Category: News

Firefox

Mozilla warns: add-ons will be deactivated in outdated Firefox versions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Firefox users who run outdated versions of the web browser will run into troubles in March 2025 according to Mozilla.

The details:

  • A certificate used by Mozilla for various services, including Firefox, will run out on March 14, 2025.
  • Recent versions of Firefox are unaffected, as they include the new certificate.
  • Old Firefox installations are affected. Issues include that add-ons will stop working and that DRM-content may refuse to play.

Firefox installations on all supported platforms but on iOS are affected, if they do not meet the following minimum versions:

  • Firefox Stable 128 or higher.
  • Firefox ESR 115.13 or higher.

Upgrading Firefox is the only way to prevent issues caused by the expiring root certificate.

Firefox users may select Menu > Help > About Firefox to run a check for updates. The browser should display the newest version automatically so that it can be downloaded and installed.

Firefox users who do not update the browser may run into several issues, according to Mozilla.

  • Installed add-ons will be disabled.
  • DRM-protected content, may fail to play “due to failed updates”.
  • Features that rely on remote updates will stop working.
  • Systems “dependent on content verification could stop functioning properly”.

Firefox will still run if it is not updated, but some functionality won’t be available anymore. Mozilla notes that outdated versions of Firefox may also have security issues that were fixed in newer versions.

Mozilla explains that the issue is caused by an expiring root certificate. Root certificates are used mainly for verification purposes. Expired certificates cannot be used anymore, which results in the issues.

Firefox users who run outdated versions should consider upgrading to a newer version that supports the new root certificate. (via Sören Hentzschel)

Firefox Translate

Firefox Translate is finally getting support for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Firefox Translate is a built-in translation feature of the Firefox web browser that is special. It is special, because its translation engine runs locally. That’s great for privacy, as no translation service needs to be contacted on the Internet with information on the site you visited or the content that you want translated.

The main downside to Firefox Translate is that it supports fewer languages. One of the main shortcomings was missing support for the languages Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.

Good news is, that Mozilla has added support for the three languages to Firefox Nightly. In other words: you can now translate webpages that are in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean using Firefox’s built-in translation feature. Yes, that works offline as well.

Once you have installed the latest Firefox Nightly version, you have these languages at your disposal. Note that you need to download language packs for these languages in the settings before you can get started.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Load about:preferences in the Firefox address bar or select Menu > Preferences.
  2. Scroll down to Translations on the page.
  3. Select the Download button next to any language that you want to translate using Firefox.

The languages become available immediately after the downloads complete.

Firefox may either suggest to translate a webpage when it is opened, or you may select the translate icon in the address bar to display the translate interface.

Hit the translate button to translate the webpage to the selected language. A click on the translate settings icon displays the usual options. These include never translate a specific language or always translate it.

Closing Words

It will take some time before support for the new languages arrives in Firefox Stable. Still, the integration is a major milestone for Mozilla and part of the Firefox user base.

While there is still work to be done, as major languages are still unsupported, translate functionality is a major win for users of the Firefox web browser.

Have you tried Firefox’s translate functionality? What is your take on it? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Mozilla releases Deep Fake Detector for Firefox

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla has released another Firefox extension after Orbit. Deep Fake Detector is a free beta extension for Firefox that determines whether text has been created by AI or humans.

It is part of Fakespot, a service that Mozilla acquired some time ago. Fakespot checks reviews on popular shopping sites to determine whether they are legitimate.

The new browser extension uses Fakespot’s ApolloDFT Engine, but it works with text on any website.

Using the extension is quite simple: You select some text and either right-click on the selection and select “Scan for Deepfakes”, or activate the add-on’s icon in the Firefox toolbar to do so.

The extension needs an active Internet connection and the text that you have selected is passed on to the detection engine. The result tells you the AI’s assessment in regards to human or AI authorship.

It is interesting to note that the extension queries multiple services. It does rely on Fakespot’s own engine, but also three additional ones (ZipPy, Binocular, and UAR). These may not always come to the same conclusion, as you can see on the screenshot below.

You may disable models in the settings of the extension. There you find ratings for each of the used models and options to disable them.

Ratings include the speed of analysis, domain versatility, short and long text handling. If you have a preference, you can disable the others to focus the analysis on that one engine.

What is it good for?

The Internet is flooded with AI-generated texts already. Be it reviews on shopping sites, blog posts, comments, posts in forums or on social media sites, and in many other places.

