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In a list, published by security firm Bit9, of 12 most vulnerable applications for the Windows platform, Firefox finished at the top of the list.
The browser has earned the reputation from Mozilla patching 10 vulnerabilities which could be used to gain control, access, or execute miscellaneous code via buffer overflow, malformed URI links, javascript, documents and third party tools.
The browser is well respected throughout its open source community. Users can download add-ons, themes and many other tweaks that users can be used to adjust, modify and tweak their browser for maximum performance and appearance.
Bit9 posted a list of the top 12 vulnerable applications:

1. Mozilla Firefox
2. Adobe Flash and Adobe Acrobat
3. EMC VMware Player,Workstation and other products
4. Sun Java JDK and JRE, Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
5. Apple QuickTime, Safari and iTunes
6. Symantec Norton products (all flavors 2006 to 2008)
7. Trend Micro OfficeScan
8. Citrix Products
9. Aurigma Image Uploader, Lycos FileUploader
10. Skype
11. Yahoo Assistant
12. Microsoft Windows Live (MSN) Messenger

Mozilla announced today they are continuing their EOL (end of life) policy with their products by ending support for Firefox version 2 even though version 3 itself has its own problems. The EOL policy is a system Mozilla set up to allow the developers to end their work on a previous version so they can work on the future versions. The EOL for the previous product kicks in after 6 months of release of a new product. If you are using version 2 of Firefox you may not be able to get any security updates or patches for flaws that could occur from now on.

It’s not just Firefox that will soon be unsupported, the Gecko engine version 1.8 that is a key factor of Thunderbird 2 will also be ended and it in turn could stall the production of Seamonkey, Camino and Galeon. Despite this move Michael Connor from Mozilla announced "Mozilla (in some form) will provide support for Thunderbird based on the official lifecycle policy."

Despite there being no support for Seamonkey or any other 3rd party application using Gecko 1.8 Mozilla said the developers making those applications can still release their own updates but the system its self will not updated.

Mozilla will now set focus on improving Firefox 3. Many people have had problems with Firefox 3 crashing or stalling at various times something that the previous version didn’t do that often. Other problems with Firefox that have been noted is the amount of memory the browser uses during a good few hours usage.

Firefox 3 set a world record when it was downloaded more then 8 million times when it was unleashed to the world this past June.

A colleague today showed me a cool, new browser that he’s been using to browse the web at blisteringly fast speeds. The browser? Minefield. The author of the code?

Mozilla.

Yes, that same Mozilla that makes the Firefox browser. Minefield is, in fact, a way to glimpse into the future of Firefox, as it’s a pre-release/alpha version of the Firefox browser.

After spending some time with Minefield, one thing is clear: the future of Firefox is fast. Lightning fast.

How fast? Some claim that it has the fastest javascript engine on the planet, which means it leaves Google’s Chrome browser in the dust. In my own unscientific tests, I’d say that this assertion is correct. Ars Technica pegs Minefield as 10 percent faster than Chrome.

You can download the latest nightly build for Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows, but be warned: it’s alpha code. While a quick scan of the Web shows few complaints as to stability, Minefield may not be for you. It doesn’t support some of my favorite Firefox extensions (like Adblock Plus), but it actually has surprisingly good support for extensions, given that it’s a fast-moving project.

Feeling brave? Or simply feeling like your browser is too slow? Give Minefield a try. It’s a separate install so it won’t affect an existing Firefox install. You have nothing to lose but your chains.

Source: CNet news

Mozilla pushed out the first beta of Firefox 3.1 on Tuesday night but the release omits some much anticipated improved JavaScript functionality.

The preview edition of the open source web browser is intended to allow developers to run a slide rule over the software as well as giving the public at large a chance to take the software for a spin.

Major enhancements over version 3.0.x of the browser include a revamp of the Gecko layout engine, improved support for the latest developments in style sheet standards (ie CSS 2.1 and CSS 3 properties), a tab-switching shortcut and support for a range of new web technologies.

And, as previously reported, the next version of the browser includes a privacy (AKA prOn) surfing mode.

The "Web 3.1" features supported include Geolocation API, <video> and <audio> elements, and offline applications. The Geolocation API offers similar functionality to the recently release Geode add-on for Firefox 3.0.

Read more @ The Register

By this time next week, Mozilla will have unveiled the alpha release of its mobile Firefox browser, codenamed Fennec. But not too many people will be able to make use of it initially: the code will only be available for Nokia’s N810 Internet Tablet. The alpha code is aimed at Mozilla community members, specifically to give the innovative touch user interface and the feature set a grueling workout, says Jay Sullivan, Mozilla vice president of mobile.

