Latest mozilla firefox browser free download for windows xp - pity, that
Firefox
 | |||||
 | |||||
| Developer(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial release | September 23, 2002; 18 years ago (2002-09-23) | ||||
| Stable release(s)[±] | |||||
| |||||
| Preview release(s)[±] | |||||
| Repository | hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central | ||||
| Written in | C, C++, JavaScript, Rust,[7]CSS, HTML | ||||
| Engines | Gecko, Quantum, SpiderMonkey | ||||
| Operating system | |||||
| Included with | Various Unix-like operating systems | ||||
| Size | |||||
| Standard(s) | HTML5, CSS3 | ||||
| Available in | 97 languages[21] | ||||
| Type | Web browser | ||||
| License | MPL 2.0[22][23] | ||||
| Website | www.mozilla.org/firefox/new/ | ||||
Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source[24]web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox uses the Geckolayout engine to render web pages, which implements current and anticipated web standards.[25] In 2017, Firefox began incorporating new technology under the code name Quantum to promote parallelism and a more intuitive user interface.[26] Firefox is officially available for Windows 7 or newer, macOS, and Linux. Its unofficial ports are available for various Unix and Unix-like operating systems including FreeBSD,[9]OpenBSD,[10]NetBSD,[11]illumos,[12] and Solaris Unix.[14] Firefox is also available for Android and iOS. However, the iOS version uses the WebKit layout engine instead of Gecko due to platform limitations, as with all other iOS web browsers. An optimized version of Firefox is also available on the Amazon Fire TV, as one of the two main browsers available with Amazon's Silk Browser.[27]
Firefox was created in 2002 under the codename "Phoenix" by the Mozilla community members who desired a standalone browser, rather than the Mozilla Application Suite bundle. During its beta phase, Firefox proved to be popular with its testers and was praised for its speed, security, and add-ons compared to Microsoft's then-dominant Internet Explorer 6. Firefox was released on November 9, 2004,[28] and challenged Internet Explorer's dominance with 60 million downloads within nine months.[29] Firefox is the spiritual successor of Netscape Navigator, as the Mozilla community was created by Netscape in 1998 before their acquisition by AOL.[30]
Firefox usage grew to a peak of 32.21% at the end of 2009,[31] with Firefox 3.5 overtaking Internet Explorer 7, although not all versions of Internet Explorer as a whole.[32][33] Usage then declined in competition with Google Chrome.[31] As of November 2020[update], according to StatCounter, Firefox has 8.03% usage share as a "desktop" web browser, making it the third-most popular web browser after Google Chrome (67.77%) and Safari (9.77%),[34] its usage share across all platforms is lower at 3.82% (third-most popular after Google Chrome with 63.58% and Safari with 19.19%),[35] and according to NetMarketShare, Firefox has 8.02% usage share as a "desktop" web browser and 3.39% usage share across all platforms.[36]
History[edit]
The project began as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project by Dave Hyatt, Joe Hewitt, and Blake Ross. They believed the commercial requirements of Netscape's sponsorship and developer-driven feature creep compromised the utility of the Mozilla browser.[37] To combat what they saw as the Mozilla Suite's software bloat, they created a stand-alone browser, with which they intended to replace the Mozilla Suite.[38] Version 0.1 was released on September 23, 2002.[39] On April 3, 2003, the Mozilla Organization announced that they planned to change their focus from the Mozilla Suite to Firefox and Thunderbird.[40]
The Firefox project has undergone several name changes.[41] The nascent browser was originally named Phoenix, after the mythical bird that rose triumphantly from the ashes of its dead predecessor (in this case, from the "ashes" of Netscape Navigator, after it was side-lined by Microsoft Internet Explorer in the "First Browser War"). Phoenix was renamed due to a trademark claim from Phoenix Technologies. The replacement name, Firebird, provoked an intense response from the Firebird database software project.[42][43] The Mozilla Foundation reassured them that the browser would always bear the name Mozilla Firebird to avoid confusion. After further pressure, Mozilla Firebird became Mozilla Firefox on February 9, 2004.[44] The name Firefox was said to be derived from a nickname of the red panda,[45] which became the mascot for the newly named project.[46] For the abbreviation of Firefox, Mozilla prefers Fx or fx, though it is often abbreviated as FF.[47]
