Firefox 20.0 released

[HansV]

Firefox 20.0 is available from the built-in update mechanism and from http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Main new feature: a pane available from the address bar that lets you track downloads.

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[stuck]

...a pane available...

I hope that's not a typo and this latest version really is pain free

Ken

[HansV]

It's six days now without a 20.0.1 update, so apparently there are no major problems.

[John Gray]

As far as I can tell, the only thing which has changed over the last half-dozen updates has been the version number!

[Leif]

As far as I can tell, the only thing which has changed over the last half-dozen updates has been the version number!

Nope - as Hans points out above, the Download tracker-icon thingy has changed - and so far for the better, as far as I'm concerned!

[Argus]

As usual there were a couple of small, or very small changes (and some of them perhaps so small that they could only be observed using the LHC ), together with some security fixes. I noticed among them, apart from the abovementioned, that they have introduced "more control over your privacy" i.e. we can now open a separate private window with the existing browsing session uninterrupted. It has moved from the Tools menu to the File menu (for those still using a menu), Ctrl+Shift+P.

However, as we all know, a second window, or a third etc., will open, not above, but slightly to the side of the previous window, and when we close that "separate private window", Windows will remember its position. If it was maximised it's not a problem, but with larger screens people tend to run applications in smaller windows (until Window 8 came along).

Is it possible to change to the old behaviour in Fx, just using a tab?

(They also changed the tools, the web console etc.)

[TonyE]

It's six days now without a 20.0.1 update, so apparently there are no major problems.

There will be a 20.0.1 probably in the next couple of days, it is to fix a bug that mainly impacts those working in a corporate environment. There is an issue whereby the address bar can become unresponsive when the Firefox profile is stored remotely via a UNC path.

[HansV]

Thanks, Tony.

[HansV]

My Firefox just auto-updated to 20.0.1.

[PaulB]

...the Download tracker-icon thingy has changed - and so far for the better, as far as I'm concerned!

I like the new download thingy too. I am very concerned, though, that it gives no indication whatsoever that what was downloaded is being checked for viruses, unlike the previous version. Unless, of course, I'm overlooking something...?

[Argus]

It does (at least on one of my machines using XP and MSE). If you click on the thingy when a download is in progress you may notice a quick scan at the end, sometimes that is; it is very quick. As it is, a button, the thingy is barely big enough to show a progress bar, let alone show the words scanning for virus.

Also, since real time monitoring means that files are scanned when they are accessed, and written, that makes it very difficult to do anything with the downloaded file(s).

If you like you could try an Eicar test file. If it doesn't work with those I would worry about the real time protection.

However, it is possible that if the folder is excluded from on demand scans, which seems to affect real-time monitoring as well, there will not be a "download scan", at least was the case with some version of MSE/Defender, I think I have mentioned it earlier. When testing this with the latest MSE I noticed something similar; I excluded the download folder from scans and downloaded a test file; MSE still caught it, but in the temp folder. However, it only showed the ".part", the temporary file in the temp folder, and when I had removed that one, which wasn't there with MSE, the test file was still intact in the download folder. (If the download folder is not excluded MSE will remove the file.)

[Argus]

... and when we close that "separate private window", Windows will remember its position.

Not an issue, far too quick there; close that window with "X" (and the first window will still be there).