Finding out if a text has been generated by AI can be useful to determine trust. While that should not be the only factor, it may be useful to weed out AI-generated content to focus on the human-generated content instead.

The developers have big plans for the extension. They want to add image and video analysis in the future, which would make it more versatile and useful.

Closing Words

All in all, Deep Fake Detector is a useful extension that may help you detect AI generated text on the Internet. While it may be wrong at times, use of multiple models may decrease the chance.

Most models rely on Internet connectivity as computations are run on servers and not on user systems. This is the case for the extension as well. This may change in the not-so-near future, but for now, it is the norm and little can be done about it.

What is your take on the extension? Would you use it to check text? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

First look at Mozilla’s Orbit AI-extension for Firefox

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Orbit by Mozilla is a browser extension that brings AI-functionality to Firefox. It was announced in September 2024 and is currently available as a beta.

Orbit supports a few options right now, but there are also limitations. As far as these are concerned, it is available only for pages in English at the time of writing.

Main features include:

  • Getting a quick summary of a webpage’s or a video’s content.
  • Interact with the AI in a chat-like interface.

What about privacy?

Mozilla says that Orbit does not use user data for training. It is based on Mistral 7B, which is one of the top small large language models out there.

The service does not require an account, which is good for privacy. Downside is that prompts are lost when you navigate away from a page.

Mozilla states in the privacy policy that is is getting information when the service is used.

We receive basic telemetry data by default, which we use to improve the performance, stability, and security of the Service, including information about your device, including hardware configuration and device operating system; browser information, such as browser type and settings; log files and usage data; and event information, such as errors or crashes. We may also receive additional information about your device, such as country, language, operator and OEM, which we use to prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our terms, and improve the security of the Service.

Orbit uses third-party services and shares some information with those. It uses the Google Cloud Platform as well as Sentry for application performance monitoring.

Using Orbit

First thing you do is install Orbit in Firefox. You get a privacy prompt after installation. Here you select whether you want basic telemetry to be shared only or more.

Once that is out of the way, you see the Orbit icon floating in the right corner of webpages. Hover over the icon to display the available actions. The top two, Summarize and Ask Orbit, are the main actions.

Summarize provides a short summary of webpages, emails, videos, and other content on a specific site. It is designed to return the essence of the page, but it may be too basic, especially on longer pages, emails, or videos.

The ask Orbit option is available as a standalone option and also after summaries. It works like other AI chat tools. Type a query and wait for the AI to respond.

The option works well with summaries. Start with a summary and then ask Orbit for additional details.

I tried this on several videos, and it worked really well (using transcripts). Orbit answers follow-up questions that you may have, and it worked surprisingly well in tests.

You may also chat directly with Orbit. Chats are limited to content on the active webpage. This limits Orbit.

Closing Words

Orbit, all in all, is an interesting helper extension. While it shares issues with every other AI-tool out there, mainly hallucinations, it is designed to help users make sense of content that they see in front of them.

It worked well with videos, especially with follow-up questions. Still, it may be necessary to verify the information that the AI provides, especially if it is critical.

Have you tried AI tools in recent time? If so, which is your favorite and why?

Google’s proposal for avoiding breakup of company is bad news for Mozilla

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

You may recall that Alphabet is currently under investigation in the United States and that a potential breakup of the company is looming over the company’s head.

Suggestions include selling of Google Chrome and Android, or separating the ad business are all on the table.

The Verge reports that Alphabet has made a counteroffer. Clearly, the company does not want a splitting-up. The counteroffer does not include the splitting up of any company services or products.

Instead, Alphabet suggests the following remedies:

  • Browser companies should get more flexibility and the ability to change default providers every 12 month period.
  • Android device makers should also get more flexibility and options to preload any apps.

The first suggestion affects Mozilla and Apple for the most part. Both have search deals in place with Google that give them millions or billions each year for making Google Search the default search engine on their respective platforms.

With Google’s suggestions, Mozilla could sign search engine deals for different platforms. It might not be that beneficial to Mozilla, however, as there are not many search engine companies out there with the financial power to agree to deals.

In fact, Microsoft with its Bing search engine may be the only one that might be a potential partner.

To make matters worse, it may also give Google more of a bargaining chip when brokering deals with the organization.

