Firefox 93 Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 93 on October 5, 2021. This is the ninth major browser update in 2021.

This is the fifth update for the new Proton user-interface which was released in June 2021. In this blog post, I cover some of the notable changes in this new browser update.

Mozilla has been consistently releasing monthly updates for the Firefox internet browser in 2021. That being said not all of their updates include major changes and new features.

In fact, in the last Firefox 92 browser update, there were no major changes implemented. Most of the changes were mainly related to fixes to security vulnerabilities. However, in this new Firefox 93 release, there were several notable changes which I will highlight in this blog post.

First up, Firefox now supports the new AVIF image format which offers significant file size reduction compared to JPEG, PNG & WebP file formats. It also supports features like High Dynamic Range; 8, 10 and 12-bit color depth; Lossless and lossy compression to name a few. You can check the link below to check if your browser supports AVIF fil format.

Secondly, the Firefox PDF Viewer now supports XFA Forms which are used by many governments and banks. XFA stands for XML Forms Architecture and developed by JetForm to enhance the processing of web forms. They are more flexible compared to standard PDF Acro Forms.

Thirdly, Mozilla introduced a new automatic unload tabs feature. When you have multiple tabs open in your Firefox browser running on Windows computers and the available system memory is critically low tabs are automatically unloaded to help reduce Firefox out-of-memory crashes.

Fourthly, Firefox now blocks downloads that rely on insecure connections.This will help protect against potentially malicious or unsafe downloads. You’ll see a warning message dialog box about a potential security risk when downloading a file, using an insecure connection.

Finally, there were a couple of enhancements to privacy protection in the form of improved web compatibility for privacy protections with SmartBlock 3.0 and a new referrer tracking protection in Strict Tracking Protection and Private Browsing. You can learn more about it in this article.

So these were some of the notable changes in Firefox 92. You can check the list of detailed changes in the Release Notes, you’ll find the links below. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox remained steady compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome has continues to outperform.

Well, that's it for now. Like I said, there was really not much in this update. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by!

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark: http://web.basemark.com/ | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Firefox 92 Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 92 on September 7, 2021. This is the eight major browser update in 2021.

This is the fourth update for the new Proton user-interface which was released in June 2021.

In this blog post, I cover some of the notable changes in this new browser update.

Mozilla has been consistent in releasing regular updates for the Firefox internet browser almost every single month in 2021. Though not all their updates include major changes and new features.

In fact, in this Firefox 92 browser update, there were no major changes implemented. Most of the changes were mainly related to fixes to security vulnerabilities.

In the previous Firefox 91 update, Mozilla implemented the HTTPS-First Policy to facilitate secure connections in Private Browsing mode. They have further enhanced security as highlighted below.

The only notable change I'd like to highlight was the automatic upgrade to HTTPS, using HTTPS RR) as Alt-Svc headers. This allows a server to indicate that a particular resource should be loaded, from a different server while appearing to the user that it was still loaded from the same server.

There is a web document that explains this in a little more detail, if you'd like to learn more.

A few other minor changes in this new Firefox browser update include:

1. Full-range color levels are now supported for video playback on many systems.
2. An open alert in a tab no longer causes performance issues in other tabs using the same process.
3. Certificate error pages have been redesigned for a better user experience.

Finally, Mozilla continues work on restructuring Firefox’s JavaScript memory management to be more performant and use less memory.

So these were some of the notable changes in Firefox 92. You can check the list of detailed changes in the Release Notes, you’ll find the links below. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox remained steady compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome continues to outperform overall.

Well, that's it for now. Like I said, there was really not much in this update. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by!

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark: http://web.basemark.com/ | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Firefox 91 Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 91 on August 10, 2021. This is the seventh major browser update in 2021. 

This is the third update for the new Proton user-interface which was released on June 2021. In this video, I cover some of the notable changes in this new browser update.

Mozilla has been releasing regular updates for the Firefox web browser almost every single month in 2021 and they've kept pace with it.

Firefox 89 which was released in June 2021 was the first redesign with the new Proton user-interface which many users were not full on board with. I've personally gotten used to it. So now, let's get on with the changes and improvements in this new Firefox 91 update.

