Firefox 82.x.x and 78.x.x esr Updates

[Microfix]

Mozilla Firefox updates about to land!
I’d expect they will be available on the update channels tomorrow (Tuesday 20th October)

For early adopters:
Both are currently available via the Mozilla FTP:
https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/

Mozilla Firefox 82.0
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/82.0/releasenotes/

Mozilla Firefox ESR 78.4.0
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/78.4.0/releasenotes/

Documentation now available.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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[Microfix]

Had recieved ESR 78.4.0 via Mozilla PPA last week. I haven’t encountered any issues at all on LM19.3.(see pic)

Security fixes for Firefox 82.0: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2020-45/
Security fixes for Firefox ESR 78.4.0: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox-esr/#firefoxesr78.4

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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[Microfix]

Firefox 82 crashes with Windows 10 report on bugzilla:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1672523
seems to be attributed to security software according to poster Quinn Jones:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/firefox?tagged=bug1672523&show=all&owner=all
In some cases this also prevents firefox 82 from starting with no dialog and subsequently, an inability to uninstall firefox as posted by dirkvdm85

I figure 82.01 will be issued very soon

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

1 user thanked author for this post.

Charlie

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[Charlie]

I’m glad I haven’t updated my Win 7 Firefox yet, I’m still on 81.0.1.  I’m wondering if this even happens on Win 7, there’s no reports about FF on Win 7 being affected, only Win 10.

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[Microfix]

if you want stability and securtiy only updates for firefox, then ESR is your best bet from the two channels offered for regular end-users. (nightly and beta’s excluded)
The mainstream version is always plagued with bugs when a new point zero is released, mostly fixes for regressions due to new features being added.
I’ve been there long enough and got tired of updating for silly features that I didn’t use (or neutered via about:config) which made me move to ESR years ago.

Update/ Edit: there’s more issues listed over on Bleeping Computer

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• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Microfix. Reason: Update of bugs

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Charlie

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[anonymous]

ESR sounds intriguing.  If I switch from regular Firefox do I then have to redo all of the tweeks made in about:config?  And do my bookmarks come along with it?  Thanks.

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[Microfix]

This post will answer your query, substituting versions for current ones.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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[Ascaris]

I installed the ESR version about a week or so ago to test its performance, and I used my old (v81) profile without any problems, once I overcame Firefox’s aggressive disobedience as far as just loading the dang thing.

Firefox has become very annoying with its creation of new profiles even if the new Firefox installation is the same version as the old one. Each Firefox installation gets its own installation ID, and it will create a new profile if the existing profile is associated with a different installation ID.

As always, be sure to have backups before messing with profile folders.

In order to reassure Firefox that all is ok and that it’s ok to load the profile, I just replace the name of the new profile folder that was created with that of the profile I want it to use, in both installs.ini and profiles.ini. I also remove compatibility.ini within the profile itself. The actual new profile folder that was created can be deleted.

After that, Firefox should use the old profile without any issues.

You could probably also replace the actual new profile folder with a symlink to the one you want it to use, then delete compatibility.ini.

I’m still using the same Firefox profile I used years ago in Windows, FWIW. I copied it to Linux, then to the other Linux PCs, and so on, and it’s still the same one. I just edited out some of the Windows paths just a few weeks ago. They evidently were not important, but as long as I was in there (prefs.js), I went ahead and fixed it.

Group "L" (KDE Neon Linux 5.20.5 User Edition)

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[anonymous]

? says:

just got the FF 82  on my ‘buntu’s. changed my never remember history to “custom,” so i changed it back. i can’t remember so why should my browser? it also added a delightful “autofill credit cards,” ha, ha, ha… no thank you:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/credit-card-autofill?as=u&utm_source=inproduct

see link on above page to not saved “CVV number,”:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_security_code

maybe aws is handling the security? oh goodie!

like cuz down in Cotullia says:”Easy Come Easy Go”…

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Charlie

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[Geo]

And me, got rid of my history.  Used the MS troubleshooter and it restored my history with everything back the way it was before the update.

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[Microfix]

UPDATE: Looks like Mozilla is about to roll out Firefox 82.01
FTP link in First Post

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

1 user thanked author for this post.

Charlie

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[Alex5723]

Firefox released within a day 82.0.2

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Charlie

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[anonymous]

? says:
i opened “About Networking,” on ff 82.0 and DoH URL https://mozilla.cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query

was added below DNS suffix. I have network.trr.mode set to 5 to turn off their sniffer. i’m hoping that is enough to block it without cleaning out the network.trr.url box, too?

