Firefox 109.0 and 102.7.0 esr released

[German]Mozilla's developers have released the versions 109.0 and 102.7.0 ESR of the Firefox browser on January 17, 2023. The ESR versions are maintenance updates that are intended to fix bugs. Starting with the Firefox 109 development branch, Manifest Version 3 files are enabled by default. Vulnerabilities are fixed in both updates. Thanks to the reader for pointing this out. Addendum: And in 2023 Firefox wants to become print-free …

Firefox 109

Firefox 109 is a new development branch. As of this release, support for Manifest Version 3 (MV3) extensions is now enabled by default (MV2 is still enabled/supported). This has an impact on new add-ons compatible with MV3. The update to version 109 also brings an interesting user interface change in the form of the new extensions button. According to the release notes, the update brings the other new features listed below.

• Exploit protection Arbitrary Code Guard has been enabled in the Media Player utility processes to improve security for Windows users.
• Native HTML date and time selection can now be used with the keyboard alone, improving accessibility for screen reader users. Users with limited mobility can now also use common keyboard shortcuts to navigate the calendar grid and month selection spinners.
• Firefox builds in the Spanish from Spain (es-ES) and Spanish from Argentina (es-AR) locales now include a built-in dictionary for the Firefox spell checker.

In addition, several changes have been made in the new version of Firefox.

• As of January 16, Colorways will no longer exist in Firefox. Users can still access saved and active colorways through the Add-ons and Themes menu option.
• On macOS, Ctrl or Cmd + trackpad or mouse wheel now scrolls the page instead of zooming. This avoids accidental zooming and is consistent with the behavior of other web browsers on macOS.
• The "Recently Closed" section in the Firefox view now allows users to manually close/remove URL links from the list.
• The empty state messages and graphical components displayed in the Firefox view for the Tab Pickup and Recently Closed sections have been updated to improve usability.

Several bug fixes and new policies have been implemented in the Enterprise variant (see). The new Firefox also fixes vulnerabilities, with some rated as high. The list of vulnerabilities can be found on this page.

Firefox 102.7 ESR

Also the versions 102.7 with long-term support (ESR) was released and closes two security holes. Firefox should update itself automatically in all versions, but can be downloaded from this website for various platforms (the variant is to be selected via the displayed list boxes).

Firefox wants to become "print-free"

German blog reader Patrick contacted me by mail because a whole new message was thrown at him when he started the updated Firefox..

2023 will be print-free

We hope you had a relaxing holiday and no printer cartridges under the Christmas tree. Because with our built-in PDF editor, you can save on printing and easily edit documents in your browser.

Try it out and say goodbye to paper jams once and for all.

Patrick says (and I see it in the same manner):

The products Firefox and Thunderbird, developed under the name Mozilla, shine with an increasing variety of functions apart from the actual purpose of the respective software.

As a user, you often get new fixes every day after each new Firefox extension. Also the security of the own systems is endangered with it.

The next update will probably follow at Thunderbird, because too much Firefox was taken over.

I would like to have a browser to surf the web secure. In the simple plain text format, there are significantly fewer vulnerabilities and the user is spared updates with subsequent testing of functionality.

I had already discussed the topic of PDF security with Patrick – the topic can be found in the German blog post Wie sicher ist eigentlich das Adobe PDF-Format und die Anzeigesoftware?.