First up, HTTPS-First Policy. In Private Browsing (or incognito) mode Firefox now attempts to make all connections to websites, secure and fall back to insecure connections only when websites do not support HTTPS. You can read more about it in this blog post.

Secondly, a new Windows SSO (also known as, Single Sign-On) which allows users to login into Microsoft, work, and school accounts, using credentials, from our Windows 10 operating system. You can enable this option in Firefox settings under Privacy & Security in the Logins & Passwords section by checking the appropriate checkbox.

Finally, Simplified Printing which is a useful print option that enables you to print a clutter-free page that strips away ads, buttons, background images, etc. and can save you on paper and printer-ink.
 
When you use CTRL+P to print a page in your browser, under More Settings and in the Format section, you’ll see two options: Original and Simplified. The new Simplified option will enable you to print a clutter-free page. BTW, you can also use the READER MODE (by clicking the Reader Mode button) (when available) which gives you a clutter-free page.

So these were some of the notable changes in Firefox 91. You can check the list of detailed changes in the Release Notes, you’ll find the links below. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox remained steady compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome has continues to outperform.

Well, hope you found this brief Firefox Review helpful. Feel free to share your feedback based on using the new Proton user-interface. Thanks for stopping by!

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark: http://web.basemark.com/ | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Firefox 90 Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 90 on July 13, 2021. This is the sixth major browser update in 2021. In the previous browser update, Mozilla released the brand new Proton user-interface.

 So this is the second major browser update since the new Proton release. In 2021, Mozilla has been releasing browser updated almost every single month.

This particular update was delayed a little bit, especially given the big Proton release, which is understandable.

In this blog post, I’ll cover some of the key changes in this brief Firefox Review. Most of the changes in this new release are related to privacy protection and security.

First up, enhancement of the SmartBlock feature, a tracker blocking mechanism for Firefox Private Browsing and Strict Mode which was first introduced in Firefox 87.  It is designed to intelligently fix-up web pages that are broken by Firefox's tracking protection without compromising your privacy.

The new enhanced version ensures that you can still use third-party Facebook login buttons, to sign in to websites, while still protecting you from cross-site tracking. You can read more about it from this blog post.

Secondly, Firefox for Windows users, can install Firefox updates, silently in the background, even if Firefox is not running. You will find this setting under “about:preferences”, in the General section, under Firefox Updates. If you want to disable this feature, you can use this Firefox Preference and change the value to False.

Thirdly, in Firefox 90, you’ll find a new Third-party Module Information page. If you type “about:third-party” in the address bar and hit Enter. It will provide information on any modules or apps that are not compatible with Firefox, which can help reduce Firefox crashes, performance or compatibility issues.

Finally, you can set up Exceptions to HTTPS-Only Mode. If you type “about:preferences#privacy” in the address bar and hit Enter, then scroll down to the HTTPS-Only Mode section. There you can activate the new Manage Exceptions button which will allow set up an exception for HTTP sites that you trust.

So these were some of the notable changes in Firefox 90 dubbed Firefox Proton. You can check the list of detailed changes in the RELEASE NOTES. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox remained steady compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome has continues to outperform.

Well, hope you found this brief Firefox Review helpful. Feel free to share your feedback based on using the new Proton user-interface. Thanks for stopping by!

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark: http://web.basemark.com/ | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Firefox Proton Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 89 on June 1, 2021. This is the fifth major browser update in 2021. This new release comes with the brand new Proton user-interface.

In Mozilla’s own words “We’ve redesigned and modernized the core experience to be cleaner, more inviting, and easier to use.” 

 The new design includes several changes. These changes are mainly related to the user-interface of the browser.

 I’ll cover some of the key changes in this brief Firefox Review.

First of all, you'll find subtle changes in the main toolbar which now includes more spacing between icons. I generally use the Compact mode which is now been removed. So now you only have two options: Normal; and Touch.

Secondly, you'll notice that the tabs have also been redesigned. The new ones are called "floating tabs" and rounded corners. I personally preferred the earlier ones, from a functional standpoint, but the new ones look better.

Thirdly, the hamburger menu has been streamlined and reorganized to be less cluttered with fewer items. They have also removed the icons which I found useful.

