Mozilla Firefox Expands DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) Test to Release Channel November 29, 2018 https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...s-dns-over-https-doh-test-to-release-channel/
Mozilla Announces a Native ARM64 version of Firefox December 6, 2018 https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/mozilla-announces-a-native-arm64-version-of-firefox/ Mozilla blog entry: Firefox Coming to the Windows 10 on Qualcomm Snapdragon Devices Ecosystem (December 6, 2018)
Firefox 64.0 is now showing a Booking.com ad in the New Tab page December 31, 2018 https://www.neowin.net/news/firefox-640-is-now-showing-a-bookingcom-ad-in-the-new-tab-page
Mozilla kills its experimental Firefox Test Pilot program 3 years after launch January 15, 2019 https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/15/...efox-test-pilot-program-3-years-after-launch/ Blog entry: Adios, Amigo
Passwordless Web Authentication Support via Windows Hello March 19, 2019 https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2...web-authentication-support-via-windows-hello/
Mozilla still on track to enable DNS-over-HTTPS by default in Firefox April 10, 2019 https://www.ghacks.net/2019/04/10/m...-enable-dns-over-https-by-default-in-firefox/
Mozilla draws up future plans for Firefox on Android April 28, 2019 https://mspoweruser.com/mozilla-draws-up-future-plans-for-firefox-on-android/
I'm still wondering what I'm missing here. Someone correct me if I'm wrong... even if you use an encrypted DNS, aren't you immediately going to be served the site you queried for? Can your ISP not still track the DNS record you requested by logging the site you were served? Even if the site is HTTPS, can they still not record what the site is?
They can via SNI, but there is experimental encrypted SNI feature in standardization process. With encrypted DNS, encrypted certificates (already in TLS 1.3), encrypted SNI ISP can't log website you are connecting to. They can only log IP addresses, but there may be many websites on the same IP address. Encrypted DNS especially with DNSSEC not only offers some privacy protection, but also security improvements. There are threats such as DNS hijacking that can be mitigated.
Good point on the security improvements. I'll call that worth the effort more so than the privacy improvements so good enough. At least for now.
Firefox Lockwise Aims to Revamp Browser Password Management May 20, 2019 https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...e-aims-to-revamp-browser-password-management/
Mozilla is working on a premium version of Firefox June 10, 2019 https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3077087/premium-firefox-in-works
Paid version for premium features. https://thenextweb.com/apps/2019/06...y-launch-a-paid-version-of-firefox-this-fall/
Hmm, intriguing--a decent browser bundled with a vpn. I'm sure there will be a niche market for this, especially if the consumer price is at or below 50.00 USD per year. Me, I'm keeping it status quo, donating a little cash to Mozz whenever the twinge of conscience hits me.
Other browsers such as Opera had a vendor version back in the day too. What worries me is that these paid for browsers will become the new normal. Ostensibly I'm not against this idea, but the cynical and suspicious side of me wonders if a 'two tier' system is now inevitable. The analogy that comes to mind is television. In my country I pay an annual licence fee to the BBC. This enables me to use the BBC iPlayer and watch BBC digital television without having to spend time in one of Her Majesty's Prisons. It probably also helped pay for 'Killing Eve', so is possibly kind of worth it. However, if I want to watch Freeview television with its endless (and terminally boring) repeated shows, endless adverts, ancient television shows from decades ago and pointless banal scheduling for free, I can. Although it's not what I'd call rock'n'roll. Many Freeview channels seem to exist to be predominantly cash cows that are decidedly over-milked by excessive commercial advertising. The alternative is to pay for a contract with a conglomerate media company. So essentially television, a medium which was once universal, now has what is to all intents and purposes an economic class distinction. According to the Mozilla Foundation: "The Mozilla project uses a community-based approach to create world-class open source software and to develop new types of collaborative activities" The Mozilla Foundation pledges to support the Mozilla Manifesto in its activities. Specifically, we will: Build and enable open-source technologies and communities that support the Manifesto’s principles; Build and deliver great consumer products that support the Manifesto’s principles; Use the Mozilla assets (intellectual property such as copyrights and trademarks, infrastructure, funds, and reputation) to keep the Internet an open platform; Promote models for creating economic value for the public benefit; and Promote the Mozilla Manifesto principles in public discourse and within the Internet industry. My concern with all this is that a two tier system is becoming a normality for the Internet. The multinational conglomerates will monetise as much as they can to the detriment of the many and the advantage of the few.
Calm down guys, it isnt the end of the world, browsers wont be payware, what Mozilla is doing is trying to diversify its portfolio so it can survive without Google (it wont be easy). Google is somewhat the owner of Mozilla, more than 90 % of the latter revenue is made from its search deal royalties with the former; in another words, Google controls Mozilla (and Firefox) destiny. The deal between Mozilla and Google will last until 2020 and things may turn sour to Mozilla, so if you really like Firefox you may at least support the ideia. I already have a VPN and I prefer Brave in Firefox detriment, but I can totally understand why Mozilla is launching its premium service and I support it all the way.
I might be willing to support a paid version of Firefox if it is not too expensive. It will be the only holdout that is not Chrome. And since Google is about to break ad-blocking add-ons I'm surely not going to use it. Too many ad servers hosting malware. That or AdGuard is about to get really popular but that won't be free either.
