Mozilla released today the second maintenance update to the latest Firefox 67 "Quantum" web browser for all supported platforms, including GNU/Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.
Firefox 67.0.2 is now available, a bugfix and stability release that addresses several issues reported by users lately, including a crash with Apple's upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15 operating system, the ability to start two simultaneous downloads via < a download >, and a performance regression for Eclipse Remote Application Platform (RAP) apps.

On Linux systems, users are now able to easily install and use additional language packs using the built-in Preferences UI. On both Linux or macOS systems, Firefox users can now start the web browser in safe mode without it believing that the user profile is too recent on the subsequent launch to be used with the current version of Firefox.

Also: Mozilla to launch Firefox Premium

• Data Science is Hard: Validating Data for Glean

  Glean is a new library for collecting data in Mozilla products. It’s been shipping in Firefox Preview for a little while and I’d like to take a minute to talk about how I validated that it sends what we think it’s sending.

  Validating new data collections in an existing system like Firefox Desktop Telemetry is a game of comparing against things we already know. We know that some percentage of data we receive is just garbage: bad dates, malformed records, attempts at buffer overflows and SQL injection. If the amount of garbage in the new collection is within the same overall amount of garbage we see normally, we count it as “good enough” and move on.

  [...]

  At this point, aside from the “metrics” ping which is awaiting validation after some fixes reach saturation in the population, Glean has passed all of these criteria acceptably. It still has a bit of a duplicate ping problem, but its clock skew and latency are much lower than Firefox Desktop’s. There are some outrageous clients sending dozens of pings over a period that they should be sending a handful, but that might just be a test client whose values will disappear into the noise when the user population grows.

• It’s time for the US Senate to Save the Net

  On the one year anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality, Mozilla is joining millions of people across the internet to once again stand up to protect the open internet.

  When the FCC gutted net neutrality protections last year, we filed our lawsuit because we believed that repeal was unlawful. We also believed taking on the FCC was the right thing to do for the future of the internet and everyone who uses it.

  Until the Senate listens to the American people and protects the open Internet, Mozilla v. FCC continues to be net neutrality’s best hope.

  But it’s time our Senators do what they were elected to do – represent their constituents, and pass net neutrality legislation that has overwhelming support and protects Americans. With a victory in the courts, or bipartisan legislation, we can ensure that people – and not big cable and telephone companies – get to choose what they see and do online.

• These Weeks in Firefox: Issue 59

• Technology with respect and honesty. Here’s how we do it.

  Tech companies are using the word “privacy” a lot these days. What do they mean when they say it? To one company, privacy means keeping your information between you and your device. To another, it means knowing who in your social network can see the stuff you post. And to a third, it’s just a setting you can toggle while using their services. They all want you to think they can be trusted.

  Let’s be clear: the business success of many of these companies depends on using our personal information as their currency. The details of our lives fuel their growth. Like greenwashing, pretending to care about privacy doesn’t solve the underlying problem. It just muddies the truth.

  Here’s what we mean when we use the word “privacy”: we will never sell what little personal info we have about you. Our business doesn’t depend on abusing your trust. In fact, respecting your privacy is at the core of every Firefox product, and the heart of our mission.

• Five ways joining Firefox can keep you safer and smarter online

  The word “privacy” gets thrown around a lot these days, but every tech company defines privacy differently. Respecting your privacy has been at our core from day one, with the Firefox Personal Data Promise baked into everything we make. Everyone who uses our products — from the browser and beyond — gets powerful privacy protection, and when you join Firefox, you get even more features.

• Firefox Now Available with Enhanced Tracking Protection by Default Plus Updates to Facebook Container, Firefox Monitor and Lockwise

  It’s been several weeks since I was promoted to Senior Vice President of Firefox, responsible for overall Firefox product and web platform development. As a long-time employee with 10+ years, I’ve seen a lot of things within the tech industry from data breaches, net neutrality and the rise and fall of tech companies. I believe that Firefox has and will continue to make a big impact in building the necessary protections to keep people safe online.

  This past year, we’ve seen tech companies talk a big game about privacy as they’re realizing that, after several global scandals, people feel increasingly vulnerable. It’s unfortunate that this shift had to happen in order for tech companies to take notice. At Firefox, we’re doing more than that. We believe that in order to truly protect people, we need to establish a new standard that puts people’s privacy first. At Firefox, we have been working on setting this standard by offering privacy-related features, like Tracking Protection in Private Browsing, long before these issues were brought to light. With this new, increased awareness for privacy, we feel that the time is right for the next step in stronger online protections for everyone.

  Last year, we announced our new approach to anti-tracking, and our commitment to help people stay safe whenever they used Firefox. One of those initiatives outlined was to block cookies from known third party trackers in Firefox. Today, Firefox will be rolling out this feature, Enhanced Tracking Protection, to all new users on by default, to make it harder for over a thousand companies to track their every move. Additionally, we’re updating our privacy-focused features including an upgraded Facebook Container extension, a Firefox desktop extension for Lockwise, a way to keep their passwords safe across all platforms, and Firefox Monitor’s new dashboard to manage multiple email addresses.

• The Mozilla Blog: When it comes to privacy, default settings matter!

