14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla has released yet another alpha build of its powerful web browser for Mac, Windows and Linux, Firefox. Version 3.6 Alpha 1 is immediately available for free download on machines running Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Alpha and Beta builds of Mac software are not to be relied upon. Readers download and use such builds at their own risk.
Currently, Mozilla Firefox doesn’t list any changes (a changelog is yet unavailable for this version). However, code-savvy fans of the browser can check out the Firefox 3.6a1 build notes here, to familiarize themselves with the release.
For those not interested in unstable, alpha builds of the web browser, Firefox 3.5.2 for Mac (released earlier this week) fixes several security issues and makes images with ICC profiles render properly on all monitors. Fixed in this release are several critical security problems, as well as moderate and low ones.
Firefox 3.0.13, another branch of the software, is also fresh out of beta and fixes a bunch of security problems on the Mac side. One issue listed by the Mozilla team is labeled as moderate (only works in uncommon, non-default configurations or requires the user to perform complicated and/or unlikely steps), with two others being noted as critical (can be used to run attacker code and install software, requiring no user interaction beyond normal browsing). Users are encouraged to download and install the latest version (3.0.13) of Firefox to patch these vulnerabilities.
One known issue still exists in the browser, according to Mozilla – if you use IPv6 from a network location that doesn't support IPv6 routing, your DNS lookups may be very slow, the company explains. As a workaround, users must set network.dns.disableIPv6 to true. One of our readers claims that “an even better option would be to push the vendor to fix the bug, perhaps ‘failing gracefully back to IPv4’ when IPv6 connectivity is unavailable. The problem with auto-disabling IPv6 is that you will want/need to re-enable it in the future, and by then, you will have forgotten you disabled it,” the comment posted by TJ reads.
Update: this article has been modified to include a warning regarding software that is still being tested (Alpha, Beta builds). The modification has been made at the suggestion of reader bousozoku. Download Mozilla Firefox for Mac OS X (Free)