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[Charlie]

I’m wondering how much this update is worth doing . . at least for right now.  Are there any real dire security fixes?  Or just more playthings for the kiddies!  I’ve always liked Firefox, but this is really getting silly and stupid.

As for now I’m going to wait another day or so before going out on a limb and possibly installing *#^>.  Has anyone updated to 82.0.2 yet?  And does it work right now?

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[mledman]

From Mozilla – Fixed duplication of WebSocket messages in certain cases (bug 1673340)

I’m currently on 82.02,  no observed issues.   (No observed issues on  82.01 either.)

Win 10 home - 20H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely

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Charlie

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[Charlie]

Okay well, I’m not detecting any screams from people with arrows stuck in their backs so – I bit the bullet and updated my Firefox to 82.0.2 today.  All seems okay except I had to tweak the setting for showing credit card info. by unchecking it.  No major changes to the GUI and no detectable toys added.  I’m relieved for now.

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Steve

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[Bundaburra]

Please excuse ignorance, but where is that setting?

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2

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[Bob99]

Under Privacy & Security settings, about half way down the page, under the heading of “Forms and Autofill”.

I’m on 82.0.2, and had disabled it by removing the check mark as  soon as I heard about it upon upgrading to 82.0. Well, when I looked for its exact location to tell you for this post, it was checked again even though I’d disabled it in 82.0!!

Needless to say, I promptly disabled it by removing the check mark yet again! Let’s see just how long it remains unchecked this time.

I also went in to the configuration file to remove the setting by disabling it from showing up in the first place, but I’m not sure that will prevent the setting from automagically being changed back to enabled against my will. 🙁  🙁

PS:
Umm…on second thought, I had to take advantage of System Restore the other evening, and it may have rolled my FF profile settings back to the way they were before I caught the setting after having installed FF 82.

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Steve, ctRanger, Charlie

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[mledman]

To the right of the Autofill credit cards option, are any credit cards saved?

Win 10 home - 20H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely

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[NaNoNyMouse]

I’m not seeing that credit card option, but I just checked and apparently it’s for en_US versions only (set in Options/General/Language)

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by NaNoNyMouse.
• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by NaNoNyMouse.

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[Bundaburra]

I’m using English(U.K.) as being a closer equivalent to English(Australia), which FF apparently does not offer.  Also not seeing that option.  Does FF assume that credit cards are only used in the U.S.?

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2

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[mledman]

From Mozilla support – Note: The credit card autofill feature is available starting in Firefox version 81 and is currently available only for en-US Firefox releases.

Win 10 home - 20H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely

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[DriftyDonN]

I too am tired of FF update every other day it seems. I’m using 82.01 and it wants to update to 82.02. hmm should I? Thunderbird wants another update too!! Not yet says I!

Netflix won’t let me use private setting, nor allow me to delete history and cookies. Have to give in and change settings, then change them back. I am thinking about esr versions but I need step by step. Getting old and confused I s’pose. Beats the alternative tho!

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[EP]

Mozilla wanted to “accelerate” their Firefox updates – more faster than Microsoft’s “two feature updates a year” pace for Windows 10, DriftyDonN

82.0.2 is another minor FF 82.x bugfix

by middle or late November 2020, Mozilla plans to release Firefox 83.0; roughly about 4 weeks after Firefox 82.0 was released in late October

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by EP.
• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by EP.

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DriftyDonN

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[Charlie]

There were some more bugs they had to fix.  I wish Firefox would just offer security type updates, and let it up to us if we want the fancy dancy stuff that consumes more and more memory.  The current FF version 82.0.2 when running with no website loaded consumes over 200 MB.  As I’m now composing this message, I checked and it’s using around 1 Gig of memory.  I only have AskWoody up, and I don’t have a lot of fancy things running.  I think that’s a lot, but then I don’t keep other programs running in the background so it doesn’t affect me at all.

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DriftyDonN

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[Microfix]

Firefox 82.0.3 is about to get rolled out on the 10th November.

Firefox 78.4.1 ESR is also in the update chute

Two critical security fixes for both editions:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2020-49/

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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[DriftyDonN]

That mozilla link is worthless.

I have been a mozilla user since Netscape. I am increasingly unhappy with patch after patch after patch after patch … they STILL beg for donations. – it used to be a worthwhile donation now it’s become charity for bad code.

 

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by DriftyDonN.

