The latest version of Mozilla's web browser is looking to unseat Microsoft Edge as the default browser in Windows 10. Released on Tuesday, Firefox 40 is the latest version of Mozilla's browser and the first designed with Windows 10
in mind yet with its own look and feel.
Firefox's
move to assert itself as the default browser that stands out the most
in an attempt to challenge Microsoft. In July, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard lashed out at Microsoft
for not only making its new Edge browser the default in Windows 10 but
also for making it difficult to switch the default to a different
browser. In an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Beard called
the software giant's action an "aggressive move to override user
choice."
Mozilla needs all the help in can get in rounding up more users. Firefox is stuck at a distant third
in terms of browser market share, according to Web tracker Net
Applications. In July, Microsoft's Internet Explorer was top dog with a
browser traffic share of 53 percent, followed by Google Chome with 27
percent. Firefox, which at one point was ahead of Chrome, came in third
at just 12 percent, Net Applications reported. Now with its new version
of Firefox, Mozilla is fighting Microsoft for a slice of Windows 10
territory.
As usual, Firefox asks if you want to set it as the
default browser the first time you launch it. You can say 'yes,' 'no,'
or tell Firefox to ask you the same question each time. No matter how
you answer that question, you can change the default any time you want,
but the process is more cumbersome in Windows 10 than it was in previous
versions of Windows. Normally, you would open Firefox, click the
toolbar icon with the three horizonal lines (known as a hamburger menu).
From there, you'd click on the Options icon and under Startup, click
the button to make Firefox your default browser. In Windows 8.1 and previous versions, that would do the trick.
But
in Windows 10, you have to go a step further. In the new OS, Microsoft
now takes you to a system setting that still shows Edge as the default
browser. You have to click on that setting and change it to Firefox. Still,
the whole procedure is unnecessarily confusing, mostly because it's
different than in prior versions of Windows. That's why Mozilla made
sure to post a support blog page to tell you just how to switch the default to Firefox.
With
version 40, Firefox also now wants to be the goto browser for your web
searches. Normally, when you run a Web search from the Windows 10
taskbar search field, Microsoft Edge pops up to reveal the results using
Microsoft Bing. But now if you set Firefox as the default, Firefox
takes over to show you your search results using the search engine of
your choice. The first time you try this, Windows 10 will ask if you
want to use Firefox every time. Just answer yes, and it will become your
default browser for all web searches from the taskbar search field.
There's
one more change in the new version of Firefox aimed toward beefing up
security. Browser add-ons can sometimes be a source of malware, most
notably those that aren't certified. An add-on can
be a colorful theme, an extension such as an ad blocker, or another
piece of software that enhances the browser in some way. To make sure an
add-on is secure, a team of people at Mozilla check each add-on and
approve, or certify, the ones that are safe to install.
Starting
with Firefox 40, Mozilla will now certify all add-ons that you attempt
to install. For now, the browser will simply warn you if the add-on is
uncertified, or unsigned. But in future releases, Firefox will actually
disable any add-ons that are not signed. The move to disable
unsigned add-ons may trigger some complaints from Firefox users who like
to beef up their browser with add-ons. Mozilla said it's working with
add-on developers to help them meet the new standards. But that process
is likely to take time. So users of future Firefox versions may find
themselves unable to install a favorite add-on until and unless it's
been certified by Mozilla.
No comments:
Post a Comment