Version 1.5.0.3 represents an update to the Firefox web browser that patches a denial of service vulnerability eight days after it was reported.
Automatic updates in the Firefox browser have been activating on user desktops and advising them the 1.5.0.3 release has arrived. If they have the Session Saver extension, a short restart of the browser puts the update into effect and relaunches Firefox right back where the user was online.
(Of course, that restart is even quicker to do with the Restart Firefox extension in place.)
The update applies to Firefox across Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. Denial of service attacks can hit any operating system, so anyone whose Firefox installation has not updated yet should visit the 1.5.0.3 release link. Users can verify the update from the Help -> About Mozilla Firefox menu item to see the release number.
Mozilla also provided some extra instructions of use to Firefox users working an Intel-processor based Mac computer:
If you are running Firefox 1.5 or Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Macintosh computers with Intel Core processors under Rosetta, you will get upgraded to a PowerPC-only, Firefox 1.5.0.3 product via the automated update system. You will need to download the Firefox 1.5.0.3 Universal Binary build from www.mozilla.com to take advantage of the native support for Intel-based Macintosh computers.
Mozilla also noted that GNOME integration does not work properly in Fedora Core 3, and provided a workaround for those Firefox users.
Some plug-ins may need to be updated to work correctly with Firefox 1.5.0.3. Mozilla said older versions of AdBlock or the Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin could cause problems with Firefox, and updating to the newest versions should eliminate them.
Promotion of the Firefox browser received a recent boost as several outlets again covered the Explorer Destroyer efforts to unseat Internet Explorer. That site provides scripts to Google AdSense users to encourage IE visitors to switch to Firefox.
Some site publishers have taken Explorer Destroyer’s “Dead Serious” route and used the scripts to ban IE visitors from their sites entirely. It isn’t out of a sense of altruism and saving an IE user from exploits attacking their browser. Instead, for each user who clicks on the Firefox download button and installs the browser, the site publisher gets one dollar.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
