Firefox is a popular web browser
Mozilla has released Firefox 145, a version that comes with updates for the extended support branches 140.5.0 and 115.30.0 ESR.
This The new edition marks a change, As it ends support for 32-bit Linux systems, it introduces visual and functional improvements, and significantly strengthens privacy and anti-tracking tools.
Main new features of Firefox 145
The new version of Firefox 145 It marks a turning point, because It officially drops support for 32-bit Linux systemsThis was a predictable step given the obsolescence of this type of architecture. The increasing complexity of its maintenance, coupled with the abandonment of support by most modern distributions, This has led Mozilla to focus its efforts on 64-bit environments, which are more stable and secure. Users who still rely on 32-bit systems will be able to continue using the ESR 140 branch, which will continue to receive security updates until September of next year.
Regarding the improvements implemented, Firefox 145 modernizes its appearance with a smoother redesign: The buttons, tabs, input fields, and address bar now feature more rounded edges for a more uniform aesthetic.
The integrated PDF viewer has also been updated, since now It allows you to add, edit, and delete comments and annotations. It also includes a separate sidebar for viewing and managing all notes. Each comment can be customized with different colors, making it easier to read and collaborate on documents.
Furthermore, Tab group management has been improved: Hovering the cursor over the label of a collapsed group displays a list of its constituent tabs, allowing you to open any of them without expanding the entire group. Also It is possible to access saved passwords directly from the sidebar, without opening the password manager in a new tab.
More customization and new features
Page The new tab includes a selection of background images This applies to both light and dark modes. Additionally, users can now choose where external links open, placing new tabs next to the current tab or at the end of the list.
Another useful feature is the "Copy link to highlighted text" option, which creates a URL that points directly to a specific text fragment within a web page.
Protection against tracking and fingerprinting
Regarding privacy, Mozilla has significantly strengthened its Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP). When enabled on Strict or in private browsing mode, Firefox drastically reduces the effectiveness of fingerprinting techniques. It now returns constant values ​​for parameters that could identify the user, restricts access to hardware data (such as CPU cores or number of touches), and adds random noise when reading images from the canvas element.
Also Text rendering with local fonts has been disabled non-standard, limiting another potential tracking method.
One of the most important functions is the Tracking protection in redirects, which is now enabled by default in strict modeFirefox automatically detects tracking attempts through intermediate redirects and removes cookies and associated local data, based on heuristics rather than static lists of known trackers.
Multimedia support, performance and compatibility
Firefox 145 adds support for Matroska containers (MKV) with a wide range of modern codecs such as AVC, HEVC, VP8, VP9, ​​AV1, AAC, Opus and Vorbis.
The automatic translation system has been optimized to handle languages ​​with different writing directions, and now uses the Zstandard algorithm to compress local models, reducing disk space and download time.
In configurations without any add-ons installed, clicking on the extensions panel displays a brief explanation of the benefits of add-ons along with a link to the official catalog.
Technical improvements and support for new APIs
On the technical side, Firefox 145 expands JavaScript capabilities with the addition of Atomics.waitAsync(), an asynchronous version of Atomics.wait(). Support has also been added for the HTTP headers Integrity-Policy and Integrity-Policy-Report-Only, which verify the integrity of loaded scripts.
In CSS, new properties have been introduced. such as text-autospace (to adjust spacing between different alphabets) and support for the math font family to correctly represent mathematical expressions. Furthermore, the The ToggleEvent API now includes the source property., which identifies the element that caused a change of state, improving interaction with dynamic elements such as pop-up menus.
Platform changes and enhanced security
En On Windows, the classic Firefox shortcut has been replaced by a mini-application. A launcher that starts the browser or its installer if it's not already on the system. Mac with Apple Silicon chip and macOS 26 now they have Full support for the WebGPU API, which expands the browser's graphical capabilities.
En Android, Firefox strengthens the security of TLS connections through mandatory verification of Certificate Transparency records, designed to detect improperly issued certificates. Also The CRLite system is introduced, which speeds up certificate revocation verification locally., and the new hybrid algorithm mlkem768x25519 for TLS 1.3 and HTTP/3, resistant to quantum attacks.
Finally, the network components for QUIC and HTTP/3 have been rewritten in Rust, improving performance and overall security.
Interested in knowing more about it, you can consult the release notes in the following link
How to install Firefox on Linux?
If you are already a Firefox user, you should know that you can easily update to the latest version accessing the configuration menu. Those with automatic updates enabled need not worry as they will receive the new version without manual intervention.
Alternatively, if you prefer not to wait for the automatic update, you can do it manually by going to Menu > Help > About Firefox. This will open a window showing the installed version and, if the feature is enabled, it will check for available updates.
For Ubuntu, Linux Mint and other derivatives users from Ubuntu, too It is possible to update Firefox through the official PPATo do this, open a terminal and enter the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa -y sudo apt-get update sudo apt install firefox
Another available installation option is via Flatpak. To use this method, you need to have Flatpak support on your system. Once enabled, you can install Firefox by running the following command in the terminal:
flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox
As for those who already have the browser installed, it is enough to execute the following command to not only update Firefox, but also all its applications that are in Flatpak format:
flatpack update
In the case of those who prefer the use of Snap, the installation of the browser can be done by typing the following command:
sudo snap install firefox
And to update the applications that we have installed in Snap format, just type the following in the terminal:
sudo snap refresh