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[Charlie]

Though I agree a lot of updates are a pain, this one is small and fixes two critical vulnerabilities.  Vulnerabilities are hard if not impossible to foresee.  I Don’t look at the update as fixing bad code.  They have a very good reason for doing it.

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[Paul T]

Chrome updates regularly, Windows is once a month or more often for serious problems. Updating / patching is a normal part of the software lifecycle and always has been.

cheers, Paul

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[Microfix]

@DriftyDonN
Change Mozilla channel.. ESR is the way to go if you prefer firefox, it’s security only patches with no where near the amount of fixes for the crudware baggage that’s introduced every new version of the mainstream firefox.
I compare it to W10 without ‘creature updates’, only security updates like the Group B patching for Win7/ 8.1

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[anonymous]

? says:

thank you, microfix, just came in:

Commit Log for Tue Nov 10 10:44:34 2020
Upgraded the following packages:
firefox (82.0.2+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1) to 82.0.3+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1
firefox-locale-en (82.0.2+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1) to 82.0.3+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1

if i want to get off the update merry-go-round and use ESR can i move my current (modified) prefs.js without editing it?

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[Microfix]

Thank you, Yes. you can move your (modified) prefs.JS into the new ESR and no need to edit it. Remember to backup/export your extension settings (where applicable) and bookmarks 😉

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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DriftyDonN

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[anonymous]

? says:

ok, great! i’m on 3 of 6 ff 82.0.3’s, so no book marks (trying to keep what’s left of the remember remembering) and just installed ublock origin on all 6 ff’s using his Raymond Hill’s default filter list and your youtube my filter mods (thank you, again for the ad free listening\viewing pleasure!). thanks again…

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[EP]

I’ve skipped Firefox 78.4.1 ESR and will upgrade directly from 78.4.0 to 78.5.0 as there is already an RC1 version of FF ESR 78.5 available to try out

Mozilla is set to release Firefox versions 83.0 and 78.5.0 ESR next Tue. 11/17 as noted in this Firefox release calendar page:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Calendar

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[DriftyDonN]

can you point me to the process to replace current ff 82.0 ? I cannot seem to locate the prefs.js file using file mgr search nor manually looking thru firefox folders (both 64 bit and 32, nor in the users folder. It seems the import/export tool isn’t where I thought- so I need to do some research on that and saving extensions.

Main question is where is the prefs.js file located and is that the only thing I need to save from my present installation (aside from bookmarks and extensions?) Uninstall current ff then install esr ( I have that ready to install) and copy the saved files?

If easier could you point me to post w/ instructions?

Thanks!

 

 

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[Microfix]

Sure, read over this post: #2289888
When installing ESR, do a custom install
My preference is to do the installation isolated from the internet..YMMV

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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[Ascaris]

I would run the ESR version of Firefox (make sure the non-ESR version is not in use first!) to let it create its new profile folder. It will give a message saying that it has to create a new profile to prevent problems… when I tested 78 ESR just now, it gave an option to create new folder or exit. With newer versions, it just does it and tells you what it did.

If it asks, select Create new.

You can use about:profiles in the URL bar to get quickly to the profile folder location. Just go to the root folder of whatever profile it has as the default, and when it opens the File Manager, just go up one level to get to the Profiles folder.

Once you are there in the File Manager, close Firefox.

You can then copy everything from the profile folder that you’ve been using (the good one that you want to migrate to ESR) into the folder that was just created (it will have a creation date/time that reflects when you first ran ESR), overwriting everything that’s already in there. Then delete compatibility.ini inside that folder, and you should be good to go. That way, it will pick up your history, saved logins, addons, custom stylesheets (if any), and everything else in your profile, as well as the prefs.

That way will have two profiles that have different names and are associated with different Firefox versions, but are otherwise identical, for now at least. As you add to one or the other, they will (of course) diverge over time. You would still be able to use the new Firefox with this setup.

Another option (if you are sure you do not want to use the new, non-ESR Firefox anymore) would be to delete the new profile that was just created and rename the profile you want to use to the same name as the folder you just deleted. Then go into the folder and delete compatibility.ini, and you’re set.

These methods will not work if Mozilla has made a format change in any of the files in the profile, but I just tried it on my system… I am using the copied profile from 82.0.3 now with ESR 78 to write this, and everything works perfectly. Bookmarks, history, signins, all working.

Group "L" (KDE Neon Linux 5.20.5 User Edition)

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[EP]

Firefox versions 78.5 ESR and 83.0 available Tue. 11/17:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/83.0/releasenotes/
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/78.5.0/releasenotes/

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