Mozillia Firefox Version 59 Released

Mozilla sent Firefox Version 59.0 to the release channel today.  The update addresses a number of bugs as well as security fixes for both Firefox and Firefox ESR.

ESR has been updated to version remains at version 52.7.0.

Security Fixes

•  MFSA 2018-07 Security vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox ESR 52.7
• MFSA 2018-06 Security vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox 59

 New

• Performance enhancements:
  - Faster load times for content on the Firefox Home page
  - Faster page load times by loading either from the networked cache or the cache on the user’s hard drive (Race Cache With Network)
  - Improved graphics rendering using Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP) for Mac users (OMTP for Windows and Linux was released in Firefox 58)
  
• Drag-and-drop to rearrange Top Sites on the Firefox Home page, and customize new windows and tabs in other ways
  
• Added features for Firefox Screenshots:
  - Basic annotation lets the user draw on and highlight saved screenshots
  - Recropping to change the viewable area of saved screenshots
  
• Enhanced WebExtensions API including better support for decentralized protocols and the ability to dynamically register content scripts
  
• Improved Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities.
  - Implemented RTP Transceiver to give pages more fine grained control over calls
  - Implemented features to support large scale conferences
  
• Added support for W3C specs for pointer events and improved platform integration with added device support for mouse, pen, and touch screen pointer input
  
• Added the Ecosia search engine as an option for German Firefox
  
• Added the Qwant search engine as an option for French Firefox
  
• Added settings in about:preferences to stop websites from asking to send notifications or access your device’s camera, microphone, and location, while still allowing trusted websites to use these features
  

Fixed

• Various security fixes
  

Changed

• Firefox Private Browsing Mode will remove path information from referrers to prevent cross-site tracking
  

Unresolved

• Windows 7 users using accessibility services (like the Windows On-Screen Keyboard) may observe browser crashes after the update to Firefox 59. As a workaround, affected users can prevent external apps from triggering accessibility services in Firefox.
  

Update:
To get the update now, select "Help" from the Firefox menu, then pick "About Firefox."  Mac users need to select "About Firefox" from the Firefox menu. If you do not use the English language version, Fully Localized Versions are available for download.

References

• Common questions after updating Firefox
• Security Updates
• Mozilla Firefox Release Notes
• Rapid Release Calendar

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