Firefox Beta Touts Advanced Engine, Solves 8 Flaws

Mozilla may be this year's winner in the "browser battles" as they ready the next beta version of their tour-de-force, Firefox 3.1. Mozilla is resolving eight critical vulnerabilities found in the current version of Firefox --a move sure to garner applause from devoted Firefox users.

As this year's crop of new browsers emerges, enhanced features are becoming secondary to one thing: speed. Mozilla is nearly ready to release the next beta version of Firefox 3.1 to the public for testing and insiders predict that it will outpace even Safari 4, which has been the the fastest browser in wide release since it's beta began last week.(Source: betanews.com)

Mozilla introduces 'TraceMonkey'

Mozilla's secret weapon? A fancy JavaScript execution engine called TraceMonkey, which reportedly allows the browser to run several times faster than the previous JavaScript engine that Firefox had been using. (Source: mozillazine.org)

The beta Firefox 3.1 will still have a few bugs to work out, but Mozilla officials have promised that eight of the security flaws found in the current browser, six of which have been rated critical, will be fixed in the updated version. The most serious of these vulnerabilities are already being repaired, and can be downloaded as patches from the Mozilla website.

Mozilla promises Speed and Security for Firefox 3.1

Firefox version 3.0.7, the currently available browser, contains several faults which make it possible for attacks to occur in the form of malicious code, as well as by exploiting the browser's garbage collecting functions (in place to assist Mozilla in monitoring the usage of computer memory, libraries, and JavaScript engines.) (Source: cnet.com)

As Microsoft readies their Internet Explorer 8 for release in the upcoming year -- and Safari 4 continues to beat the high scores of its predecessors -- Mozilla's updated browser may still have a chance at reclaiming market share. If the new Mozilla can continue to steadily out-maneuver the giants of Silicon Valley, they may end up with a bigger piece of the consumer pie: especially if Firefox 3.1 is as fast as experts predict. (Source: cnet.com)