With a 66 per cent share of the market, Google’s Chrome continues to be the most popular web browser in the world.
However, a big new updated from its rivals at Mozilla could give Google a serious run for their money.
The Firefox browser has just been upgraded with a range of new features and a major improvement to overall speeds.
In fact, Mozilla is boasting that some tasks can now be performed around 40-80 per cent faster than before.
To make this happen, the team behind the software says it has adopted the well-known time management strategy of “procrastinate on purpose.”
“To make Firefox faster, we simply prioritized our performance management “to-do” list. We applied many of the same principles of time management just like you might prioritize your own urgent needs,” said Mozilla’s Marissa Wood.
Along with being faster, Firefox will also now detect if your computer’s memory is running low and suspend tabs that you haven’t used or looked at in a while.
Security has also been beefed up in the latest release with the main changes now allowing users to block fingerprinting and cryptomining.
These have become two serious threats with fingerprinting allowing firms to build a digital profile of people online and cryptomining using the power of your computer’s CPU to generate cryptocurrency for someone else’s benefit.
To turn this feature on users should click on the small “i” icon in the address bar and under Content Blocking, click on the Custom gear on the right side.
From there, users will see Content Blocking listed at the top.
Select Custom and check “Cryptominers” and “Fingerprinters” so that they are both blocked.
Another nice extra is the news that Mozilla is giving users more controls over things when they switch to the private mode.
These include being able to register certain website to still get autofill passwords – something you can’t do currently – and being able to decide which extensions you want to enable or disable.
“Today’s new Firefox release continues to bring fast and private together right at the crossroads of performance and security,” added Wood.
“It includes improvements that continue to keep Firefox fast while giving you more control and assurance through new features that your personal information is safe while you’re online with us.”
To see all the changes in this week’s release, you can check out the full notes here.
News of this update comes as Microsoft has just announced the early release of its Edge browser on Mac computers.
In an update on its website, Microsoft has now confirmed that a preview build of Edge is available to download and try for Apple fans.
Along with the new software appearing on the screen, Microsoft is also working on Mac shortcuts, Touch Bar and trackpad support which may all launch in the coming months.
If you fancy giving it a try you can you find out more on Microsoft Edge Insider website.