Firefox 108 out with security fixes and Windows 11 efficiency mode support

Mozilla Firefox 108.0 Stable is the latest version of the Firefox web browser. The browser will be released today, alongside Firefox 102.6 ESR, the Extended Support Release.

Firefox 108 is a security update, but it makes a few changes and improvements to the browser that are not security related. Windows 11 users get support for efficiency mode, which is designed to reduce the resource usage of background tabs, and all users may use Shift-Esc to open the Process Manager of the browser.

All Firefox development channels, Firefox Beta, Dev and Nightly, do get a version bump at around the same time. Firefox Beta and Dev move to version 109 and Firefox Nightly to version 110. Firefox for Android follows the stable channel's version, which means that it is also updated to version 108.

Executive Summary

• Firefox 108 is a security update.
• This version of Firefox is the last major release of 2022. The next release, Firefox 109, will be released in January 2022.

Firefox 108 download and update

Firefox 108's release date is December 13, 2022. Mozilla releases the browser on the day and the built-in updating system should pick up the update soon thereafter. Firefox users may speed up the installation of the update once the browser is released. This is done by select Menu > Help > About Firefox.

The installed version is displayed at this point and an update check is performed. The new version is then downloaded and installed immediately.

Here are the official download locations:

• Firefox Stable download
• Firefox Beta download
• Nightly download
• Firefox ESR download
• Firefox for Android on Google Play

Firefox 108.0 new features and improvements

Firefox 108 is a small release. It is a security update first and foremost, but it includes some improvements that are not related to the browser's security.

You may remember that Mozilla introduced performance improvements for Windows 11 devices in Firefox 107. Firefox 108 continues the improvements, although unrelated to the changes in Firefox 107. The new version adds support for Windows 11's efficiency mode, which Microsoft introduced in the Windows 11 2022 Update.

The mode should not be confused with Microsoft Edge's Efficiency Mode feature. Both are designed to improve performance, but Windows 11's Efficiency Mode feature is available to all apps, regardless of whether they are browsers or not.

The mode is enabled automatically by Firefox. A quick check of the Windows Task Manager, using Ctrl-Shift-Esc, shows the Efficiency icon for some of Firefox's processes. This limits the resource use of these Firefox processes.

Other changes and fixes

Firefox users may use the keyboard shortcut Shift-Esc to display the process manager of the browser. It lists all open processes and helps users find processes that use too many resources.

Mozilla notes in the release notes that frame scheduling under load has been improved. The change improves "Firefox's MotionMark scores" according to the organization.

Other changes listed in the release notes:

• Support for ICCv4 profiles added to the firefox web browser.
• Support for non-English characters when saving and printing PDF documents added.
• Fixed an issue with Firefox's "Only show on new tab" default bookmark toolbar behavior.

Developer

• Trigonometric functions are now enabled with the layout.css.trig.enabled preference set to true by default.
• The <source> element supports height & width attributes when it is a child of a <picture> element.
• CSS <calc-constant> type is implemented to allow for well-known constants such as pi and e within math functions
• Container query length units are now supported via the the layout.css.container-queries.enabled preference, which is set to false by default.
• Content-Security-Policy HTTP header directives style-src-elem and style-src-attr are now supported.
• Content-Security-Policy HTTP header directives script-src-elem and script-src-attr are now supported.
• The Web MIDI API is now available in secure contexts.
• Added support for the browsingContext.domContentLoaded event
• Firefox now issues a warning when an extension is installed if its version number doesn't follow the recommended format.
• Import maps, which allow web pages to control the behavior of JavaScript imports, are now enabled by default.

Enterprise changes

None published.

Known Issues

None listed.

Security updates / fixes

Will be updated once the information is published by Mozilla.

Outlook

Firefox 109 Stable and Firefox 102.7 ESR will be released on January 17, 2023.

Firefox extension reviews and news

• Firefox Translations 1.2: free text translate option and usability improvements

Recent Firefox news and tips

• Tor Browser 12.0 is out with native Apple Silicon support
• Firefox for Android is getting a native PDF viewer
• A look at Firefox's upcoming site-specific search feature
• Mozilla and Microsoft distrust TrustCor root certificates in their browsers
• Firefox 107.0.1 fixes a hang and other non-security issues
• January's Firefox release will support Manifest V3 extensions
• Mozilla increased revenue significantly in 2021

Additional information / sources

• Firefox 108 release notes
• Firefox 108 for Developers
• Firefox Security Advisories
• Firefox Release Schedule

Source