SUMO community discussions

Firefox 26 Release / Issues / Status

  • 15 Replies
  • Last reply by John99
  1. user633449
    user633449 503 posts
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    2013 is winding to a close, but before you spend the rest of the year relaxing, enjoying Christmas, or whatever you feel like doing, we've got a present for the internet. Firefox 26 will be released tomorrow for both Desktop and Android. We've also got a special surprise for ESR as well :)

    Desktop After a few quiet releases this is a fairly substantial update, with changes to security, the update experience and all around performance.

    • CTP. All versions of Java are going to be click to play blocked in this version of Firefox. This version of the blocklist should e better than when we attempted it a few weeks ago now that we've had some time to tweak the UI. Of course this is still going to be a major change and lots of users will be impacted, but hopefully the UI for the blocklist will do a better job of informing the user.
    • Users on Windows who have the Mozilla Maintenance Service enabled can now update Firefox even if they are on a limited user account. We are really excited for this change and hopefully this will help users who had trouble updating Firefox in that past update a little more smoothly.
    • Security is much improved in this version with a better implementation of CSP, the CTP Java block, as well as several holes we found in this version and patched up
    • Performance changes and other minor fixes. View the complete release notes at http://www.mozilla.org/firefox/26.0/releasenotes/ after the release tomorrow.

    Android Android is also gearing up for a larger release this week, with one highly anticipated feature being the landing of the new home page UI.

    • New about:home page that allows for more advanced customization of the top sites, pinning, and improves the find-ability of bookmarks and history.
    • Performance improvements on NVIDIA devices and faster page rendering on all devices
    • All the same under the hood tweaks and security fixes (except CTP) that desktop has. http://www.mozilla.org/mobile/26.0/releasenotes/

    ESR Just as an FYI, ESR 17 will no longer be receiving any updates, and all ESR 17 users with auto-updates enabled will be auto-updated to Firefox 24.2 tomorrow.

    2013 is winding to a close, but before you spend the rest of the year relaxing, enjoying Christmas, or whatever you feel like doing, we've got a present for the internet. Firefox 26 will be released tomorrow for both Desktop and Android. We've also got a special surprise for ESR as well :) '''Desktop''' After a few quiet releases this is a fairly substantial update, with changes to security, the update experience and all around performance. * CTP. All versions of Java are going to be click to play blocked in this version of Firefox. This version of the blocklist should e better than when we attempted it a few weeks ago now that we've had some time to tweak the UI. Of course this is still going to be a major change and lots of users will be impacted, but hopefully the UI for the blocklist will do a better job of informing the user. * Users on Windows who have the Mozilla Maintenance Service enabled can now update Firefox even if they are on a limited user account. We are really excited for this change and hopefully this will help users who had trouble updating Firefox in that past update a little more smoothly. * Security is much improved in this version with a better implementation of CSP, the CTP Java block, as well as several holes we found in this version and patched up * Performance changes and other minor fixes. View the complete release notes at http://www.mozilla.org/firefox/26.0/releasenotes/ after the release tomorrow. '''Android''' Android is also gearing up for a larger release this week, with one highly anticipated feature being the landing of the new home page UI. * New about:home page that allows for more advanced customization of the top sites, pinning, and improves the find-ability of bookmarks and history. * Performance improvements on NVIDIA devices and faster page rendering on all devices * All the same under the hood tweaks and security fixes (except CTP) that desktop has. http://www.mozilla.org/mobile/26.0/releasenotes/ '''ESR''' Just as an FYI, ESR 17 will no longer be receiving any updates, and all ESR 17 users with auto-updates enabled will be auto-updated to Firefox 24.2 tomorrow.
  2. philipp
    philipp 1280 posts
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    in case it comes up on the forums: bug 845403 removed support for browser.download.useToolkitUI, which allowed you to use the old download panel in the past.

    in case it comes up on the forums: [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=845403 bug 845403] removed support for browser.download.useToolkitUI, which allowed you to use the old download panel in the past.
  3. John99
    John99 3665 posts
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    Well spotted philipp. It is bound to come up in the forum.

    philipp said

    in case it comes up on the forums: bug 845403 removed support for browser.download.useToolkitUI, which allowed you to use the old download panel in the past.

