Mozilla Firefox Version 61.0 Released with Security Improvements

Mozilla sent Firefox Version 61.0 to the release channel today.  The update includes fifteen (15) security fixes, of which four (4) are critical, four (4) are rated High, six (6) are rated Moderate and one (1) is rated Low.

In addition, Firefox ESR 52.9.0 has also been released.   This is the last "main" version that will support Windows XP although some some minor builds (52.9.x) may be added through August.

Security Fixes

• Security vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox ESR 52.9
• MFSA 2018-16 Security vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox ESR 60.1
• MFSA 2018-15 Security vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox 61

New

• Enhanced performance:
  
  • Faster page rendering with Quantum CSS improvements and the new retained display list feature
  • Faster switching between tabs on Windows and Linux
  • WebExtensions now run in their own process on MacOS
    
    
• Convenient access to more search engines: You can now add search engines to the address bar “Search with” tool from the page action menu when on a webpage that provides an OpenSearch plugin
• Share links from Firefox for MacOS more easily: You can now share the URL of an active tab from the page actions menu in the address bar
  
  
• Improved security:
  
  • On-by-default support for the latest draft of the TLS 1.3 specification
  • Access to FTP subresources inside http(s) pages has been blocked
    
    
• A more consistent user experience: Improvements for dark theme support across the entire Firefox user interface
• More customization for tab management: added support to allow WebExtensions to hide tabs
• Improved bookmark syncing

Changed

• The settings for customizing your homepage and new tab page in Firefox have been added to a new Preferences section that can be accessed from Firefox at about: preferences#home. The settings can also be accessed via the gear icon on the New Tab page.

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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