Firefox 115.0.3 is a rare ESR-only update, but you may not need it

Mozilla released an update for Firefox's Extended Support Release channel only today that brings the version to Firefox ESR 115.0.3.  The update addresses a startup crash on Windows for devices with the Qihoo 360 Antivirus software installed.

In short: Firefox users who do not run the ESR version, Firefox ESR users who don't use Windows, and Firefox ESR users who use Windows, but don't use Qihoo 360 Antivirus, do not need the update.

The third point update for Firefox 115 ESR is exclusively available for that version. Firefox users who run the stable channel of the web browser don't get an update to Firefox 115.0.3 at this time.

Firefox ESR installations may be upgraded to the new version by selecting Menu > Help > About Firefox. This opens a small popup that displays the current version. Firefox checks for updates whenever the page is opened and the new Firefox 115.0.3 ESR update should be downloaded and installed.

Qihoo claims that it has more than 1 billion active users. Besides Qihoo 360 Antivirus, Qihoo is known for a wide range of computer and mobile software products, Enterprise products, and its investment in Opera Software.

Qihoo 360 was placed on the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List in 2020 due to "national security concerns" and on the Chinese military companies operating in the U.S. list in 2022 by the United States Department of Defense.

In 2015, Qihoo was accused by antivirus testing companies to equip their antivirus solution with Bitdefender's engine for testing, while shipping the consumer version with the company's own, weaker, QVM engine.

The official Firefox 115.0.3 ESR changelog lists just one entry: Fixed a startup crash for Windows users with Qihoo 360 Antivirus software installed (bug 1843977)

The linked bug report claims that most crashes happen on Windows 7 devices running Firefox 115.0.2 ESR with Qihoo 360 Antivirus installed. Almost two-thirds of the crashes have zh-cn as the locale, which stands for mainland China.

Firefox 115.0.1 and 115.0.1 ESR addressed a startup crash as well that has been caused by antivirus products on Windows machines. Mozilla published a fix shortly after the official Firefox 115 release to address startup crashes caused by Kingsoft Antivirus products. Kingsoft is also a China-based company.

Now You: which antivirus software do you use, if any, and how satisfied are you with the product?

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