Private Browsing

Sometimes it’s nice to go undercover, so turn this feature on and protect your browsing history. You can slip in and out of private browsing mode quickly, so it’s easy to go back to what you were doing before as if nothing ever happened. It’s great if you’re doing your online banking on a shared computer or checking email from an Internet café.

Anti-Malware

Firefox protects you from viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware delivered over the Web. If you accidentally access an attack site, it will warn you away from the site and tell you why it isn’t safe to use.

Anti-Phishing

Shop and do business safely on the Internet. Firefox gets a fresh update of web forgery sites 48 times in a day, so if you try to visit a fraudulent site that’s pretending to be a site you trust (like your bank), a browser message—big as life—will stop you.

Outdated Plug-In Detection

Some web pages require that you install small applications called plugins to watch videos, play games or view documents. These plugins are written by other companies, and it can be hard to make sure they’re always up to date. Since outdated plugins are a security risk, Firefox will let you know when you have a plugin that’s vulnerable to attack and direct you to the right site to get the updated version. View our plugin check page.

Parental Controls

Enforce parental control settings you’ve entered on Windows 7 — stop unwanted downloads and more.

Clear Recent History

Clear all your private data or just your activity over the past few hours with a few quick clicks. You have full control over what to delete, and then your info is gone for good—on your own computer or the one at your local library. It’s that easy.

Customized Security Settings

Control the level of scrutiny you’d like Firefox to give a site and enter exceptions—sites that don’t need the third degree. Customize settings for passwords, cookies, loading images and installing add-ons for a fully empowered Web experience.

Add-ons

Firefox looks for a secure connection before installing or updating add-ons, 3rd party software, and Personas.

Password Manager

We’ve seamlessly integrated this feature into your surfing experience. Choose to remember site passwords without intrusive pop-ups. Now you’ll see the “remember password” notification integrated into your view at the top of the site page.

Anti-Virus Software

Firefox integrates elegantly with your Windows antivirus software. When you download a file, your computer’s antivirus program automatically checks it to protect you against viruses and other malware, which could otherwise attack your computer.

Pop-Up Blocker

Banish pop-ups (and pop-under windows) from your surfing experience once and for all. Or, find a happy medium—choose to view blocked pop-ups or create an “allow” list of sites whose pop-ups you’re okay with seeing.

Automated Update

Our open-source security strategy lets us find—and fix—security issues in record time, making Firefox the safest way to surf. Install upgrades when you receive automatic notification or wait until you’re ready.

Smaller Memory Footprint

Short and sweet, Firefox uses less of your computer’s memory while it’s running.

Memory Management

With a new management function in place, Firefox keeps memory usage under control. The XPCOM cycle collector continuously cleans up unused memory. Plus, hundreds of memory leaks have been remedied.

Faster Page Load

A redesigned page rendering and layout engine means you see Web pages faster—and in the way they were meant to be seen.

Color Profile Support

Do you tweak your photos or Web designs to get the colors exactly right? Now Web pages and photos appear just the way they should, thanks to improvements to our graphics engine.

Add-ons Manager

Find and install add-ons directly in your browser. You no longer need to visit the add-ons Web site—instead simply fire up the Add-ons Manager. Not sure which add-on is right for you? Ratings, recommendations, descriptions and pictures of the add-ons in action help you make your selection. The fully integrated add-on manager even lets you view, manage and disable third-party plugins in a few easy clicks.

Beyond Add-ons

Add-ons are the cornerstone of customization, but adapting Firefox to suit your style doesn’t stop there. You can add new search engines, change toolbar preferences, display different sizes, shapes and styles for your browser’s navigation buttons and more. With additional preferences, you can specify a Web mail client, such as Gmail, to open up when you click on an address from a Web page or set up a news reader application for the blogs you encounter.

Dress Up Your Firefox with Personas

We’ve enhanced our themes to give you access to thousands of easy-to-install themes, meaning you can change the look of your Firefox to practically anything with a single click. Choose anything from simple designs to colorful patterns to content from partners like Harry Potter, Bob Marley or Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong Foundation.

View the video

Tags

Label a site with names or categories that are meaningful to you. For example, you can label the site www.bbc.co.uk with the “news” tag as well as the “foreign investments” tag, plus give www.nytimes.com the “news” tag, too. When you enter “news” into the location bar, both sites will be shown as results. A single site can have multiple tags, and there’s no limit to the number of tags you can create. You may not remember the exact name of a site, but with a tag, you’ll be able to find it in a way that makes sense to you.

