UbuntuHandbook

FireFox 68 Releazed with Improved Dark Mode (How to Upgrade)

Last updated: July 12, 2019

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 68.0 was released a few days ago with dark mode improvements, new features, and security fixes. Here’s how to install it in all current Ubuntu releases.

Firefox 68.0 release highlights:

Window controls, sidebars and toolbars will be dark with dark mode in reader view.
New reporting feature to report security and performance issues with extensions and themes.
Redesigned extensions dashboard for easy accessing to information about your extensions
Redesigned extensions now displays user count and ratings for each extension.
Add cryptomining and fingerprinting protections to strict content blocking settings
Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) update download support.
Camera and microphone access now require an HTTPS connection.
And various security fixes. See release note for details.

Upgrade to Firefox 68 in Ubuntu:

Firefox 68 has been ~~will be~~ made into Ubuntu universe repositories for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher ~~in a few days~~. Check HERE, and do following to upgrade it once available.

For all current Ubuntu releases, simply open Software Updater and install the updates after checking for updates.

If you don’t see the Firefox updates, go to Software & Updates and make sure the security and updates repositories are enabled in Updates tab.

In Howtos, News Firefox

Firefox 67.0 Released, Upgrading to Dav1d AV1 Decoder

Last updated: May 21, 2019

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 67.0 was released today with performance improvements and some new features.

Firefox 67.0 release highlights according to the release note:

Page load and start up improvements.
Suspend unused tabs when memory is running low (400M).
Toolbar and toolbar overflow menu are both fully keyboard accessible.
Ability to run different Firefox installs side by side by default
Usability and security improvements for private browsing.
Firefox will protect you against running older versions of the browser.
Upgrading to AV1 decoder known as ‘dav1d’
Enable FIDO U2F API, and permit registrations for Google Accounts

Upgrade to Firefox 67 in Ubuntu:

Firefox 67 will be made into Ubuntu universe repositories in 2 or 3 days. Check HERE, and do following to upgrade it once available.

For all current Ubuntu releases, simply open Software Updater and install the updates after checking for updates.

If you don’t see the Firefox updates, go to Software & Updates and make sure the security and updates repositories are enabled in Updates tab.

In News Firefox

Mozilla Firefox 66.0 Released with Sound Auto-Play Blocked

Last updated: March 21, 2019

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox 66.0 was released two days ago. Now it’s available in main repositories of Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10.

Firefox 66.0 release highlights:

Block sound auto-play. You can add exceptions, or turn the feature off.
Easier search via a redesigned new tab in Private Windows
Basic support for macOS Touch Bar
Title bar is hidden by default in Linux (Unfortunately I still see it in Ubuntu build).
Search from the tab overflow menu
Scroll anchoring keeps content from jumping as images and ads load at the top of the page
Redesigned certificate error pages
Improved extensions to load web page faster
Enabled AV1 support on 32-bit Windows and MacOS.

Upgrade to Firefox 66 in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases, simply open Software Updater and install the updates after checking for updates.

If you don’t see the Firefox updates, go to Software & Updates and make sure the security and updates repositories are enabled in Updates tab.

In News Firefox

Firefox 64.0 Released with Enhanced Tab Management

Last updated: December 11, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox announced new stable 64.0 release a few hours ago with new features and performance improvements.

Mozilla Firefox 64.0 features:

Better recommendations: You may see suggestions in regular browsing mode for new and relevant Firefox features, services, and extensions based on how you use the web (for US users only)
Ability to select multiple tabs from the tab bar and close, move, bookmark, or pin them quickly and easily
New Task Manager page (about:performance) lets you see how much energy each open tab consumes and provides access to close tabs to conserve power
Enable link time optimization (Clang LTO) for Mac and Linux.
Add Share web pages option for Windows in the Page Actions menu
Added option to remove add-ons using the context menu on their toolbar buttons
Various security fixes and many other changes.

Install the Latest Firefox in Ubuntu:

The Firefox 64.0 packages for Ubuntu Linux will be available in 2 or 3 days.

At the time, Firefox snap package (available in Ubuntu Software) will automatic update to the 64.0 release.

To upgrade from the default Firefox packge, launch Software Updater and Firefox 64 package will be there once published.

In News Firefox

Firefox 63 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: October 24, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 63.0 was released one day ago. All current Ubuntu releases can install it through security & updates repositories.

Firefox 63.0 release highlights:

Performance and visual improvements for Windows users.
Faster tab switching, reactivity improvements for macOS users.
Opt to block third-party tracking cookies or block all trackers and create exceptions for trusted sites
WebExtensions now run in their own process on Linux
Added search shortcuts for Top Sites: Amazon and Google appear as Top Sites tiles on the Firefox Home (New Tab) page.
The Ctrl+Tab shortcut now displays thumbnail previews of your tabs

Upgrade to Firefox 63 in Ubuntu:

The Ubuntu Mozilla Team has published the new Firefox packages for Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04, and their derivatives.

Simply open Software Updater (Update Manager), and install the updates after checking for updates:

If you don’t see the Firefox updates, go to Software & Updates -> Update and make sure security & updates repositories are enabled.

In Howtos, News Firefox

Mozilla Firefox 62.0 Released with New Features and Improvements

Last updated: September 6, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 62.0 was released a day ago with new features, performance improvements, and various security fixes.