The Firefox project went through many versions before version 1.0 and had already gained a great deal of acclaim from numerous media outlets, such as Forbes[48] and The Wall Street Journal.[49] Among Firefox's popular features were the integrated pop-up blocker, tabbed browsing, and an extension mechanism for adding functionality.[citation needed] Although these features have already been available for some time in other browsers such as the Mozilla Suite and Opera, Firefox was the first of these browsers to have achieved large-scale adoption.[citation needed] Firefox attracted attention as an alternative to Internet Explorer, which had come under fire for its alleged poor program design and insecurity—detractors cite IE's lack of support for certain Web standards, use of the potentially dangerous ActiveX component, and vulnerability to spyware and malware installation.[citation needed] Microsoft responded by releasing Windows XP Service Pack 2, which added several important security features to Internet Explorer 6.[citation needed]
Version 1.0 of Firefox was released on November 9, 2004.[50] This was followed by version 1.5 in November 2005, version 2.0 in October 2006, version 3.0 in June 2008, version 3.5 in June 2009, version 3.6 in January 2010, and version 4.0 in March 2011. From version 5 onwards, the development and release model changed into a "rapid" one; by the end of 2011 the stable release was version 9, and by the end of 2012 it reached version 17.[citation needed]
In 2016, Mozilla announced a project known as Quantum, which sought to improve Firefox's Gecko engine and other components to improve Firefox's performance, modernize its architecture, and transition the browser to a multi-process model. These improvements came in the wake of decreasing market share to Google Chrome, as well as concerns that its performance was lapsing in comparison. Despite its improvements, these changes required existing add-ons for Firefox to be made incompatible with newer versions, in favor of a new extension system that is designed to be similar to Chrome and other recent browsers. Firefox 57, which was released in November 2017, was the first version to contain enhancements from Quantum, and has thus been named Firefox Quantum. A Mozilla executive stated that Quantum was the "biggest update" to the browser since version 1.0.[51][52][53]
On May 3, 2019, the expiration of an intermediate signing certificate caused Firefox to automatically disable all browser extensions (add-ons).[54][55] Mozilla began the roll-out of a fix shortly thereafter, using their Mozilla Studies component.[54][55]
Features[edit]
Features include tabbed browsing, spell checking, incremental search, live bookmarking, Smart Bookmarks, a download manager, private browsing, location-aware browsing (also known as "geolocation") based on a Google service,[56] and an integrated search system, which uses Google by default in most markets.[57] Additionally, Firefox provides an environment for web developers in which they can use built-in tools, such as the Error Console or the DOM Inspector, or extensions, such as Firebug and more recently there has been an integration feature with Pocket. Firefox Hello was an implementation of WebRTC, added in October 2014, which allows users of Firefox and other compatible systems to have a video call, with the extra feature of screen and file sharing by sending a link to each other. Firefox Hello was scheduled to be removed in September 2016.[58]
Functions can be added through add-ons created by third-party developers. Add-ons are primarily coded using an HTML, CSS, JavaScript, with API known as WebExtensions, which is designed to be compatible with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge extension systems.[59] Firefox previously supported add-ons using the XUL and XPCOM APIs, which allowed them to directly access and manipulate much of the browser's internal functionality. As compatibility was not included in the multi-process architecture, XUL add-ons have been deemed Legacy add-ons and are no longer supported on Firefox 57 and newer.[60][61]
Firefox can have themes added to it, which users can create or download from third parties to change the appearance of the browser. The Firefox add-on website also gives users the ability to add other applications such as games, ad-blockers, screenshot apps, and many other apps.[62][63]
Standards[edit]
Firefox implements many web standards, including HTML4 (almost full HTML5), XML, XHTML, MathML, SVG 2 (partial),[64][65]CSS (with extensions),[66] ECMAScript (JavaScript), DOM, XSLT, XPath, and APNG (Animated PNG) images with alpha transparency.[67] Firefox also implements standards proposals created by the WHATWG such as client-side storage,[68][69] and the canvas element.[70] These standards are implemented through the Gecko layout engine, and SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine. Firefox 4 was first biggest release towards supporting HTML5 and CSS3.
Firefox has passed the Acid2 standards-compliance test since version 3.0.[71] Mozilla had originally stated that they did not intend for Firefox to pass the Acid3 test fully because they believed that the SVG fonts part of the test had become outdated and irrelevant, due to WOFF being agreed upon as a standard by all major browser makers.[72] Because the SVG font tests were removed from the Acid3 test in September 2011, Firefox 4 and greater scored 100/100.[73][74]
Firefox also implements "Safe Browsing,"[75] a proprietary protocol[76] from Google used to exchange data related with phishing and malware protection.
