Help Mozilla Crackdown on 3rd-Party Firefox Installer Sources

Report Unsafe Firefox Downloads to Mozilla

2 min. read

Published on June 18, 2024

published on June 18, 2024

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Mozilla to run the “Firefox 3rd Party Installer” Campaign from June to July to protect users from potentially harmful downloads. While some third-party websites might offer legitimate Firefox downloads, there are some risks involved.

Firefox 3rd Party installer campaign

While you can download Firefox from the official Mozilla site, downloading Firefox from unofficial sources can lead to several problems:

Outdated Versions: You might unknowingly download an older version of Firefox, missing critical security updates and bug fixes.
Incorrect Locale: The downloaded version might not be in your preferred language, making browsing difficult.
Malware Risk: In worst-case scenarios, malicious actors could distribute tampered versions of Firefox containing malware that could steal your data or harm your computer.

Mozilla is calling on the community to help identify websites involved in the “Firefox 3rd Party Installer” campaign. By participating before July 14th, you’ll be contributing to a safer browsing experience for everyone.

Here’s how you can help Mozilla act on Risky Firefox Installer websites

Use various keywords in your language (e.g., “download Firefox,” “install mozilla Firefox”) to find websites offering Firefox downloads outside of Mozilla.org.
Look for websites that don’t redirect you to the official Mozilla download page. These are the potential culprits.
Use the provided form to submit reports about these websites, allowing Mozilla to investigate further.

Rewards and Recognition: Active contributors will receive Mozilla swag for their efforts. If you submit 10 valid reports, you’ll be recognized on the Mozilla blog!

Download Firefox Safely:

The safest way to download Firefox is always from the official Mozilla website: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/.

The bug and Campaign pages mention different timelines, June 17–July 8, 2024, and June 14 – July 14, 2024, respectively.

Anyway, let us hope that through this campaign, Mozilla can ensure in the future that everyone has access to the latest and safest version of Firefox. So, join the fight against “Firefox 3rd Party Installer” websites and become a Firefox Hero!

Mozilla is also testing alt text generation for images in PDFs using AI and weather widget on NTP and Netflix support in Private browsing mode. The company confirmed Firefox will get tab groups, vertical tabs, sidebar.