There is a valid reason behind why Safari is growing in browser market-share, apart from the fact that iPhone carries it: it is arguably the fastest browser there is. The fourth beta version that surfaced earlier this week went a few notches ahead of Firefox (Minefield) 3.2a1 and Google Chrome in a review conducted by CNet, to take the top-sport for the fastest web-browser. Internet Explorer (IE) versions 7 and 8, Opera 9.6, Firefox 3, Chrome, Firefox(Minefield) 3.1 Alpha 1 and Safari 4 were put through JavaScript tests using the SunSpider suite. The PC was equipped with a Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.10 GHz. Safari 4 beta gave IE 7 a sound thrashing at the test, emerging 42 times faster. The performance difference between the two were so vast that the reviewers had to prepare a seperate graph without IE 7 so there could be more resolution in the charts showing the differences between the rest of the contendors. Then again, one must take into account the fact that Chrome and Firefox (Minefield) 3.2 weren't all that behind Safari 4 beta, only a few notches. The scores are denoted by render time in terms of milliseconds. Lesser the better. The scores stand at:

• Safari 4 (Total time: 910 ms)
• Mozilla Minefield 3.2a1 (1,136 ms)
• Google Chrome (1,177 ms)
• Firefox 3 (3,250 ms)
• Opera 9.6 (4,076 ms)
• Internet Explorer 8 (5,839 ms)
• Internet Explorer 7 (39,026 ms)

Mozilla added its regular incremental update to the Firefox web-browser. With this release, the group fixed many bugs found with its previous version 3.0.5, which don't necessarily translate into security flaws. As many as seven critical thru mild security vulnerabilities were fixed, that includes a crash with memory corruption issue, and extraction of data using SessionStore files. The list of security fixes addressed can be found here. The release also fixes several bugs as listed in the updated bug list. The release also improves the ability of scripted commands to work properly with plugins, one of the major bugs fixed. Fore more information, refer to the release notes page for version 3.0.6. Firefox can be downloaded from the server closest to you, from the Firefox homepage. Existing users would be updated automatically.

Firefox, Mozilla's most successful web browser based on the Gecko browser engine holds more than 20% of the web-browser market share, according to the latest figures by NetApplications placing it at 21.34%. Web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari have been on a roll in the past 24 months, at the expense of Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) which has been falling in market-share from the 90+ percent it once held.

Mozilla's CEO John Lilly calls this as a significant milestone for Mozilla, and gives credit to the global Mozilla community. NetApplications gets into the details of how Firefox gained a market share growth of 20%, by attributing it to the relatively high number of public holidays between November and December, when users accessed internet from home. This since the significant movers were noted to be home/domestic users rather than corporate users.

Mozilla Firefox has yet another sub-version, 3.0.5 released earlier today. The browser has been updated with several security patches, bug fixes and localization features. To begin with, Mozilla patched several moderate-thru-critical vulnerabilities. The list of security fixes can be found here. Mozilla also fixed several bugs (listed here). The company expanded localization for Firefox, with stable releases in Bengali, Esperanto, Galician, Hindi, and Latvian. For more information, please refer to the Release Notes. Firefox can be downloaded from the server closest to you, from the Firefox homepage. Existing users would be updated automatically.

Mozilla released an update to its latest web browser, Firefox 3. The browser has been updated to sub-version 3.0.4, with several security patches, bug fixes and localization features added to the mix. To begin with, Mozilla patched several moderate-thru-critical vulnerabilities which include excecution of malicious code remotely, and crashes leading to memory corruption. The list of security fixes can be found here.

Mozilla also squished several bugs as listed in the Bug List. The company expanded localization for Firefox, with stable releases in Icelandic and Thai, and beta releases in Bulgarian, Esperanto, Estonian, Latvian, Occitan, and Welsh languages, which are open for testing till they reach stable-grade in subsequent releases. For more information, please refer to the Release Notes. Firefox can be downloaded from the server closest to you, from the Firefox homepage. Existing users would be updated automatically.

Mozilla has released an update for their Firefox 3 web-browser. The update brings. Changes as condensed in the Release notes include:

• Fixed several security issues.
• Fixed several stability issues.
• Fixed an issue where the phishing and malware database did not update on first launch.
• Under certain circumstances, Firefox 3.0 did not properly save the SSL certificate exceptions list.
• Updated the internal Public Suffix list.
• In certain cases, installing Firefox 2 in the same directory in which Firefox 3 has been installed resulted in Firefox 2 being unstable. This issue was fixed as part of Firefox 2.0.0.15.
• Fixed an issue where, when printing a selected region of content from the middle of a page, some of the output was missing (bug 433373).
• Fixed a Linux issues where, for users on a PPP connection (dialup or DSL) Firefox always started in "Offline" mode (bug 424626).

