| Firefox 'New Tab' Feature Exposes Users' Secured Info ● Firefox 'new tab' feature exposes users' secured info: Fix promised:
Privacy-conscious users have sounded the alarm after it emerged the "New Tab" thumbnail feature in Firefox 13 is "taking snapshots of the user's HTTPS session content".
Mozilla acknowledged that the behaviour was undesirable and promised a patch. In the meantime, the browser and email client firm points privacy-conscious users towards various workarounds, as a statement (below) explains.
We are aware of the concern and have a fix that will be released in a future version of Firefox. Mozilla remains resolute in its commitment to privacy and user control. The new tab thumbnail feature within Firefox does not transmit nor store personal information outside the user's direct control.
The new tab thumbnails are based on users' browsing history. All information is contained within the browser and can be deleted at any time. Users can also switch back to using blank new tab screens by clicking the square icon in the top right corner of the browser. That will change the default preference to show a blank page, rather than the most visited websites when a new tab is opened.
Users who share their computer or use Firefox on a public computer should follow best practices for protecting their privacy by utilizing the built-in privacy tools in in Firefox, such as Private Browsing Mode. Firefox 13 was released on 5 June, adding new features including updated new tab and home tab pages. The updated new tab page feature is broadly akin to the Speed Dial feature already present in other browsers and displays cached copies of a user's most visited websites. |
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art22ggPremium
join:2005-02-16
Courtenay, BC
kudos:5 | Wow...Thanks for that...Made the changes...
I also think this should be posted in the Mozilla forums in case someone misses it here!!
Will reference it... |
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 DownTheShoreStronger Than The StormPremium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
kudos:12 | reply to FF4m3
Doesn't look like the Pale Moon iteration of FF has this feature to begin with. |
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 therube
join:2004-11-11
Randallstown, MD | reply to FF4m3
At what point does it capture the thumbs?
Might it have captured my BoA login screen with my account number filed in?
To me, it's like, do I care? (Not.)
(Would you rather it be logging https: or my porn sites  .) |
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 AVDRespice, Adspice, ProspicePremium
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ
kudos:1 | chrome and browser in android have a problem with incognito mode. |
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 sivranOpera ex-patPremium
join:2003-09-15
Arlington, TX
kudos:1 | reply to FF4m3
Title's somewhat confusing, I came in here wondering how the heck could opening a new tab expose info, only to find out it's about Firefox's half-assed Speed Dial.
Silly Firefox not stopping to think, "maybe we shouldn't add https sites to this."
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Think Outside the Fox. |
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 planet
join:2001-11-05
Oz
kudos:1 | Doesn't seem to be present in Fx ESR 10.0.5 either. |
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 rcdaileyDragoonflyPremium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
 ·RoadRunner Cable
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I clicked on the square in the upper right corner of the screen and got the blank new tab screen back. I then looked at about:config and I saw that the new tab option (browser.newtabpage.enabled) is user set to false now. That appears to take care of the issue as described. I left it as user set and closed about:config.
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It is easier for a camel to put on a bikini than an old man to thread a needle. |
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| reply to FF4m3
Thanks for the update! I don't use that "feature" anyway so it's now disabled.  |
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| reply to FF4m3
duplicate post, sorry |
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| reply to FF4m3
quote:
We are aware of the concern and have a fix that will be released in a future version of Firefox.
I'm sure it wasn't deliberate, but this is a good example of why they need to slow down their release schedule a little. You can't just say "oops" and count on the user base all getting the word they need to change a setting.
After all, with silent updates Mozilla took responsibility for security, and they pushed the hell out of FF13 with dire warnings about same. |
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therube
join:2004-11-11
Randallstown, MD | reply to planet
> Doesn't seem to be present in Fx ESR 10.0.5 either.
It wouldn't be.
ESR is feature frozen, only receiving security fixes (generally). |
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| reply to planet
said by planet:Doesn't seem to be present in Fx ESR 10.0.5 either.
the "New Tab" thumbnail feature in Firefox 13 |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | reply to FF4m3
Where did the ridiculous name "new tab thumbnail" come from? It is Fx's idea of Speed Dial (which I hate and turned off immediately in browsers that have it). All tabs already have thumbnail don't they in Fx? They do in SeaMonkey. (I use TBE 3 and related extensions on Fx so I have thumbnails via one of those extensions so I don't know what plain Fx has but I assume it has thumbnails already). This new feature should have a better name. Speed Dial has zero relationship to thumbnails on tabs.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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 Dude111An Awesome DudePremium
join:2003-08-04
USA
kudos:11 | reply to art22gg
Wow usually they arent that careless!!! (Thier spying cant be detected by end users)
Its good someone noticed this |
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 BlackbirdBuilt for SpeedPremium
join:2005-01-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:3
 ·Frontier Communi..
| said by Dude111:Wow usually they arent that careless!!! (Thier spying cant be detected by end users)... So, if the code's open source and end users can't detect spying, on what factual basis do you know they do (spying on users, that is)?
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"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!" -- P.Henry, 1775 |
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Dude111An Awesome DudePremium
join:2003-08-04
USA
kudos:11 | Well with all NEWER software you gotta assume some type of spying is going on.... (ESPECIALLY FROM MICROSOFT) |
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BlackbirdBuilt for SpeedPremium
join:2005-01-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:3 Reviews:
·Frontier Communi..
| said by Dude111:Well with all NEWER software you gotta assume some type of spying is going on.... (ESPECIALLY FROM MICROSOFT)
But what is your factual basis for your assertion that some type of spying is going on in Firefox? (Particularly since this is not a Microsoft browser, and in fact is built with open-source code that anyone can inspect.)
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"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!" -- P.Henry, 1775 |
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| reply to FF4m3
Re: Firefox 'New Tab' Feature Exposes Users' Secured Info So tell me, why do people continue to 'update' Firefox? |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | A lot of folks have Fx 10 Enterprise which is frozen except for security updates. It doesn't have new tab and won't have all the crap that is to soon be foisted on Fx users who are on the regular update channel.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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