Mozilla to Bring Auto-Updating to Firefox
Taking cues from Chrome and Internet Explorer, Firefox 4 will install automatic updates silently in the background. Only major version updates will be announced. Installing security patches and other minor tweaks behind the scenes without user input or notification will cut down on complaints, while also keeping browsers as current as possible.
Taking cues from Chrome and Internet Explorer, Firefox 4 will install automatic updates silently in the background. Only major version updates will be announced. Installing security patches and other minor tweaks behind the scenes without user input or notification will cut down on complaints, while also keeping browsers as current as possible.
Unlike Chrome, however, Firefox's auto-update mechanism can be turned off by users who would rather be able to manually control update installation. In this instance, "We will also be able to prompt the user if they haven't restarted in a very long time and there is a particularly bad security vulnerability that needto be patched," said Faaborg. This is a concession to the fact that some users are uneasy about giving software companies free reign to install software on their PCs without explanation or even notification.