Mozilla launched the third beta of its Firefox 3 browser Tuesday night with enhanced security features.
Firefox 3 Beta 3 contains more than 1,300 changes from the second beta to improve performance. Meanwhile, Mozilla improved some of the security features in Firefox 3 Beta 3. Among the notable items detailed in Mozilla’s release notes:
- Improved one-click site information: Mozilla says you can click on a site’s favicon in the location bar to wee who owns the site and whether the connection is secure. Identity verification is also easer to use.
- Malware protection: Firefox 3 Beta 3 includes malware protection that warns users when they get to sites that are known to deliver malicious payloads.
- Add-on updates. Firefox will disable add-ons that update in an “insecure manor.” This feature could cut down on some of the flat file vulnerability issues of late.
- Vista parental controls: Firefox 3 now is compatible with Vista’s control settings to disable file downloads.
- Anti-virus integration: Firefox 3 will inform antivirus software when downloading executables.
And there are other features, but the big picture is this: Mozilla recognizes that browsers are often the weak security link. As a result Mozilla is building in more features to plug-and-play with existing security software. It may not be a stretch to predict that many security features in existing suites will be built into future browsers.
