Firefox 91 introduces cookie clearing, clutter-free printing, Microsoft single sign-on... so where are all the users?
- Reference: 1628688802
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/08/11/firefox_91/
- Source link:
Microsoft single sign-on means that on Windows, if a PC is either joined to Azure AD (the directory used by Office 365), linked to a Microsoft account (as are almost all consumer PCs), or linked to an Azure AD account, Firefox will pick up that account and sign into sites like Office 365, OneDrive and Outlook.com automatically.
The feature is not on by default, but can be enabled in Firefox settings, reducing friction when signing in and avoiding the need to save the credentials in Firefox itself. Microsoft Edge also has this integration, but Google Chrome does not.
[1]
Single sign-on for Microsoft cloud users on Windows
[2]Enhanced cookie clearing removes cross-site content when users clear cookies for a website. It is a confusing topic, because of third-party content embedded into websites. Previously, said Mozilla's privacy team, "if you were to clear storage for comfypants.com, Firefox deleted the storage of comfypants.com and left the storage of any sites embedded on it (facebook.com) behind."
This has now changed so that cookies and other website data is partitioned into "one cookie jar per website," rather than per domain, so that all data relating to that website is removed if the user clears the cookies. This feature would only apply if strict tracking protection is enabled, and only comes into play when users dig into the Manage Data option in privacy settings – so it is fair to say that most users will not notice any change. A more practical option for the privacy-conscious, perhaps, is to set Firefox to delete all cookies and site data when the browser closes, and to add exceptions for sites that are trusted.
[3]
Next, Mozilla has added automatic switching to HTTPS in private windows. Did not Firefox already do this? Not quite. From Firefox 83, users could set the browser to [4]HTTPS-only mode which blocks access to sites which do not encrypt traffic with SSL (secure sockets layer). It is possible to add exceptions, but exceptions cannot be added for in-private windows. That is still the case, but now Firefox will attempt to connect over HTTPS if users browse to an HTTP site in private, as explained [5]here .
[6]
[7]
Once again, the topic can be confusing, especially since many sites will themselves bounce a connection from HTTP to HTTPS automatically. Mozilla also said that "we expect that HTTPS by Default will expand beyond Private Windows in the coming months" so treat this as one more small step towards an SSL-only web.
There are other changes in Firefox 91. The Visual Viewport API, which allows scripts to detect the size, scale, and offset of the elements on screen that are actually visible, is now enabled by default. The simplified format for printing feature, removed in Firefox 81 in September 2020, has made a comeback. This feature removes buttons, ads, and background images, designed to improve readability and reducing use of [8]expensive ink . That said, we noticed that the option does not always appear, perhaps depending on whether the algorithm thinks it can simplify the page successfully. The Register , apparently, is beyond simplification.
[9]
Simplified printing saves ink, but only appears for some pages
Firefox 91 is an Extended Support Release (ESR) so enterprise users can expect to receive this version in due course.
[10]In a complete non-surprise, Mozilla hammers final nail in FTP's coffin by removing it from Firefox
[11]Firefox 89: Can this redesign stem browser's decline?
[12]Firefox to adopt Chrome's new approach to extensions – sans the part that threatens ad blockers
[13]Wormhole encrypted file transfer app reboots Firefox Send after Mozilla fled
Firefox is an important web browser as it is one of few implementations of the specifications that define how the web works. The Chromium web engine primarily sponsored by Google and used in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and many others is dominant, with Apple's Safari (based on WebKit, from which Chromium was forked) the other.
There are concerns over Google to some extent dictating web standards, as [14]evidenced by the company's Michael Kleber, tech lead for Privacy Sandbox, saying: "The W3C doesn't get to be the boss of anyone, the decisions are going to be made at each of the browsers." The latest Firefox scored 513 out of 555 in an [15]HTML 5.0 test site , compared to 528 for Edge and Chrome (scores that were obtained today on Windows 10, with the latest release version of each).
[16]
Firefox Monthly Active Users continues to decline
Mozilla may be concerned that despite a [17]redesign its market share continues to falter. Mozilla's [18]own figures show 196 million monthly active users at the beginning of August. While that seems a lot, it is down from 209 million one year ago, and 222 million in 2019.