Finally, you will also find redesigned prompts with rounded corners. For example, when you right-click on various sections of the browser, the pop-up prompts have a cleaner look and feel.

On the privacy side of things, Mozilla has now made the Total Cookie Protection as the default option in Private Browsing mode. Total Cookie Protection was introduced in version 87 in order to isolate cookies by website. This prevents cookies from being used to track you from site to site.

So these were some of the notable changes in Firefox 89 dubbed Firefox Proton. You can check the list of detailed changes in the RELEASE NOTES. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox remained steady compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome has continues to outperform.

Well, hope you found this brief Firefox Proton Review helpful. Overall, I've gotten used to the new user-interface, but that cannot be said for many of the current Firefox users. I think it will definitely take some "getting used to", but feel free to share your experience using the new user-interface in the comments section below. Thanks for stopping by!

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark: http://web.basemark.com/ | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Firefox 86 & 87 Review 2021

In this Firefox Review, I cover some of the key changes in Firefox 86 and Firefox 87 which were released on February 23rd and March 23rd respectively.

I missed the Firefox 86 review, so I’m covering some of the notable changes in both these updates in this bog post and video review which you will find below.

So far, Mozilla has released three major browser updates in 2021. Mozilla will continue to roll out new Firefox browser updates on a monthly basis for the rest of this year, just like that did in 2020.

Now, let's dive into some of the key changes and improvements in the new Firefox updates.

First up, Total Cookie Protection which is part of Mozilla's Enhanced Tracking Protection to protect your privacy online. You’ll find Total Cookie Protection in STRICT MODE. It’s designed to isolate cookies (or tracking data) by website. So, each site gets its own cookie jar, essentially, preventing cookies from being used to track you from site to site.

Secondly, SmartBlock which is a tracker blocking mechanism for Firefox Private Browsing and Strict Mode. It's designed to intelligently fix up web pages that are broken by Firefox's tracking protection without compromising your privacy.

Thirdly, enhancement in the Picture-in-Picture Mode. PIP-mode allows you to pop, videos out, of their webpage so they are always floating on top enabling you can to watch while continuing to browse.

Firefox now supports simultaneously opening and watching multiple videos, in Picture-in-Picture and this is great (for example) if you’re watching several games.

And lastly, improvement in the Print Functionality. If you want to print (CTR+P) a web page, you'll notice a cleaner design and better integration, with your computer's printer settings.

So these were some of the notable changes in Firefox 86 and Firefox 87. You can check the list of detailed changes in the Release Notes. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, I was not able to run the browser test successfully because I experienced some issues with my computer. But, I’m pretty sure that Google Chrome continues to outperform Firefox overall.

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Firefox 85 Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 85 on January 26, 2021. This is the first major browser update in 2021. Mozilla continues to roll out new browser updates every month this year as it did in 2020. There were a few notable changes in Firefox 85 which I will cover in this Firefox Review.

Firstly, Firefox now protects you from super cookies which are a type of online tracker that can stay hidden, in your browser and track you online even after you’ve cleared your cookies.

 By isolating super cookies Firefox prevents them from tracking your web browsing, from one site to the next. You can read more about it in this blog post.

Secondly, there were some small improvements, in Firefox Bookmarks. If you bookmark a webpage in Firefox, it adds it to the "Other Bookmarks" folder and will place this folder in the Bookmarks toolbar.

Many users didn’t like this when it was first implemented, so Mozilla has made an option available to hide it. You can right-click on it and uncheck "Show Other Bookmarks" to hide this in the future. Also, Firefox now remembers your preferred location for saved bookmarks.

Thirdly, in the Firefox Password Manager you now will notice this new option to remove all logins. This can come handy, especially if you want to delete all your logins at once.

And finally, Firefox 85 spells the end of support for Adobe Flash. As I had mentioned, in my previous Firefox update Firefox 85 onward will not include support for Adobe Flash. You can check this article  from Mozilla to learn more about it.

So these were a few notable changes in Firefox 85. You can check the list of detailed changes in the Release Notes. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox declined slightly compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome has continued to outperform.

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.