    A subject for another section but Michael has already amended the KB article. I wonder if in such cases where a section is remove would it be better to leave the section header for a few releases and just change the text to say the feature is deprecated.

    It may save some forum work if users picked up the answer on the kb instead of running in to a link to a non existent section. It may reduce damage to the articles helpfulness votes.

    Well spotted philipp. It is bound to come up in the forum. ''philipp [[#post-55865|said]]'' <blockquote> in case it comes up on the forums: [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=845403 bug 845403] removed support for browser.download.useToolkitUI, which allowed you to use the old download panel in the past. </blockquote> A subject for another section but Michael has already amended the KB article. I wonder if in such cases where a section is remove would it be better to leave the section header for a few releases and just change the text to say the feature is deprecated. It may save some forum work if users picked up the answer on the kb instead of running in to a link to a non existent section. It may reduce damage to the articles helpfulness votes.

    Modified by John99 on

  4. philipp
    philipp 1280 posts
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    and in a loosely related matter - due to the introduction of the new Downloads API - numerous addons are currently broken (Download Statusbar, Download Manager Tweaks,...)

    and in a loosely related matter - due to the introduction of the new [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Features/Desktop/Downloads_API Downloads API] - numerous addons are currently broken (Download Statusbar, Download Manager Tweaks,...)
  5. ideato
    ideato 567 posts
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    Hello, the "If you try to start Firefox using a locked profile, it will crash (see 573369)" (Bug 573369) is still an unresolved problem, why we can't see it in release notes any more ?

    only in 24.0 release notes, and maybe earlier exist ! not even in 25.0

    http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/25.0/releasenotes/

    http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/26.0/releasenotes/

    thank you

    Hello, the "If you try to start Firefox using a locked profile, it will crash (see 573369)" ([https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=573369 Bug 573369]) is still an unresolved problem, why we can't see it in release notes any more ? only in [http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/24.0/releasenotes/ 24.0 release notes], and maybe earlier exist ! not even in 25.0 http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/25.0/releasenotes/ http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/26.0/releasenotes/ thank you
  6. AliceWyman
    AliceWyman 6154 posts
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    Tyler Downer said

    Desktop
    • CTP. All versions of Java are going to be click to play blocked in this version of Firefox. This version of the blocklist should e better than when we attempted it a few weeks ago now that we've had some time to tweak the UI. Of course this is still going to be a major change and lots of users will be impacted, but hopefully the UI for the blocklist will do a better job of informing the user.

    Click-to-play by default is still coming for all plugins but the decision was made to limit the CTP block to Java, for now. Ref:

    • Bug 941137 - Alter plugin defaults for beta/release until whitelist strategy is defined

    Related KB article and canned response (need tweaking?):

    ''Tyler Downer [[#post-55832|said]]'' <blockquote> '''Desktop''' * CTP. All versions of Java are going to be click to play blocked in this version of Firefox. This version of the blocklist should e better than when we attempted it a few weeks ago now that we've had some time to tweak the UI. Of course this is still going to be a major change and lots of users will be impacted, but hopefully the UI for the blocklist will do a better job of informing the user. </blockquote> Click-to-play by default is still coming for all plugins but the decision was made to limit the CTP block to Java, for now. Ref: *[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=941137'' Bug 941137''] ''- Alter plugin defaults for beta/release until whitelist strategy is defined'' Related KB article and canned response (need tweaking?): * [[How to enable Java if it's been blocked]] * [[Forum response - Unblock Java]]

    Modified by AliceWyman on

  7. user633449
    user633449 503 posts
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    Hey there everyone!

