Latest Firefox browser aims to squash security bugs

Mozilla developers have released an updated version of their Firefox browser that fixes a number of security issues, four of them rated critical.

The update was released late last week, and Firefox users should receive the 1.5.0.7 patches via the browser's automatic update system over the next few days, according to Mozilla.

Research firm Secunia rates the flaws as "highly critical," saying that they can be exploited to "conduct man-in-the-middle, spoofing, and cross-site scripting attacks, and potentially compromise a user's system," according to an alert from the company.

Web surfers who want to download the Firefox update directly can find it online.

In addition to the four critical fixes, the software also corrects three less-critical issues and offers some stability enhancements, according to the Mozilla website. Details on the security vulnerabilities are now available online.

Browser hackers have traditionally focused on Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but as Firefox's market share has grown it has become a more attractive target. Firefox is now used by about 13 per cent of web surfers, according to research firm OneStat.com.

Mozilla updates its menagerie

The Mozilla Corporation on Friday issued small updates for its popular Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email applications, primarily targeting security problems.

The updates take both products to version 1.5.0.7, and were issued via the vendor's automatic update system.

The less popular SeaMonkey mail and browsing suite was also updated to version 1.0.5.

Mozilla's website lists security-related fixes for Firefox, including a bug showing evidence of memory corruption, and other holes that could be exploited by malicious attackers. Many of the issues were pointed out by parties external to the vendor.

Thunderbird was updated to correct many of the same issues.

According to SpreadFirefox, a marketing and promotional website for Firefox, the browser has been downloaded more than 216 million times.

Thunderbird is a little less popular, with close to 32 million downloads since its official 1.0 release, according to a blog chronicling development of the software.

Mozilla Firefox 2 Beta 2 is out for download

Mozilla has finally released the second beta of their upcoming web browser application Mozilla Firefox 2.

This new updated beta features an improved user interface and a limited version of the phishing protection feature, which would be enhanced further for the final release of Firefox 2.

Mozilla added that they have improved upon the search capabilities, a spellchecker for Web forms. Tab browsing facilities have also been improved.

This is expected to be the last beta release before a possible release candidate release of this major update to Firefox browser.

Mozilla expects to ship the final version sometime in October this year.

Download: Mozilla Firefox 2 Beta 2