For Android, device manufacturers would have more freedom to launch their devices with multiple search engines or apps. Google is enforcing certain rules right now, if device manufacturers want to include the company’s apps on their devices.

Closing Words

Google would retain control over all of its properties, if its proposed remedies would be found acceptable. Chrome or ads, for instance, are not even mentioned by Google.

What do you think of this? Should Alphabet be broken up? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

You can now call ChatGPT: what is next? Fax? Letters?

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

So, AI systems seem to be almost everywhere already or are in the process of being integrated into pretty much any device or product.

OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, has now announced that you may call ChatGPT to have a chat with the AI.

Call 1-800-ChatGPT, or 1-800-242-8478, to do so. You should note that you can only do so with a US or Canada number. If you live outside those two countries, you may be able to message the number via WhatsApp to at least have a chat on Meta’s messenger instead.

OpenAI has limited both options. Calls are limited to 15 minutes per month, presumably per phone number, and there is also a daily limit on WhatsApp, but that is not mentioned in the announcement.

Another restriction is that the cutoff-date is October 2023. This means that this particular version of ChatGPT does not know anything about events that happened after October 2023.

Privacy-conscious users should be aware that OpenAI stores conversations and messages, and that it may also review them. OpenAI says this is for a limited time only and only for “safety and abuse prevention purposes”. It is also only available for ages 13 and up, but it is unclear how OpenAI wants to make sure that the age limit is enforced.

Fax or Letters next?

With telephone conquered, Fax would be the next logical step for OpenAI to offer its services on. It might not be the most elegant solution, considering that it might take a while to get replies, but it would make for a great headline and do wonders for publicity.

Letters might also be an option. While it would take some serious time to get an answer or do a back and forth with the AI, it could be a great option for digital-detoxing.

Have you chatted with ChatGPT or another AI in recent time? What is your take on these systems? Useful addition or more off a plaything will little value? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Google Search could soon analyze files you upload to answer questions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google Search has been the major search engine in most regions for a long time. While it has changed a lot under the hood in that time, it is still used by many as the main tool for searches.

AI is threatening Google’s search dominance. While it is too early to tell how good AI-based search engines will be in comparison, Google is clearly aware of the danger.

To counter this threat, Google has started to push AI into Google Search. The main user-facing feature is AI Overviews, which displays a summary based on a user’s search query at the very top of the search results.

It works similarly to how Brave Search and other search engines display AI-generated results at the top. Verdict is still out on the usefulness of the solution.

File uploads

Screenshot of Google Search with file upload. Source: Khushal Bherwani

Soon, Google users might also be able to upload files directly on Google Search to ask questions about the uploaded file. Upload a financial report, and you might ask questions about it once Google has processed the file.

This is not a new feature, considering that several AI solutions can do the same already. Even Google has a very basic file upload feature baked into search already. You can upload an image to Google Images to find out matching images online. While no AI is involved, it at least highlights that Google has the technology in place already.

X user Khushal Bherwani published an image and a short video that shows the new feature in action. It seems to work as one might expect: you activate the file upload button on Google Search, pick a file that you want analyzed, and hit the upload button.

It is likely only available for certain file types. The video shows that the feature is not complete at this point. The upload appears to have worked in the video, but Google Search did not answer the question that the user asked about the file.

Closing Words

It remains to be seen if the feature will roll out to more users in the coming months or if it gets pulled before release. There is also the question of its usefulness and whether users feel comfortable uploading files to Google.

What is your take on the feature? Would you upload files to Google to get the chance to ask an AI question about it? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Ice

Copilot Vision monitors your online activity for your own benefit

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Copilot Vision is an experimental AI-feature that, Microsoft promises, is going to revolutionize the online life of computer users.

Microsoft says that Copilot Vision sees the pages that users are on, reads the content of the pages, and is there for users when they have questions about current or past content, or want to have a discussion about it.

Browsing is no longer a “lonely experience with just you and all your tabs” according to Microsoft. How awfully nice.

Good news is that Copilot Vision is an opt-in experience. It is only available for select Pro subscribers at the time of writing and can be enabled under Copilot Labs. Furthermore, it will only work “on a select set of websites initially”.

Microsoft has come up with examples to demonstrate the usefulness of Copilot Vision.

  • Use it to plan a day at the museum, by “pointing out all the information you need to know before you visit”.
  • Tell you which products on a page match your needs and preferences.
  • Help you learn new games, for instance Geoguessr.

And privacy?