    Just a quick update before the weekend:

    Release Notes: Yes the crash on a locked profile is still an issue, but it's been an issue for 3+ years, so it was decided to just remove from the release notes to ease readability.

    Page Rendering: There is an issue with Firefox 26 on Windows with certain graphics drivers where pages will tear while scrolling. We are currently investigating this and will have more information as it becomes available.

    SSL issues: We've seen alot of reports of issues on some websites with SSL enabled, we are currently digging into this. If you guys see more information it would be appreciated!

    Firefox 26 is 100% throttled at this time and we will evaluate if we need a 26.0.1 next week.

    Also, please note that Mozilla will be closed from Dec 21st through Jan 1st. I will be the User Advocacy person on call for major issues so please feel free to e-mail me if there are some major breaking issues over that time.

    Hey there everyone! Just a quick update before the weekend: Release Notes: Yes the crash on a locked profile is still an issue, but it's been an issue for 3+ years, so it was decided to just remove from the release notes to ease readability. Page Rendering: There is an issue with Firefox 26 on Windows with certain graphics drivers where pages will tear while scrolling. We are currently investigating this and will have more information as it becomes available. SSL issues: We've seen alot of reports of issues on some websites with SSL enabled, we are currently digging into this. If you guys see more information it would be appreciated! Firefox 26 is 100% throttled at this time and we will evaluate if we need a 26.0.1 next week. Also, please note that Mozilla will be closed from Dec 21st through Jan 1st. I will be the User Advocacy person on call for major issues so please feel free to e-mail me if there are some major breaking issues over that time.
  8. AliceWyman
    AliceWyman 6154 posts
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    philipp said

    in case it comes up on the forums: bug 845403 removed support for browser.download.useToolkitUI, which allowed you to use the old download panel in the past.

    philipp said

    and in a loosely related matter - due to the introduction of the new Downloads API - numerous addons are currently broken (Download Statusbar, Download Manager Tweaks,...)

    More information in this thread:

    (Quote from philipp) here's an addon presumably able to restore the prior state: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/downloads-window/

    ''philipp [[#post-55865|said]]'' <blockquote> in case it comes up on the forums: [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=845403 bug 845403] removed support for browser.download.useToolkitUI, which allowed you to use the old download panel in the past. </blockquote> ''philipp [[#post-55877|said]]'' <blockquote> and in a loosely related matter - due to the introduction of the new [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Features/Desktop/Downloads_API Downloads API] - numerous addons are currently broken (Download Statusbar, Download Manager Tweaks,...) </blockquote> More information in this thread: *[/forums/contributors/709838] Download Progress Display in firefox 26.0 (Quote from philipp) '' here's an addon presumably able to restore the prior state: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/downloads-window/ ''

    Modified by AliceWyman on

  9. Andrew
    Andrew 1232 posts
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    An unknown add-on is trying to install silently on my computer.. Not sure where I am attracting all these. I had Bettersurf still silently install at least 3 times!

    This one this time:

    Webexp Enhanced 1.1 false ext@WebexpEnhancedV1alpha766.net

    user report: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/981080

    An unknown add-on is trying to install silently on my computer.. Not sure where I am attracting all these. I had Bettersurf still silently install at least 3 times! This one this time: Webexp Enhanced 1.1 false ext@WebexpEnhancedV1alpha766.net user report: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/981080

    Modified by Andrew on

  10. AliceWyman
    AliceWyman 6154 posts
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    Andrew said

    An unknown add-on is trying to install silently on my computer.. Not sure where I am attracting all these. I had Bettersurf still silently install at least 3 times! This one this time: Webexp Enhanced 1.1 false ext@WebexpEnhancedV1alpha766.net

    I posted a reply in the support forum thread on this:

    Andrew, maybe you could file a bug report requesting to add this to the Mozilla Blocklist.

