Mozilla to add built-in PDF viewer to Firefox

Mozilla is working on a project that will add PDF rendering to Firefox using HTML5 and JavaScript, eliminating the need for users to run Adobe's own plug-in.

The PDF reader may be included in Firefox within three months, said Andreas Gal, a Mozilla researcher who on Wednesday unveiled work the company had done quietly for the last month.

If Mozilla follows through on its plans, it would make Firefox the second major browser -- after Google's Chrome -- to offer in-browser PDF rendering.

But while Chrome relies on an API (application programming interface) to craft its own native-code plug-in, Mozilla will exclusively use HTML5 and JavaScript to display Adobe's popular document format.

Gal touted that as more secure.

"The traditional approach to rendering PDFs in a browser is to use a native-code plug-in, either Adobe's own PDF Reader or other commercial renderers, or some open-source alternative," Gal said in a post to his personal blog.

"From a security perspective, this enlarges the trusted code base, and because of that, Google's Chrome browser goes through quite some pain to sandbox the PDF renderer to avoid code injection attacks. An HTML5-based implementation is completely immune to this class of problems," he said.

Adobe Reader, the free PDF viewer whose plug-in is most notably used by Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), has been updated five times so far this year to fix flaws discovered by, and in many cases exploited by, cyber criminals. Three of those updates were "out-of-band," or emergency releases to address critical vulnerabilities hackers were actively exploiting.

By shunning the Reader plug-in, a browser sidesteps the vulnerabilities that come with the Adobe software.

Mozilla will initially provide the in-browser PDF viewer via a Firefox extension, but Gal said the ultimate goal was to ship the viewer inside the browser. "This will result in a substantial usability but also security improvement for our users," he argued.

Mozilla has dubbed the open-source project "pdf.js," and has publisheddetailed plans on its site, as well as source code on Github.

Gal said that other browsers could also use pdf.js to display PDF documents.

"We would love to see it embedded in other browsers or Web applications," Gal said. "Because it's written only in standards-compliant Web technologies, the code will run in any compliant browser."

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Sync Firefox to Your Phone

Keeping everything synced up is rather easy these days, thanks to great new features like the sync option built into Firefox 4.  However, even after it has been set up – how do you get the most out of it? You could sync your desktop browser settings, bookmarks and passwords up with your cell phone.  Let me show you how to securely access your Firefox history, bookmarks, tabs and passwords on the go.

How to Setup Firefox Sync
For those of you who pay attention to my other projects on the web, you might have noticed my post about getting a my first cell phone.  I picked up the Droid X the other day, and one of the first applications I downloaded for it was Firefox 4. The browser experience is simple and very lightweight.  So with Firefox 4 on my desktop and my cell phone, how did I get them to talk to one another?
From your desktop Firefox install, click on the Firefox button and set up Firefox Sync.  You will be asked to fill out your email address, password and fill in a recpatcha to make sure you are not a robot. Now, do the same on your mobile device.  You will want to swipe to Tools > Preferences and tap on Setup Sync. You’ll then be given a unique single use sync code.  Go back to your desktop Firefox and click on the Firefox button, click on Options and then go to the Sync tab. From this window, click on "Add a Device" and enter the code on your cell phone.
Note: If your using an iPhone, the sync process will be a little different for you, since you will have to use Firefox Home instead.  Check here for more details on how to get that set up and running.
Using Firefox sync has made my transition between my new cell phone and my desktop much easier.

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Firefox 5 Beta Available for Download!!!

On Friday, Firefox released the beta version of Firefox 5 under its rapid-release structure. The new version will is made to ensure frequent updates to the Firefox browsers instead of major changes in new Firefox programs.

Firefox 5 beta available for download

The new feature of the browser will include CSS animations, improved canvas, Java script memory and networking performance. The new version will also include improved standards support for HTML5, XHR, MathML, SMIL, and canvas. Among these updates, Firefox 5 beta also has improved desktop environment integration for Linux users.

Firefox seems to be going the Google Chrome way with frequent releases which will allow new versions to arrive sooner. Though major updates may not be seen in these builds, regular updates will appear through their Rapid Release implementation.

In a blog post announcing the release, Mozilla said that after five weeks of testing on the Firefox Aurora channel, the next version of Firefox is ready for the beta channel. This release includes the Firefox channel switcher, performance and stability enhancements and support for the new CSS Animations standard to allow developers build more amazing Web experiences. The new Firefox channel switcher lets users move between Firefox Aurora, beta and Release channels to test features at various levels of development, quality and polish.

To download the beta version of Firefox 5 click here.

Source: CNET, Mozilla

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