downloader – Downloads Youtube videos as mp4 videos.

Flash Video Resource Downloader – Compatible to most flash video websites.

Video Download Helper – Excellent video downloader that is compatible with hundreds of video portals on the Internet.

Misc

Amazon S3 Firefox Organizer – Helps you organize/manage/store your files on Amazon S3

Clean And Close – Replaces the clean up button in the Firefox Download Manager with a clean and close button.

Download Rapidshare @ Office – The add-on converts all Rapidshare download urls to IP and uses the IP to download them.

Download Sort – The extension saves downloads automatically into different folders.

Download Status – Displays detailed download information like the average download speed, the time remaining and the number of files.

Download Statusbar – Displays downloads in a status bar instead of the default download manager window.

Link Alert – Changes the mouse cursor according to the file type.

MD5 Hasher – Calculates hashes of files that have been downloaded to the local computer.

Open Download – Allows to download and open any file from the Internet in the default application for that file type.

RDown – Rapidshare Downloader – Rapidshare Download helper.

Snap Links – Use the right mouse button to mark multiple links at once.

Did we miss any noteworthy extension? Let us know in the comments.

A total of eight security vulnerabilities are patched in Firefox 3.05 including three critical vulnerabilities. Critical vulnerabilities are described as vulnerabilities that require “no user interaction beyond normal browsing”.

The other security vulnerabilities are rated as high, moderate and low. Most Firefox users should already be able to check for a new update directly in their web browser by clicking on the Help > Check For Updates link in the main Firefox menu.

The alternative is to head straight to the Mozilla website and download the latest version of the Firefox web browser from there.

Five new languages (Bengali, Esperanto, Galicia, Hindi, and Latvian) have been added in this release as well. This is also the first release without an EULA during setup.

Download Sort addresses the Save As problem. It can be configured to store information about file extensions and their download directory on the local computer. A user could for instance select to save zip files on a big external hard drive and mp3 files in his music collection folder.

This also means that the Firefox add-on has to be configured to be of any use. It should also be kept in mind that the extension will only become active if the user right-clicks a file and selects the Save As menu entry. It will however download the file automatically after selection which means that the usual file save dialog will not appear.

Download Sort comes with some interesting options that might make it worthwhile for some users. Besides being able to select a folder for every file extension it can also add subfolders automatically. Subfolders can be created by domain, date, extension or hierarchy. Other options include the management of identical file names.

Besides being able to handle file extensions it can also be used to handle keywords instead. A file that matches the keyword would then be downloaded into the specified folder. Users who download many files might want to use a different application that can handle massive file amounts. The add-on can be a time saver for users who download medium amounts of files and who like their files sorted on their hard drives.

As usual things take a while and users who download the releases directly from ftp will be the first to have the latest version up and running. Firefox 3 RC3 is available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh and all language versions. Just follow the link given above and navigate to the release that you need.

The only information available at this moment is a blog post over at Zdnet that is mentioning a bug in Firefox 3 for the Apple Macintosh that was caused by the recent update and that this release candidate is practically being created for the Mac. I’m off to install the new version and we hopefully will be able to access the release notes for Firefox 3 RC3 soon.

There have been a lot of fixes in the background and several new features and looks that are worth taking note of. Finally the new add-ons manager has been integrated which means that you can search and download new add-ons from within it. The new download manager comes to my mind as well adding more transparency to that process.

I guess I still prefer to use Download Statusbar instead if the author decides to port his add-on to Firefox 3. The speed of rendering webpages has been noticeably improved and more than 90 memory leaks have been fixed. Firefox 3 Beta 3 seems to render websites much faster than Firefox 2 does.

Two new security features have been added as well. One is a malware protection which warns the user if he visits a flagged website. The other new feature is called One-click site info which displays information like the site owner if you click on the website’s favicon.

For a list of all changes check out the release notes. Please note that this is still a beta release published for testing purposes.

If you happen to download the new Firefox release from the official website you should be aware that you download the full version which overwrites the previous version of Firefox if installed in the same directory. All of my installed extensions are compatible with the new release and I suppose that only a few will not work initially with this release. Below is the list of fixes in this release.

MFSA 2007-25 XPCNativeWrapper pollution
MFSA 2007-24 Unauthorized access to wyciwyg:// documents
MFSA 2007-23 Remote code execution by launching Firefox from Internet Explorer
MFSA 2007-22 File type confusion due to %00 in name
MFSA 2007-21 Privilege escallation using an event handler attached to an element not in the document
MFSA 2007-20 Frame spoofing while window is loading
MFSA 2007-19 XSS using addEventListener and setTimeout
MFSA 2007-18 Crashes with evidence of memory corruption