    ''Andrew [[#post-56117|said]]'' <blockquote> An unknown add-on is trying to install silently on my computer.. Not sure where I am attracting all these. I had Bettersurf still silently install at least 3 times! This one this time: Webexp Enhanced 1.1 false ext@WebexpEnhancedV1alpha766.net </blockquote> I posted a reply in the support forum thread on this: *[/questions/981080] ''"Webexp Enhanced V1" malware included in Firefox 26.0?'' Andrew, maybe you could file a bug report requesting to add this to the [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/blocked/ Mozilla Blocklist].

    Modified by AliceWyman on

  11. Andrew
    Andrew 1232 posts
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    Filed bug to block: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=952717

    Filed bug to block: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=952717
  12. AliceWyman
    AliceWyman 6154 posts
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    This bug report was filed by jscher2000 on 2013-12-27 20:09 PST. I'm posting it here for the record.

    • Bug 953317 – File permissions not inherited for Firefox 26 downloads on Windows] 
    Related discussion threads:
SuMo: Fix downloaded files permissions on Windows 7: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/977992

    MozillaZine: Downloads getting wrong file permissions on Windows 7: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2773631
    This bug report was filed by jscher2000 on 2013-12-27 20:09 PST. I'm posting it here for the record. *[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=953317 Bug 953317] – File permissions not inherited for Firefox 26 downloads on Windows] Related discussion threads: SuMo: Fix downloaded files permissions on Windows 7: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/977992 MozillaZine: Downloads getting wrong file permissions on Windows 7: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2773631
  13. philipp
    philipp 1280 posts
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    there seems to be an upcoming issue that firefox hangs at about:home that is affecting quite a few users: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/984193

    there seems to be an upcoming issue that firefox hangs at about:home that is affecting quite a few users: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/984193
  14. John99
    John99 3665 posts
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    Bug mentioned in that thread https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=963248 along with fix


    Michael Kelly
    .... However, you can force an update and get rid of it immediately like so:
    1. Visit about:home.
    2. Open up the web console (Cmd+Option+K on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+K on Windows I believe. You can also use the menu item Tools -> Web Developer -> Web Console).
    3. Enter the following in the console, and then hit Enter/Return:
      gSnippetsMap.clear()
      • Note: On older versions of Firefox (anything prior to Firefox 25), this line may not work and display an error in the console. If it doesn't work for you, try entering this line instead:
        localStorage['snippets-last-update'] = 0
    4. Clear your cache by going to History -> Clear recent history, selecting only the Cache checkbox, and setting the time to "Everything".
    5. Refresh about:home and it should fetch new snippets and no longer freeze up.
    To keep this from happening again, we're working on a feature that will warn admins if they make snippets that are too large ....
    Bug mentioned in that thread https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=963248 along with fix Michael Kelly<blockquote> .... However, you can force an update and get rid of it immediately like so: # Visit about:home. # Open up the web console (Cmd+Option+K on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+K on Windows I believe. You can also use the menu item Tools -> Web Developer -> Web Console). # Enter the following in the console, and then hit Enter/Return:<br> <code>gSnippetsMap.clear()</code><ul><li>'''Note:''' On older versions of Firefox (anything prior to Firefox 25), this line may not work and display an error in the console. If it doesn't work for you, try entering this line instead: <br><code>localStorage['snippets-last-update'] = 0</code> </li></ul> # Clear your cache by going to History -> Clear recent history, selecting only the Cache checkbox, and setting the time to "Everything". # Refresh about:home and it should fetch new snippets and no longer freeze up. To keep this from happening again, we're working on a feature that will warn admins if they make snippets that are too large .... </blockquote>
  15. AliceWyman
    AliceWyman 6154 posts
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    philipp said

    there seems to be an upcoming issue that firefox hangs at about:home that is affecting quite a few users: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/984193

    Another one

    • /questions/984223 There appears to be a MAJOR issue (hang/memory leak) in "about:home", also known as the Firefox Start Page, in Firefox 26.0 on Windows!