Since version 38 on Windows Vista and newer, Firefox supports the playback of video content protected by HTML5 Encrypted Media Extensions (EME). For security and privacy reasons,[which?] EME is implemented within a wrapper of open-source code that allows execution of a proprietaryDRM module by Adobe Systems—Adobe Primetime Content Decryption Module (CDM). CDM runs within a "sandbox" environment to limit its access to the system and provide it a randomized device ID to prevent services from uniquely identifying the device for tracking purposes. The DRM module, once it has been downloaded, is enabled, and disabled in the same manner as other plug-ins. Since version 47,[77] "Google's Widevine CDM on Windows and Mac OS X so streaming services like Amazon Video can switch from Silverlight to encrypted HTML5 video" is also supported. Mozilla justified its partnership with Adobe and Google by stating:
Firefox downloads and enables the Adobe Primetime and Google Widevine CDMs by default to give users a smooth experience on sites that require DRM. Each CDM runs in a separate container called a sandbox and you will be notified when a CDM is in use. You can also disable each CDM and opt-out of future updates
and that it is "an important step on Mozilla's roadmap to remove NPAPI plugin support."[79] Upon the introduction of EME support, builds of Firefox on Windows were also introduced that exclude support for EME.[80][81] The Free Software Foundation and Cory Doctorow condemned Mozilla's decision to support EME.[82]
On the HTML5 web standards test, Firefox 79 scores 529 out of 582 points[83] (82.0 alpha has 534 points).
Security[edit]
Firefox allowed for a sandbox security model to manage privileges accorded to JavaScript code, but that feature has since been deprecated.[84] It limits scripts from accessing data from other websites based on the same-origin policy.[85] It also provides support for smart cards to web applications, for authentication purposes.[86] It uses TLS to protect communications with web servers using strong cryptography when using the HTTPS protocol.[87] The freely available HTTPS Everywhere add-on enforces HTTPS, even if a regular HTTP URL is entered. Firefox now supports HTTP/2.[88]
The Mozilla Foundation offers a "bug bounty" (US$3,000 to US$7,500 cash reward) to researchers who discover severe security holes in Firefox.[89] Official guidelines for handling security vulnerabilities discourage early disclosure of vulnerabilities so as not to give potential attackers an advantage in creating exploits.[90]
Because Firefox generally has fewer publicly known security vulnerabilities than Internet Explorer (see Comparison of web browsers), improved security is often cited as a reason to switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox.[91][92][93][94]The Washington Post reported that exploit code for known critical security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer was available for 284 days in 2006. In comparison, exploit code for known, critical security vulnerabilities in Firefox was available for nine days before Mozilla issued a patch to remedy the problem.[95]
A 2006 Symantec study showed that, although Firefox had surpassed other browsers in the number of vendor-confirmed vulnerabilities that year through September, these vulnerabilities were patched far more quickly than those found in other browsers, with Firefox's vulnerabilities being fixed on average one day after the exploit code was made available, as compared to nine days for Internet Explorer.[96] Symantec later clarified their statement, saying that Firefox still had fewer security vulnerabilities than Internet Explorer, as counted by security researchers.[97]
In 2010, a study of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), based on data compiled from the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), Firefox was listed as the fifth-most vulnerable desktop software, with Internet Explorer as the eighth, and Google Chrome as the first.[98]
InfoWorld has cited security experts saying that, as Firefox becomes more popular, more vulnerabilities will be found,[99] a claim that Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla Foundation, has denied. "There is this idea that market share alone will make you have more vulnerabilities. It is not relational at all," she said.[100]
In October 2009, Microsoft's security engineers acknowledged that Firefox was vulnerable to a security issue found in the 'Windows Presentation Foundation' browser plug-in since February of that year. A .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Windows Update had silently installed the vulnerable plug-in into Firefox.[101] This vulnerability has since been patched by Microsoft.[102]
As of February 11, 2011[update], Firefox 3.6 had no known unpatched security vulnerabilities according to Secunia.[103]Internet Explorer 8 had five unpatched security vulnerabilities; the worst being rated "Less Critical" by Secunia.[104] Mozilla claims that all patched vulnerabilities of Mozilla products are publicly listed.[105]
On January 28, 2013, Mozilla was recognized as the most trusted internet company for privacy in 2012.[106] This study was performed by the Ponemon Institute and was a result of a survey from more than 100,000 consumers in the United States.[citation needed]