Library

Make your browser as efficient as you can imagine. Your browsing history (all the websites you’ve seen) and your bookmarks (all the websites you’ve saved) are archived in the Library, where they can be easily searched and organized. You can also save your frequent searches in dynamic smart folders that automatically update as your bookmark list and history grow.

Spell Checking

A built-in spell checker lets you enter text directly into Web pages—like blog posts and Web-based email—without worrying about typos and misspellings. Work directly with the Web and save yourself a step.

Session Restore

Restart the browser without losing your place after you install an add-on or software update. And, if Firefox or your computer unexpectedly closes, you don’t have to spend time recovering data or retracing your steps through the Web. If you’re in the middle of typing an email, you’ll pick up where you left off, even down to the last word you typed. Session Restore instantly brings back your windows and tabs, restoring text you entered and any in-progress downloads, and we’ve updated it to make sure you get back to what you were doing even more quickly than before.

Full Zoom

Visit your favorite news page and read the caption under the picture—or view the picture itself in a size you can see. An elegant new zoom feature lets you swoop in and see entire web pages. They scale in the way you’d expect them to, with all the elements of a page’s layout expanding equally, so you can zero in on what matters.

Easy Organization

Get your sites in order. Simply arrange the order of your tabs by dragging them in one swift move of your mouse. Or, if your browser window is getting cluttered with too many tabs, just drag a tab out of its existing spot and it will automatically open up in a new window.

Reopen Closed Tabs and Windows

If you accidentally close a tab or window, you can reopen it in one click. Just view Recently Closed Tabs or Recently Closed Windows in the History menu and select the tab or window you’d like to reopen.

Save on Exit

When you quit Firefox, you can save your tabs and windows for the next time you start. No need to reopen all your windows each time you start a session.

Smooth Scrolling

Like to have all 20 of your favorite pages open at once? An elegant new feature lets you scroll through tabs easily to see them all and access the one you want quickly.

Integrated Web Search

Searching the Web is a breeze with the search box inline, just to the right of your location bar. Select the search engine of your choice and type what you want to find directly into the box. The width is adjustable so you can make it bigger if you need more space.

Hundreds of Search Engines

Access your favorite search engines quickly from the integrated search bar. You can use a new engine for each search, or stick to your favorite. Choose from a preset dropdown list of engines or select “manage search engines” from the same list to browse search engine options offered as add-ons. Check out your choices now.

Emphasis on Accessibility

By minimizing keystrokes, allowing users to zoom in on Web pages and supporting screen readers, Firefox is that much easier to use for those with mobility disabilities and visual impairments.

Universal Customization

Go beyond translation and experience the web in a way that makes sense to you. Local developers who know what’s best for their community have customized your Firefox browsing experience with local dictionaries, search providers, live bookmarks and Web feeds. Depending on where you live, you’ll see things like BBC headlines tailored to your region or experience features that work with Baidu, the Chinese search engine.

The Language of Firefox

Firefox speaks your language like no other browser on earth. Because the Web is a worldwide resource and we believe that resource belongs to the people, we’ve made our browser available in as many local languages as possible. We have over 70 different translations, from French and Chinese to Finnish and Czech. Find your language.

Offline Browsing

Take your computer offline and still have information at your fingertips. Certain enabled sites may allow applications—like your Web-based email—to stay with you at all times.

Location-Aware Browsing

Now Firefox can tell websites where you’re located so you can find info that’s more relevant and more useful (for example, getting directions or finding restaurants near you). It's all optional - Firefox doesn't share your location without your permission - and is done with the utmost respect for your privacy.

Next-Generation Graphics

You have to see it to believe it. The rendering of text and graphics, including SVG and Canvas, is faster and sharper than ever before, thanks to our upgraded graphics engine. Firefox automatically color corrects images that have the color profile data included (like your digital photos) to make sure the colors are exactly as intended.

Open Video and Audio

Introducing the future of online media! Firefox is the first browser to support open video and audio formats, allowing practically limitless new ways for sites to display rich content. The open formats also allow modern web pages to display media without requiring a plugin or a proprietary software download.

Live Support

We have Firefox experts waiting on stand-by to help you with questions that simply demand a live person and a real conversation. Now you can chat with knowledgeable Firefox community members who troubleshoot via our live chat site. You won’t be put on hold or have to wait for a response—solve your problem on the spot.

Firefox Support

Help is right where you would expect it, as well as a few places you might not. A link at the top of your browser takes you to a support site with the answers you’ll need. Want to dig deeper—or have a really tough question?

Firefox’s support website has a searchable knowledge base of articles, plus forums and tutorials full of solutions and tips for a better experience.