A release for Windows mobile is in the works, to be released "in the next few months," according to Sullivan. One possible interim option is a version to run on Windows PCs, in effect acting as an emulator.

View: The full story @ PCWorld

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, has released technology that helps websites detect the physical location of computers.
The system will allow users, for instance, to find local restaurants when they travel to a new town.

The Geode project is an experimental add-on ahead of a full blown launch of geolocation technology in version 3.1 of Firefox. Users will have control over how much location information they give. It uses technology from a firm called Skyhook which works out a computer’s location from nearby wireless networks. Its so-called Loki system can determine location within seconds with an accuracy of about 10 to 20 meters.

A popular free security tool for the Firefox browser has been upgraded to block one of the most dangerous and troubling security problems facing the Web today. NoScript is a small application that integrates into Firefox. It blocks scripts in programming languages such as javascript and Java from executing on untrusted Web pages. The scripts could be used to launch an attack on a PC.
The latest release of NoScript, version 1.8.2.1, will stop so-called "clickjacking," where a person browsing the Web clicks on a malicious, invisible link without realizing it, said Giorgio Maone, an Italian security researcher who wrote and maintains the program. Clickjacking has been known for several years but is drawing attention again after two security researchers, Robert Hansen and Jeremiah Grossman, warned last month of new scenarios that could compromise a person’s privacy or even worse, steal money from a bank account.

Download: NoScript 1.8.2.1
View: The full story @ PCWorld

Firefox 3.1 will run many Web-based applications such as Gmail faster through incorporation of a feature called TraceMonkey that dramatically speeds up programs written in JavaScript, Mozilla said Friday.

JavaScript has been very broadly used to add pizzazz or flexibility to Web pages over the years, but in recent years, it’s also become the plumbing for many rich Internet applications. However, because JavaScript has been hobbled by pokey performance, Web-based applications often struggled to work as responsively as "native" software running directly on PCs, and programmers writing Web applications have often turned to other options, such as Adobe Systems’ Flash and Flex.

Now Mozilla hopes to change the balance of power in JavaScript’s favor.
"TraceMonkey is a project to bring native code speed to JavaScript," said Mike Shaver, Mozilla’s interim vice president of engineering, adding that JavaScript performance nearly doubles compared to Firefox 3.0, based on the SunSpider test of JavaScript performance. That speeds up many basic tasks, but it also brings image editing and 3D graphics into JavaScript’s abilities, he said.
TraceMonkey is what’s called a just-in-time compiler, one type of technology that solves the problem of converting programs written by humans into instructions a computer can understand.

Most software that runs on people’s computers is already compiled in advance into what’s called a binary file, but JavaScript usually is interpreted line by line as it runs, a slower process. "We’re getting close to the end of what you can do with an interpreter," Shaver said.
A just-in-time compiler, though, creates that binary file on the fly as the code arrives–when a person visits a new Web page, and the browser encounters JavaScript, for example.

Mozilla Corp. has released the first preview of Firefox 3.1, the fast-track update that the open-source company has pegged with a late 2008 or early 2009 ship date. Code-named "Shiretoko," named for a national park on Japan’s northern-most island of Hokkaido, Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1 was delayed several days because of a last-minute bug found in the Mac OS X version.
Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1 includes some, but not all, of the features Mozilla hopes to add to the update as work continues. Among the noticeable changes: several improvements to the address bar, which Mozilla dubs the "Smart Location Bar" in recognition of the search enhancements it received in Firefox 3.0; and changes to tab-switching.
Pressing Ctrl-Tab in Alpha 1 switches between current and last-viewed tabs rather than simply moving to the next tab to the right. Thumbnails of each page are also now displayed for easier recognition. Like many of the features slated for Firefox 3.1, the revised tab-switching was originally meant to be included with Firefox 3.0, but had been dropped during development to keep that June version on schedule.

View: Full Article @ PC World

Mozilla has officially made history with a new Guinness world record for the largest number of software downloads in a 24-hour period. The final record breaking 8,002,530 downloads for Firefox 3.0 took place in June with parties in over 25 countries. "The enthusiasm and creativity of Firefox fans was key to making this happen" said Marketing head Paul Kim. Gareth Deaves of Guinness World Records called it "an extremely impressive accomplishment".
The official figure was confirmed after logs from download servers were audited and checked to ensure duplicate and unfinished downloads were not counted. Mr Kim told the BBC: "The notion of going for a world record, as gooky and nutty as it may have sounded, was a really sticky idea. "It was an idea that translated really well across national borders and to all different kinds of people around the world."

View: Full Article @ BBC News