In February 2013, plans were announced for Firefox 22 to disable third-party cookies by default. However, the introduction of the feature was then delayed so Mozilla developers could "collect and analyze data on the effect of blocking some third-party cookies." Mozilla also collaborated with Stanford University's "Cookie Clearinghouse" project to develop a blacklist and whitelist of sites that will be used in the filter.[107][108]
Version 23, released in August 2013, followed the lead of its competitors by blocking iframe, stylesheet, and script resources served from non-HTTPS servers embedded on HTTPS pages by default. Additionally, JavaScript could also no longer be disabled through Firefox's preferences, and JavaScript was automatically re-enabled for users who upgraded to 23 or higher with it disabled. The change was made due to its use across the majority of websites, the potential repercussions on inexperienced users who are unaware of its impact, along with the availability of extensions such as NoScript, which can disable JavaScript in a more controlled fashion. The following release added the ability to disable JavaScript through the developer tools for testing purposes.[109][110][111]
In January 2015, TorrentFreak reported that using Firefox when connected to the internet using a VPN can be a serious security issue due to the browser's support for WebRTC.[112]
Beginning with Firefox 48, all extensions must be signed by Mozilla to be used in release and beta versions of Firefox. Firefox 43 blocked unsigned extensions but allowed enforcement of extension signing to be disabled. All extensions must be submitted to Mozilla Add-ons and be subject to code analysis in order to be signed, although extensions do not have to be listed on the service to be signed.[113][114] On May 2, 2019, Mozilla announced that it would be strengthening the signature enforcement with methods that included the retroactive disabling of old extensions now deemed to be insecure. A Firefox update on May 3 led to bug reports about all extensions being disabled. This was found to be the result of an overlooked certificate and not the policy change set to go into effect on June 10.[115]
In Firefox versions prior to 7.0, an information bar appears on the browser's first start asking users whether they would like to send performance statistics, or "telemetry", to Mozilla. It is enabled by default in development versions of Firefox, but not in release versions.[116] According to Mozilla's privacy policy,[117] these statistics are stored only in aggregate format, and the only personally identifiable information transmitted is the user's IP address.[citation needed]
In November 2018, Firefox began using a sandbox to isolate web tabs from each other and from the rest of the system. Its lack of such a feature had previously earned it negative comparisons with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.[118][119]
Since version 60 Firefox includes the option to use DNS over HTTPS (DoH), which causes DNS lookup requests to be sent encrypted over the HTTPS protocol. To use this feature the user must set certain preferences beginning with "network.trr" (Trusted Recursive Resolver) in about:config: if network.trr.mode is 0, DoH is disabled; 1 activates DoH in addition to unencrypted DNS; 2 causes DoH to be used before unencrypted DNS; to use only DoH, the value must be 3. By setting network.trr.uri to the URL https://mozilla.cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query[permanent dead link] special Cloudflare servers will be activated.[120] Mozilla has a privacy agreement with this server host that restricts their collection of information about incoming DNS requests.[121]
On May 21, 2019, Firefox was updated to include the ability to block scripts that used a computer's CPU to mine cryptocurrency without a user's permission, in Firefox version 67.0. The update also allowed users to block known fingerprinting scripts that track their activity across the web, however it does not resist fingerprinting on its own.[122]
On July 2, 2019, Mozilla introduced a mechanism to allow Firefox to automatically trust OS-installed certificates to prevent TLS errors.[123]
In October 2019, ZDNet reported Firefox version 68 ESR passed all minimum requirements for mandatory security features during an exam by the Federal Office for Information Security of Germany.[124]
On December 17, 2019, Mozilla announced a partnership with NextDNS to provide Firefox users with encrypted Domain Name System (DNS) services through its Trusted Recursive Resolver. With Cloudflare, this is the second public DNS resolver to be integrated as DoH provider in Firefox.[125]
In Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2020–03, the company reported that the CVE-2019-17026 vulnerability (type confusion vulnerability in IonMonkey) had been detected in the wild and was being actively exploited.[126][127]
Localizations[edit]
Firefox is a widely localized web browser. The first official release in November 2004 was available in 24 different languages and for 28 locales, including British English, American English, European Spanish, Argentine Spanish, and Chinese in Traditional Chinese characters and Simplified Chinese characters.[128] As of November 2020[update], currently supported versions 83.0 and 78.5esr are available in 97 locales (88 languages).[21]
Platform availability[edit]
The desktop version of Firefox is available and supported for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux, while Firefox for Android is available for Android (formerly Firefox for mobile, it also ran on Firefox OS).
