Mozilla Firefox 74 is now available to download for Windows, macOS and Linux — and it features a decent set of improvements.

The headline change in Firefox 74 is the use of DNS over HTTPS by default for users in the USA

The freshly accelerated Firefox release schedule see a new version of Firefox released every four weeks. The increased release rate allows the famous FOSS browser to bring new features to users faster.

The headline change in Firefox 74 is the use of DNS over HTTPS by default for users in the USA.

A privacy-minded feature, DNS over HTTPS encrypts all DNS requests made in Firefox 74 (requests which are normally done ‘in the open’). This helps prevent people snooping on internet traffic from discerning detail about the requests being made.

Firefox 74 defaults to Cloudflare as the DNS resolver but users are able switch to NextDNS through the Preferences > Network Settings dialog.

On the subject of privacy, Firefox 74 also (apparently) makes a dedicated Facebook Container available. Like other ‘containers’ the browser offers — a feature missing from all of my installs fwiw 💁🏻‍♂️ — this aim is to insulate and isolate web activity from pervasive online trackers, in this instance Facebook.

Firefox 74 can now import profile data from the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser, nicknamed ‘Edgium’, on Windows and macOS. With Microsoft Edge coming to Linux later this year this, presumably, will work too.

If you use Firefox Lockwise, the browser’s built-in password management syncing service to rival LastPass et al then you may appreciate the addition ability to reverse sort logins in Lockwise by name (i.e. Z-A). It’s the simple things, right?

Finally, be aware that Firefox 74 disables TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1. Sites which do not support TLS 1.2 will error out when loaded in the browser.

For more details on this release and its particulars you can pore over the Firefox 74.0 release notes, and dive in to the developer change-log on the Moz Dev blog for additional insight.

Download Mozilla Firefox 74

Mozilla Firefox 74 is free, open source software. The update is available to download for Windows, macOS and Linux from the official Firefox website:

Get Mozilla Firefox 74

Users of Ubuntu will receive the Firefox 74 update automatically in the next few days (as will those running Ubuntu-based Linux distros like Linux Mint and Zorin OS — so if this includes you, do keep an eye out).

If you run Firefox on Windows or macOS then install the update via the browser’s built-in software update mechanism, commonly found on the About page.