• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Firefox fights Back

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Anyone look at Firefox Focus? It's a stripped-down browser, purportedly private, yet data mines your web activity itself.

I've been looking for a non-Chrome option for my tablet. Been using FF on my desktops.
 
I've heard of Firefox Focus, but haven't used it yet. So you're saying it does more data mining more than browsers normally use?!?

I have been using the mobile Firefox on android and it is pretty good.
 
Chiefcrowe said:
I've heard of Firefox Focus, but haven't used it yet. So you're saying it does more data mining more than browsers normally use?!?

I have been using the mobile Firefox on android and it is pretty good.
Click to expand...
Don't really know details. Just stumbled on the browser myself. Haven't installed it.
Regardless, a browser touting ultimate privacy, shouldn't be a privacy invader itself. It maketh no sense.
 
Chiefcrowe said:
What exactly does it do to undermine privacy?
Click to expand...
It sends anonymous usage statistics to mozilla by default. Not a huge deal, but some people, me included don't want anything sent anywhere without explicitly opting *in*. Focus also depends on Play services which I have disabled, and custom roms sometimes don't have. Klar doesn't have those restrictions.
 
I am actually interested how these versions of Firefox will do in the future. I am still skeptical about using any 3rd part "ACTUALLY PRIVATE" browsers. As I am not sure about how much they actually keep private, and how much data is being filtered elsewhere.
 
I deserve a medal or something apparently - I've been using Firefox since Phoenix and have never left it.
 
I guess I will be one of the few people who stuck to Chrome extensively and only occasionally touch Firefox for development purposes.
 
lxskllr said:
I do too, but holy shit is it ever slow and crashy. It's /almost/ too much to deal with, but the features(via addons), and philosophy keep me using it. I'm pretty happy with the desktop, but I'd love to see the android client improve.
Click to expand...

I too noticed that since the update to firefox 55 in 32bit, it is slow at times, stutters and seems to freeze for seconds at a time. But that may be because i still have addons that are not written in the new standard for add ons. For now i wait, firefox used to be fine.

I will wait until the addons like adblocker plus, ghostery and noscript are adapted to the new firefox addon standard. Also, if i may believe the hype, firefox 57(64 bit) is going to be very good. Now we need to wait for the add ons to catch up.
 
I have no performance issues (once I moved from 32 bit to 64) with tons of add-ons, add-ons I will not give up using.

I use firefox primarily on desktop and will continue to do so, but am (already have) ceasing updates at ver 54.0.1
... already rolled back a couple systems I'd left on auto-update before I realized this BS stunt they are pulling. The add-ons are WHY I use it. Get rid of those and meh, it's just another browser.
 
The new add on framework is called webextensions.
And it is a modern version as well to create more seucre add ons. I assume this is done to prevent add ons that could function for example as key loggers and other malicious code that could grab screenshots.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-add-technology-modernizing


What's happening?
In the past, add-ons often stopped working each time a new version of Firefox was released, because developers had to update them every six weeks to keep them compatible. Since add-ons could also modify Firefox internal code directly, it was possible for bad actors to include malicious code in an innocent-looking add-on.

To address these issues, and as part of broader efforts to modernize Firefox as a whole, we’ve been transitioning to a new framework for developing Firefox extensions. Outside of rare instances, add-ons created with the new standard, called WebExtensions, won’t break in new Firefox releases. You can still personalize Firefox with add-ons the same way you do now, except they won’t break in new Firefox releases.
Click to expand...


Note: Starting in Firefox 57, which will be released in November 2017, only add-ons built with this new technology will work in Firefox. These are indicated by the "Compatible with Firefox 57+" label on addons.mozilla.org (AMO). Add-ons built with the old technology are labeled "Legacy" in the Add-ons Manager (about:addons) tab.
If an add-on does not have the "Compatible with 57+" label or has the "Legacy" label, the developer may be in the process of transitioning to the new technology.

We are aware that certain add-ons will not be transitioning to the new standard; we will continue to assist developers to the fullest possible extent. As we get closer to November, we will suggest suitable replacements of add-ons not making the transition.

If you are a user of Firefox Nightly, please note that Firefox 57 reached the Nightly channel on August 2, 2017. Legacy add-ons will be disabled, but will be enabled again if the developer releases a compatible update.

In the meantime, you can check if an add-on is planned for migration (popular add-ons only), look for alternatives or reach out to the developer to inquire if they will migrate their add-on. You may find developer contact information on the right side of the add-on listing on AMO.
Click to expand...
 
As far as I can tell WebExtensions is a great API and limits features that add-on developers shouldn't have. Unfortunately, it also limits some functionality here and there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top