[19]Statcounter figures for July suggest a global market share of 3.45 per cent for Firefox, just ahead of Edge at 3.41 per cent. Chrome was at 65.13 per cent and Safari at 18.64 per cent. ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/08/11/sso.png
[2] https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/08/10/firefox-91-introduces-enhanced-cookie-clearing/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YRP0MzmrCAp64oWaTBZomAAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/https-only-prefs?as=u&utm_source=inproduct
[5] https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/08/10/firefox-91-introduces-https-by-default-in-private-browsing/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YRP0MzmrCAp64oWaTBZomAAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YRP0MzmrCAp64oWaTBZomAAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/26/which_printer_ink_costs_survey/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/08/11/printing.png
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/21/firefox_ends_ftp_support/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/01/firefox_89_redesign/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/28/mozilla_chrome_mozilla/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/09/wormhole_file_transfer/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/26/google_privacy_sandbox_roadmap/
[15] https://html5test.com/
[16] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/08/11/usage.jpg
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/01/firefox_89_redesign/
[18] https://data.firefox.com/dashboard/user-activity
[19] https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share#monthly-201901-201912
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
People get Chrome mainly to navigate their Gmails since there is no native app and other Google apps.
Perhaps Firefox could use that to their advantage and do messaging that actual web browsing is an afterthought in Chrome and position Firefox as a browser for the web and leave Chrome to be just a Google apps client.
"People get Chrome mainly to navigate their Gmails since there is no native app"
Gmail is still just mail isn't it? Any of the regular native mail clients will handle it including Thunderbird and its Seamonkey relative.
People get Chrome mainly to...
Also some programs like Avast install Chrome as part of their installation or update. Avast does have a tiny opt out check box but you need to know to look for it.
Chome's market share has come about because of Google's incessant marketing for more than a decade. Pushed on desktop with installers. Pushed on the search website. Pushed on YouTube by using Chrome's own standards that don't work with other non-Blink browsers. Pushed by sync. Default on Android which badgers you if you don't get a Google account. Default on school Chromebooks. And so on and so fourth. The miracle is Firefox's market share has held up so well.
The advice is simple
Never, ever [1] use Google's spyware browser Chrome.
[1] Ever, ever, ever.
Cookie clearing
"A more practical option for the privacy-conscious, perhaps, is to set Firefox to delete all cookies and site data when the browser closes, and to add exceptions for sites that are trusted."
Yes, exactly. I have been recommending this for years, on El Reg as well, but people do not seem to want to be bothered [to take a significant level of personal privacy into their own hands].
Ah, well. A touch of inconvenience for greater privacy seems a step too far for a good number of people.
Re: Cookie clearing
"Ah, well. A touch of inconvenience for greater privacy seems a step too far for a good number of people."
And thank the stars for that! I don't want to have to learn whole new methods of blocking my government and corporate overlords from tracking me on the internet. If most people block the methods of tracking, and there's no legislation to stop corpos and govs from tracking, they're going to invent new tracking methods. It's another arms race to have to contend with on the front I'm not paid to manage: my home devices.
The moment the plebs start figuring out tracking and doing something about it, the quicker I have to start worrying about the newest methods of hunting down my info. I just learned about having to sanitize hyperlinks (thanks el Reg), and that was astounding to me. I can't imagine what new and insidious bullshit Google and Comcast would begin planning if people learned half of what they should.
And we all know that we'll never get adequate legislation to protect something valuable once it's begun being exploited for profit, so that's out the window.
Bold move
I think Firefox should do a bold move and include Ad Blocker enabled by default.
Millions of people will suddenly start to feel their computers work better and they'll stop being distracted by manipulative ads trying to sell them things they don't want or need.
Re: Bold move
Vivaldi already does this, to an extent - it asks the user on first run whether they wish to "Block Trackers and Ads". It's not quite the same as an on-by-default, but it's pretty close.
Strange. I would have thought their "simplified printing" feature formatted the page in a similar way to their Reader View - keeping the body and removing all the cruft. Yet, The Register DOES work with their Reader View, so presumably they're being detected by a different method.
"browser is still struggling for market share"
One possible reason might be the rapidity of releases. Not many users (other than pure tech enthusiasts) want their applications to change every few weeks. I guess most of us would probably prefer stable tools that don't force us onto a permanent learning curve.
Chrome is a big problem
People install it because it comes from Google so can't be bad. Well, that's what my member of my family said until I showed them the spying that it does 24/7
Then when I ger visitors, they say that their Internet has speeded up. That's because I have blocked all of the google domains that I can and still have a working browser. That's several hundred domains by the way.
The pro google trolls here can downvote this post all you like but it won't make me use google or anything of theirs.
