Prepare to have your shonky password hygiene shamed by Firefox 76
- Reference: 1588769108
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/06/firefox_76/
- Source link:
Mozilla recently [2]said it intends to maintain release cadence during the pandemic, but will attempt to avoid shipping stuff that might break websites on which users depend. As such, 76 has arrived just a month after version 75.
Firefox, which recently lost the distant (to Chrome) number two position to [3]Microsoft's Edge browser (provided one counts the legacy and Chromium Edge together), made much of the additional protection in 76 it claims to afford passwords via its password manager, Lockwise.
Describing its approach as "innovative" (something that might raise an eyebrow or two among existing password-managing outfits), the company was keen to plug functions such as showing critical alerts in [4]Lockwise when a website is breached.
It will also prompt to update passwords if you have an account on a breached website and have used the same password elsewhere, you [5]naughty, naughty people . Again, not quite what we would call "innovative" – existing password managers have been known to bleat in horror at users' shonky security hygiene – but nice to have nonetheless.
Complex, secure passwords can now be generated within the browser for new accounts and saved within Firefox. It sounds very similar to functionality already in the likes of Chrome, although some may prefer entrusting their valuables elsewhere rather than the Chocolate Factory.
Stopping people viewing your passwords, should you leave your computer unlocked, is also taken care of with a requirement to login into the host operating system account before a password list is exposed.
Away from the strengthening of password support in the browser, the existing Picture-in-Picture functionality now enjoys double-click support to toggle the floating video window from small to full-screen and back. Windows machines (Intel-based ones, with lower resolution screens) will also see a bump in graphics rendering performance thanks to WebRender.
Lastly, perhaps in a nod to the changed world we're now living in and the self-declared prioritising of conferencing issues, Moz now supports Audio Worklets. This means that Zoom calls can be joined on Firefox without having to faff around with additional downloads. ®
Sponsored: [6]Choosing A Low-Code Vendor
[1] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/76.0/releasenotes/
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/08/mozilla_firefox_75_mitchell_baker/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/06/edge_number_two/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/22/firefox_70/
[5] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/05/logmein_password_survey/
[6] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8579/choosing-a-low-code-vendor?td=wptl1936
Floating video window
"the existing Picture-in-Picture functionality now enjoys double-click support to toggle the floating video window from small to full-screen and back."
Anyone know how to disable floating video windows? Google wasn't my friend.
If I scroll past a video it means I'm don't want to watch it or have seen enough and want to read the rest of the page, not have the video following me and shoved in my face.
Re: Floating video window
I think that's the website's own feature. The Firefox's PiP is something you have to click on to activate.
...will attempt to avoid shipping stuff that might break websites on which users depend
Well thanks.
Mozilla FF... dead in the water AFAIC
Mozilla is a prime example how to lose users. I was an early adopter and more or less went directly from Netscape to Mozilla. But... after one too many updates which AGAIN broke something I was relying on I decided to switch to Pale Moon... that was umpteen years ago (at least it feels like umpteen years :-/)
I never looked back and I never will. (Yeah, never say never.)
(Not to talk about their needless UI changes, botched upgrades, installing extensions w/o asking the user, telemetry, etc etc.)
Firefox has sought to arrest its slide in the rankings
How about they stop trying to chase Chrome and give users the ability to easily turn off all the annoying crap they keep inflicting upon us?
For example, the "revamped" megabar bollocks - I've got FF set to use a separate search field so I DON'T want search and shonky suggestions added to the address bar when all I'm trying to do is enter an address myself!
I'm already using PaleMoon for more and more regular browsing - Mozilla are beginning to push me fully in that direction.
Sigh...
Re: Firefox has sought to arrest its slide in the rankings
"I've got FF set to use a separate search field so I DON'T want search and shonky suggestions added to the address bar when all I'm trying to do is enter an address myself!"
Does unticking Preferences | Search | Provide Search Suggestions help at all still? I'm on the current ESR one (68.xish). I still get the 'helpful' search suggestions in the separate search box though
Re: Firefox has sought to arrest its slide in the rankings
In the search preferences, you can't turn off the "helpful" stuff, but you can tell it to put a separate search bar up there. Then, go back to "customize" and remove it. My URL bar went back to not being the fat thing. Now, how do I get rid of the >> saying I have more bookmarks, when they are actually all shown.....
Re: Firefox has sought to arrest its slide in the rankings
I'll keep my comment there, but, well, it isn't consistent for me. The fat thing comes back if I'm on an empty page (e.g. just started up). The useless ">>" is always there. Gah.
Re: Firefox has sought to arrest its slide in the rankings
You've not put something in the overflow menu have you? That creates >> on the top line, just before the hamburger menu.
If you've got >> on the end of your bookmarks toolbar, then I'd suggest editing some of the icon titles to make them shorter, as you need a fair bit of clear space to prevent the >> from appearing.
(I'm on FF76 on Debian)
I like the pointless stock photo...
...though could we have the Eee girl instead?
As far as the things FF needs.... er.
Did they skip the first page or something?
(User of FF almost exclusively, since v3.0 or so--the transgressions were to Palemoon and other variants.)