The Firefox browser has been updated to build number 90.0. This build was first available to Release channel users on July 13, 2021, and comes with several noteworthy features.

Most notably, it allows for Windows updates to be installed in the background while Firefox isn’t running. As you may know, Windows has been updated to Windows 11 recently, which is a major release for the Windows OS, but that won’t change anything for Firefox users with this feature; you can expect it to work on Windows 10 and 11.

Firefox 90.0

Other notable features include an entirely new page (which can be found by navigating here in Firefox: about:third-party) designed to help diagnose third-party application compatibility issues. Since compatibility problems naturally occur whenever you update the software which forms a platform of some sort — browsers, cryptocurrencies, content management systems, operating systems, so forth — and an application hasn’t followed suit, this is an interesting feature to monitor because it may be coming to other browsers soon, though there is always the chance Google or Microsoft views it as too technical to include in a browser for the average user.

You can read the rest of the changelog below:

New:

  • On Windows, updates can now be applied in the background while Firefox is not running.
  • Firefox for Windows now offers a new page about:third-party to help identify compatibility issues caused by third-party applications.
  • Exceptions to HTTPS-Only mode can be managed in about:preferences#privacy.
  • Print to PDF now produces working hyperlinks.
  • Version 2 of Firefox’s SmartBlock feature further improves private browsing. Third-party Facebook scripts are blocked to prevent you from being tracked, but are now automatically loaded “just in time” if you decide to “Log in with Facebook” on any website.

Fixed:

  • Various security fixes

Changes:

  • The “Open Image in New Tab” context menu item now opens images and media in a background tab by default.
  • Most users without hardware accelerated WebRender will now be using software WebRender.
  • Improved software WebRender performance.
  • FTP support has been removed.

To update Firefox, open the browser and then head to Help > About Firefox, and then the browser will automatically check if any updates are yet to be installed.

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