Firefox 154.0 is out with improved protections, local backups and translations

Mozilla released a new version of its open source Firefox web browser a moment ago. Firefox 154.0 is the latest stable version. Also released are Firefox 153.1 ESR, Firefox 140.14 ESR (reaching end of support in September) and Firefox 115.39.0 ESR (for old operating systems).

The new stable version comes with several new features and improvements to existing features. The usual bug fixes and security updates are also included.

As far as new features are concerned, there are several important ones. First, the open source browser’s local network access protection includes WebSocket connections now. Means, when a remote website asks for permission to use WebSocket, Firefox will display a permission prompt first. The user needs to allow this explicitly so that the website can open a WebSocket.

There is also a change to how Firefox handles sites and cookies for some sites. The release gives users more control, as it is now possible to exempt sites from the browser’s cookie and site data cleaner without exempting it from tracking protection and other cookie restrictions at the same time.

The local translations feature got two new options. It supports translations in iframes now and Firefox’s full-page translations feature now runs on all page loads, which Mozilla says improves the experience for offering translations.

Second, the browser’s backup feature for profiles is now also available on macOS, meaning that all three desktop operating systems are covered. IT is a built-in feature to create a backup of a Firefox profile to make restores easier. Should not bother long-time Firefox users who back up the profiles manually using external means, but may help users who never bothered or knew about this option in the first place.

Lastly, there is a change to hard reloading a website using Shift and clicking on the refresh button. This will now also clear and update favicons, the little icons you see in front of the site address on the main Firefox toolbar.

Firefox users who watch videos in the browser benefit from seeking improvements. Mozilla claims that this is much faster now. I don’t use Firefox for that, but if you do, feel free to share your experience in the comments below.

You may also notice that Firefox View is no longer visible by default. Mozilla is hiding it by default for new profiles and for profiles where it has not been used in a while. It is still accessible via List all tabs > View all tabs, and can also be added back using the customize menu on the new tab page.

As far as security fixes are concerned, there are quite a few. The aggregate rating is high and Mozilla makes no mentions of exploits in the wild. Still, good idea to update asap.