Copilot Vision is opt-in, which means that users have to enable it before it starts monitoring activity.

Microsoft says that Copilot Vision data is only kept during sessions and deleted afterwards. This means that everything a user said during a session and the context is deleted. Copilots responses are logged, however, according to Microsoft to “improve safety systems”.

Closing Words

Is Copilot Vision a useful tool? Who is it for? The examples that Microsoft provided do not sound overly spectacular. Telling me which products I most likely like on a page? Maybe on a page with thousands or products and endless scrolling for a preselection, but otherwise?

There is also the question of trust.

  • Do you want an AI to monitor your browsing, even if it is just for a session?
  • Do you trust Microsoft to delete the data after the session?
  • Do you believe that the answers that Microsoft logs do not contain personal information?
  • That Copilot Vision won’t get enabled automatically, by error.

Now it is your turn. Could Copilot Vision be a helpful tool in the future? Or do you see issues and problems that it could cause first and foremost? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Thunderbird Android

Thunderbird financials: doing really well

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The team behind the open source email client Thunderbird has released the annual report for the 2023-2024 period. The report covers major developments as well as an overview of financials.

And it could not look better. Financial contributions reached 8.6 million US Dollar in 2023, which is an increase of nearly 35 percent when compared to 2022’s 6.4 million US Dollar.

The project received donations from over 300,000 individuals according to the report. The median amount donated was 11,12 US Dollar and the number of big — over 1,000 US Dollar — donators was just 56 in the period.

Donations from five countries — Germany, the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Japan — accounted for more than 63 percent of all donations.

The expenses chart is interesting, especially when compared to Mozilla’s expense chart. More than 68 percent of expenses go to personnel, and almost 14 percent to infrastructure and operational services. Donation processing fees eat up more than 7 percent, which means that more than 600,000 US Dollar are wasted on fees. Marketing makes up 2 percent of expenses.

The bulk of revenue flows directly into the Thunderbird project and related services.

Major development took place since 2023

The organization has released two major versions of Thunderbird for the desktop since 2023. First Thunderbird 115 in 2023 and then a year later the big Thunderbird Nebula release.

K-9 Mail for Android was finally turned into Thunderbird for Android, which marked a major development step in creating a true cross-platform solution.

Development on add-on services began in 2023 as well. The team focused its efforts first on services that would add value to Thunderbird and align with its own values and goals. The following services were created as a consequence:

  • Appointment, a calendar scheduling tool
  • Send, based on Firefox-Send, a file transfer tool.
  • Thunderbird Sync, a file synchronization tool to sync settings between all devices.

Development picked up pace between 2023 and 2024, and so did community contributions, which suggests that it is heading in the right direction.

Now you: do you use Thunderbird as your email client or another application? What is your take on the development? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

WhatsApp finally has an answer for annoying voice messages

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

I have to admit that I do use WhatsApp for communication with certain relatives and friends. Some of them have the habit of sending voice messages instead of text messages.

If you are like me, you dislike this a lot. I have to play the messages to listen to them, and may have to replay them, if something is not clear. To play a message, I need to either use headphones or play the message in a location where it does not bother anyone else.

Related:

WhatsApp: set an optional username and Pin for protection against unwanted messages

Voice Message Transcripts

WhatsApp has announced a new feature that puts an end to this. It is called voice message transcripts and will transcribe voice messages to text for you.

Here are the details:

  • Voice Message Transcripts are disabled by default.
  • Long-press on a message and select the transcribe option to start the process.
  • WhatsApp says the processing happens on the local device.

The feature is rolling out to all users of WhatsApp in the coming weeks. To enable it, go to Settings > Chats > Voice message transcripts. If you do not see the option at this point, check at a later point again.

You may also set the preferred language for the transcriptions. Note that this may require a download of a language pack to the device for the selected language.

Once enabled, long-press any voice message and select transcribe to get a text version of the message.

WhatsApp notes that there may be issues during the process. The app displays “Transcript unavailable” as an error message then.

This may have different causes, including:

  • The transcript language does not match the voice message language.
  • Some words are not recognized, likely because of background noise.
  • The language of the voice message is not supported.

Closing Words

The new option is useful, but it still requires manual action for each voice message. It would be great if WhatsApp would implement an auto-transcribe feature, as it would improve the process further.

Do you use WhatsApp? What is your take on the feature? Feel free to leave a comment down below.