| Operating system | Latest stable version | Support status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | 10 Fall Creators Update and later | Current stable version:83.0 (ARM64)[129] | 2019– |
| Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr (ARM64)[130] | |||
| 7 and later, Server 2008 R2 and later | Current stable version:83.0 (x64)[129] | 2015– | |
| Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr (x64)[130] | |||
| Current stable version:83.0 (IA-32)[129] | 2009– | ||
| Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr (IA-32)[130] | |||
| XP SP2+, Vista, Server 2003 SP1+ & R2 and Server 2008 | Old version, no longer maintained:52.9.0esr (IA-32)[131] | 2004–2018 | |
| Old version, no longer maintained:52.0.2 (IA-32)[132][133] | 2004–2017 | ||
| 2000, XP RTM & SP1 and Server 2003 RTM | Old version, no longer maintained:10.0.12esr[134] | 2004–2013 | |
| Old version, no longer maintained:12.0[135][136][137] | 2004–2012 | ||
| NT 4.0 (IA-32), 98 and Me | Old version, no longer maintained:2.0.0.20[138] | 2004–2008 | |
| 95 | Old version, no longer maintained:1.5.0.12 | 2004–2007 | |
| macOS | 10.12 and later | Current stable version:83.0[129] | 2016– |
| Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr[130] | |||
| 10.9–10.11 | Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr[130] | 2013–2021 | |
| Old version, no longer maintained:78.0.2[139][140] | 2013–2020 | ||
| 10.6–10.8 | Old version, no longer maintained:45.9.0esr[141] | 2009–2017 | |
| Old version, no longer maintained:48.0.2[142][143][144][145] | 2009–2016 | ||
| 10.5 (IA-32 and x64) | Old version, no longer maintained:10.0.12esr[134] | 2007–2013 | |
| Old version, no longer maintained:16.0.2[146] | 2007–2012 | ||
| 10.4 (IA-32 and PPC)–10.5 (PPC) | Old version, no longer maintained:3.6.28[147] | 2005–2012 | |
| 10.2–10.3 | Old version, no longer maintained:2.0.0.20[138] | 2004–2008 | |
| 10.0–10.1 | Old version, no longer maintained:1.0.8 | 2004–2006 | |
| Linux desktop | Current stable version:83.0 (x64)[129] | 2011– | |
| Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr (x64)[130] | |||
| Current stable version:83.0 (IA-32)[129] | 2004– | ||
| Older version, yet still maintained:78.5.0esr (IA-32)[130] | |||
Notes
Firefox source code may be compiled for various operating systems; however, officially distributed binaries are provided for the following:
Microsoft Windows[edit]
Firefox 1.0 was released for Windows 9x, as well as Windows NT 4.0 and later. Some users reported the 1.x builds were operable (but not installable) on Windows NT 3.51.[156]
In September 2013, a Metro-style version of Firefox optimized for touchscreen use was introduced on the "Aurora" release channel. However, the project has since been canceled as of March 2014[update], with Mozilla citing a lack of user adoption of the beta versions.[157][158][159]
Version 42.0 included the first x64 builds, made for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.[160] Version 49.0 dropped support for processors without the SSE2 instruction set on Windows.
In April 2017, users of Firefox 52.0.2 on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 who had automatic updates enabled were migrated to Firefox 52 ESR. Support for these operating systems ended in June 2018.[161]
macOS[edit]
The first official release (Firefox version 1.0) supported macOS (then called Mac OS X) on the PowerPC architecture. Mac OS X builds for the IA-32 architecture became available via a universal binary which debuted with Firefox 1.5.0.2 in 2006.[citation needed]
Starting with version 4.0, Firefox was released for the x64 architecture to which macOS had migrated.[162] Version 4.0 also dropped support for PowerPC architecture, although other projects continued development of a PowerPC version of Firefox.[163]
Firefox was originally released for Mac OS X 10.0 and higher.[164] The minimum OS then increased to Mac OS X 10.2 in Firefox 1.5 and 10.4 in Firefox 3.[165][166] Firefox 4 dropped support for Mac OS X 10.4 and PowerPC Macs, and Firefox 17 dropped support for Mac OS X 10.5 entirely.[167][168] The system requirements were left unchanged until 2016, when Firefox 49 dropped support for Mac OS X 10.6–10.8.[169][170] Most recently, Mozilla ended support for OS X 10.9–10.11 in Firefox 79, with those users being supported on the Firefox 78 ESR branch until July 2021.[171][172][173]
Linux[edit]
Since its inception, Firefox for Linux supported the 32-bit memory architecture of the IA-32 instruction set. 64-bit builds were introduced in the 4.0 release.[162] The 46.0 release replaced GTK+ 2.18 with 3.4 as a system requirement on Linux and other systems running X.Org.[174] Starting with 53.0, the 32-bit builds require the SSE2 instruction set. Firefox also can run on number of other architectures on Linux, including ARM, AArch64, PowerPC, POWER, Sparc, HPPA, MIPS, s390, and in the past Alpha, IA-64 (Intel Itanium)
-
-