  What if I told you that on nearly every single website you visit, data about you was transmitted to dozens or even hundreds of companies, all so that the website could earn an additional $0.00008 per ad! This is a key finding from a new study on behaviorally targeted advertisements from Carnegie Mellon University and it should be a wake-up call to all of us. The status quo of pervasive data collection in service of ad targeting is untenable. That is why we’re announcing some key changes to Firefox.

  Today marks an important milestone in the history of Firefox and the web. As of today, for new users who download and install Firefox for the first time, Enhanced Tracking Protection will automatically be set on by default, protecting our users from the pervasive tracking and collection of personal data by ad networks and tech companies.

  It seems that each week a new tech company decides to decree that privacy is a human right. They tout how their products provide people with “choices” to change the settings if they wish to opt into a greater level of privacy protection to exemplify how they are putting privacy first. That begs the question — do people really want more complex settings to understand and fiddle with or do they simply want products that respect their privacy and align with their expectations to begin with?

• The Mozilla Blog: The web the world needs can be ours again, if we want it

  People everywhere are demanding basic consumer protections. We want our food to be healthy to eat, our water to be clean to drink, and our air to be safe to breathe.

  This year people have started to demand more of the internet as well, however, there persists an expectation that on the internet people are responsible for protecting themselves.

  You should not have to worry about trading privacy and control in order to enjoy the technology you love. Tech companies have put the onus on people to read through their opaque terms and conditions tied to your data and privacy to use their services. The average privacy policy from a tech company is thousands of words and written at a level that often requires legal training to interpret. As such the vast majority of people don’t bother to read, and just click through these agreements trusting that the companies have their interests at heart.

  This isn’t right, and it’s not where we stand. We aspire to put people back in control of their connected lives. To better equip people to navigate the internet today, we’ve built the latest version of our flagship Firefox browser with Enhanced Tracking Protection on by default. These protections work in the background, blocking third-parties from tracking your online activity while increasing the speed of the browser.

  We’re offering privacy protections by default as you navigate the web because the business model of the web is broken, with more and more intrusive personal surveillance becoming the norm. While we hope that people’s digital rights and freedoms will ultimately be guaranteed, we’re here to help in the interim.

• Firefox Now Will Have Enhanced Tracking Protection On by Default, 5.0 Kernel Reaches End of Life, Apple Replacing Bash with zsh as Default Shell, IBM Announces Major Upgrade to Db2 and Oracle's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel R5 Update 2 Is Now Available

  Mozilla today announces that the Firefox browser will now have Enhanced Tracking Protection on by default. From Chris Beard's blog post: "These protections work in the background, blocking third-parties from tracking your online activity while increasing the speed of the browser. We're offering privacy protections by default as you navigate the web because the business model of the web is broken, with more and more intrusive personal surveillance becoming the norm. While we hope that people's digital rights and freedoms will ultimately be guaranteed, we're here to help in the interim."

• Firefox 68 Beta 6 Testday Results

  As you may already know, last Friday May 31st – we held a new Testday event, for Firefox 68 Beta 6.

  Thank you all for helping us make Mozilla a better place: Rockstarprem007, Mohamed Bawas, Aishwarya Narasimhan and Aishu, noelonassis!

• Finally, a bit of love for Intel Tiger

  Again, a polite reminder that Intel Macs aren't supported, but that doesn't mean people don't want to run TenFourFox on them. Thanks to new builder Hayley, Tiger-compatible versions of FPR14 and the MP4 Enabler are available for Intel. Previous versions have had issues on Tiger due to issue 209, so watch for that if you choose to run these, but initial testing at least looks very promising.

• Hacks.Mozilla.Org: JavaScript and evidence-based language design

  In what ways can empirical evidence be used in the design of a language like JavaScript? What kind of impact would a more direct connection to developers give us? As stewards of the JavaScript specification, how do we answer questions about the design of JavaScript and help make it accessible to the thousands of new coders who join the industry each year? To answer this we need to experiment, and I need your help.

• “We believe the internet can be better,” Mozilla to the International Grand Committee

  Alan Davidson, Vice President of Global Policy, Trust and Security testified today on behalf of Mozilla before the International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy. The International Grand Committee, composed of representatives from numerous governments around the world, has gathered in Ottawa, Canada for its second meeting, hosted by the House of Commons of Canada.

• Tantek Çelik: I Am Running For The @W3C Advisory Board (@W3CAB)

  I am runnning for the W3C Advisory Board (AB). If you work on or care about open web standards, I am asking you, and in particular your W3C Advisory Committee representative, to vote me for as their #1 vote (due to the way the current W3C STV mechanism is interpreted and implemented by the W3C Team).

  The web community depends on W3C as a key venue for open web standards development. We are in a period of transition and existential risks for W3C (detailed in my official Advisory Board nomination statement). I bring both the experience (served on the AB for five years, 20+ years of first-hand standards work at W3C), and the boldness (created and drove numerous open reforms) necessary to work with an Advisory Board committed to modernizing W3C into a form that continues to support pragmatic & responsive open standards development.

  There are many highly qualified candidates running for the W3C Advisory Board in this election, with a variety of strengths and abilities.