Browse the Internet using multiple tabs, bookmark your favorite pages and use the private mode to stop websites from tracking you. Synchronize your data and your current browsing activity across all your devices.
With nearly a nine percent of the browser market share worldwide, Firefox is – as of today – the third most used Internet desktop browser, and it remains a solid alternative to the its sole open-source competitor, Chrome. Its exquisite care for the user’s privacy and security together with its highly customizable look and feel make it an excellent choice for anyone tired of being sold to advertisers every time they visit their favorite sites.
Not everything is nice and dandy with Firefox, though. It is known for being an avid resource consumer, which makes it a less suitable option for those with old or low-range computers. Likewise, you may find problems when trying to display certain pages, as not all websites are fully compatible with this browser. However, other renowned browsers are also famous for their memory hunger, but their many users do not seem to care.
What I do care about, though, and at least nearly ten percent of Internet users in the world, is privacy. And here Firefox has a lot to say. If you are not a Firefox user, just give it a try, and you’ll find that most (if not all) of those ads that seem to appear out of nowhere while browsing the Web will disappear. This browser takes the upmost care in not sending your private data to anyone you don’t want to.
Its privacy and security policies are strictly enforced – actually, unless you turn them off voluntarily, they’ll be there working for you by default since the moment you add Firefox to your desktop. Its protection against social media trackers, cross-site tracking cookies, cryptominers, and fingerprinters (among others) make your browsing time a seamless and gratifying experience, not to mention the increase that a no-ad policy adds to your browsing speed. Not exclusive to Firefox though yet useful and worth mentioning, this browser comes with a Private Browsing option that leaves no trace behind, of any kind.
Firefox is also famous for its high level of customization. Its tabbed interface can be tweaked and transformed until it looks just the way you want it. You can tell it display (or hide) a side menu and a useful Overflow Menu where you can add all those functions and settings you click on more often. Besides, its support for add-ons and extensions will let you bring in to your browser countless other features and apps.
Firefox can definitely change the way you’ve navigated the Web so far, and it will convince you that another Internet experience is possible – it may take some more memory than expected, but many other apps and programs do and we don’t take rid of them. Because we need them, because we trust them, or both. That is why so many users are so into Firefox.
v42.0.0 [Aug 30, 2015]
New
Private Browsing with Tracking Protection blocks certain Web elements that could be used to record your behavior across sites
New
Control Center that contains site security and privacy controls
New
Indicator added to tabs that play audio with one-click muting
New
WebRTC improvements:
◦IPV6 support
◦Preferences for controlling ICE candidate generation and IP exposure
◦Hooks for extensions to allow/deny createOffer/Answer
◦Improved ability for applications to monitor and control which devices are used in getUserMedia
New
Login Manager improvements:
◦Improved heuristics to save usernames and passwords
◦Edit and show all logins in line, Copy/Paste usernames/passwords from the Context menu
◦Migration imports your passwords to Firefox from Google Chrome for Windows and Internet Explorer; import anytime from the Login Manager
Changed
Improved performance on interactive websites that trigger a lot of restyles
HTML5
Implemented ES6 Reflect
HTML5
Support ImageBitmap and createImageBitmap()
HTML5
Media Source Extension for HTML5 video available for all sites
Developer
View HTML source in a tab
Developer
Remote website debugging over WiFi (no USB cable or ADB needed)
Developer
Asynchronous call stacks now allow web developers to follow the code flow through setTimeout, DOM event handlers, and Promise handlers.
Developer
Configurable Firefox OS Simulator in WebIDE, to simulate reference devices like phones, tablets, even TVs
Developer
CSS filter presets in the Inspector
Developer
Ability to save filter presets inside CSS Filter Tooltip
Fixed
Various security fixes
