Poor security record
Really, it's as bad as IE, innit. Let's be honest.
Mozilla has released an update to Firefox 3.0 that fixes half a dozen serious security glitches in the web browser. The group’s developers, who have been struggling to get the next version of Firefox 3.1 out the door due to problems mainly associated with Mozilla’s new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, labelled six bug fixes in …
Funny, that's the big reason people moved from Internet Explorer. Now they have a stupid memory hogging browser with just as many, if not more problems, and a whole new set caused by Firefox's own ActiveX Achilles Heel - Extensions....
If you want proper standards compliance, small footprint, sensible memory use, customization abilities, and most importantly, a unbeatable track record on internet security, then there is only one place to head: www.opera.com
Impossible to download this wretched, nuisance update at the moment. When will these morons learn to provide the appropriate download capacity?
They wonder why 96% of machines are not fully patched. Well, matey, we actually have computers for purposes other than using them to install a daily stream of corrections to howling errors that should not have been made in the first place.
On time again! I predicted a panicky article about Firefox security would be released today back in December (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/17/mozilla_3_0_5_and_2_0_0_1_9_updates/comments/). That's because this release is part of the normal cycle and has been planned for months. The next release, according to https://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases, is on March 4th. Presumably we can expect another article about security failings on March 5th.
Honestly, would you prefer it if they didn't release regular security updates, especially ones that install so easily?
The Menu section including bars is almost completely configurable.
Have you exhausted the options?
FF continues to make browsing enjoyable even as the interwebs continue to sink into a morass of ads and corporate control.
I am always pleased when I introduce someone to FF and they say "Really?!? I don't need to have all those ads?"
I have next to no trouble with FF, and the upgrade process was "Oh look, the page that tells me there was an update is open, Firefox must have updated itself and restarted without me noticing" (yes I've told it to do that).
I've given up wondering what you lot that have problems with it do to your systems...
Each article on FF always ends up with a handful of commenters saying how bad it is, almost all of them ACs (@Mark excepted). Something smells. Might be interesting to see where their IPs come from.
Oh, and @AC 14:29, stop whining like a small child. I provided links to an about:config tweak and also to a plugin. If you haven't the wit to follow simple instructions, nor even follow a link and install a plugin when it's handed to you on a plate, shut up and go to IE. Unless you're pwnded by MS anyway, which maybe you are.
It's not that bad... Here's how you make your address bar act like one:
1. type "about.config" in the address bar (ha! have at you!) and hit enter. Click through the scary message. You can trust your uncle Phil... In the filter, put "URL" and search. Look for the word "urlbar" in the main window... There are several settings, two of which are useful.
2. set browser.urlbar.MatchOnlyTyped to "true".
3. set browser.urlbar.maxRichResults to "0".
4. restart your browser.
POOF! Your url bar is back to normal.
Heh... It's about time I was able to post something useful here!!! Now I'm going for a brewski.
:)
After trying AWeirdoNamedPhil's excellent suggestions, to futher improve the Urlbar:
First, in about:config
1) set browser.urlbar..matchBehavior to 2
this makes it match from the beginning of URLs and words, instead of anywhere, which some numpty at Mozilla thinks is a grand idea. 3 should make it only search only URLs, but only works in 3.1 and nightly builds.
Download and install the Oldbar extension from addons.mozilla.org to make the urlbar look like the FF2 Addressbar.
You will now have something that looks and acts _almost_ like the Firefox Addressbar should.
Unfortunately, they don't completely fix it. There is still that annoying star in the address bar, and more annoyingly, it still matches stuff from the middle of the URL instead of just the start - I have never found a way to change this, if you know one please tell me.
I don't consider it an upgrade either, but you forget that Mozilla generally fixes security issues ASAP. While this sometimes results in only partly blocking an exploit with the the first patch, this is still preferable to MS's attitude of denying the existence of security flaws until some researcher tires of MS's intransigence and release proof of concept exploit code.
And while Firefox runs IE a close second in number of vulnerabilities over the past 3 years, with 301 vs 350 for IE, according to NIST, I think I will take my chances with FF's "fix early and often" attitude to security, rather than IE's "fix only when have to".
Interestingly I can only find 61 vulnerabilites in NIST for Opera for the same period. Maybe I should switch full-time to Opera?
since 3.0.5, FF started crashing on me, that wouldnt matter so much if it was just every now and then but combined with the impossibility of ending the process in the task manager makes it more than annoying! having upgraded to 3.0.6 hoping the issue would be resolved, i'm afraid it hasn't! Only way is to reboot machine!..i've never used IE so much!
Hundreds of posts on their 'forum' from angry/annoyed users in the same case but Mozilla guys have gone quiet...