Thunderbird 78.10.2 is out with security fixes and usability improvements
MZLA Technologies Corporation released a new version of its Thunderbird email client on May 17, 2021. Thunderbird 78.10.2 is a security update but it also includes usability improvements and a number of bug fixes.
The new version is already available and users who have not turned off automatic updates in the email client should see it pop up on their screens automatically. A quick check of Help > About Thunderbird displays the current version of the email client and the option to check for updates and install them if that has not happened automatically already.
Thunderbird users who prefer to update manually find the latest download link on the official project website.
Thunderbird 78.10.2
Thunderbird 78.10.2 addresses two security issues in the client. Both are rated with a severity rating of low and only affect certain OpenPGP use cases according to the security advisories page.
CVE-2021-29957: Partial protection of inline OpenPGP message not indicated
If a MIME encoded email contains an OpenPGP inline signed or encrypted message part, but also contains an additional unprotected part, Thunderbird did not indicate that only parts of the message are protected.
CVE-2021-29956: Thunderbird stored OpenPGP secret keys without master password protection
OpenPGP secret keys that were imported using Thunderbird version 78.8.1 up to version 78.10.1 were stored unencrypted on the user's local disk. The master password protection was inactive for those keys. Version 78.10.2 will restore the protection mechanism for newly imported keys, and will automatically protect keys that had been imported using affected Thunderbird versions.
As far as improvements are concerned, there are two. The first adds a preferences icon to the email client's add-ons manager to indicate that an options page is available. Users had to click on the extension previously to find out whether one is available, and it was quite easy to miss the options page because of that.
The second improvement adds the option to import OpenPGP keys without a primary secret key.
Thunderbird 78.10.2 includes the following fixes and improvements next to that:
- Fixed that OpenPGP messages with a compression ratio of over 10 could not be decrypted.
- The parsing of some OpenPGP user IDs failed.
- The selected OpenPGP was lost when the Key Properties dialog in the account settings was opened.
- Improvements to "OpenPGP partial encryption reminders".
- Fixed the troubleshooting information page on Mac OS as it did not display row labels.
- The mail toolbar buttons were too big when icons and text was displayed.
Now You: have you upgraded to the new version already?
NO UPDATING FOR ME!!! IN THE PAST EVERY TIME I UPDATED I HAD TO SPEND A FEW DAYS RESETTING THE SETTINGS THAT THE UPDATE CHANGED. NO THANKS.
@PANAMA PATRICK
Using what Operating System?
> EVERY TIME I UPDATED I HAD TO SPEND A FEW DAYS RESETTING THE SETTINGS THAT THE UPDATE CHANGED.
You probably heard this answer many times since 03-Jun-2020: install and try it. If it doesn´t work, file a bug report.
I’ll ask the same question I’ve been asking since 03-Jun-2020.
Does it work correctly with google calender?
I’m referring to the bug where all calenders are hidden every time you open the program even though they are not set to be when you set up the client to sync with google calender.
Mozilla may be willing to tell google to fuck off but I still depend on many of their products.
Got the update today, works fine. The interface is OK, about the same as it’s always been just updated over time. We don’t do much with email beside receive and send, so other features wouldn’t be used beside the calendar.
When Mozilla took it back, it was problematic for quite a while. I looked around for replacements, free or subscription, tried a few and none were what I wanted. I found overdone bloatware, some kiddie phone app redone for computers or doesn’t work but still exists for some reason. The ones with decent interfaces didn’t function well; the ones that functioned well had overly colorful, cluttered interfaces.
One quibble and there’s an add on to fix this, is the inability to set the client to open the newest message at start up. AutoSelectLatestMessage fixes that.
Does anyone still use Seamonkey?
I would like to, but security updates are a rarity…
Does their new home situation qualify for Amazon Smile charitable donations?
I’ve tried hard to like Thunderbird, but failed. It looks a mess and trying to find any extensions to make it look better is stupidly difficult. I found the font size changer helpful but it no longer works, and I want something that gives a 2-3 line summary of an e-mail, as in Apple Mail, but the devil know how to search for that. It really does look like something out of the ark. But it does RSS, which I love…
@S K Lewicki,
I am also a user of Apple products (iPhone, iPad).
From a personal use perspective, I find “Apple Mail” to be outstandingly easy to use.
Thunderbird belongs to the category of “mail client” applications, which includes (@outlook.office365.com, @icloud.com, @gmail.com, @zoho.com, @vivaldi.net, @proton.com, @mailfence.com, etc.) will be able to centrally manage a wide variety of accounts.
This feature makes Thunderbird useful and popular among users and corporations with multiple accounts.
Thunderbird, which is mainly designed for multi-account management (business-like), does not have the same interface as Apple Mail, which is specialized for home use, but please refer to the following.