    In both cases, there was an issue with a snippet loaded from about:home.

    • Bug 962885 - Snippets are timing out in production quite often/high latency/response times

    From the bug report: 

    Michael Kelly [:mkelly] 2014-01-23 12:52:50 PST

    (In reply to philipp from comment #8)
> does this bug also have the potential to cause hangs or make the browser
> unresponsive while about:home is loaded? because there are quite a few
> recent reports by users with those symptoms in the sumo forum:
> https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/984193

    In fact, it does! I don't know if it was directly related to the filesize or just because the SVG was complex itself, but whenever my browser tried to render the SVG it would freeze up.

    The issue should clear up for most users within 24 hours. You can get rid of it immediately like so:

    1. Visit about:home.
2. Open up the web console (Cmd+Option+K on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+K on Windows I believe).
3. Enter the following in the console, and then hit Enter/Return: gSnippetsMap.clear()
4. Clear your cache by going to History -> Clear recent history, selecting only the Cache checkbox, and setting the time to "Everything".
5. Refresh about:home and it should fetch new snippets and no longer freeze up.

    There seems to be a delay in posting forum replies here. I see John99 already posted the workaround.

    ''philipp [[#post-56683|said]]'' <blockquote> there seems to be an upcoming issue that firefox hangs at about:home that is affecting quite a few users: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/984193 </blockquote> Another one *[/questions/984223] ''There appears to be a MAJOR issue (hang/memory leak) in "about:home", also known as the Firefox Start Page, in Firefox 26.0 on Windows!'' In both cases, there was an issue with a snippet loaded from about:home. *[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=962885 Bug 962885] - Snippets are timing out in production quite often/high latency/response times From the bug report: ----- Michael Kelly [:mkelly] 2014-01-23 12:52:50 PST (In reply to philipp from comment #8) > does this bug also have the potential to cause hangs or make the browser > unresponsive while about:home is loaded? because there are quite a few > recent reports by users with those symptoms in the sumo forum: > https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/984193 In fact, it does! I don't know if it was directly related to the filesize or just because the SVG was complex itself, but whenever my browser tried to render the SVG it would freeze up. The issue should clear up for most users within 24 hours. You can get rid of it immediately like so: 1. Visit about:home. 2. Open up the web console (Cmd+Option+K on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+K on Windows I believe). 3. Enter the following in the console, and then hit Enter/Return: gSnippetsMap.clear() 4. Clear your cache by going to History -> Clear recent history, selecting only the Cache checkbox, and setting the time to "Everything". 5. Refresh about:home and it should fetch new snippets and no longer freeze up. ----- There seems to be a delay in posting forum replies here. I see John99 already posted the workaround.

    Modified by AliceWyman on

  16. John99
    John99 3665 posts
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    Many tens of thousands have viewed threads about FBI etc Scams and pseudo ransomware. (This is specific to Firefox - or at least does not affect Google Chrome; but is not a Firefox 26 issue)

    • WARNING FBI LOCKED BROWSER!!! /questions/981475
    • 12k views this thread alone /questions/966921
    • Bug 616853 - The onbeforeunload dialog should be tab-modal (& Bug 953147 - Ransomware locks Firefox tab, uses onbeforeunload and catchControlKeys )

    Pity we can not sort threads by number of views.

    Many tens of thousands have viewed threads about FBI etc Scams and pseudo ransomware. (This is specific to Firefox - or at least does not affect Google Chrome; but is not a Firefox 26 issue) * ''WARNING FBI LOCKED BROWSER!!!'' [/questions/981475] * 12k views this thread alone [/questions/966921] *Bug [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=616853 616853] - The onbeforeunload dialog should be tab-modal (& Bug 953147 - Ransomware locks Firefox tab, uses onbeforeunload and catchControlKeys ) Pity we can not sort threads by number of views.