New Update Waterfox web browser & updates

silversurfer

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Homepage: Waterfox - The free, open and private browser
GitHub: GitHub - WaterfoxCo/Waterfox: The official Waterfox đź’§ source code repository


The official release notes list all major changes of the new release. Most changes are made to the underlying platform. Waterfox G5.0 is based on Firefox ESR 102, which means that it supports the features of that release next to Waterfox-specific features.

The release notes group most platform changes in the three groups security, media and operating systems.


Security

Waterfox G5.0 includes improved referrer tracking protection in Strict tracking protection mode and in private browsing mode. Developers have improved web compatibilities as well. Next to that, Waterfox's sandbox on Linux prevents access to the X Window System on Linux for web content.

Additionally, "less restricted referrer policies" are now ignored to prevent privacy leaks, and the browser now supports the automatic updating "to HTTPS using HTTPS RR as Alt-Svc headers".


Media

Lots of media related changes. Waterfox supports the AVIF format and hardware accelerated AV1 video decoding, the latter only on certain Windows systems with supported graphics processing units.

The browser's built-in PDF viewer supports form filling in the new version, and Picture-in-Picture mode supports video captions and subtitles now for select sites.

On Mac devices, support for images containing ICC v4 profiles is now enabled. Share options are now found under the file menu in the browser, and HDR video is also supported on Macs. For now, support is limited to YouTube on macOS 11 and newer with HGR compatible screens.

Waterfox will crash less often due to low-memory on the system, thanks to improvements integrated in to the Firefox code by Mozilla. Noise suppression and auto-gain have improved significantly as well in the release.


Operating System Specific

Waterfox supports the Snap Layout and new scrollbar styles features of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system. Scrollbars do not take up space on Linux and Windows anymore by default. The browser follows the system settings on Windows 11, which are found under Settings > Accessibility > Visual Effects > Always show scrollbars. On Linux, users may change the behavior in the browser's settings.

Waterfox has the video overlay feature enabled for Intel GPUs on Windows to reduce power usage during video playback.

Linux users benefit from improved WebGL performance and reduced power consumption.

Waterfox for macOS uses the low power mode for fullscreen videos on YouTube, Twitch and other sites, which reduces power consumption. Users may also notice reduced CPU utilization when software decoding is used.
 
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silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1 released yesterday.

G5.1​


New
  • You can modify Waterfox's look and feel by heading to about: preferences → Look & Feel. You can set various default presets, change the way tabs behave and much more!

Fixed
  • Desktop counterparts to your WebExtensions will now be able to communicate with Waterfox once again!

Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: Release Notes

Download: Waterfox, Free Web Browser
 

gigi64

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Ashampoo_Snap_Friday, December 23, 2022_10h08m52s_001_.png


I have Windows 8.1 and now I want to use WaterFox several times ! but I get this message and the browser closes !
 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.2
New

Fixed
  • Various theme issues.

Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.2

 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.3

G5.1.3​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.3

 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.4

G5.1.4​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.4

 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.5​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.5

 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.6​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming sites that previous never worked with Waterfox have now been fixed, but before we can push out said fix, we need to wait for approval from Widevine.
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.6

 

silversurfer

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Last edited:

n8chavez

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I know I said this before, but it's worth repeating. Waterfox is so much more "snappier" and responsive than any other FF derived app. I don't mean from a gui perspective, but the ap itself; pages load faster, DNS queries are faster and don't hang. I'm not sure when it happened, maybe FF 108/109, but Firefox/librewolf has been takijng a lot longer to load pages occasionally than need be. It seems like DNS queries themselves would stutter and hang a bit. That is not the case with Vivaldi/Chrome (using the same ControlD servers), and that's not the case with Waterfox. I'm not sure why, but Waterfox just seems seem more responsive. Maybe it has something to do with the ESR base?
 
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silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.7​


Changed
  • Waterfox on Windows now FULLY supports DRM. That means streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max and more will work!

Known Issues
  • macOS does not currently support DRM protected streaming services, but this will be fixed in a subsequent release. (Linxu TBD).
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.7

 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.8​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Currently, DRM only works on Windows. macOS and Linux to follow.
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.8

 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.9​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Currently, DRM only works on Windows. macOS and Linux to follow.
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.9

 

nicolaasjan

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May 29, 2023
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Waterfox Browser cuts ties with System 1 to celebrate independence.
Waterfox Browser cuts ties with System 1 to celebrate independence - gHacks Tech News

When the creator of the Waterfox web browser Alex Kontos announced that his web browser had been sold to System1, part of the community eyed the deal suspiciously. System1, which also acquired the Startpage search engine in 2019, was an advertising company first and foremost after all. Its goal was to make advertising better and safer, and the company had a prior relationship with the Waterfox project.
On July 3, 2023, Kontos announced on the official Waterfox blog that the browser has turned to its independent roots again.
 

silversurfer

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Waterfox G5.1.10​


Changed
  • Various security fixes 1.

Known Issues
  • Currently, DRM only works on Windows. macOS and Linux to follow.
  • Certain customisation in Look & Feel do not work.
  • Upgrading to G5 resets custom container tabs in certain situations. We have investigated but have been unable to find a work around or fix so far.
  • If you cannot select text in the search bar with the mouse cursor please go to about:config, set layout.forms.input-type-search.enabled to false and restart the browser.
Source: https://www.waterfox.net/docs/releases/G5.1.10

 

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