Firefox is here to change the rules of the game with its latest stable version “firefox 153” Mozilla's browser completely revolutionizes privacy management with the native integration of its new contextual containersBut that's not all: this update also brings improvements to graphics performance, especially for Linux users, by introducing the long-awaited initial support for the Vulkan API in hardware-accelerated video decoding.
Considered one of the most robust updates in its ESR cycle, this version not only fixes a large number of critical vulnerabilities, but also protects the local network against silent attacks. improvements in productivity tools such as its built-in PDF editor and the experimental arrival of an environment assisted by Artificial Intelligence.
Main new features of Firefox 153
This version marks a turning point by introducing initial support for the Vulkan graphics API, focused on hardware-accelerated video decoding on Linux, since previously The browser depended on the VA-API.which had certain limitations and a lack of official support with NVIDIA graphics cards without resorting to independent drivers.
Additionally, the Windows versions now allow native playback of content in high dynamic range (HDR), and at a general level a new API has been implemented that allows web developers to integrate their own interactive controls for picture-in-picture mode.
Contextual containers and productivity
The management of daily navigation is evolving radically with the idirect integration of contextual containers, a feature inherited from the popular Multi-Account Containers plugin. This function It allows you to isolate arbitrary websites, creating dedicated environments for work, shopping or personal banking, each with its own independent storage of cookies and cache.
Regarding the integrated tools, the viewer Native PDF now allows editing documents by combining multiple files using the drag and drop functionor by adding images directly from the sidebar. Additionally, the ability to generate QR codes from the context menu has been added for quickly sharing tabs with mobile devices.
In terms of protection, the update It fixes 216 vulnerabilities, most of which are related to critical memory management issues.To strengthen the user's network infrastructure, Local Network Access (LNA) restriction has been enabled by default, blocking malicious interactions from public sites to internal devices such as routers or printers, thus preventing CSRF attacks.
The Browser add-ons now require explicit permissions to access local files, and support has been added for QWAC TLS certificates, which guarantees the legal identity of websites in compliance with European eIDAS regulations.
Experimental technologies and optimization
For network administrators and developers, the following stands out: adoption of the Compression Dictionary Transport mechanism. This technology It drastically reduces the volume of data transferred between client and server using algorithms like Zstandard and Brotli, optimizing loading times on slow connections.
Finally, experimentally, Some users will be able to access the new Smart Window mode, an isolated and dedicated workspace exclusively for interacting seamlessly with different Artificial Intelligence models that assist the user during their web browsing sessions.
If you are interested in learning more, you can find the details at the following link.
How to install or update to Firefox 153
If you already have Firefox installed, the update should arrive automatically through your distribution's package manager in the next few days. However, if you want Get version 153 immediately without waiting for the official repositoriesThe best option is to use the official binary provided by Mozilla.
To install it from the binary on any Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, etc.), you can follow these steps in your terminal:
wget -O firefox.tar.bz2 "https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-latest&os=linux64&lang=es-ES" sudo tar xjf firefox.tar.bz2 -C /opt/ sudo ln -sf /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/firefox
If you prefer to use the packages Snap (common in Ubuntu), you can force the update with:
Sudo Snap Refresh Firefox
For users who prefer Flatpak And on Flathub, the update can be performed by running:
flatpak update org.mozilla.firefox
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
Finally, if you prefer to wait for it to arrive in your distribution's native repositories (DNF, Pacman), you just need to run your system's usual update command, although keep in mind that this can take anywhere from a few hours (on Arch) to several days (on Debian/Ubuntu).