Mozilla optimizes Firefox 4 for speed junkies

Firefox 4 has hit the ground running. The latest iteration of the popular browser is every speed junkie’s dream, as it boasts a souped-up JavaScript engine that offers a 2x-6x performance increase.

Firefox 4 also introduces a sleek new look, with features such as App Tabs, Panorama, Do Not Track and Content Security Policy.

In addition, Firefox Sync allows users to access their Awesome Bar history, bookmarks, open tabs and passwords across multiple devices.

Additional specs include:

  • Switch to Tab – Easily find and switch to any open tab from your Awesome Bar without opening duplicate tabs.

  • Add-ons Manager – Discover and install more than 200,000 add-ons to customize the features, functionality and look of Firefox.
  • HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) – Automatically establishes secure connections to stop “man in the middle” attacks and keep sensitive data safe from interception during the log-in process.

  • Content Security Policy (CSP)- Prevents cross-scripting attacks by allowing sites to explicitly tell the browser which content is legitimate.
  • JavaScript engine upgrade – Incorporates the new JägerMonkey JIT compiler, along with enhancements to the existing TraceMonkey JIT and SpiderMonkey’s interpreter for faster page-load speed and better performance of Web apps and games.
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HTML5 support – Includes hardware accelerated, high-definition video (WebM), 3D graphics, offline data storage, professional typography, touchscreen interfaces and the Mozilla Audio API to help create visual experiences for sound.
  • Uninterrupted browsing – Isolates Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime and Microsoft Silverlight plugins. If one of these plugins crashes or freezes, it won’t affect the rest of Firefox. Simply reload the page to restart the plugin.

     

FireFox 4 can be downloaded here for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in more than 80 languages.