A list of security issues fixed is issued here.

Current Firefox 3 users will be automatically updated.

Mozilla now holds the Guinness World Record for the most downloaded software within 24 hours. On the Mozilla Firefox 3 launch day, from 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008 the browser software was downloaded 8,002,530 times as recorded by Guinness - thus official declaring it a world record.

As expected, Mozilla's Firefox 3 web browser was made available for download today. After 34 months in development the final version of the popular web browser is finally available for everyone. Click here to download Firefox 3 Final for Windows, MacOS or Linux in over 40 different languages. Also don't forget that Mozilla is aiming to break the download per day Guinness World Record with their "Download Day" initiative.

Mozilla announced Firefox 3 Release Candidate 3 on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. The third Firefox 3 Release Candidate contains a single change for Mac OS X users only; there is no change for users running previous Firefox Release Candidate versions on Windows or Linux. You can find out more about the new Features of Firefox 3 in the "What's New" section of the release notes. For any one who wishes to download the web browser in any of the 45 different languages on hand, please click here.

Mozilla's second public release candidate of Firefox 3 is now up for download as promised. Coming in over 45 languages, it's waiting for you to dowload it here. You can find out what's new in Firefox 3 RC2 in the release notes.

Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1, a preview release of Mozilla's next generation Firefox browser, is out for download. Although this is a public preview of the new Firefox code, it is aimed at developers and early adopters. Download it in 45 languages from here. See What's New in Firefox 3 for more details.

Mozilla has updated its Firefox 2 web browser to version 2.0.0.14. The new version fixes one critical bug that may lead to a stability problem, where some users experience crashes during JavaScript garbage collection (MFSA 2008-20). To download Firefox 2.0.0.14 select "Check for Updates…" from the Help menu or manually apply the update by downloading it from here for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Mozilla announced Firefox 3 Beta 5 today, intended for developer testing and community feedback. Beta 5 includes new features as well as dramatic improvements to performance, memory usage and speed.

• Improvements to the user interface based on user feedback, including changes to the look and feel on Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X and Linux.
• Changes and fixes for new features such as the location bar autocomplete, bookmark backup and restore, full page zoom, and others, based on feedback from our community.
• Fixes and improvements to platform features to improve security, web compatabilty and stability.
• Continued performance improvements: changes to our JavaScript engine as well as profile guided optimization continues to improve performance over previous releases as measured by the popular SunSpider test from Apple, and in the speed of web applications like Google Mail and Zoho Office.

Download Firefox 3 Beta 5 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in 45 different languages. Also check the Release Notes.

Although Firefox 3 is still in research and development, Mozilla is already working on new features for the fourth version of its increasingly popular Web browser. Webware spoke with Mozilla vice president Chris Beard, who mentioned two specific new concepts for Firefox 4 that will evolve the online experience and add greater integration with content stored on computer hard drives. One of the new features is called "Prism," a next-gen software technology that would allow users to run Web-based content offline. For example, users would be able to visit websites and still access non-dynamic content even when they don't have an active Internet connection. The other big feature already unveiled for Firefox 4 is called "Weave." This is an option that would basically create a set of online preferences and settings that is stored for each user instead of each computer. In other words, users would be able to bring up their bookmarks, font settings and privacy preferences no matter which computer they use. This feature is set to be in its first stages in Firefox 3, but Firefox 4 will reportedly allow users to access these profiles on other browsers as well. Beard told Webware that these are just a hint of some of the "crazy ideas" the development team is working on for the next-next-gen browser.

Mozilla has released a new minor update for its popular Firefox browser, bringing the version number to 2.0.0.13. Six security issues have been fixed in this release, and if Firefox hasn't already prompted you to update it's recommended you click on "Check for Updates..." from the application's Help menu. Alternatively, you can download the update from this website.

Mozilla has released the 4th public beta version of Firefox 3. Here are a few of the updates packed into Firefox 3 beta 4:

• Full page zoom - Up until now, Firefox would let you make text larger or smaller, but there was no way to increase or decrease the size of all the content on a web site (something you've been able to do with Opera for years). Now you can choose whether the zoom feature works for text or full pages.
• New download manager - The new download manager shows active time remaining, and the status of downloads. You can also search your downloads and see the site where your downloaded files are from.
• Improved OS integration - Firefox 3 beta 4 includes specific icons and themes for Windows Vista, OS X, and Linux (using the native GTK theme).
• Improved memory usage

Firefox 3 beta 4 also includes a ton of other tweaks and bug fixes described in the release notes.