Firefox 62.0 release highlights:

Firefox Home (the default New Tab) allows to display up to 4 rows of top sites, Pocket stories, and highlights
“Reopen in Container” tab menu option appears for users with Containers that lets them choose to reopen a tab in a different container
A preference allows users to distrust certificates issued by Symantec. (go to about:config in the address bar and set the preference “security.pki.distrust_ca_policy” to 2.)
Added FreeBSD support for WebAuthn
Improved graphics rendering for Windows users without accelerated hardware
Support for CSS Shapes, allowing for richer web page layouts. This goes hand in hand with a brand new Shape Path Editor in the CSS inspector.
CSS Variable Fonts (OpenType Font Variations) support, which makes it possible to create beautiful typography with a single font file
AutoConfig is sandboxed to the documented API by default. You can disable the sandbox by setting the preference general.config.sandbox_enabled to false.
Added Canadian English (en-CA) locale, and various bug-fixes.

Download / Install Firefox in Ubuntu:

As usual, Ubuntu Mozilla Team will publish the new Firefox release packages through Ubuntu security & updates repositories.

So just wait and Firefix 62 will be available for upgrade via Software Updater in 2 or 3 days.

upgrade firefox

In Howtos, News Firefox

Firefox 61.0 Released with Further Performance Improvements

Last updated: June 26, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 61.0 was released a few hours ago with further more performance improvements, new features, and safer online experience.

Firefox 61.0 release highlights:

Faster page rendering with Quantum CSS improvements and the new retained display list feature
Faster switching between tabs on Windows and Linux
WebExtensions now run in their own process on MacOS
Ability to add search engines to the address bar “Search with” tool from the page action menu.
On-by-default support for the latest draft of the TLS 1.3 specification
Access to FTP subresources inside http(s) pages has been blocked
Improvements for dark theme support across the entire Firefox user interface
Added support to allow WebExtensions to hide tabs
Improved bookmark syncing

Download / Install Firefox 61

Ubuntu Mozilla team will package the new Firefox release, and publish it in updates / security repositories.

The new release packages will be usually available in a few days, at that time you can install it via Software Updater.

In News Firefox

[Quick Tip] Hide the FireFox Title bar in Ubuntu 18.04/16.04

Last updated: May 11, 2018

Firefox 55

To make Firefox web browser looks better in Ubuntu Gnome desktop, you can now hide the title bar at the top of the browser to get Gnome-style application header bar.

1. The new feature was introduced in Firefox 60 that was released 2 days ago. So first upgrade your Firefox web browser using Software Updater utility.

2. Then launch Firefox and go to Menu -> Customize…

3. Next you’ll see the “Title Bar” checkbox in the left bottom of customize tab.

Un-check it to hide the title bar and done.

In Howtos Firefox

FireFox 60 Released with YubiKey Support

Last updated: May 9, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 60 was released a few hours ago with new enterprise features, Web Authentication / YubiKey support, and new tab enhancements.

“Firefox 60 offers something for everyone and a little something extra for everyone who deploys Firefox in an enterprise environment. This release includes changes that give you more content and more ways to customize your New Tab/Firefox Home. It also introduces support for the Web Authentication API, which means you can log in to websites in Firefox with USB tokens like YubiKey.”

Firefox 60 release highlights:

Added a policy engine that allows customized Firefox deployments in enterprise environments.
Enhancements to New Tab / Firefox Home.
Redesigned Cookies and Site Storage section in Preferences
Added support for Web Authentication API.
Applied Quantum CSS to render browser UI
Added an option for Linux users to show or hide page titles in a bar at the top of the browser.
Improved WebRTC audio performance and playback for Linux users
Enhanced camera privacy indicators.
And various security fixes.

Install / Upgrade in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu offers the latest Firefox packages though the updates and security repositories.

Once Firefox 60 packages (check the build page) are published in the repositories, you can install or upgrade it via Software Updater:

upgrade firefox

In Howtos, News Firefox

Firefox 59 Released with Faster Page Load Time

Last updated: March 14, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox reached the new stable 59.0 release last night. The new release focus on improvements to page loading time, firefox screenshots, and more.

Changes in Firefox 59.0 include:

Faster load times for content on the Firefox Home page
Faster page load times by loading either from the networked cache or the cache on the user’s hard drive (Race Cache With Network)
Improved graphics rendering using Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP) for Mac users (OMTP for Windows was released in Firefox 58)
Drag-and-drop to rearrange Top Sites on the Firefox Home page, and customize new windows and tabs in other ways
Added tools to annotate and crop your Firefox Screenshots
Enhanced WebExtensions API including better support for decentralized protocols and the ability to dynamically register content scripts
Improved Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities.
Implemented RTP Transceiver to give pages more fine grained control over calls
Implemented features to support large scale conferences
Added support for W3C specs for pointer events and improved platform integration with added device support for mouse, pen, and touch screen pointer input
Added the Ecosia search engine as an option for German Firefox
Added the Qwant search engine as an option for French Firefox
Added settings in about:preferences to stop websites from asking to send notifications or access your device’s camera, microphone, and location, while still allowing trusted websites to use these features
And various security fixes.

Upgrade to Firefox 59 in Ubuntu:

The distribution builds will be available in a few days, check the link before doing following steps.

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 17.10, simply launch Software Updater (Update Manager) and you’ll see Firefox in the update list after checking for updates.

upgrade firefox