Mozilla today a stable version of the Firefox 76 browser for desktop Windows, macOS and Linux. The new release comes with bug fixes, security patches and new features, the most interesting of which is the improved Firefox Lockwise password manager.
The highlight of Firefox 76 is the innovations added to Firefox's built-in Lockwise password manager (available at about:logins). First, Lockwise will prompt the user for their Windows or macOS account credentials (unless a master password is set) before showing any passwords in the clear. Mozilla said it added this feature at the request of the Firefox community. Previously, users complained that an attacker could wait until the PC owner moved away from his workplace, and then quickly access Firefox's built-in password manager to find and copy passwords onto a plain sheet of paper.
Second, Firefox's built-in password manager now scans all saved user passwords for leaks. The developer company says that if one of the user's passwords is identical to a password that was previously compromised on the Internet, the browser will show an appropriate warning with a recommendation to change the password. Since this password is now most likely part of the lists of password dictionaries that hackers use to brute force.
Thirdly, Lockwise received another security upgrade, which is to integrate the service with Firefox Monitor. This platform allows users to check if their credentials have been exposed to the Internet. Starting with Firefox 76, Lockwise will also show warnings for sites that have recently experienced a security breach (for example, passwords that have become hacked), urging users to change their credentials.
Mozilla assures that there is no need to panic about the introduced security innovations, since the Firefox web browser does not operate with passwords themselves, but with encrypted versions of credentials in order to preserve the privacy of its users.
You can upgrade to Firefox 76 using the browser's built-in update tool, available in the Help -> About Firefox section (Help -> About Firefox). Or the current version of the browser can be downloaded from .
Source: 3dnews.ru