Firefox 26 Arrives With Click-To-Play For Java Plugins

An anonymous reader writes "Mozilla today officially launched Firefox 26 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Additions include Click-to-Play turned on by default for all Java plugins, more seamless updates on Windows, and a new Home design for Android. Firefox 26 has been released over on Firefox.com and all existing users should be able to upgrade to it automatically. As always, the Android version is trickling out slowly on Google Play. Release notes are here: desktop and mobile."

Plug-ins

[Fluffy the Destroyer]

The only problem i've seen with Firefox today is the updates are way too fast. The plug-ins and extentions aren't fast enough to follow becomes obsolete and break. It's not all the updates but I've seen some of it not compatible anymore

Re:great...

[bill_mcgonigle]

Are you using CookieMonster? It's much better than any stock cookie controller that I've seen.

Re:great...

[magic maverick]

If you care about cookies, use an addon/extension that gives you a better interface, and finer control, than the built in systems. I use CookieMonster (set to deny all cookies by default), but there are others.

CookieMonster allows you to set per website permissions, both temporary (until you close the browser, and then permissions revert to deny), per session (deletes every time you close your browser), and ordinary (hangs around until they expire). You can also set third party cookie controls.

What makes Firefox great is the addon/extension ecosystem. If you're not going to use it, why even use Firefox? (OK, it's less evil.)

Re:my dream browser

[EMG at MU]

- support java/javascript/whatever code.

As someone that runs NoScript, almost all of the websites on the modern Internet just don't work without JavaScript. They aren't even written to fail gracefully if JavaScript support isn't detected.

Re:my dream browser

[Anonymous Coward]

My dream browser would:

- render text

- render static images

- block ads

My dream browser would NOT:

- play sounds

- play movies

- animate anything

- open up additional windows

- support java/javascript/whatever code

- support cookies

- store any information

Oh well, I guess it will never happen.

Oh, I think you really ought to actually configure Firefox this way and try it out.

Set all plugins to never activate in Tools > Add Ons
Set "Accept cookies" to never, and clear all offline data under Advanced.
Go into about:config and turn off audio and video, set cookies to never in preferences
Install Adblock and Noscript. (You could turn off javascript for reals, but that would prevent Adblock from working. Noscript can do muc the same thing if configured right..)

Try it. Try to get through one day on the real web with your browser set up this way.

You'd need a fantasy dream Internet to make your dream browser work.

TLS 1.1 and 1.2

[Anonymous Coward]

TLS 1.1 was supposed to be released with this version by it had to backed out because there were some compatibility issues with a small number of sites:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=733647

The code is still in there, you just have to enable it manually via about:prefs: security.tls.version.max=2

TLS 1.2 is also present:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=861266

Just set security.tls.version.max=3.

Not sure if they're shooting for release 27 or 28. By default only TLS 1.0 is negotiated.

Download Window Completely Removed?

[LeRaldo]

Starting somewhere around version 21 of Firefox, they turned off the "downloads" window and took the ability to turn it on/off out of the options. In order to turn something on that had been in Firefox since it was called Phoenix, you had to go into about:config and change "browser.download.useToolkitUI" to true. Now for some reason, it appears to me that Firefox v26 has completely removed the download window altogether. I cannot for the life of me get the old downloads window back. Maybe I'm just blind/dumb, but I can't imagine why Mozilla continues to make changes like this.

Re:Download Window Completely Removed?

[xombo]

I suspect that as apps are rewritten to improve support for "Metro" interfaces, most windowed dialogues will be phased out.

Re: Firefox ESR

[Billly Gates]

Google it!

I am at version 17 with the latest security fixes and it will updated to 24 next week:)

Next version is a year away with continual security. Addon work now and what Mozilla should have done back in 2011

Electrolysis

[tepples]

WTF is it with the Gecko engine and "senior moments"?

That's caused by the lack of a multi-process model in Firefox. Mozilla is working on it under the codename Electrolysis (e10s) [mozilla.org]. It's still incomplete, but you can try it out by opening about:config, turning on browser.tabs.remote, and restarting Firefox. One drawback is that click-to-play is broken, as are "many plugins".