Re: Chrome is a big problem
Are you going to share that list?
This is mine
127.0.0.1 google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 googletagmanager.com
127.0.0.1 securepubads.g.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 www.googletagmanager.com
127.0.0.1 fonts.googleapis.com
I really am not surprised that they re losing market share. Their new version is truly dreadful. It no longer crashes on me at least twice a day as it did when it come out, but ever day I encounter at least one website with which it simply does not work at all. Chrome invariable does the trick. This is under Xubuntu, by the way.
Same here with MacOs, unfortunately. I like FF and use it most of the time, mainly cos it has a couple of add-ons that I find really useful. The downside is that a couple of times a week I have to drop out into Safari to get a website to display. Running FF in troubleshoot mode and turning off tracking blocking doesn't work. I've spent a while trying to find out what's going on, but no luck so far. It's annoying.
We do a lot of CSS testing - and I mean an awful lot. And while I can't speak for the rest of the browser, after several years our general policy when the browsers disagree is "Firefox layout is probably correct". Although these days it's mostly edge cases, Firefox definitely has the superior layout engine.
If your getting daily crashes I suspect you are using some bugging add on or have some other issue. As I use FF on Linux Mint as my main browser and can count on one hand the times its crashed on me in 12 months.
Have you tried making a new FF profile or running it in safe mode with no add ons and seeing it that resolves the crashes problem?
"ever day I encounter at least one website with which it simply does not work at all"
I find that frequently with different browsers but that's because they won't display at all without a shedload of javascript servers being allowed.
I can't recall Firefox ever crashing on me to be honest.
Like the article hinted on, if websites are created with Chromium in mind, it's hardly Firefox's fault if W3C standards weren't properly implemented and it doesn't work properly on FF.
The expenses website our company uses strangely only works properly in FF and is buggy in anything else.
If only ...
... the lovely Firefox developers, who are undoubtedly dedicated to their cause, could focus a little less on UI/UX trendiness and instead concentrate on privacy/security, they might be able to make this world a one heck of a better place.
If only ...
... the lovely Firefox developers, who are undoubtedly dedicated to their cause, could focus a little less on UI/UX trendiness and instead concentrate on privacy/security, they might be able to make this world a one heck of a better place.
Re: If only ...
Consider that Mozilla get most of their funding from Google...
To Firefox Developers:
Please just leave the UI alone now, you've done enough with each change you make you turn off your users much like what the Gnome developers are constantly doing, there's joy in things remaining where you left them
Instead please focus on: bugs, privacy, security, your exemplary implementations of the web specs and performance. PS (chuck in an adblock there's a goodun). Oh and in the development tools allow me to select the layout based on the responsive design mode :)
Regards
A very long time user
(does anyone think if enough of us make these points they'll listen?)
"does anyone think if enough of us make these points they'll listen?"
No. UX designers have much in common with marketroids. None of them listen.
Cool. What I wanted. A way to clear cookies that an add on prolly already does, and something that isn't the OS print dialog so I get to waste more time trying to print.
New UI looks like shit
I really hate it, I detest proton.
It may be the final push to abandon FF after many years.
Re: New UI looks like shit
And the fckers made it so that if you dare disable proton you'll get no checkmarks in the options. Bastads!
"linked to a Microsoft account (as are almost all consumer PCs)"
That stopped me in my tracks. Quite true no doubt. It's as if the monopoly investigation never happened and a clear indication that it's well past time there was another.
Nice fonts
My employer, an MS shop, forced the MS SSO stuff on us a few months ago. I tried Chrome, Edge and Vivaldi and all suck at font rendering. ClearType settings are ignored. Many pages (but strangely not all) use greyscale anti-aliasing with many lines being two pixels of grey and others being one pixel of black. Slack being a big offender. El Reg looks good though. Maybe if I had a 4K screen I wouldn't care but at 2K it's a mess. Thought it was just me until I saw a screenshot from a colleague and their fonts were awful too. Edge has an experimental option to improve things a bit, so MS sees room for improvement.
I may have to put up with the stupid buttons-for-tabs UI Firefox has cooked up, but at least my eyes can have a rest as I'm back on Firefox.
I've said this before, but if Market Share is an important metric, then they must target corporate demands. Every business PC in the land gets Chrome on it, and most businesses don't want to have to have their IT department package and/or support multiple browsers.
Still take firefox myself any day of the week, particularly with a few choice adblock plugins.