Firefox has already proven itself as a powerful and adaptable browser. Initially, it was significantly more secure than Internet Explorer, but in recent times, some of the advantages it has over its competitor have disappeared. Malware programmers still spend a lot of time working at security holes in the IE program, but do not be lulled into a false sense of security; Firefox can be vulnerable too. Mozilla have responded to malware threats quite quickly and have claimed in the past that they will be able to patch any security holes within ten days of discovery.

Firefox 3.0, due to be released some time this year, is proactive about security. It should be able to detect malware embedded in a page and prevent it from running. In order to accomplish this, Mozilla are rewriting much of their existing code. We are not exactly sure about the functionality of the added security measures, as Mozilla themselves do not seem certain as to what will be included in the initial release of Firefox 3.0. It is a truly massive project and is less a code update than a total rewrite.

With Firefox 3.0, we should see not only a more secure browser, but also a faster one. Memory management has been a problem for Firefox, not necessarily because of the browser, often because of the plug-ins that people add to it. By making use of a virtual machine and causing the code to execute within the virtual machine, the memory management issue may have been fixed. If not eliminated, it certainly will have been reduced.

While Firefox 2 could be run on a Pentium 233 MHz with 64MB of RAM and 52MB of hard disk space, Firefox 3.0 is going to need at least double of just about everything. For Windows machines, you will need Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista, 128MB of RAM and 100MB of hard disk space. Mac users will need Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher or Mac OS X Leopard. They will need 256MB of RAM and 150MB of hard disk space. Linux users will also need 256MB of RAM, hard disk space requirements are the same as for Windows systems, 100MB and Linux kernel 2.2.14 or higher.

Firefox has become a bit of a resource hog of late. Looking at my Windows Task Manager right now, it is using 146MB of RAM. A lot of that is down to having multiple tabs and windows open and of course plug-ins. While Firefox 3.0 has a higher memory requirement, if they are using a virtual machine, perhaps they may be able to reduce the excess memory requirements somewhat.

Firefox 3.0 is presently in Alpha stage, it is not possible to get a real feel for what the problem entails. Alpha stage 7 was tested before this article was written; it looks and feels much like Firefox 2. The cosmetic changes are usually the last to be made. There were no surprises in the menu lists and the pop-up blocker did not function, as it should have. One nice surprise occurred when Firefox 3.0 Gran Paradiso was shut down. The user is asked if he or she would like to save their tabs before they exit. For anyone who does a lot of Internet based research, this is an enormous plus. A Beta release should be just around the corner and we are looking forward to testing that and writing a thorough review. The Beta should give a good idea as to the overall feel of the new browser. Until then, this will have to suffice.

If Mozilla does manage to overcome the difficulties that they have started to encounter, it is going to be a good day for most Internet users. There is sure to be a lot of activity there in the coming weeks. If you have any news or questions regarding Firefox 3.0, please feel free to post them in the comments section. We will endeavor to keep you posted.

Source: Yahoo! News, Mozilla

Note: If you do want to test the Alpha version, it will install by default to a separate directory. It is not going to overwrite your Firefox 2 install. You may have to play with your firewall settings as it still uses Firefox.exe and a good firewall will detect a different instance of the executable. It can be a little annoying, but it is not a problem.
Download: Firefox 3.0 (Gran Paradiso)

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