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Mozilla Corporation today announced Thunderbird 2.0.0.12 for Windows, Mac, and Linux as a free download from here. Due to the security fixes, this update is strongly recommend to all Thunderbird users. If you already have Thunderbird 2.0.0.x, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting "Check for Updates…" from the Help menu. For a list of changes and more information, please review the Thunderbird 2.0.0.12 Release Notes.

Mozilla's Firefox internet browser has gained another stage, reaching Beta 3 phase. This is the eleventh developer milestone focused on testing the core functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 3. Please note that this donwload is not recommend to anyone other than developers and testers. Although Firefox 3 Beta 3 is now widely available in more than 30 languages, it is intended for testing purposes only. Proceed here to download the desired Firefox 3 Beta 3.

Just a few hours after Mozilla promised the public they were safe from hackers while using Firefox 2.0.0.12, a hacker went and found a way around the patch. The hacker, named Ronald van den Heetkamp, has this to say to the Firefox developer team.

Don't patch vulnerabilities for fifty percent, take the time and fix the cause. Because directory traversal through plugins is all nice and such, we don't need it. We can trick Firefox itself in traversing directories back. I found another information leak that is very serious because we are able to read out all preferences set in Firefox, or just open or include about every file stored in the Mozilla program files directory, and this without any mandatory settings or plugins.

Ronald van den Heetkamp recommends installing the NoScript add-on, or simply using an alternative browser, until Mozilla fixes this bug.

As part of Mozilla's ongoing stability and security update process, Firefox 2.0.0.12 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux for free download here. This update is strongly recommended for all Firefox users. For a list of changes and more information, please review the Firefox 2.0.0.12 Release Notes.

It would appear that running any of 600 add-ons in Mozilla Firefox opens up a terrible hole. When exploited, this hole allows a hacker to steal "session information, including session cookies and session history". Mozilla promises a fix by February 5th, with the release of Firefox version 2.0.0.12. While Mozilla classifies this threat as a "high risk", there is some controversy in the hacker world as to how bad this threat really is. According to a hacker, via "hiredhacker.com", this isn't as big a problem as people have made it out to be. However, it is certainly more serious than "leaking a few variables", and should definitely be patched as soon as possible.

Mozilla Corporation today appointed its current chief operating officer John Lilly as CEO, effective immediately. Concurrent with the appointment of Lilly, Mozilla also announced that Mitchell Baker, Mozilla's current CEO, would continue as Chairman and a full-time executive of the corporation. "John Lilly is the right person to guide the maturation of Mozilla," said Mitchell Baker, Chairman of Mozilla Corporation. "John has been instrumental in developing an organization that is both embedded in Mozilla and open-source DNA and that can function at the extremely high degree of effectiveness that our setting requires." As CEO, John will focus on the product, technology and execution of the Mozilla Corporation. Mitchell will focus on bringing Mozilla goals and mindshare to affect change in related aspects of Internet development, such as standards and interoperability, treatment of data, and use of market mechanisms to support public benefit organizations.

Mozilla, developer of the popular Firefox web browser, have launched a new related service, Weave. Currently available only as a test version associated with the latest Firefox 3 beta, it should allow users to carry history and bookmarks from one computer to another, as well as share the information with select friends and family; users need only to create a Weave account and download the add-on. To prevent the natural threat of privacy invasion, Weave accounts are password-protected, and encrypted. Weave will run on Windows and Linux systems as well as Macs.

Mozilla Corp. released the second beta of Firefox 3 late yesterday, several days earlier than it had planned. Last week, Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's interface designer, pegged Firefox 3 Beta 2's tentative release at midafternoon on Friday, Dec. 21. Last night, however, after announcing that the beta was finished and ready to download, Damon Sicore, Mozilla's director of platform engineering, said, "We shipped three days ahead of schedule, only 31 days after Beta 1!" In a post to the mozilla.dev.planning forum today, Beltzner touted several improvements in Beta 2 over November's predecessor, including better protection against cross-site JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data leaks, and a new "effective top-level domain" (eTLD) service that puts tighter control on site-specific content such as cookies to stymie privacy hacks and session hijacking.

After releasing the 2.0.0.10 update for its Firefox browser on Tuesday this week, Mozilla has quickly issued another update to take Firefox to version 2.0.0.11. The latest update fixes a stability problem that was found in the 2.0.0.10 release, and it is recommended that all Firefox users update to this patch to prevent any potential problems. The release notes are available here, and the patch can be downloaded either using the Help menu in Firefox or by visiting Mozilla's download page.