Display the Thunderbird menus and toolbar | support.mozilla.org
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/display-thunderbird-menus-and-toolbar
How to change the Thunderbird layout | support.mozilla.org
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-change-thunderbird-layout
Tips and tricks: Learn tips and shortcuts to help you work faster | support.mozilla.org
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/thunderbird/tips-and-tricks
Frequent Topics: Explore the knowledge base. | support.mozilla.org
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/thunderbird
Customize controls, options and add-ons | support.mozilla.org
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/thunderbird/customize-controls-options-and-add-ons
Add-ons | addons.thunderbird.net
https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/
Thunderbird Conversations 3.2.17
This addon provides a conversation view for Thunderbird, grouping messages together and allowing you to reply “inline” thus providing a more efficient workflow.
https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/gmail-conversation-view/
Compact Headers 2.19
Limits displayed headers to 1 or 2 lines.
https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/compact-headers/
All of the “extensions” that I am using at the moment:
Extensions
Name Version
*cloud – FileLink for Nextcloud and ownCloud 3.9.2
Auto Address Cleaner T 1.1
AutoarchiveReloaded 1.0.0.4
Automatic Dictionary 2.0.4
Birthday Calendar 1.0
BorderColors D 2021.4.1
CardBook 59.0
Check and Send 2.0.18
Colored Diffs 2.1.1
Compact Headers 2.19
Config Button 1.1
Confirm-Address 1.3.8
Copy Message ID 1.3.2
Darko 2.0
DeepL selected text 1.2.1
Empty Folder 1.1
Enigmail 2.2.4.1
FileLink Provider for Box 4
Folder Pane View Switcher 4.0.1
Full Address column 1.0.2
Identity Chooser 2.2
LocalFolders 3.0.1
LookOut (fix version) 3.0.6
Mail Merge 7.4.0
Manually sort folders 2.0.6
Minimize on Close 2.0.1.0
No Message Pane Sort 2.0
Previous Colors 1.2
Quicktext 3.6
Quote Colors 2.0.7
Remove Duplicate Messages 0.5.1b2
Restart Button 1.0
ScrollAnywhere 8.7
Signature Switch 2.6.1
Spam Scores 1.2.0
Tag Popup 2.1.5
TbSync 2.21
ThirdStats 1.6.0
Thunderbird Conversations 3.2.17
Web Translate 3.5
XNote++ 3.1.3
AND HOW DO YOU INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE MENU TEXT, INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE FOLDERS AND MAIL INSIDE THE FOLDERS. I AM VISION IMPAIRED (AMD-WET) AND IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO USE THUNDERBIRD WITHOUT A MAGNIFYING GLASS (WHICH I USE BUT DOESN’T HELP MUCH)?
THUNDERBIRD IS NOT A PRODUCT FOR OLDER PEOPLE!!!
IT IS NOT VISION IMPAIRED FRIENDLY.
@PANAMA PATRICK,
> THUNDERBIRD IS NOT A PRODUCT FOR OLDER PEOPLE!!!
IT IS NOT VISION IMPAIRED FRIENDLY.
I am not a “VISION IMPAIRED” person, so I am not sure what advice I should give.
However, I am also an elderly person who will soon become a “pensioner. My eyesight is deteriorated, and also I feel dazzled by light.
For this reason, I have increased the size of the display to a large widescreen (27WD) with an external monitor system.
And, set the “Screen and layout” of the display to 150% in Windows Settings (Settings > System > Display).
For anti-glare, I set it to “Dark” mode and also adjust the light level with a third party app “Flux”.
https://justgetflux.com/
Then, for the magnifier, I use a third party app called Magnifixer.
http://www.blacksunsoftware.com/screenmagnifier.html
As you may know, the text in Thunderbird’s message pane can be enlarged by pressing [Ctrl]+[+], reduced by pressing [Ctrl]+[-], and reset by pressing [Ctrl]+[0].
Other elements can be customized by using userChrome.css.
However, If the font is enlarged in the application (Thunderbird), “the number of characters that can be displayed on the screen or in the pane will be limited, making it more difficult to read.
This is my personal opinion.
Please refer to it.
> Now You: have you upgraded to the new version already?
A silent update has already been applied to “78.10.2” (without running Thunderbird) by “PatchMyPC”, an update manager that is set to run as a routine task at PC startup.
Thunderbird has moved to a new organization, MZLA Technologies Corporation,
https://blog.thunderbird.net/2020/01/thunderbirds-new-home/
and since its restart, there have been no significant glitches and the user experience has improved with each update.
I am satisfied with the current situation. The next “91” series will be interesting.
The next major upgrade version of the Thunderbird email client is 91.
It is scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2021.
The “Roadmap” that lists the new features and improvements that are being considered for integration into Thunderbird 91 and later is now available.
Roadmap – Thunderbird | developer.thunderbird.net
https://developer.thunderbird.net/planning/roadmap
What we need to know:
About Thunderbird
https://developer.thunderbird.net/
Official blog about development
https://blog.thunderbird.net/
Roadmap (Thunderbird timeline)
https://developer.thunderbird.net/planning/roadmap-1
The quantity and quality of “extensions” adapted to the Thunderbird 78 series is substantial, and they can meet niche applications.
Although Thunderbird has many corporate users, I feel that it is also suitable for individual users.
To add to that, I prefer to subscribe to “RSS” to get specific information, rather than using a browser to gather information. Thunderbird is a good choice for that purpose, and I am fed up with using a browser that can waste my time with a bubble of crappy information.