Firefox 149.0, 140.9 ESR and 115.34 ESR available

The monthly update for Firefox versions is due. In early, Mozilla already announced that Firefox 115 for Windows 7/8 and macOS 10.12–10.14 will continue to receive security updates until August. Firefox 149, on the other hand, is getting a number of new features.

The update itself will be rolled out on Tuesday, March 24, as usual in the afternoon via the browser's update function. But here's a preview of the changes and new features integrated into Firefox 149:

Firefox now features a split-screen view, just like the Chromium-based browsers. (Preview image) This allows you to display two websites side by side.

Another new feature is that Firefox offers a free, built-in VPN. You get 50 GB of data protection every month, with the option to enable or disable the VPN for specific websites. More information about the built-in VPN here.

Changes in Firefox 149:

• New: Many PDF files now load significantly faster thanks to hardware acceleration.

• New: Firefox now automatically blocks notifications and permanently revokes permissions for websites flagged as malicious by SafeBrowsing. This prevents unsafe websites from sending background notifications to users, which are often used for advertising, spam, or phishing.

• New: You can now add a "Share" button to your toolbar via "Customize Toolbar," allowing you to easily share the current tab using your Windows or macOS system's sharing options.

• New: Auto-complete is now available for users in Australia, India, Italy, Poland, and Austria.

• New: Discover even more online with the new on-device translation feature for Bosnian, Norwegian, Serbian, and Thai, as well as improved accuracy for Croatian.

• The TrustPanel combines the privacy and security panels accessible via the address bar, providing users with a central location to review the privacy and security settings of the current page.

• Security has been enhanced through stricter requirements for JavaScript files that can be loaded in the parent process, offering an additional layer of protection against potential threats.

• On Linux, Firefox now defaults to the XDG file selector, if available, instead of the GTK3 file selector, which is generally better integrated into the user's desktop environment and more efficient.

• Firefox error pages now feature a fresh, new look with updated graphics that better match the overall Firefox design. The redesigned pages provide a more consistent experience while also clearly indicating what went wrong.

• On Windows, Firefox now uses the modern Windows.Devices.Geolocation API for location tracking instead of the Windows 7 Location API.

• Improved stability of HTTP/3 upload performance under unstable network conditions.

• Several fixes for developers and also HTML5.

• Security fixes.

Read more in the release notes here.